poor image quality WINXP MCE -> Projector

[akuma548]

so, i'm running WindowsXP MCE and i'm connecting to a DLP projector which has a "XGA" resoluton. when connecting my Xbox360 i can output at 720p and the image quality is GREAT (well, i think so anyways) 720p is the highest res the projector will display. anyway, i connected my HVR1600 and i'm not so worried about getting the OTA HDTV signal, mostly just want to watch standard cable tv. If i hook the signal from the coaxial cable to the projector, the image is exactly what one would expect, perfect. some reason, i'm guessing it's a scaling problem, when the signal comes from my PC via the VGA cable the quality of the image is "el crap-o" (unless i watch it in a window).
I am currently running in 1280x1024 but can go much higher, i found this so far has the best quality. i believe the max is 1440x1330... something like that... (no at home at the moment. sorry)

so, i guess basicly i need to know what i'm doing wrong, if my hardware not up to the task, should i connect via a DVI cable, or am i just stuck with a low quality this way?

Thanks guys.

so i thought all that stuff i put in while registering was going to show up...
my sys specs...
amd64 X2 4200
1gb DDR kit
Nvidia XFX 6800 256mb
1Tb of disk space
any other info you need?

[jagabo]

Run your computer at the projector's native resolution. 1024x768.

[akuma548]

ok, max is 1400 x 1050
tried all settings from 640x480 all the way up, all looks the same, real fuzzy. thanks for the tip, but does not seem to do the trick.

[jagabo]

It might also be necessary to set the vertical refresh rate to 60 Hz.

[akuma548]

well, thanks again jagabo. if there was any change i cannot see it. i've been messing with these settings for a while now... "ahhhhh" lol. It's not so bad that it's unwatchable or anything, it just doesn't have the clarity that it does if i bypass the pc... I tried using an svidieo connection, that really messed up the color. interesting, maybe it makes sence to someone here, but when I play a dvd through the pc quality is exactly as it should be, perfect just like i had a seperate dvd player, or like when i have the cable box connected. although when i'm on the desktop some of the text on the top of the screen is a little blury, but at the bottom everything is exactly as if i was viewing on my LCD.

[jagabo]

when I play a dvd through the pc quality is exactly as it should be, perfect just like i had a seperate dvd player, or like when i have the cable box connected.

DVD is a low resolution source so that isn't really telling you anything.

when i'm on the desktop some of the text on the top of the screen is a little blury, but at the bottom everything is exactly as if i was viewing on my LCD.

That indicates there is something wrong with your projector's focus.

When using a VGA cable the best picture should come when you run your computer at the projector's native resolution. Any other size will be scaled by the projector and will get blurred or otherwise distorted. If you projector is really XGA its native resolution is 1024x768. You should verify the native resolution of your projector.

[akuma548]

currently running in 1024x768 at 60Hz have also tried 75 (both appear the same.)

regarding the focus, wouldn't this also be the case when watching tv driectly from the box? (which is perfect)

here are the specs on the projector, right from optomas' site...

Resolution: (looks like i was a bit mistaken...)
SVGA (800 x 600) Native
SXGA+ (1400 x 1050) Maximum

Computer Compatibility: (here is where that "XGA" came from)
XGA, SVGA, VGA, SXGA+ Resized, VESA, PC and Macintosh Compatible

Video Compatibility:
NTSC, PAL, SECAM, SDTV (480i), EDTV (408p), HDTV (720p, 1080i)

Horizontal Scan Rate:
15-100 kHz

Vertical Refresh Rate:
56-85 Hz

thanks again for your time and patience with me.

just noticed one additional thing... it says max color is 24bit my depth is 32. problem? i can only choose between (16 or 32)

[jagabo]

regarding the focus, wouldn't this also be the case when watching tv driectly from the box? (which is perfect)

Yes, but compared to a computer's high resolution VGA output a standard definition video source is very blurry (about 480x480). You may not notice a little additional blurring if your picture is blurry to start with.

here are the specs on the projector, right from optomas' site...

Resolution: (looks like i was a bit mistaken...)
SVGA (800 x 600) Native
SXGA+ (1400 x 1050) Maximum

Then the clearest picture you will get will be at 800x600. You can test this by putting up a full screen of very small text (say, 8 point text in Wordpad). Here's a good monitor test program that will help you get set up correctly:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=960

Try the focus, resolution, moire and readability tests at different screen resolutions.

just noticed one additional thing... it says max color is 24bit my depth is 32. problem? i can only choose between (16 or 32)

That's OK. 32 bit color on graphics cards is 24 bit color (8 bits each of red, green, and blue) and 8 bits unused (or alpha channel). The signal put out by the card is the same as in 24 bit mode.

[akuma548]

Thanks again for all of your help. I have decided to go the "easy way". I am now using the xbox360 as a "media extender" and all works well. I keep the xbox in HD res and it scales the tv to ba a smaller box in the middle... a little annoying, but the picture is clear. When I get a little more motivation I will play with those setting you spoke of and see how it works.