How do I set the aspect ratio so pics look right on my new LCD monitor?

[johnsees]

I hope this is real simple and stupid! I've been playing with this thing for a while now and can't figure it out. It's a Hannspree 19" monitor, 1400x900 native resolution. It seems to work fine but my photos are stretched out horizontally. I've set the WinXP screen resolution (1152x864) so it's at the same ratio as my previous monitor (1024x768) but the photos still aren't right. I think the same is happening with videos, but that's not as obvious, since there are no photos of me or my wife in the videos!
When my in-laws first got their wide-screen tv, I noticed that everything looked stretched and distorted. So what's up with this? How do I get my photos to look right on this monitor?
Oh, and the manual is more or less useless; doesn't mention this at all.
Thanks

[guns1inger]

If this is a computer monitor then you should set your PC to 1400 x 900, and everything should be OK.

What software are you using to display the photos and video ?

If you are using a DVD player then it should be set to output 16:9 (widerscreen, not letterboxed). If your TV doesn't automatically signal switch, you may have to manually override it when watching some 4:3 programming. I know I have to switch my TV display to 4:3 when watching 1.33 discs or else it distorts. However if this is only a PC monitor then you should have no such problem.

[johnsees]

uh... 1400x900 isn't an option in WinXP, as far as I know. You're given certain choices to choose from, and 1400x900 isn't one of them.

I've been using Irfanview for photos for years, but I also have a photo of my wife on the desktop. It looked fine with the old monitor. I used Nero for the video.

[guns1inger]

If it isn't an option then you need to update your drivers for your video card. Widescreen monitors have been around a while now, and the current drivers all cater for them.

Software will display correctly once you sort out the driver issue. Wallpaper may not. You may have to either change the way it is displayed in the wallpaper settings, or crop the image to 16:9 proportions so it looks OK as wallpaper.

I have no sympathy for you if you use Nero Showtime for watching videos. It could be doing anything.

[FulciLives]

You need a new video card or graphics card!

1400x900 is indeed a "proper" resolution but I am guessing that your video/graphics card does not "do" this resolution.

Must be an old piece of hardware *shrugs*

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[johnsees]

Bummer, man!
The video is built in to the motherboard! I've already searched for new drivers and didn't find them.
Oh, well. So, I get that new video card and everything's great, huh?

[Bjs]

Do not forget about default resolutions when it comes to screens, its normally noted on the manufacturers sticker on the back of the units.

[johnsees]

I found a web site that has drivers for my video adapter (SiS760). Seems cheaper to try that than to buy a new card, but if the driver screws something up, can it be fixed by buying a new video card?

[SCDVD]

If you buy a new video card, you will need to disable the on board video on your motherboard. Otherwise you will have problems.

[redwudz]

As long as you can still see the screen after a video driver update, easy enough to revert to the old driver. Worst case, boot in Safe Mode and you can just remove the driver as it will not load.

I assume you also went to your monitor page in video displays and unchecked, 'Hide modes that this monitor cannot support' to see what resolutions your card is capable of?

I have a wide screen 22" monitor and my video drivers insist on 1600 X 1200, which is incorrect. The correct 1680 X 1050 is not shown as a option. I finally had to install a monitor driver from the monitor manufacturer and then the correct resolution showed up. But if your onboard video card is not capable of displaying 1400 X 900 at 32 bits and a refresh rate of 60Hz, then you may have to add a video card. But even an inexpensive one would probably give you better performance than the on-board SIS chipset.

[johnsees]

If you buy a new video card, you will need to disable the on board video on your motherboard. Otherwise you will have problems.

Is this a software thing, or a jumper on the motherboard?
Thanks

[johnsees]

As long as you can still see the screen after a video driver update, easy enough to revert to the old driver. Worst case, boot in Safe Mode and you can just remove the driver as it will not load.

So I'll be able to see the screen in Safe Mode, even if I can't in regular mode?

I assume you also went to your monitor page in video displays and unchecked, 'Hide modes that this monitor cannot support' to see what resolutions your card is capable of?

Actually, I didn't find this, but I did find a "list of valid modes". 1400x900 isn't in there; not even close.

[neomaine]

It probably is just a software thing. Did your monitor come with a disc with drivers? If so, you should install them and more then likely you should be all set. Your onboard video only needs to know what resolutions are available. Normally, PNP monitors will take care of this for you.

Have you tried to run Windows Update? Many times updated drivers will be available there for your hardware. Maybe not full fledged drivers with all the bells and whistles but enough to get the basics like native resolution setup.

Either way, you shouldn't need a new investment into a video card. You'll probably have the same problem until you get the right drivers for your monitor.

Oh, and you better get it fixed quick...don't want the missus to see a picture of herself that's wider then she really is!

[johnsees]

It probably is just a software thing. Did your monitor come with a disc with drivers? If so, you should install them and more then likely you should be all set. Your onboard video only needs to know what resolutions are available. Normally, PNP monitors will take care of this for you.

The disk is for Vista only. One reviewer using WinXP reported installing the drivers on the disk and he lost his display entirely.

Have you tried to run Windows Update? Many times updated drivers will be available there for your hardware. Maybe not full fledged drivers with all the bells and whistles but enough to get the basics like native resolution setup.

Yep, tried Windows Update, it didn't find anything.
Thanks

[SingSing]

Look like your video card did not auto-detect the new monitor's 1400x900 resolution. If the monitor come with a driver Cd, then install that, else you need a new video card, or new MotherBoard.

[SCDVD]

If you buy a new video card, you will need to disable the on board video on your motherboard. Otherwise you will have problems.

Is this a software thing, or a jumper on the motherboard?
Thanks

Go into BIOS setup as you boot. You should see a message on the screen shortly after you turn power on that tells you which key to press to enter setup. The most common key is "Del" but it can be others with some BIOS. After the setup screen appears, navigate through it to see if it has the provision to disable on board video. If so, select disable.

[redwudz]

What's the highest video setting you see available in the 'Adapter' tab?

The check box for 'Hide modes that this monitor cannot support' is at the bottom of the 'Monitor' tab, to the right past the 'Adapter' tab in 'Advanced Settings..'. . But I'm guessing your on-board video doesn't have that resolution available, or it would show a resolution close or higher than the one you need.

But you can go to the motherboard manufacturer and download the latest VGA driver. If that still doesn't give you what you need, try installing a monitor driver if your monitor came with one. You can also uninstall your existing video driver and reboot. I have to do that at times when my new resolution isn't recognized. Windows will reinstall the driver on reboot and it may automatically find the right settings, if your card is capable of outputting them.

If all that fails, consider a add-on video card. You will have to find out what type your motherboard uses, AGP, PCI-E, PCI or other types. Your motherboard manual should tell you which one it can use. Install the card, and go to BIOS when you turn on the computer. There should be a setting to select your new card. Make sure your monitor is already plugged into it. Most motherboards should switch to the new card automatically, but I would still select it in BIOS. If your monitor doesn't display with the new card, plug it into the old card, then change the BIOS settings and try the new card again.

BTW, what is your motherboard brand and model? That might make this a bit easier. You can DL CPU-Z and it should list it:
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php Or try SIW for lots more information about your MB and system. http://www.gtopala.com/ Both have freeware versions.

[johnsees]

Well, this has been an experience! I found my motherboard (ASUS Salmon, otherwise known as K8S-LA) and thought I found a new video driver. Apparently I was wrong. Downloaded and installed it, no change. But when I uninstalled it, my video slowly started going haywire, and then the whole computer. Eventually, I had trouble even booting; sometimes it would, sometimes it wouldn't. Tried all kinds of things...Windows System Restore (Does that thing ever work for anybody? It never has for me!), uninstalling the video in the Hardware Manager, lots of stuff for hours and hours. Finally wound up restoring from my backups, unfortunately that only partially worked. (I've used that at least 10 times in the past 10 years or so, and it's always worked perfectly until now!) And, of course, after the restore, Norton didn't work anymore, so it's been a fun 2 days!

Anyway, I'm going to get a new video card now. But I'm still unsure about one thing: I found the motherboard specs at the HP website http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00257657&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=...product=443737, and it looks like you have to change a jumper when you add a video card, but I don't see the actual jumper on the drawing, and I also don't see it on my own board! Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

I appreciate all the info. I really thought I was going to get away with just adding a driver, but I sure don't want to try it again.
Thanks again.

[aedipuss]

what is the model number of the monitor? they make both 4:3 and 16/9 type lcds.

until the make and model number show up in the video driver's monitor section widescreen choices of resolution won't be displayed.

you really need the inf file for that monitor. even a new video card will require it to display 1400x900.

[johnsees]

what is the model number of the monitor? they make both 4:3 and 16/9 type lcds.

until the make and model number show up in the video driver's monitor section widescreen choices of resolution won't be displayed.

you really need the inf file for that monitor. even a new video card will require it to display 1400x900.

The model # is HF199H. I explored the CD that came with it, and the rez is actually 1440x900, not 1400x900.
An inf file, huh? In fact, in the CD I found a folder called inf32. It contains a file called "HSD-HF199H XP32-DSUB.cpk", along with some others, one is the same but called VISTA-DSUB. There's also a file, not in that folder, called "HF199H.inf." HOWEVER... when you run the CD, it says specifically that it's for Vista, and I tried the install option, and it doesn't do anything. (I'm using Winxp.) I also tried double-clicking a file called "infinstall.exe" which seems pretty self-explanatory, but nothing happens. I thought there was a way to get Windows to look at the CD, but I can't seem to find it. Is there something I can do with that cpk file or the inf?

[neomaine]

johnsees,

I sent an email to Hanspree suppor telling them I was interested in one of their 19" monitor, and, though they said it had Vista drivers that I was running XP. Here was their response:

Thank you for choosing Hannspree. There are no drivers needed for Windows XP, and in most cases Vista as well, the default monitor driver will work fine.You may need to update your video card drivers if you are unable to use the recommended resolution. Please contact your PC or video card manufacturer for assistance with this procedure if needed. If this does not resolve your issue or if you require further assistance, please contact Customer Service at 888-808-6789 and we will be happy to assist you. Also to download the recommended XP drivers from Microsoft you can go to there webpage at http://www.windowsvista.com

Chris Vargas
Customer Service Rep

I'm a little stumped on getting the XP drivers from www.windowsvista.com, but hey, I've seen worse. I've never been to the site so you're on your own.

[johnsees]

I went to that MS site, and there was a link to downloads for WinXP, but I didn't find anything. I'm not surprised, since I tried to get Windows to update the video driver about 10 times, and every time it went online to find one.

I guess if there's not an update for the computer, and there's not one for WinXP, and Hannspree doesn't have a driver, my only choice is to get a video card with a driver.

Thanks for your efforts.

[johnsees]

well, I have great news and some questions.
I went to the local computer recycling center and bought a Radeon 7000 video card for five whole dollars, plugged it in, and the monitor works great, without installing a new driver.

Question #1: When I went to Control Panel->Display->Settings, the Radeon card was there, with all it's options. I just chose 1440x900, and it worked perfectly. I didn't load a driver, so where did all that info come from? Is it in ROM chips on the card?

Question #2: According to the specs, the card is capable of higher resolutions than 1440x900, but that's the highest one that shows in the Windows display settings. Does it get that info from the monitor?

Last question: I downloaded a driver package from Radeon, which, as I said, I didn't have to install. Since I didn't need it, why would someone else need it?

Thanks for all the help, everybody.

[redwudz]

Windows XP has some 'generic' drivers included and it can use them if nothing else is available. Vista has even more. But you may get a few other resolutions and refresh rates by using the ATI drivers. As long as your refresh rate is 60Hz minimum, with 32bit video (True Color) at your desired resolution, probably no improvement by installing the ATI drivers. BTW, when you boot to 'Safe Mode' those are the very basic drivers, usually only good for 600 X 800.

The Radeon sounds like a good choice for your setup and you can't beat the price.

Not sure how much the monitor communicates with the PC. I needed the correct monitor drivers before my card would work in widescreen mode. Otherwise it would revert if I had to shut down the PC because of a lockup or BSOD. (Blue Screen of Death) A BSOD means you will need a reboot at minimum and possibly will have to go to 'Safe Mode' or BIOS to fix it.

Keep the Radeon drivers handy. It may become useful if your settings change.

[johnsees]

Thanks again.
You said, "As long as your refresh rate is 60Hz minimum".
How do I know? I know the monitor says it does 1440x900 at either 60 or 75, but I don't know about the card. I looked on their web site, and what they had posted wasn't clear enough for me.

[redwudz]

60Hz is fine for LCD monitors. CRT types had a slight flicker at 60Hz, but LCDs don't seem to have that problem. No expert on monitors, but I have yet to see any difference on a LCD monitor between 60 or 70Hz.

If you look at the next tab in your display settings, 'Monitors', it shows the present refresh rate. It's also on your list of available settings. I just leave all mine at 60Hz.

[johnsees]

Okay, in the display settings, it shows 60. I thought maybe the card could do some different rate and I needed to be sure it was set at 60.

Hey, something interesting! A couple days ago, you said something about the monitor page saying "Hide modes that this monitor cannot support." Mine didn't say that, it said something similar. Now it says exactly what you said.

Well, thanks again for the help.