ultrawide Why is nobody requesting the ultimate PBP mode from manufacturers? (LTT plz help)

[fanlessfan]

I have been rocking a triple monitor setup with vertical side monitors for the better half of a decade. A couple of years after getting it my father tells me out of the blue that he has had that same setup in his office. After going into detail about how passionate I am about such a setup, he tells me that several of his colleagues are using it as well.

 

Anyways, ultrawide monitors start being a thing and obviously I want one, and obviously I also want it to have picture-by-picture so I can effectively get the triple monitor setup I am used to out of a single ultrawide. Here we are so many years of innovation later and I have yet to find a single ultrawide monitor that offers the PBP mode I want…

 

The 1-2-1 PBP mode

 

There are so many advantages to this that I fear listing them because long lists are cringe. I'll name two obvious ones though:

 

That PBP in general is a godsend for ultrawides because not all games look good in a 32:9 aspect ratio, so I would much prefer to get double the fps from rendering half the screen size. 

 

And that most PBP modes available today effectively force you to have your fullscreen application running on either half of the monitor instead of dab smack in the middle of it. I have never tried gaming like that but I can only imagine your neck gets really sore quicker than your partner starts telling you you promised to play for only 5 minutes hours ago.

 

Am I alone in this?

[GoodBytes]

PBP Costs money. And it is a feature you typically found on office monitors like the Dell Ultrasharp series of monitors.

Companies don't see the value (and also can maximize profits) in gaming monitors... but you do get those RGB LEDs that everyone is apparently craving about.

[fanlessfan]

You're not wrong. The thing I just don't get is why I don't see this specific PBP mode on any ultrawide monitor (that already has PBP).

 

I really hope the upcoming Neo G9 57" will pleasantly surprise me and have this mode, but I fear they will just reuse the PiP/PBP modes that previous Samsung ultrawides used.  

[OhioYJ]

29 minutes ago, fanlessfan said:

Am I alone in this?

No. Although I honestly just wanted to divide the monitor into two, but three would have been fine. I was honestly kind of blown away this was not a feature when I went looking for my monitors originally. So I still have two "traditional" monitors sitting on my desk.  

 

Even my son at this point is so used two using two monitors at his desk, I'm not sure he would go to a single monitor either. (So I don't think it's just me being old and not wanting to change.)

[xg32]

39 minutes ago, fanlessfan said:

You're not wrong. The thing I just don't get is why I don't see this specific PBP mode on any ultrawide monitor (that already has PBP).

 

I really hope the upcoming Neo G9 57" will pleasantly surprise me and have this mode, but I fear they will just reuse the PiP/PBP modes that previous Samsung ultrawides used.  

i want it, but it's also unrealistic to expect it, the dwf already cost 900usd, if it cost an extra 200usd for some fancy pbp i'd just get a used 1080p monitor. uw is still only 2% of the market.

[fanlessfan]

29 minutes ago, xg32 said:

i want it, but it's also unrealistic to expect it

For sure expecting this in anything but flagship ultrawides is unreasonable, but keep in mind there already are ultrawide monitors that already support PBP and/or PiP. My main point that I'm trying to get at is that a 50/50 split ultrawide is silly compared to the 25/50/25. And yes of course there would be extra cost associated with adding an extra input but it would be well worth it IMO in cases where we are already paying for subpar PBP functionality.

[GoodBytes]

To expand on what I said above.

For PBP to work, you need a special chip which essentially keeps a video connection with the source and merge the images together for the panel to show.
 

The problem with it, because there is no market value seen by monitor companies, no chip really delivers the requirements of gaming monitor (no FreeSync, G-SYNC, no unlimited to 60Hz, etc.). So, monitor companies can't use pre-made solution, and making a custom one, well, costs a lot of money. Not to mention that it all needs to keep a super low latency for gaming needs, which just adds more to the challenge.

Businesses don't see the value of making this, too costly. I am sure there is a market for it, but they probably see it as a too small to make it worth it. Most people will see it as a nice to have, and not a must have, willing to spend extra for it. 

[Andrewtst]

I think PBP still not matured for gaming usage. So far, I had few monitors that supported it but all half-baked for gaming features where no G-Sync, no HDR and no VRR and etc. once you turn on the PBP.

 

All only can split screen to half screen. It is functional more for productivity than gaming.

 

[BuzzingBee]

Although I would like PBP as an option I don't think I would use it as there's too much limitations. I wanted full refresh rate, VRR HDR etc and without them i just rather split my screen using software like DisplayFusion.

[fanlessfan]

15 minutes ago, Andrewtst said:

where no G-Sync, no HDR and no VRR and etc. once you turn on the PBP.

Yeah this does seem to be the case from what I've been able to gather. IMO a flagship ultrawide such as the Neo G9 49" (as well as the upcoming 57") definitely ought to have PBP even if it turns off those aforementioned features. The monitors are already so expensive and luxurious that they might as well double for productivity use. Luckily this already is mostly the case. Unfortunately the PBP modes are usually 50/50 or 70/30 or something like that.

 

I for one would even be happy with a 60Hz mode when using PBP. It's far from perfect but in my case there will always be scenarios where I would prefer extra screen space next to my full screen application over VRR and HDR. Both in gaming and in productivity.

On an entirely different but almost related note, it sure would be awesome if monitors that support PBP would utilize DisplayPort MST. 

[fanlessfan]

10 minutes ago, BuzzingBee said:

Although I would like PBP as an option I don't think I would use it as there's too much limitations. I wanted full refresh rate, VRR HDR etc and without them i just rather split my screen using software like DisplayFusion.

Unfortunately DisplayFusion and FancyZones are unable to properly split a screen, so full screen applications will always take up the entire monitor. There are a few exceptions but they are few and often require some degree of hacking to get to work.

[Andrewtst]

10 minutes ago, fanlessfan said:

Yeah this does seem to be the case from what I've been able to gather. IMO a flagship ultrawide such as the Neo G9 49" (as well as the upcoming 57") definitely ought to have PBP even if it turns off those aforementioned features. The monitors are already so expensive and luxurious that they might as well double for productivity use. Luckily this already is mostly the case. Unfortunately the PBP modes are usually 50/50 or 70/30 or something like that.

 

I for one would even be happy with a 60Hz mode when using PBP. It's far from perfect but in my case there will always be scenarios where I would prefer extra screen space next to my full screen application over VRR and HDR. Both in gaming and in productivity.

On an entirely different but almost related note, it sure would be awesome if monitors that support PBP would utilize DisplayPort MST. 

Samsung actually reduce the functionality of PBP/PIP.

• 49" Samsung Odyssey Neo G9
  • PBP in 50/50, 70/30 @ 120hz
  • PIP @ 120hz
• 49" Samsung Odyssey OLED G9
  • PBP in 50/50 @ 120hz

[fanlessfan]

20 minutes ago, Andrewtst said:

Samsung actually reduce the functionality of PBP/PIP.

• 49" Samsung Odyssey Neo G9
  • PBP in 50/50, 70/30 @ 120hz
  • PIP @ 120hz
• 49" Samsung Odyssey OLED G9
  • PBP in 50/50 @ 120hz

Yeah. I am fighting to not get my hopes up that the 57" will get 25/50/25 @ 120Hz as well. It would be my ideal monitor.  

[Andrewtst]

18 minutes ago, fanlessfan said:

Yeah. I am fighting to not get my hopes up that the 57" will get 25/50/25 @ 120Hz as well. It would be my ideal monitor.  

Don't put too high hope, as if that 57" is also smart features monitor, then it will only have PBP in 50/50 @ 120hz.

 

Also you need to have RX 7900XTX to proper handling that monitor as it required DP 2.1 for drive the insanity 7680 x 2160 resolution @ 240hz.

[fanlessfan]

15 minutes ago, Andrewtst said:

then it will only have PBP in 50/50 @ 120hz

They might have changed it since they undoubtedly had to redesign the entire thing to support the insane bandwidth.

15 minutes ago, Andrewtst said:

Also you need to have RX 7900XTX to proper handling that monitor as it required DP 2.1 for drive the insanity 7680 x 2160 resolution @ 240hz.

If it has 25/50/25 I will undoubtedly buy it even if I could only push 60Hz (although I'm fairly certain my 3070 would be able to handle 120Hz). 

[Andrewtst]

1 hour ago, fanlessfan said:

They might have changed it since they undoubtedly had to redesign the entire thing to support the insane bandwidth.

If it has 25/50/25 I will undoubtedly buy it even if I could only push 60Hz (although I'm fairly certain my 3070 would be able to handle 120Hz). 

You put too big hope on it.

Anyway wished you dream come true.

[fanlessfan]

On 8/14/2023 at 7:01 AM, Andrewtst said:

You put too big hope on it.

Anyway wished you dream come true.

The manual for the 57" G95NC has been released and unfortunately my dream did not come true 

[Andrewtst]

1 minute ago, fanlessfan said:

The manual for the 57" G95NC has been released and unfortunately my dream did not come true 

No surprise. PIP/PBP functions is not that advanced yet. 

[fanlessfan]

On 9/13/2023 at 3:12 AM, Andrewtst said:

No surprise. PIP/PBP functions is not that advanced yet. 

Yeah I'm not surprised either, but they certainly could implement it if customers were loud enough.

There is already a ton of advanced functionality in their PIP/PBP solution:

[Stahlmann]

Unless this same PBP mode also supports VRR and HDR, i don't see a point in it for gaming useage. And currently no monitor that has PBP support can do that.

[Burxat]

This monitor can handle three different sources with PBP. It can definitely do 33|33|33, i don't know about 25|50|25 tho, maybe you just adjust a custom resolution as pleased and voilà? Would like to try it out.

https://rog.asus.com/monitors/above-34-inches/rog-strix-xg49vq-model/

 

[Gaddy]

Yes ! I would pay a great lot for that PbP layout.

Honestly I don't think they really try or think a lot about the layouts they propose. There are some ridiculous horizontal splits (on ultra wide monitors).. PiP too is nonsense, hiding part of the screen.

 

My dream is clearly 1-2-1 on a 32/9 screen, or maybe even better 1-2-1 on a ultra wide 24/10 (6/10+12/10+6/10).

 

THAT would be useful PbP. Main centered window to focus and work + small windows on sides for discord, OBS, email etc...

 

Oh and also advertise and promote the use of PbP from a single computer. So nice to use.

[Andrewtst]

15 hours ago, Gaddy said:

Main centered window to focus and work + small windows on sides for discord, OBS, email etc...

This can achieve by using one system only. Microsoft PowerToys - FancyZone can easily do this.

 

 

[Gaddy]

On 12/30/2023 at 11:09 AM, Andrewtst said:

This can achieve by using one system only. Microsoft PowerToys - FancyZone can easily do this.

 

 

No. FancyZones (and all other similar tools) doesn't work with full screen applications (like games) ; doesn't let you maximize/restore with 1 click on the top-right icon, or with one double click on the title bar.
All those tools require you to drag the window to the right place, and/or to use complex shortcuts. It's much less convenient than what you can do with a real dual screen, or a PbP.

I mean, we have ultra large screen now, 21/9 or 32/9, it seems so obvious to propose a main centered screen + side screens for secondary applications, no ?

[Andrewtst]

1 hour ago, Gaddy said:

No. FancyZones (and all other similar tools) doesn't work with full screen applications (like games) ; doesn't let you maximize/restore with 1 click on the top-right icon, or with one double click on the title bar.
All those tools require you to drag the window to the right place, and/or to use complex shortcuts. It's much less convenient than what you can do with a real dual screen, or a PbP.

I mean, we have ultra large screen now, 21/9 or 32/9, it seems so obvious to propose a main centered screen + side screens for secondary applications, no ?

So far no, my monitor have PIP or PBP and I also not using it because can be said all implementations lost important gaming features, for example no HDR support and no G-Sync, FreeSync or Adaptive sync support.

 

I only need split screen during productivity usage and FancyZone already can do a brilliant job. I gaming in full screen only.