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Alienware Curved Monitor Looks Like It's From Another Planet
Posted by Charlie White at 4:07 PM on January 7, 2008
The sighting: We can't have one of these Alienware curved monitors until the second half of this year, but until then, we've been abducted by its four nearly seamless and sharp screens of DLP goodness. Lit by LEDs, this 2880x900 monster is well over three feet wide and is said to have an other-worldly .02ms response time, great for gaming. The Soylent Green: You can see the seams between this monitor's four segments, but the Alienware humanoids tell us that flaw will be gone by the time this craft lands on Earth. The blacks look a bit washed out to our eyes, too. Price is yet to be determined.
The sighting: We can't have one of these Alienware curved monitors until the second half of this year, but until then, we've been abducted by its four nearly seamless and sharp screens of DLP goodness. Lit by LEDs, this 2880x900 monster is well over three feet wide and is said to have an other-worldly .02ms response time, great for gaming. The Soylent Green: You can see the seams between this monitor's four segments, but the Alienware humanoids tell us that flaw will be gone by the time this craft lands on Earth. The blacks look a bit washed out to our eyes, too. Price is yet to be determined. 
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
tehronin
Posted 12:49 AM 7/1/08
Pfft, to hell with that monitor, I want to see the beast of a machine running Crysis @ 2880x900!!! Thats the real CES show stopper!
tehronin
oldmanstan
Posted 12:41 AM 7/1/08
it's too fat... it's cool, but way too fat. look at how deep it is (cuz it's DLP no doubt)
when they figure out how to manufacture curved LCDs then i'll get excited.
also, only 900 pixels high? wtf
oldmanstan
tehronin
Posted 12:38 AM 7/1/08
Given the fact that its DLP projection I see this being "affordable". Call me crazy.
tehronin
Kaiser-Machead
Posted 12:36 AM 7/1/08
@RedSuzaku: @RedSuzaku: with LED backlighting, and Alienware on top of that? Get yourself a couple of corpses and a hack saw, because you don't have enough arms and legs to cover it.
Kaiser-Machead
Kaiser-Machead
Posted 12:35 AM 7/1/08
Even with the seams, that's still pretty damn cool.
Kaiser-Machead
RedSuzaku
Posted 12:33 AM 7/1/08
Holy Crap, That's awesome!!! I hope the seams will be gone though. It's probably going to cost a LOT.
RedSuzaku
Elliuotatar
Posted 2:02 AM 7/1/08
A DLP gaming monitor? I think the Alienware dudes have started taking the same drugs their customers do. This is the dumbest move by a company I've seen since the N-Gage.
Elliuotatar
FLskydiver
Posted 1:46 AM 7/1/08
When@Blah8: When you flip a rectangle 180 degrees, you're back where you started. Just saying.
FLskydiver
tmncon
Posted 1:34 AM 7/1/08
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.GIMEGIMEGIMEGIME.
tmncon
origamimavin
Posted 1:31 AM 7/1/08
dear shit, thats crazy awesome. i bet soon some other companies will also have some out, which will most likely be much cheaper that alienware.
origamimavin
DoPeY5007
Posted 1:26 AM 7/1/08
that thing is amazing!
DoPeY5007
D_Zarster
Posted 1:07 AM 7/1/08
OMFG!!!! when does Awesomeness get a price? I need to get one of these, thou I might have to sell my car to effort it.. lol.. maybe I will just leave it in the store...
D_Zarster
Blah8
Posted 1:01 AM 7/1/08
That's one really odd resolution/aspect ratio. It's like they took some oddly shaped 1.25:1 monitors, flipped them 180 degrees and stuck them together. Not that it's bad, or anything - this looks incredible for gaming - but why not use a more conventional resolution? That way we would have a little more than 900 vertical pixels. Also, that thing's gotta weigh a ton...
Blah8
notquite
Posted 12:58 AM 7/1/08
It looked awesome until i noticed how thick it is. Ick....
notquite
Trowble
Posted 12:58 AM 7/1/08
"And it's going to be available in the 2nd half of 2008 and pricing [will be the cost of your firstborn]"
Trowble
taciturnforsale
Posted 12:56 AM 7/1/08
Neat but that's going to be awkward to ship.
taciturnforsale
afoygel
Posted 12:52 AM 7/1/08
*nAAaRf*
afoygel
Step666
Posted 3:15 AM 7/1/08
If it were only 1080 pixels high, I would literally kill/sell my own children (if I had any) for that - it's pretty much exactly what I've been looking for...
Step666
WCD_Thor
Posted 3:25 AM 7/1/08
Hey, who wants to start planing a few bank heists with me so we can afford one or two of these things when they come out?
WCD_Thor
WCD_Thor
Posted 3:24 AM 7/1/08
Well, when i'm 30 hopefully i'll be able to afford shit like this if i plan it all out right. I'm currently on the verge of 21, 9 years to wait!
WCD_Thor
erockO
Posted 3:23 AM 7/1/08
it really isnt that special considering it's only 900 pixels high. right in between 720 and 1080... this is really just a curved widescreen tv.
erockO
Elliuotatar
Posted 4:22 AM 7/1/08
wcd:
When you're 30, screens like this will be razor thin OLED, and relatively inexpensive. When I turned 21 back in 1996, the 14" CRT with 640x480 resolution was still king. And look what we've got now.
Elliuotatar
TheBard
Posted 6:32 AM 7/1/08
I really don't think there will be many games which really have the option to run this things native resolution. This is just a (nice) way to blow money away.
TheBard
lafond66
Posted 6:20 AM 7/1/08
Meh. Just buy 3 LCD's and put em next to each other. So you have a thin black bar, big deal. I hate rear projection, and Those seams are concerning. Also, The guy was totally about to say the pricing but you shut him up thus why you ended up with "undetermined"
lafond66
Zero2007
Posted 6:13 AM 7/1/08
The practicality of one of these things kind of escapes me. I mean, I was intrigued enough to click on the post and read on it, but a lot of games now and days don't even support that resolution, right?
And even if they could support the resolution, I'm not sure of hardware could with that many pixels to take into consideration. 1920x1080 (roughly 2 million pixels ) already takes a toll on a lot of machines today, and I can only imagine adding another 500,000 pixels (2.5 million for the 2880x900) resolution would just make your computer explode as you get off at the huge screen.
It's appealing, but I don't think we're ready for it yet.
Zero2007
Metasheep
Posted 8:17 AM 7/1/08
@TheBard: Actually, a lot of games support that resolution already thanks to Matrox getting companies to support its Dualhead2go and Triplehead2go products. Here's a list of games that support the Matrox stuff and will probably support that monitor. [www.matrox.com]
Metasheep
billin
Posted 8:12 AM 7/1/08
It looks great... but wouldn't you get the impression of staring out of a tank's view slit? Guess that's something you can tell pretty quickly by just using it, which I'll never have the chance to do.
billin
dcartist
Posted 8:10 AM 7/1/08
Wow, that's beautiful.
Why don't they make hardware like this have the LCD go edge to edge, i.e. place a removable border/frame on the left and right?
Then you could take the frame off and put these things edge to edge next to each other (and use some clever attachment to keep the displays from cracking each other where they touch).
Can you imagine being surrounded 360 degrees by 5 or 6 of these?
dcartist
kaneshadow
Posted 7:49 AM 7/1/08
Their hearts are in the right place but you won't get anywhere with this Frankenstein... you'd be better off duct taping 3 monitors together. What the hell is 900 lines of resolution? If you play a game on it that doesn't support that ridiculous resolution (eg: anything currently existing) then it will look stretched and awful.
kaneshadow
tokiwartooth
Posted 7:22 AM 7/1/08
"to get games", such as.
tokiwartooth
tokiwartooth
Posted 7:21 AM 7/1/08
Well, Alienware may have enough muscle to games to natively support this... but for all it's awesome-want-now impact, the more you think about it, the more ridiculous it seems.
A lot of the readers so far seem to think so, as well. Can I jump the gun and yell fail? I'll eat the words come Q3 if I must.
tokiwartooth
phungy
Posted 9:08 AM 7/1/08
A bit on the thick side. If they can get it to 1-2 inches then I'm sold.
phungy
jonb4more
Posted 9:00 AM 7/1/08
i was just thinking of this concept, damn, they got me again. first the lightbulb now this. Anyhow it looks cool as hell, but i'm sure you have to take out a 3rd mortgagae for it.
jonb4more
decerbo
Posted 8:56 AM 7/1/08
wait, wait, wait... that's crysis? the game that was so incredibly awesome that it was worth dropping tons of cash into your PC to ALMOST run it? That game looks like shit. Nice AI... and the impact shots of those punches... Jesus fuckin christ, the 10 seconds or so I just saw of that game made me want to pee on it, not play it.
decerbo
Gilliam
Posted 8:20 AM 7/1/08
crysis? meh, put half-life2 on there. or portal for additional falling into things effect.
Gilliam
dvda
Posted 10:30 AM 7/1/08
Thats pretty freaking sweet!!
dvda
Gelnika
Posted 9:50 AM 7/1/08
@dcartist
if it only covers 30 degrees of a field of view, you'd need 12.
Gelnika
Cyborg28
Posted 9:44 AM 7/1/08
Ok... Correct me if I am wrong, but widescreen 15.4 and 17" monitors are 1440x900 no? Is this not just the resolution of two side by side?
Also definitely not enough vertical resolution. 1080p for picture beside picture HD FTW!
Cyborg28
gokor
Posted 11:46 AM 7/1/08
Looks pretty rad, but I'm not a gamer, so it doesn't matter to me.
gokor
O-Z
Posted 11:30 AM 7/1/08
Thick, ugly and not quite up to par on the resolution side of things and of questionable use for anything but first person games.
Next.
O-Z
ninjamurf
Posted 12:44 PM 7/1/08
"Price is yet to be determined."
I'm going to guess a BAZILLION dollars. Still...I want one sooooooo bad.
ninjamurf
kaitanium
Posted 12:34 PM 7/1/08
whoohoo! i think ill bring back my CRTs though instead of buying this honkin' piece of junk.
kaitanium
WCD_Thor
Posted 1:48 PM 7/1/08
For all of you criticizing the 900 resolution, remember its not out yet, and they will probably improve it.
WCD_Thor
IrisMR
Posted 1:22 PM 7/1/08
Oh my god, that will cost so much and yet I want it so bad.
IrisMR
deathbychichi
Posted 1:16 PM 7/1/08
As O-Z said, looks possibly useful for gaming. For something that size, for real work, it's way way WAY too low-resolution.
deathbychichi
smegz
Posted 1:15 PM 7/1/08
Correct me if I am wrong, but this isn't anything new. In fact, due to it's thickness, it's a step backwards. The response time is wicked silly, but I would much rather do one of the custom LCD options than this behemoth.
[www.seamlessdisplay.com]
smegz
Bokusatsu_Tenshi
Posted 3:09 PM 7/1/08
I see some problems on that:
1st- Phat! Of course, since it's a DLP... but Phat anyways.
2nd- It's probably useful for games only. DLPs have limitations on resolution... and I don't think they can improve much on that side.
3rd- It'll probably cost a fortune... even though it's using DLP.
4th- Flexible displays are around the corner... so maybe it's not worth spending tons of money on something that can soon be replaced by something thinner, with more resolution, and that maybe drains even less power.
It's sexy anyways, yes.
Bokusatsu_Tenshi
lestat730
Posted 7:56 PM 7/1/08
Wow, gaming would be incredibly fun on this but what I'd really love to do is get one for use in my graphic design studio. It would definitely improve my work flow and productivity tremendously. It's To bad Alienware will charge a fortune for this thing. Hopefully we'll get similar products from other display manufacturers for a more reasonable price in the near future. I'm willing to bet this design is the future of computer displays and I wouldn't be surprised if it was common place within 5 years.
lestat730
Reilaos, Putting the 'Fun' in Dysfunction!
Posted 7:15 PM 7/1/08
Awesome. I want one... I also want a Cintiq...
While I'm dreaming, I'd also like a steady stock Portfolio and some nice dividends.
Reilaos, Putting the 'Fun' in Dysfunction!
cybereality
Posted 6:04 PM 7/1/08
This monitor looks sick. I'll have to see the pricing, but I sure want one. I'm surprised nobody has yet mentioned watching wide-angle movies on this thing at almost the true aspect ratio. Say goodbye to letterboxed!!!
cybereality
Blah8
Posted 6:01 PM 7/1/08
@FLskydiver: Oh, heh. Whoops. 90 degrees, then.
Blah8
rainfever
Posted 4:13 PM 7/1/08
Between this monitor and that next gen 9mm Kuro plasma my wardrobe is quickly running out of pants.
rainfever
whiteknight
Posted 3:29 PM 7/1/08
Jeeeeeze, I can't help but turn green with envy. That's hot.
whiteknight
nexcidia
Posted 9:54 PM 7/1/08
I haven't said this about electronics before, but I am willing to drop to my knees for this one.
nexcidia
JoOngle
Posted 7:28 AM 8/1/08
You can always trust Alienware to deliver stuff only rich little gamer-kids can afford or 40 year olds with too much money on their hands (singles!).
Now...if it only where a little bit more "around" you...then you truly could immerse yourself into that universe...Kind of remind me of an really old arcade machine where you could "GUN DOWN" various planes in the skies....would you believe that thing was MECHANICAL...yes...you turned your chair around and aimed at flying lightbulbs behind a silkscreen ;)
JoOngle
WalkerP
Posted 10:06 AM 8/1/08
900px vertical resolution? what's the point? - especially for anything other than gaming, it would be totally pointless.
Also, I must agree with Decerbro - even looking at the 320x240 video (which makes everything look high-res), it looked like an early PS2 game. The only realistic thing was the water.
WalkerP
aliquis
Posted 2:01 PM 8/1/08
"When I turned 21 back in 1996, the 14" CRT with 640x480 resolution was still king. And look what we've got now."
262.144 colors, shitty viewing angles, backlight bleeding, input lag, bad color reproduction, 60Hz refresh rate, ... ? :D
aliquis
aliquis
Posted 1:59 PM 8/1/08
"And it's going to be available in the 2nd half of 2008 and pricing [will be the cost of your firstborn]"
They sure as hell can have it! I don't want it! :D
"That's one really odd resolution/aspect ratio. It's like they took some oddly shaped 1.25:1 monitors, flipped them 180 degrees and stuck them together. Not that it's bad, or anything - this looks incredible for gaming - but why not use a more conventional resolution? That way we would have a little more than 900 vertical pixels. Also, that thing's gotta weigh a ton..."
2x 1440x900 isn't a weird resolution. And with fov 180 or whatever perspective will be ok.
"A DLP gaming monitor? I think the Alienware dudes have started taking the same drugs their customers do. This is the dumbest move by a company I've seen since the N-Gage."
N-gage is awesome! I have 15 pieces! I bought them all when they was $10 each! ;)
aliquis
DataScream
Posted 3:36 PM 8/1/08
"uuuuuummmm...Uhhhhhhhh...I dunno."
guy needs to get his facts down
DataScream
atomicafro
Posted 3:26 PM 8/1/08
This sucker would be sweet for media-production programs like Sonar, Adobe Premiere, Vegas, Pro Tools, Avid, etc.
atomicafro
spiffmeister
Posted 12:46 AM 7/1/08
That sure is an interesting aspect ratio.
I would'nt turn one down if offered however.
spiffmeister
zombo
Posted 6:05 PM 8/1/08
Holy crap... whether or not this is a great product out the door, this is the future of widescreen monitors. I'd love to do video editing on this sucker.
Amazing!!
zombo
Roams
Posted 6:02 PM 8/1/08
@lafond66:
"...The guy was totally about to say the pricing but you shut him up thus ..."
I know WTF is that about!?
If I was your boss I'd make you pay for the price of your ticket back home fool!!!
Roams
Kered
Posted 4:59 PM 9/1/08
You know what I wish? That there was porn in this resolution. It'd be like you're there!
Kered
alt.slack
Posted 5:42 PM 9/1/08
Really sweet. The response time is the real seller for me. The depth isn't an issue at all for me. I'm currently using 2 19inch CRT monitors and still love them, especially for gaming. I've yet to see an LCD monitor that looks anywhere near as good as a CRT. If they can fix the washed out black this will be a pretty sweet monitor. Would be awesome for video and photo editing once they fix the black issue. Finally it looks like theres a new alternative for peeps like me that cant' stand to look at an LCD for more than a few minutes. LCD's just kill my eyes super fast. I have to focus a lot more to read anything off of them. Can't wait to see reviews later this year.
alt.slack