I’ve used a 4K 42 inch flat screen monitor (Philips) for some years. Quite satisfactory for orchestral scores. However, no one’s yet mentioned using a curved monitor.
Before I used a curved monitor I thought they were a needless complication and huge extra expense . However , I previously used a curved monitor in industry: so now I notice that the edges of my 42 Inch monitor are really too wide to look at comfortably. I daily wish I’d bought a curved monitor for myself.
Some of the larger retail outlets might let you try a curved screen before you bought one. You can’t really imagine what it’s like until you’re using it.
I had a 48" curved Samsung and I loved the horizontal real estate. Working in galley view was a real treat–page/engave view not so much. Now I have a 65" and can see everything rather nicely
Ideally, I’d want a display with slightly bowed sides, like the Parthenon, creating the illusion of a perfect rectangle, better than a real rectangle does!
I am using one of its predecessors, the U3415W. It’s curvature has a radius of 3800mm, which is really subtle. Later U-series ultrawides have a stronger curvature (1900mm radius for the 34" models), including the 3425. If you prefer a flatter curvature from Dell, take a look at the P-Series 34" displays, they are also more affordable.
As for the resolution, 34" ultrawides come almost exclusively with 3440x1440 pixels. It’s fine to work with, but I really wish more manufacturers would have followed LG’s example to offer 5120x2160px on 34". High PPI ultrawides are still very rare. (My personal dream would be a 5760x2400px 38".)
I have never had a curved monitor, so I have basis for having a preference. Hoping to learn from the collective wisdom. My current monitor is a Dell P2415Q (24", natch).
Most of the curved monitors I have seen (although I have paid less attention recently) do not appear tall enough to show a 17" tall page and the program panels above and below the music.
Are you talking about 17" in height? Then yes, there is currently no ultrawide and/or curved monitor available that can handle this in landscape orientation. The only option that might be able to do it would be a 43" 16:9 display, this would leave about 3.8" in height for Dorico’s GUI elements. Talking about the latter, it would surely be great if it could be scaled independently from the OS settings, similar to how Ableton Live does it.
Generally this is something one might want to take into account when thinking about using Dorico on an ultrawide: The bottom panel can become extremely dominant when expanded!
Do any of you that use a curved monitor do a lot of photo editing? I honestly never have looked into a curved display as I assume I would hate it for photography, but maybe it would be ok. I assume it’s fine for music notation and production, just curious if you find it affects cropping, straightening horizons, etc. when photo editing.
A couple of years ago I took the plunge and bought the Dell Ultrasharp 4320 (42.5") and have never looked back. It’s expensive, but if you are working on big scores it’s absolutely worth it in my opinion. If I switch to my 16" laptop, it’s truly painful.
Whatever mammoth screen we have all have annoying limitations. However many limitations can be side stepped.
The trick is to use multiple layouts to present different levels of detail on the monitor. So currently (for a five part piece) I’ve got my ‘real’ A4 printable layout (3 systems per page) and also two more layouts to get 4 systems per page and 6-7 systems per page.
Use ‘page dimensions’ and ‘rastral’ height to make that happen. (You won’t ever print those layouts so pages can be any size you like)
So in all, including galley view I can instantly switch between 4 potential layouts. This is lifesaving whan composing.
Incidentally there is a slight defect in Dorico . When you switch layout it loses the page you are on and shows page 1. The work round is to have a note selected on the page before you switch. You can simply press P and it will jump to the correct equivalent page in the new view.
FWIW, I have a 34” curved monitor. It’s great for Galley view, for having any reference pages alongside Dorico, for typesetting parts (I can have several full-size pages visible at once). However, it is not good for viewing scores.
I’d love to have a monitor that is vertically as close to A3 size as possible, and that can comfortably have the lower zone open.
