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Why is my screen resolution so big and words so small?

How can I increase the screen resolution of the TV I'm using for a Monitor

  • How might I resolve my resolution confusion? OK Hive mind. I give up. I've been banging my head against this problem for hours and now I find myself, humbly, looking for guidance. So I just got a nice LG 42" or so TV for free since a ton of them were donated to my work. I don't really watch a lot of TV aside from on my computer, so I decided to try and set it up as my monitor. Here's the problem. I can't seem to get the resolution to go any higher than 1024x768. I feel that this shouldn't be the case. I'm running Windows 7 x64. The graphics card is a (what I understand to be fairly decent) NVIDA GeForce 7900 GTX. I'm running that with a DVI-HDMI cable to the TV. I tried installing the latest drivers for the graphics card. But even from its fancy-little control panel thingy, the highest resolution available is 1024x768 (native). (addendum: I know enough about what I'm doing to know that "native" indicates something important, but I'm not yet quite sure what) To confound matters further, as I was fumbling with my connections like a 12 year old trying to undo a bra for the first time, there was a strange occurrence. When I switched the DVI plug from one input to the other (the graphics card seems to have two of them), the options on the screen changed. I was rewarded for my fumblings with a vast list of resolution options to play with. Briefly, I rejoiced. However, to my frustration, most of those tantalizing resolution settings remained beyond my reach, as selecting them would only cause the screen to go black, and the words "no input" to dance merrily around my screen, mocking me. In the end, the only new settings I could use were 1152x768 and 1280x854, which struck me as a small improvement, although soured by the fact that everything was unpleasantly squished. I suspect that to be due to the fact that both of those resolutions are intended for a 3:2 aspect ratio http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Display_resolution whereas my TV can be set only to 16:9 or 4:3. I suppose I should have settled for one of them but I continued to poke and prod and fiddle and fumble with settings like a horse attempting hand surgery, and now both DVI inputs yield naught but the disheartening resolution of 1024x768 and it's vile lackey, 800x600. If I can't figure this out, then I suppose I'll just procure a SNES or something to make the TV useful, and return to my more modestly sized monitor. But perhaps, with the help of the hive mind, my nerdy and over-sized ambitions can be realized. Thanks kindly.

  • Answer:

    I feel that this shouldn't be the case. Why do you feel this? Could you supply the model number of the TV in question?

sarastro at Ask.Metafilter.Com Visit the source

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http://www.hdtvsolutions.com/LG_Electronics-37LC5DC.htm It claims that the native resolution is 1366 x 768. I tried putting those figures in the custom resolution thingy, but it didn't accept it either. Could it have anything to do with the set frame refresh rate? I have it at 75hz.

sarastro

http://entechtaiwan.com/util/ps.shtm will let you do magic with resolutions / custom resolutions etc. Runs great on Windows 7 Home Premium x64 for me, with a DVI-DVI cable to my TV. Please note that this tv could only be 720p, which is 1280x720 max. Google the model number of the TV to find out.

defcom1

Oh, resolution should be 60Hz, if it's a standard LCD panel. Powerstrip will let you set the output to 1366x768

defcom1

Alas, installing powerstrip didn't help. Even after selecting the 1366/768 setting and restarting the computer, it's not available on the selection list, and I'm still stuck at 1024x768

sarastro

enable overscan?

rr

I confess I don't know what it means to enable overscan. Can you elaborate? Also, for some reason now I can no longer adjust my frame refresh rate (its stuck at 60) and the image from certain things (like games on steam) is now horribly grainy and oversharpened. Not quite sure what's going on with that. i think i'll just start downloading ubuntu now

sarastro

addendum: I know enough about what I'm doing to know that "native" indicates something important, but I'm not yet quite sure what LCDs don't work the same way as CRTs (tube-type monitors). In many ways the old-fashioned tube monitors were actually better than LCDs, and this is one of them: CRTs don't have native resolutions, LCDs do. What's native? Native means hard-wired. LCDs are physically constructed with a specific resolution in mind. You might be able to run in a different resolution, but it won't look nearly as sharp. With LCDs, you basically are stuck having to watch them at their native resolution for optimum quality. The reason your video card isn't working is because either it thinks it's connected to a computer monitor instead of a television, OR your television thinks it's being used as a computer monitor, and is defaulting to a "standard" computer monitor resolution. You need to be 1366x768 @ 60p. The refresh rate should be whatever the default is; LCD panels are typically 60 or 75 Hz. It doesn't matter like it does with a CRT because LCDs don't "refresh" in the same way (there's no electron beam scanning up and down the panel). I think the problem is probably with your TV: see if you can force a video mode instead of letting it auto-detect.

Civil_Disobedient

The product description doesn't list VGA or DVI inputs. How are you plugging the computer into the TV? Through DVI -> HDMI?

qxntpqbbbqxl

The device tells the graphics card what resolutions it supports. That's why when you switched plugs suddenly every resolution was enabled, because there was no longer anything connected to that port telling the graphics card what it can accept, so it defaults to everything. If the only thing on the list is 1024x768 then that's because that's what the display is reporting. You need to mess about in the buttons/menus of the display; the problem is not at the computer end. Try pressing the RATIO button on the remote to force 16:9 and then see if 1366x768 is offered. qxntpqbbbqxl, the OP says he's using a DVI-HDMI cable in the post.

Rhomboid

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