1920x1080 vs x1200

[Gruxxar]

I know, I know...this is a tired topic, but I'm about to buy a monitor for the first time in a long time and I don't know which is ideal.

From what I understand, there are potential problems running 1080p content with an x1200 monitor. It will either stretch (less ideal) or put black bars at the top and bottom (more ideal)

What I want to know is: How many games are not capable of running fully at x1200.
Is it annoying watching 1080p movies with black bars?

Important ones I would like to be sure can run 1920x1200:
COD
BF3
DIII
SC2
WoW
Skyrim
Oblivion

 

[jaguarskx]

All those games support 1920x1200 resolution.

I prefer 1920x1200 resolution because the extra 120 rows of pixels means I do not have to scroll down as often when reading things on the PC. Besides a 1920x1080 monitor for a PC seems a bit weird to me since I am used to 1920x1200.

Regardless whether a monitor is 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratio, eventually you will be watching movie with black bars because there are many different aspect ratios for movies. To the best of my knowledge there are around 10 different aspect ratios commonly used in the film industry.

When a movie makes it on to Blu-Ray, I assume the studios "pan and scan" the movie to fit 16:9 aspect (1080p), but that may not always be the case. I know Avatar on Blu-Ray is 16:9 aspect ratio, but in the theater it was released in 2.35:1 aspect ratio (regular 2D movie) and in 1.85:1 for the 3D IMAX version.

Batman - The Dark Knight is a direct transfer from film to Blu-Ray, meaning Chris Nolan decided he wanted the Blu-Ray version of his movie to be exactly the same is the theatrical release of the movie. That means that the movie switches between 16:9 and 2.4:1 aspect ratios depending on how the scenes were filmed.