3 ms·

Goes back to why we switched to widescreen displays. Area of vision man. It is not wasted space to see a horizontal plane, as that is what we expect to see whe

by Kequc 12y ago

Goes back to why we switched to widescreen displays. Area of vision man. It is not wasted space to see a horizontal plane, as that is what we expect to see when looking at anything. Vertical video simulates the effect of straining to see through a partly closed door it is tangibly horrible.

jamesbritt 12y ago
Vertical video simulates the effect of straining to see through a partly closed door it is tangibly horrible. Horizontal video simulates the effect of straining to see through a partly closed Venetian blinds it is tangibly horrible. Now, is this any more correct? Or is it an equally arbitrary personal opinion? The move to "wide" screen was also the move to short screen. I don't find anything natural about it; I expect to be able to move my eyes up and down as well as left and right. A preference for short and wide screens seems more cultural than natural. Even granting that humans have better peripheral visions along the sides than top and bottom the current screens fall short in capturing this range. My beef with most vertical videos is that people typically do not make good use of the format; there's nothing intrinsically bad or wrong about it.
- marssaxman 12y ago
  There is no personal opinion in the observation that normal human field of vision is wider than it is tall.
  - jamesbritt 12y ago
    No one said it was, so I'm not getting your point. In another comment you said that 4:3 is a reasonable approximation of normal human visual field. 19:9 screens don't map to this; this restricted height works well for consuming certain current entertainment offerings but I don't see that a preference for it is objective. If area of vision were guiding screen design we would likely see more of what the current Surface 3 offers.
    - marssaxman 12y ago
      Well, why are movies horizontally oriented? Why is the screen rectangular at all, and not square? Why were wide-screen movies such a big deal when they came out? Obviously it's because filling the viewer's visual field creates a more intense, immersive effect; engaging more of your peripheral vision makes you feel more like being there. Vertical-format video has the opposite effect: you might call it anti-immersive. It boxes the subject up in an intrusive frame and makes you feel like you're looking through a hallway or some other obstruction.

by Kequc 12y ago

jamesbritt 12y ago

Vertical video simulates the effect of straining to see through a partly closed door it is tangibly horrible. Horizontal video simulates the effect of straining to see through a partly closed Venetian blinds it is tangibly horrible. Now, is this any more correct? Or is it an equally arbitrary personal opinion? The move to "wide" screen was also the move to short screen. I don't find anything natural about it; I expect to be able to move my eyes up and down as well as left and right. A preference for short and wide screens seems more cultural than natural. Even granting that humans have better peripheral visions along the sides than top and bottom the current screens fall short in capturing this range. My beef with most vertical videos is that people typically do not make good use of the format; there's nothing intrinsically bad or wrong about it.

marssaxman 12y ago
There is no personal opinion in the observation that normal human field of vision is wider than it is tall.
- jamesbritt 12y ago
  No one said it was, so I'm not getting your point. In another comment you said that 4:3 is a reasonable approximation of normal human visual field. 19:9 screens don't map to this; this restricted height works well for consuming certain current entertainment offerings but I don't see that a preference for it is objective. If area of vision were guiding screen design we would likely see more of what the current Surface 3 offers.
  - marssaxman 12y ago
    Well, why are movies horizontally oriented? Why is the screen rectangular at all, and not square? Why were wide-screen movies such a big deal when they came out? Obviously it's because filling the viewer's visual field creates a more intense, immersive effect; engaging more of your peripheral vision makes you feel more like being there. Vertical-format video has the opposite effect: you might call it anti-immersive. It boxes the subject up in an intrusive frame and makes you feel like you're looking through a hallway or some other obstruction.