DVI/HDTV/X1600PRO...?

[chazdraves]

Allrighty. I entered this "Digital Era" just shortly ago when I purchased my first HDTV. Having scoffed off the Xbox 360 as a mere pretender to the throne, I decided it was time to assemble a computer truly worth owning...

All that aside. I now have a Radeon X1600 PRO 512MB hooked up to my 26" Samsung via DVI. I honestly had no idea my TV could put out an image where I can actually read text at 1280x720... The only problem I have now is that my screen geometry is a little off. This is completely fine in games, but it's a little harder to work with when I can't even see my task bar during a Windows session... I thought the drivers would allow you to make such adjustments, but apparently not.

The question then: How do I shrink down the image so it lines up with my screen?

A Very Many Thanks!
- Chaz

 

[chazdraves]

I did some tweaking with both PowerStrip and the advanced settings on the "Catalyst Control Center" but I can't seem to get any custom resolution to work with my television... the irony is, if I went back to the S-Video connection I was using, I'd be able to use any resolution I want. However, with the fancy-schmancy DVI input I'm totally screwed (it would seem). Anytime I try a res that is not 480,720, or 1080 I lose all signal... There has to be others who have had this problem... Any ideas? I don't care if the overscan continues to exist, just so long as the things I need to see aren't included in the overscan.

Many Thanks,
- Chaz

 

[Childs]

Thats strange. My 5200 outputs 1280x720 via DVI just fine to my Syntax Olevia 30". How about using VGA?

 

[chazdraves]

It's a wonderful thought... but my Samsung doesn't support VGA in...

- Chaz

 

[chazdraves]

I've actually gone back to the S-Video/Component adapter that came with the card as the overscan is only a couple percent instead of about 15% with the DVI...

Anyone?
- Chaz

 

[Childs]

Originally posted by: chazdraves
It's a wonderful thought... but my Samsung doesn't support VGA in...

- Chaz

But you probably have a VGA to DVI adapter right? I did that, as my PC at the time was 10ft from the TV and I was too cheap to buy a 10 ft DVI cable, so I bought a VGA one and used the adapter.

 

[chazdraves]

Ah... I understand now what you mean...

I do have the adapter which came with the card, but I do not have a VGA cable. On that same note: would that work any differently than what I'm using now?

Thanks,
- Chaz

 

[Childs]

Depends. ATI cards seem to have a problem with widescreen via DVI. Most people, from what I've read, have to use powerstrip to get it working. VGA maybe a better route. I don't notice that a big difference between using DVI2VGA adapter and regular DVI on my 5200. If anything, using the VGA port on my tv seemed a bit warmer.

If you check the HTPC forum on avsforum.com you can probably find a real solution.

 

[chazdraves]

I'll keep it in mind.

Any other views/ideas? Anyone?

- Chaz

 

[chazdraves]

*sigh*...

Nobody?

- Chaz

 

[L00PY]

Are you using the latest Catalyst drivers? There's an option that lets you resize a rectangle to eliminate overscan. What happens when you try that?

 

[chazdraves]

I used it and it created a custom resolution for me. When I set that resolution, my screen goes blank. By my understanding, this happens because the refresh rate for that resolution is out of my TV's range (I think it comes to about 56.5Hz). If I could use that resolution with a 60Hz rate, I'd be in business (because it fit the screen perfect). I've tried the same thing with Powerstrip and had the same results... Nothin. Screen goes blank "No Signal".

What I need is a program that outputs at 1280x720, but shrinks the amount of the screen that is actually being utilized. It'd be a little wasteful, but it'd do the trick...

Any ideas?

Thanks,
- Chaz

 

[chazdraves]

Guys?

- Chaz