To widescreen or not to widescreen

[punkcabbage]

Hi guys.

For my birthday, my parents are going to buy me an LCD monitor for my new rig (Currently still on a CRT, i think its like 16" :P)

I want to know your opinions on if widescreen is worth it.

Im currently obsessed with Oblivion at the moment, and Call of Duty 2 pops up every now and then - but i AM a fan of older games like Age of Empires (original), Jagged Alliance 2, Diablo 2, etc etc

Firstly, without considering compatibility, is widescreen even worth all the hype? (and i realise this IS an opinion based question)
Secondly, will widescreen create any problems with playing earlier games at non-widescreen resolutions? What happens - will the monitor stretch the image, or leave blank areas on the sides?

Im also going to get a TV-Tuner later down the track somewhere, so i can record stuff directly onto my HDD, maybe put it on my ipod.
With THIS consideration, is widescreen a better bet, or will it create problems?

Thanks in advance :)

[shadowpr]

here is a link that wil;l help with figuring out games: http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/wiki/index.php?title=Master_Games_List_-_A

personally, i like my wide screen.

i can only assume that if a program doesn't work with widescreen then it will just leave black bars on the side. (only an assumption)

[Lespaul20]

After switching to a Widescreen earlier this year I can say I wont ever switch back. Looking at a standard monitor now just looks weird.

Secondly, will widescreen create any problems with playing earlier games at non-widescreen resolutions? What happens - will the monitor stretch the image, or leave blank areas on the sides?

Usually the non widescreen image will be stretched. A few here have said they don't noticed it, all of my game work in WS.

Im also going to get a TV-Tuner later down the track somewhere, so i can record stuff directly onto my HDD, maybe put it on my ipod.
With THIS consideration, is widescreen a better bet, or will it create problems?

Depends on what you plan on recording. Usually what resolution your tuner records is independent to what monitor you have.