Sony HDTV, DVI Input Connector, and Media PC

[DJRumpy]

I've got a 57" HDTV, that has a DVI input connector. This connector seems to give a much better picture than the component inputs on my HDTV. The only problem is the output resolution. For some reason, my media pc only looks right when displayed at 640x480. If you bump the resolution up, it will display it, but it resembles a laptop display that is stretched to a non-native display format (fonts look blocky, etc).

The display card is an ATI 9800 All in Wonder, which should easily meet the high res input needs for my HDTV, but switching to those higher resolutions just looks bad.

Has anyone else tried a setup like this, or have any suggestions?

[flaninacupboard]

if it's a wide HDTV then i expect it wants a wide resolution. what ones have you tried?

[DJRumpy]

I tried some of the standard DVD resolutions (720x480, 704x480, 852x480), none of which looked right (moving the mouse caused the entire screen to 'flicker'). I have a large variety of tv/dvd compatible resolutions supported by the card, but I'm not sure which I should be aiming for. The DVI direct to the TV does seem to work properly as far as synch timing and such. It even detects the fact that it's hooked up to a 'Sony' display, but the only one I've found that looks right is 640x480.

[flaninacupboard]

well what is HDTV resolution? 1440*960?

googled, looks like it's 1920x1080 - give that a whirl! i know it's a silly question, but what does the TV manual say?

[DJRumpy]

The manual isn't that nice
It doesn't list out the display modes that I can use, just the standards. I suspect the DVI connector isn't outputting what the DVI connector on my HDTV is expecting. At least not entirely.

I found an excellent thread which I'm reading as we speak:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=3da263ec57fe287932a9314e132308ed&threa...light=sony+dvi

While browsing for an answer, I also came across a program called PowerStrip, which looks like it may be right up my alley. It allows you to configure the DVI connector output directly. It also comes with a ton of pre-configured modes (including the HDTV modes, like:
1280x720p
1920x540p
1440x540p
960x540p
1920x1080i
etc...

I'll just have to try the HDTV Standard modes, and see what I get.

[DJRumpy]

Just a follow up. The program worked perfectly, enabling pretty much any valid HDTV resolutions.

[flaninacupboard]

why not write a guide

[DJRumpy]

Ugh..another guide?

I don't know if something like this would interest that many people. I don't know if DVI connectors for TV's are even common. The bulk of the work was discussed in the thread URL I posted. The PowerStrip software does all of the work.

The only thing I could possibly add would be the use of Zoom Player for the player software. It allows you to scale your video both vertically, and horizontally. You can also move the image as a whole around the screen, all of which can be great for Widescreen HDTV's.

If I do another guide, it would probably be a AC3 5.1 DivX/XviD to DVD conversion, using AVISynth + CCE, or possibly a DVD to DivX (AC3 5.1) guide.

[flaninacupboard]

oh, so using zoom you can watch 1:1 material and resize for a 16:9 display, neat.

[DJRumpy]

Yes. It allows fully independent scaling, both horizontally, and vertically. If any of you own a widescreen TV, your probably already frustrated with the fact that the widescreen options for today's common media players are somewhat lacking.

It offers a few preset aspect ratios, which usually give you the output you want, plus the flexability of manully enlarging/shrinking, etc. The other thing I like is the fact that you can custom configure both the mouse, and keyboard keys to handle these sorts of functions. The options list isn't for the faint of heart though! It will also let you specify a playback resolution, so your 640x272 DivX file isn't scaled to 1024x1280, or whatever resolution you happen to work in. Seems odd that most players don't do this, rather they attempt to scale the video to 2 and sometimes even three times it's normal playback size

[flaninacupboard]

that actually sounds rather handy then, i have a PC connected up to my wide set and the aspect ratio thing has been annoying me! i'll take at look at it...

[DJRumpy]

Just be aware than when your trying to zoom vertically, or horizontally, I've found that some of the Aspect Ratio modes will override your zoom controls, allowing you to only zoom in one or the other. The Disabled 'fit to window' option will allow you full use of both horz, and vertical though.

I also found out last night that once you get your screen centered and zoomed to whatever you need, you can save those settings. You'll find it under the 'PRESETS' settings (right click, options -> presets ). Just click the 'Store Presets' button on the Video tab to save the video's zoom, horizontal, and vertical location. Number Keys 0-9 will recall your stored settings.

Great piece of software!