Ultrawide monitors: a beginner's guide
Aspect ratios, resolutions, field of view, curvature: the vocabulary you need, explained simply.
"Ultrawide" refers to any monitor wider than traditional 16:9. Behind that single word sit very different formats, along with a few technical ideas that explain why the same game can look stunning on one monitor and underwhelming on another. Here's what matters, without the useless jargon.
Formats and their resolutions
An "aspect ratio" is the relationship between width and height. It says nothing about the size of the screen or how sharp it is — it's simply its shape.
| 16:9 | The standard format, used by TVs and most monitors. Common resolutions: 1920×1080, 2560×1440, 3840×2160. |
|---|---|
| 21:9 | The first ultrawide tier, and by far the most common. Common resolutions: 2560×1080, 3440×1440 (the most frequent), 3840×1600. |
| 32:9 | The "super ultrawide": two 16:9 screens side by side. Resolutions: 3840×1080, 5120×1440, 7680×2160. |
Watch out for the most common confusion: a monitor advertised as "21:9" may be 2560×1080 or 3440×1440. Those are two different worlds in terms of image sharpness — the first is barely sharper than a standard 1080p screen.
Hor+ and Vert-: the single most important concept
When a game runs on a wider screen, it can react in one of two opposite ways, and that's what separates good ultrawide support from bad.
| Hor+ (the good behavior) | The game adds image at the sides. You see everything a 16:9 player sees, plus an extra strip on the left and right. This is the behavior you want. |
|---|---|
| Vert- (the bad one) | The game cuts the top and bottom of the image to reach the requested width. You don't see wider, you see less tall. The result: a tunnel-vision feel, and sometimes a real in-game disadvantage. |
On WideBase, a game rated "Partial" for aspect ratio support is very often a Vert- game, or a game whose UI doesn't follow.
Why cutscenes are a problem
A game can handle ultrawide perfectly during gameplay and snap straight back to 16:9 the moment a scene triggers. The cause is technical: many cutscenes are pre-rendered videos, recorded once and for all at a fixed aspect ratio, while the rest of the game is rendered in real time and adapts to the screen.
That's why WideBase rates cutscenes separately from aspect ratio support: out of 217 games, 76 display their cutscenes full screen, and 38 always leave them framed by black bars.
Do you need a curved monitor?
On 21:9, curvature is a comfort feature. On 32:9, it becomes more or less essential: without it, the far ends of the screen are seen at a very oblique angle and the eye-to-screen distance varies a lot between the center and the edges, which is tiring.
Curvature is given as a radius in millimeters: 1800R, 1000R, 800R. The smaller the number, the more curved the screen. 1000R means the screen follows a circle with a one-meter radius — in other words, it's optimal at roughly one meter away.
Black bars, and when they're normal
Seeing black bars doesn't mean something is broken. A film shot at 1.85:1 will always leave bars on a 21:9 screen: its frame is narrower than the screen's, and nothing can change that without distorting or cropping the image. It's the same principle as a scope film watched on a 16:9 TV, with bars at the top and bottom.
In a game, on the other hand, permanent black bars down the sides almost always signal an unsupported aspect ratio — and there, a solution often exists.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between 2560×1080 and 3440×1440?
Both are 21:9, but image sharpness is nothing alike. 3440×1440 shows about 1.8 times more pixels than 2560×1080. At the same screen size, a 2560×1080 image looks noticeably coarser.
What does Hor+ mean?
Horizontal Plus: the game adds image at the sides as the screen gets wider, instead of cutting the top and bottom. It's the desirable behavior on an ultrawide monitor, and the one found in the highest-rated games.
Is a curved screen mandatory for ultrawide?
At 21:9 it's a welcome comfort but not essential. At 32:9 it's strongly recommended: without curvature, the edges of the screen are seen at a very oblique angle and the viewing distance varies a lot between the center and the far ends.
Why do some games show black bars in ultrawide?
Because their engine locks the aspect ratio, usually to preserve the staging or the balance of the game. In many cases, a community fix unlocks the format.