HDTV with the right input

    As a long time media centre user ( nearly 2 years ) i could not wait until I got LCD wide Screen.
I purchased the Samsung 32" LA32M61B witch I thought was a nice looking unit and only cost $2299 AU. 
Of course I explained in detail my intention of connecting the unit to MCE using DVI on my Nvidia 5200.  The sales rep showed me numerous cables and even explained the Difference between HDMI and DVI ( I already knew, just like to hear them say it ).

Well here is the problem, IT DONT WORK! after looking at speks and info in the manual found nice little part that states " DVI does not support PC function". Apparently there is an issue with true 1:1 pixel mapping. When i run the dvi the windows desktop extends pas the edge of the screen and quality aint that great when watching MCE.

My question, after all that drible, is what is a good 32" LCD that will run DVi input using the HDMI cable?
I have found one post stating the LG's are one of the only ones to do so.
Would like some hands on experience from out there. If you have LCD running DVI please let me know what you got

good question, I am going to read your email out on this weeks show, so I will include this question

I know Ian is going to read it out on the show but have you tried using the Nvidia display settings to adjust the screen?

 

BTW I’ve got a 37” LCD LG TV and although the only thing I have plugged in now is a 360 via VGA – DVI (cable supplied with the TV resolution set to 1366 x 768) I did plug the MC into it (and almost everything else I could lay my hands on, as you do) and it worked fine.

According to a Post from green button you got the right LCD. LG is apparently the only LCD with true 1:1 pixel ratio ( according to this article ).  My quest here is to find someone else with this unit that is running HDMI.

I had some small problem with the VGA a few days ago that was wierd. Running the MCE TV setup and going thru the screen sizing and ratio everything was bad. In the screen alignment the larger screen was cutting of the edges and in the aspect ration the outside balls where very oval.

Then all of a sudden it was fine and the Size and Aspect ratio are now perfect, picture looks great.

I am going to try the HDMI again this weekend.  I have downloaded the Powerstrip program mentioned on episode #56 and will see if i can use that to correct overscann issues I have.

Cheers!

I have never had this issue with a Nvidia card, but for the life me ATI cards don't want to play fair.

A solution to your issue may be to set the display settings in Windows instead of inside Media Center. You can set the display settings inside of Windows by opening up the Nvidia display console and seaching for a setting that allows you to select your LCD as HDTV. Doing this will open up a submenu for HDTV, called overscan adjustment, allowing you to "squeeze or expand" the image to the size of your display. It works perfectly, but the routine is a little tricky. I would advise against powerstrip. Its very complicated and besides Nvidia includes an excellent display settings console.

Once you have set it up in windows, run the display setting in Media Center. Media Center should detect the values from the settings in Windows. Complete the routine and you should now be able to enjoy that spiffy new LCD of yours.

Hi, I thought I'd give you this site address http://www.svconline.com/mag/avinstall_mapping_future_lcd/index.html

This is a very technical explaination of pixel mapping in relation to LCD projectors,but the information is equally applicable to screens.

Another way around the problem may be a HDMI card,here is a connect to a HTPC News site.

http://www.boxgods.com/dept/htpc-sff/index.php?Action=Article&ID=215http://www.boxgods.com/dept/htpc-sff/index.php?Action=Article&ID=215 

robwilde:

Well here is the problem, IT DONT WORK! after looking at speks and info in the manual found nice little part that states " DVI does not support PC function". Apparently there is an issue with true 1:1 pixel mapping. When i run the dvi the windows desktop extends pas the edge of the screen and quality aint that great when watching MCE.

Things are getting better on this front but 1:1 mapping is a very big issue for PC users.  This is generally only really an issue if you are displaying the desktop on your screen.  Have you tried using the VGA input?

Check out these forums for a huge amount of detail about 1:1 mapping and which sets do it and which dont (http://www.avforums.com/) bearing in mind that some will only do it via VGA, others will only do it via HDMI if you fudge your connections....

As regards HDMI and DVI, this is still new to the PC world and until there are HDCP compliant HMDI graphics cards I think TVs will not help.  Even when they do it is likely that sets will only accept 720p or 1080i signals which if your screen is 1368x768 means that you do not get 1:1 pixel mapping anyway.