PC to LCD TV

[chris2468]

I recently connected my PC to my Samsung LCD TV via a DVI-to-HDMI cable and am having some problems. The desktop image is too big for the TV screen. Is this due to problems with the settings or does this mean that this type of connection is not supported by the TV? I have the geforce 7900 GT video card that has dual DVI outputs and my TV has both a VGA connection and an HDMI connection on it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[joepic]

I recently connected my PC to my Samsung LCD TV via a DVI-to-HDMI cable and am having some problems. The desktop image is too big for the TV screen. Is this due to problems with the settings or does this mean that this type of connection is not supported by the TV? I have the geforce 7900 GT video card that has dual DVI outputs and my TV has both a VGA connection and an HDMI connection on it.

I have the same problem using a 6600GT video card connected to my 50" Panny via a DVI to HDMI cable. Windozs XP screen is slightly bigger than the 1280 x 720 display.

I don't know if going to Windozs XP MEC would allow any screen adjustments?

[joepic]

I believe this is the answer to resize our displays:

PowerStrip provides massive control over your graphics hardware, including sophisticated color correction tools, period level adjustments over screen geometry, and driver independent clock controls. PowerStrip is the absolute gold-standard across a broad spectrum of users from gamers to home theater enthusiasts.

http://entechtaiwan.net/

[chris2468]

If you try using PowerStrip, could you let me know how it works. I'm using my vga connection right now because the oversized display is kind-of annoying. Thanks.

[edDV]

The problems you have can be solved in your display card software.

The DVI and HDMI inputs use overscan like all TV sets. You need to shrink the desktop to fit inside the overscan area. DVI-D/HDMI is the hard way to go. Most LCD-TV sets have VGA connectors intended for computers and video game consoles. These usually don't overscan so you can see the entire desktop without zooming (resulting in quality loss).

Feed the VGA port with the closest match to the display's native resolution. Usually this is 1366x768 (WXGA). Check the TV specs.

[joepic]

The problems you have can be solved in your display card software.

The DVI and HDMI inputs use overscan like all TV sets. You need to shrink the desktop to fit inside the overscan area. DVI-D/HDMI is the hard way to go. Most LCD-TV sets have VGA connectors intended for computers and video game consoles. These usually don't overscan so you can see the entire desktop without zooming (resulting in quality loss).

Feed the VGA port with the closest match to the display's native resolution. Usually this is 1366x768 (WXGA). Check the TV specs.

Thanks for your input.

The problem is the HTPC is connected to the HDMI input on the TV so that I can watch DVD's, Blu-ray or HD DVD movies also not just the Windows XP desptop where the problem is. To get the full resolution of 1080P you must have an HDCP connection to the monitor. Using the VGA input defeats the great quality.

I believe it all comes down to video drivers and overscan. I am going to upgrade my video card from an Nvidia 6600 to the new 8800. I have seen some comments that a version of Nvidia's drivers did fix the overscan but the latest version broke it again!

The Official 100% HDCP ready video card list
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1071342

As you can see from the image below my current video card does not support Blu-ray or HD DVD.
The software to test your PC is available at:

CyberLink BD / HD Advisor
http://www.cyberlink.com/multi/support/bdhd_support/diagnosis

[edDV]

Very few display cards, if any, support HDCP properly for Blu-Ray or HDDVD. Are you saying you currently have a HD DVD player in your HTPC? This would be bleeding edge and asking for trouble.

Wait to buy a new display card until all the HDCP bugs are worked out, independently tested and priced reasonably. To make HD/BD DVD playback to work in a PC, the drive, display card and HDTV all need to work together with flawless decryption.

ATI and NVidia have abandoned all hope for the installed base of "HDCP ready" cards. They won't fix them unless some class action suit is successful*. I'd bet the same will be true for the new cards. They will have bugs that will never be fixed.

*success might be a $20 coupon to buy a new card.