About a year ago I bought a syncmaster which uses 2048x1152 for $170. Now I can't find anything under $200-230 and it only has 1980x1080? What the hell? Even displays up to 27" still have that same resolution - what is going on?
I see a few pricey IPS panels that have nice resolutions, but honestly... Is this 2048x1152 just unheard of these days, or am I missing something? Don't you find that 1080 pixels is not much for a big display?
If I am just completely way off base or misinformed, please please help put me on the right track!
zCypher, the answer is easy:
Nowadays everything is 1080p simply because *the sheep* fell into the FullHD hype and are buying anything that says "HD" (the prefix "full" as in "full HD" not even mandatory...)
Since the HD hype caused all six pack Joes out there to buy this one glorious res, this in turn causes mfg's marketing guys to see charts somewhat like this:
80% of sales = 1080p
19% of sales = 720p (those poor bastards that can't afford 1080p)
1% of sales = any other (low) res we provide
Some background noise from HW forums like anandtech et all (if they are even checking this): there's some noise about higher res monitors and 120Hz vs 60Hz and some bickering about 16:9 vs 16:10 vs 4:3 vs whatever, but there's no single spec getting demanded. Projected sales: low 10s of units (panel types and other differentiators left out for simplicity's sake)
The average Joe doesn't even understand the difference between a TV and a computer monitor, so...
That is why the mfgs simply respond to market and produce more 1080p monitors. Since 120Hz is "easy", they throw some of that in the mix, but for the lack of projected sales they won't even think of producing a semi decent res like 3840x2400.
Just go to any mfg's web site and see for yourself: they each have 10+ 1080p monitors that don't even differ in tech specs. No, they differ in stand design, bezel design and color. Nothing more. 10+ identical monitors just to catch your eye so that you buy their model and not a competitor's one...
That is why current monitors can't even reach resolutions monitors were able to do 10 years ago. Current top 2560x1600 res is the only res higher than any old 19" CRT could reach (2048x1536). And even that is only marginally higher.
So there you go: blame it on the Joe sixpack