Choose one UltraWide 21:9 monitor or use two 16:9 monitors for studying and working. This is a topic that is being discussed a lot on forums. UltraWide screens have many outstanding advantages in performance and aesthetics compared to using two screens.
The following article will provide you with important knowledge to be able to make the most suitable choice, or you can also visit here to refer to ViewSonic’s latest UltraWide monitor models.
When choosing a screen, depending on usage needs, there are always two types of users. People who like UltraWide screens and people who like to use 2 screens.
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What are your options?
The display space of the screen is a factor that users are very interested in, whether it is an UltraWide screen or using 2 screens, larger display space is always a plus! Its advantages are so great that returning to a single 16:9 screen often makes users feel uncomfortable!
For those who want to expand their workspace and editing space, as usual, they will often use one main screen and the other as a secondary screen. However, recently, UltraWide screens (screens with a 21:9 aspect ratio) are changing this thinking and making users ask the question “When it comes to UltraWide screens versus dual screens, which is the best setting?”
The reason for this is that not only does the UltraWide display provide more display space – but it also keeps all of an application’s windows on a single screen!
Use two screens
As the name suggests, the 2-screen camera angle means you will use two screens side by side to expand the display space of the screen, instead of just one screen. As usual, a dual-screen setup will include two displays, each with a standard 16:9 aspect ratio and resolutions up to 4K. In this type of dual monitor setup, the resolution of each monitor can be the same or different, such as two 4k monitors, one 1080p monitor, and one 1440p monitor – in other words, this is completely different. Depends on your choice.
UltraWide screen
Simply put, an UltraWide screen is a screen that uses a 21:9 aspect ratio instead of the traditional 16:9 screen ratio. If you’ve never heard of the 21:9 aspect ratio, it’s similar to the screen ratio in traditional movie theaters.
If you’ve ever seen an UltraWide display then you already know how easy they are to distinguish from traditional displays. In this article, we will use the UltraWide VP3881 monitor as an example for analysis.
Screen specifications:
WQHD+ resolution (3840 x 1600)
IPS panel
No frame
Color accuracy Delta E < 2
Color correction
HDR support
sRGB 99%
Now that we have an UltraWide monitor suitable for editing, how do we know which is the most optimal use when comparing an UltraWide monitor versus a dual monitor?
Compare using one UltraWide monitor and two monitors
After switching to the UltraWide display and comparing the UltraWide vs dual display setup, here’s what we saw:
Seamless display space
While using two screens is one way to expand your screen real estate, one of the main disadvantages has always been the distance between the two screens, also known as the gap created by the bezel. Even the thinnest bezels in the world cannot eliminate this problem!
The most notable improvement when switching to an UltraWide display is noticing that the bezel gap is no longer there to obscure your view. This is an improvement in work efficiency and helps manage your workspace.
Conclude:
Displaying images and windows seamlessly without being obscured by screen borders is a huge advantage of the UltraWide screen.
Cinema standard aspect ratio
The aspect ratio is another notable factor when switching from a dual-screen setup to an UltraWide display, especially regarding watching movies. As mentioned earlier, an UltraWide monitor uses a 21:9 aspect ratio.
Because this aspect ratio is similar to the aspect ratio used to create cinematic content, movies can be played in their native aspect ratio. This eliminates black fringing (i.e. the black bars at the top and bottom of the screen when watching movies) and the image can fill the entire screen.
Black borders only exist when you watch movies on a screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio, the only option to make the content fit the screen is to shrink the movie size. This allows the native 21:9 aspect ratio image to fit within the constraints of a 16:9 screen.
Conclude:
If you like watching movies then watch them in full size, watching movies without black borders is an experience that will make you very happy!
Display quality
When it comes to consistency of image quality, there are many advantages to using a single monitor instead of two independent monitors. For starters, having an UltraWide display helps eliminate color and uniformity discrepancies that can occur when using dual displays. If you are a photographer or video editor, this is even better because they are directly related to the quality of your work.
The problem with editing photos/videos on dual monitors is that deviations are bound to occur because no two monitors have identical display quality. This can become a problem when moving photos from one display to another, as you may not be sure which display is displaying colors most accurately.
Conclude:
Having one UltraWide display eliminates image quality inconsistencies and provides a smoother, more seamless experience than dual displays.
Manage application windows
For those comfortable with the ease of managing Windows on dual monitors, the Windows Snap feature in Windows 10 provides similar window management functionality tailored to UltraWide displays. Using Windows Snap, you can easily navigate windows to different areas of the UltraWide display so that windows open side by side in a fairly seamless manner.
Conclude:
Although both dual monitors and UltraWide monitors offer different window management, Windows Snap is an effective tool for managing multiple windows on UltraWide monitors.
Advantage
The biggest advantage here is the ability to manage settings like brightness and other display settings on one screen more simply than adjusting it twice on two screens. If you’re looking to calibrate your monitor, there’s no doubt that calibrating a single monitor is much easier than calibrating two separate monitors.
Conclude:
Adjusting settings and calibrating a single UltraWide display takes less time and effort than dual displays.
Screen Resolution and Size
As you may know, monitors come in different resolutions. In a perfect situation, a dual monitor setup would consist of two identical monitors – same size, same resolution; however, this is not always the case.
While you can use dual monitors with different resolutions, it can be annoying to move things from one monitor to the other, as you’ll have to adjust the size of any of them. What app are you dragging over?
One solution to this is to sync the resolution of the two monitors via monitor settings.
However, the downside to this is that you will have to match the resolution of the higher-resolution display with that of the lower-resolution display, forcing you to downgrade to the higher-resolution display. In this case, a single UltraWide display has a clear advantage because it is one display with uniform resolution.
In the case of the monitor we used in this UltraWide vs Dual monitor comparison, it is equipped with a high WQHD+ (3840 x 1600) resolution (the ‘+’ sign indicates the screen space opened horizontal width of the screen). Having an ultrawide display with a higher resolution seems to help maximize horizontal space, which is a huge plus of an ultrawide display.
Conclude:
UltraWide displays are a convenient solution to keep screen resolution and size consistent.
Advantage
With a dual monitor setup, you can place them next to each other or at an angle but you can never make them create a domed space. However, when you use a curved UltraWide screen, you will feel more immersed in the visual space than with a dual-screen setup.
Conclude:
The UltraWide screen combined with a reasonable curvature creates a superior experience compared to using 2 screens.
Choose the screen according to your needs
These are both great ways to increase your productivity. However, when comparing an UltraWide vs dual monitor setup, there are certain benefits of an UltraWide monitor that dual monitors cannot match.
Whether you’re used to using a dual-monitor setup or are currently using a single 16:9 display, switching to an UltraWide display is worth considering.