chumley Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I have purchased three identical ASUS 27" screens and have hooked then up to the GPU - 2 x DVI and 1 x HDMI and have Surround operating at 6000 x 1080 (bezel corrected). The extremes - right and left are a bit distorted but I can live with that and in fact get limit it by altering my eyepoint and reactivating TrackIR (something I haven't used in a while). The question I have for others using a triple screen configuration is should the screens be aligned across the desk in front of me or should they he angle adjusted at the sides, particularly the left side when flying left seat, to give a more surround feel using the virtual cockpit? I will in the coming months connect a 4th screen and am considering unlocking the various gauges in the NGX and adding some additional hardware - throttle quadrant etc. I have done a brief test and during that test there was no readily discernible loss of performance but as I said that is for another day. Thoughts and experiences appreciated. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabnz Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I personally like them straight across so that everything lines up correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sawatzky Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I personally use and like the angled surround with virtual cockpit, and everything lines up very nicely, and I haven't even used the bezel correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi stu Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I like mine slightly angled.I have a triple monitor stand which gives me a few options and keeps things tidy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sawatzky Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Nice Stu! Here's what my rig looks like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi stu Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 nice doug..i used to have a 4th monitor set up exactly like you but ditched it when i got my Ipad Apps for FSX.I got the remote cockpit apps so can now live without the 4th. good to see others with setups like your own isnt it ! good stuff mate cheers stu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hal9000 Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Hi, I using a setup with nearly 30° degrees on both sidescreens. Normaly I fly without a panel, because for that tiny plane I need no instruments, I feel it So I don´t need to change the view realy, because I see enough, an when, then I use the coilihead on my stick. I prefer this position, because you feel to sit inside the plane, when it´s all around you. Next thing what comes , are two 10" tablets for Instruments (for flying bigger planes) and one for the GPS position. Now I use my cellphone for GPS (see in the second picture) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian747 Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Angled here, too, with another monitor on a second machine (via LAN) for EFB, ATC, and weather: Cheers, Brian (Scouse ex-pat) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curbz Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Interesting how many go for the angled approach... I have mine flat to keep the view perfectly aligned across all three. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utley Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 They should be angled, thats why there is distortion on the outboard monitors. The distortion is intended for peripheral vision, and I assume (most likely incorrectly) that they should be about a 35 degree off center of the middle monitor. This is mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkH Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 They should be angled, thats why there is distortion on the outboard monitors. The distortion is intended for peripheral vision... The distortion is not 'intended', it is a consequence of the projection algorithm. FSX renders a 3D scene by projecting it onto a 2D flat surface, hence for the picture to be rendered correctly your monitor surface must be flat. Angling your screens is like using a curved wraparound screen, which effectively exaggerates the distortion you see at the edges. Technically you should use some kind of image warping software if your screens are angled. In practice angling your screens puts more in your peripheral vision and might give you an acceptable compromise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curbz Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 They should be angled, thats why there is distortion on the outboard monitors. I disagree. They should not be angled in my opinion. If you are looking at a view of the horizon on angled monitors it will not be flat as it is intended to be. You will see an angle on the horizon at the points where the outside monitors meet with central monitor. With the monitors in a straight line the horizon will be flat just like it should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utley Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 The distortion is not 'intended', it is a consequence of the projection algorithm. FSX renders a 3D scene by projecting it onto a 2D flat surface, hence for the picture to be rendered correctly your monitor surface must be flat. Angling your screens is like using a curved wraparound screen, which effectively exaggerates the distortion you see at the edges. Technically you should use some kind of image warping software if your screens are angled. In practice angling your screens puts more in your peripheral vision and might give you an acceptable compromise. Are you sure its not due to the video card rendering the image at an insane resolution? You will get that stretched look in every game, with exception to external views in DCS. The battlefield series, MW series, Crysis, any other simulator for that fact, all render FPS views stretched progressively in the perspective FOV. X-Plane 10 is different in this regards though; it doesnt get rescaled, it just gets upsized. I disagree. They should not be angled in my opinion. If you are looking at a view of the horizon on angled monitors it will not be flat as it is intended to be. You will see an angle on the horizon at the points where the outside monitors meet with central monitor. With the monitors in a straight line the horizon will be flat just like it should be. If you set it up like this, you can look at both wingtips just by looking at the main monitor. Think of this - 3 monitors width is greater than the width (at least mine are) of a Cessna 172 cabin. You still have to turn your head 90 degrees to see one wing or the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sawatzky Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Interesting how many go for the angled approach... I have mine flat to keep the view perfectly aligned across all three. I would sure like to see a picture of your setup, I have never seen the straight across concept Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkH Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 If you set it up like this, you can look at both wingtips just by looking at the main monitor. Think of this - 3 monitors width is greater than the width (at least mine are) of a Cessna 172 cabin. You still have to turn your head 90 degrees to see one wing or the other. This is a non sequitur. The fact is that FSX, like most simulators, projects a 3D scene onto a flat plane. This gives an acceptably realistic impression when you have narrow field of view, but obviously it cannot do the impossible, which is to wrap the view around into your peripheral vision. In other words, the illusion breaks down as the view gets wider or taller. An infinitely-wide flat screen would not fill your field of view, as the increase in FOV diminishes asymptotically with increasing width. This is the main reason that wider and wider screens make FSX look increasingly unrealistic unless you employ image-warping and a curved screen. As I said earlier, angling the screens (effectively using a curved screen without image-warping) can fudge things to sort-of-look-right, but that doesn't mean it's right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curbz Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 I would sure like to see a picture of your setup, I have never seen the straight across concept here you go... I use the lower 4th screen (touch screen) when flying the NGX for all the instruments and I also have a 5th screen for the fwd and aft overhead which is also touch screen. In addition I have 2 tablets - one for the FMC and the other I use as an EFB. I also have the Go-Flight MCP-Pro and EFIS which come out when I'm flying the NGX - these are mounted in a physical shell along with the overhead. CH Pedals under the desk. Oh and I musn't forget the seat - it's contains 6 electromechanical actuators to provide haptic feedback. With the NGX I am not flying in the VC so the 3 monitors provide the external view from the cockpit - in this mode I use a zoom of 1.0 which minimises the distortion at the outer edges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sawatzky Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Hey curbz..thanks that's awesome! Are you using Eyefinity, SLI, or TH2Go, or is there other? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utley Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 This is a non sequitur. The fact is that FSX, like most simulators, projects a 3D scene onto a flat plane. This gives an acceptably realistic impression when you have narrow field of view, but obviously it cannot do the impossible, which is to wrap the view around into your peripheral vision. In other words, the illusion breaks down as the view gets wider or taller. An infinitely-wide flat screen would not fill your field of view, as the increase in FOV diminishes asymptotically with increasing width. This is the main reason that wider and wider screens make FSX look increasingly unrealistic unless you employ image-warping and a curved screen. As I said earlier, angling the screens (effectively using a curved screen without image-warping) can fudge things to sort-of-look-right, but that doesn't mean it's right. Wouldnt it then make more sense to arrange your monitors as close to warped as possible then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curbz Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Hey curbz..thanks that's awesome! Are you using Eyefinity, SLI, or TH2Go, or is there other? I'm using a single nVidia GTX670 2gb card running in nVidia Surround mode at a resolution of 6000x1080. The 4th monitor also runs off the same card and then I have a cheap nVidia 210 card to run the 5th monitor - it is only used to display gauges so it's more than adequate for this purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curbz Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 If you set it up like this, you can look at both wingtips just by looking at the main monitor. Think of this - 3 monitors width is greater than the width (at least mine are) of a Cessna 172 cabin. Sorry not sure I follow you, Im not seeing any wingtips in my setup?? (see pic in my post above) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utley Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Ive had views where the resolution was skewed enough to see the wingtips in the KingAir. Anyways, since the picture DOES distort in the peripheral vision, it makes more sense to me to tilt the monitor to give the peripheral vision more field of depth, and having the monitors turned slightly to where they are parallel with your face makes the most sense. My 81" FOV pretty much demands it, and they are tilted at roughly 45 degrees. If your cockpit is 81" wide, then you should be looking over your shoulder to look out the windows, not straight ahead, and with a FOV of 90 degrees...a flat screen isnt realistic." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sawatzky Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Ive had views where the resolution was skewed enough to see the wingtips in the KingAir. Anyways, since the picture DOES distort in the peripheral vision, it makes more sense to me to tilt the monitor to give the peripheral vision more field of depth, and having the monitors turned slightly to where they are parallel with your face makes the most sense. My 81" FOV pretty much demands it, and they are tilted at roughly 45 degrees. If your cockpit is 81" wide, then you should be looking over your shoulder to look out the windows, not straight ahead, and with a FOV of 90 degrees...a flat screen isnt realistic. " You are bang on..I agree and share your ideals of this type of setup exactly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curbz Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Ive had views where the resolution was skewed enough to see the wingtips in the KingAir. Anyways, since the picture DOES distort in the peripheral vision, it makes more sense to me to tilt the monitor to give the peripheral vision more field of depth, and having the monitors turned slightly to where they are parallel with your face makes the most sense. My 81" FOV pretty much demands it, and they are tilted at roughly 45 degrees. If your cockpit is 81" wide, then you should be looking over your shoulder to look out the windows, not straight ahead, and with a FOV of 90 degrees...a flat screen isnt realistic." To see wingtips you must be using an extremely low (and therefore unrealistic) zoom value in the region of 0.5 i.e. half what it should be. In my setup I use a zoom value of 1.0 for realism. This also practically eliminates the distortion that you mention. Being face on to the monitor actually makes the distortion worse and even more apparent. A flat setup introduces an angled viewing perspective and the distortion is reduced. Physical head turning is still required with a flat setup due to the width. Angling the monitors will give you at best a couple of inches extra peripheral vision either side but at the expense of introducing unrealistic kinks into the horizon where the monitors meet. At the end of the day it is personal preference and what we perceive to be most realistic. Our personal preferences and perceptions are clearly different, but as long as we're both happy in our own pits and we can enjoy our flying then it is all fine - good to debate it though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott B Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 I don't really have any technical advice to offer. Thought it would be fun to post a pic of my pit in progress. First time posting a pic. I enjoyed viewing the other rigs. Nice job fellas! NVidia surround angled for me. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkH Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 I don't really have any technical advice to offer. Thought it would be fun to post a pic of my pit in progress. Nice work, and nice choice of aircraft! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott B Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Thanks Mark, your videos helped! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deacon Blue Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Love your setup Scott! Nice 'pit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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