Need PC to Plasma Monitor Resolution Help….

[Level15]

Hey all,
Just recently connected my pc to my 50” plasma and need help with the resolution. OK, here goes, when I play a DVD in the DVD drive the image is sharp but the picture is not as bright as when I play it in the DVD player. (Kind of dark)

I am using XBMC as my media player but have tried a couple of others. (I have already played with the settings in XBMC w/no luck) I have the pc connected via a VGA cable and my monitor has a native resolution of 1365 x 768 with a capability to output 1080p and my video card is a Radeon 9600 SEC Family. To the best I can tell I have a DVI-I Dual link connection on this video card. I also think that this card has a max resolution of 1024 x 768. I have already tried to change the settings on PC monitor and could not set resolution to match Monitor.

So the question is how do I get the DVD to look as good via my pc drive as it looks on my DVD player? Do I need to change my video card so that it matches the resolution of my monitor or try to connect pc via DVI to HDMI or both and BTW, my OS is windows XP w/service pack 3 , 2.6 ghtz Pentium 4 and 1.5tb of free space. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[edDV]

Hey all,
Just recently connected my pc to my 50” plasma and need help with the resolution. OK, here goes, when I play a DVD in the DVD drive the image is sharp but the picture is not as bright as when I play it in the DVD player. (Kind of dark)

I am using XBMC as my media player but have tried a couple of others. (I have already played with the settings in XBMC w/no luck) I have the pc connected via a VGA cable and my monitor has a native resolution of 1365 x 768 with a capability to output 1080p and my video card is a Radeon 9600 SEC Family. To the best I can tell I have a DVI-I Dual link connection on this video card. I also think that this card has a max resolution of 1024 x 768. I have already tried to change the settings on PC monitor and could not set resolution to match Monitor.

So the question is how do I get the DVD to look as good via my pc drive as it looks on my DVD player? Do I need to change my video card so that it matches the resolution of my monitor or try to connect pc via DVI to HDMI or both and BTW, my OS is windows XP w/service pack 3 , 2.6 ghtz Pentium 4 and 1.5tb of free space. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Oh my what a mess.

First define "looks on my DVD player". Do you mean a DVD player connected to the plasma TV? By what method and what resolution?

First thoughts:

If all you can get out of a Radeon 9600 is 1024x768, you need to update the Radeon driver. Levels can be set in the Radeon control panel. But, I doubt you will ever get to equal quality of a good DVD player connected analog component or HDMI to your plasma.

[Level15]

Thanks for replying. first they are standard DVDs and the player is connected via an S-Video cable to the plasma monitor with audio through a 5.1 receiver, of course the image is good and bright, much like one would expect from standard DVDs.


you mention updating the drivers, can they be update to accept a resolution of 1365 x 768? and how would I go about getting them or should I invest in a new card? what about the connection, is the VGA cable good enough or should I buy a DVI to HDMI cable as well and use that instead?

[edDV]

First connect the DVD player to TV with analog component cables (Y, Pb, Pr) and enjoy a much improved picture.

ATI Radeon 9600 drivers here.
http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/Legacy/Pages/radeonaiw_xp.aspx?type=2.4....3&lang=English

You can connect it VGA or via a DVI-D to HDMI adapter or cable. Resolution choices off 1366x768 or 1360x768 will be available with current drivers. Use the Catalyst control panel to set levels.

The P4 and 9600 card will support DVD playback.

[jagabo]

Your plasma may not accept more than 1024x768 via VGA. It can use the EDID data pins of the connector to indicate this to the computer.

Color standards on computer monitors are different than on televisions. Use the video proc amp feature of your graphics card to adjust video (not Desktop) colors to your liking. Some players have proc amps you can adjust too.

[Level15]

OK, looks like I have my project for the day. I'm all over this today, will report back ASAP. Thanks for the feedback edDV.

Jagabo, I'm not sure how to access the proc amp feature of the card, can you point me in the right direction.

Thanks again guys for all your help so far.

[jagabo]

Jagabo, I'm not sure how to access the proc amp feature of the card, can you point me in the right direction.

It's in the NVIDIA Control Panel. Under Video -> Adjust video color settings.

[Level15]

Thanks, I think I found it. My card is not a NVIDIA, its a ATI Radeon but I found where the video adjustments can be made. Thanks again for the help.

[Level15]

Thanks guys for all the help. The resolution has improved over what it was with your help.