Hi all,

I've been skimming the forums here for some info on how to hook up your PC or laptop to your plasma *and* get the correct aspect ratio. I was surprised to see that I couldn't find any definitive answer or method in a single post. (If there is, let the flaming begin - then tell me where!)

I'm hoping here to nut out and persue the topic here so other people don't have to skim for the info, and so *I* can view my laptop-stored photos on my new Plasma screen.

Now, I'm talking the basics. When I hooked my laptop up (through the D-15 connector) into my VIERA TH-42PX70A 42" , yes I got a picture but the aspect ratio was wrong - squashed flat. (.. and probably no surprise to some of you boffins out there)

Now, after reading someposts here on pixel shape and custom drivers, then experimenting, I failed to get the right aspect ratio happening.

What's the deal? Has anybody got the right info for me?

FM

In post number 1021257 Matthias99 writes...

If you don't have DVI (or HDMI) output on your laptop, your choices are:

1) Composite / S-Video output (480i, S-Video will be somewhat cleaner).

2) VGA out -> a VGA input on the HDTV (I know the VGA inputs on the Panasonics will only take up to 1366x768, but that is still a LOT better than 480i.)

3) If your laptop supports it, VGA out -> VGA->Component adapter -> HD component input on the HDTV. This will usually let you get 720p/1080i, and sometimes 1080p. If your laptop's video card supports it, you can usually get one of these for $20-30. You have to get one that matches your laptop's video subsystem; they aren't generic. As long as you're not trying to do a really long run, the signal quality is often just as good as DVI/HDMI

Yep, this is good enough to get you a picture, but on my Panasonic the aspect ratio is wrong. Can anybody comment on the aspect ration issue?

FM

does the card and tv have the same aspect and refresh rate?

Bandphan,

My Toshiba Tecra A9 is wide screen (10:6) I think with a resolution of 1280x800. I didn't experiment with refresh rates, just resolution.

My Panasonic TH-42PX70A (16:9 as you know) has a resolution of 1024 x 768 which is funny 'cause I thought a 16:9 aspect ratio would demand 1024 x 576. Maybe this is part of my problem?

What's going on here?

FM

match the video card to the displays refresh and resolution. Are you using vga out of the laptop?

Bandphan,

My Toshiba Tecra A9 is wide screen (10:6) I think with a resolution of 1280x800. I didn't experiment with refresh rates, just resolution.

My Panasonic TH-42PX70A (16:9 as you know) has a resolution of 1024 x 768 which is funny 'cause I thought a 16:9 aspect ratio would demand 1024 x 576. Maybe this is part of my problem?

What's going on here?

FM

You have a plasma panel with nonsquare pixels (it is a 16:9 display with a 1024x768 resolution, which is normally a 4:3 AR.) I would not recommend using one of these with a PC!

I don't think that any current PC video chipsets can output a properly 'squashed' or 'stretched' image for this case, at least with the default settings/drivers. I'm not sure if something like Powerstrip would help here; it can force all sorts of custom resolutions/timings, but this is sort of a different problem. You might be able to get the video card to output, say, 1280x720 squashed into a 1024x768 signal. But I don't know if that would be any better than just outputting 720p and letting the TV scale it.

In any case, you can have either 1:1 mapping, or the correct AR, but probably not both at once. PCs don't play well with nonsquare pixels.

In any case, you can have either 1:1 mapping, or the correct AR, but probably not both at once. PCs don't play well with nonsquare pixels.

That's right, you can't have 1:1 and correct aspect ratio on a 1024x768 plasma. It's not the end of the world though. Connect the PC via VGA, then set it to 1360x768. That will give you the correct aspect ratio and it should be perfectly useable.

You don't need to mess with timings or Powerstrip, that's a very standard resolution, and normal 60hz should work fine.

That's right, you can't have 1:1 and correct aspect ratio on a 1024x768 plasma. It's not the end of the world though. Connect the PC via VGA, then set it to 1360x768. That will give you the correct aspect ratio and it should be perfectly useable.

You don't need to mess with timings or Powerstrip, that's a very standard resolution, and normal 60hz should work fine.

I would think that 720p (1280x720, 60Hz) -- also usually a standard resolution these days -- would be better, simply because it's closer to the panel's actual resolution. Also, some HDTVs may play nicer with "HDTV" resolutions rather than PC ones, but maybe that is a nonissue with newer sets.

But 1360 (or 1365/1366) x 768 would probably be about the same, assuming the TV will accept that resolution. I wouldn't push it much higher than that, as the TV would be severely downsampling the image.

I would think that 720p (1280x720, 60Hz) -- also usually a standard resolution these days -- would be better, simply because it's closer to the panel's actual resolution. Also, some HDTVs may play nicer with "HDTV" resolutions rather than PC ones, but maybe that is a nonissue with newer sets.

But 1360 (or 1365/1366) x 768 would probably be about the same, assuming the TV will accept that resolution. I wouldn't push it much higher than that, as the TV would be severely downsampling the image.

1360x768 is actually closer to the native res -- it wouldn't need to scale vertically at all. That's why most 1024x768 plasma recommend that resolution for PCs.

Also depending on the TV it may enable overscan at 1280x720, even over VGA.

1360x768 is actually closer to the native res -- it wouldn't need to scale vertically at all. That's why most 1024x768 plasma recommend that resolution for PCs.

Good point, assuming the scaler is smart enough to do that. If that is the recommended resolution for PCs from the manufacturer, you should use that.

Also depending on the TV it may enable overscan at 1280x720, even over VGA.

Well, that would suck. I'm more used to dealing with fixed-pixel PC monitors, which don't do silly things like overscanning digital signals. :P

In any case, you might want to try it both ways just to see if one works better than the other, or (better yet) look for specific recommendations based on that model of TV from people who have tried it.

You have a plasma panel with nonsquare pixels (it is a 16:9 display with a 1024x768 resolution, which is normally a 4:3 AR.) I would not recommend using one of these with a PC!

I don't think that any current PC video chipsets can output a properly 'squashed' or 'stretched' image for this case, at least with the default settings/drivers. I'm not sure if something like Powerstrip would help here; it can force all sorts of custom resolutions/timings, but this is sort of a different problem. You might be able to get the video card to output, say, 1280x720 squashed into a 1024x768 signal. But I don't know if that would be any better than just outputting 720p and letting the TV scale it.

In any case, you can have either 1:1 mapping, or the correct AR, but probably not both at once. PCs don't play well with nonsquare pixels.

Not recommended, I'm hearing you. But videophile image quality put aside, it would be super convenient to display a correctly shaped image on the panel, even if it's not pixel for pixel and something has to crunch it into shape.

No, I didn't see a lot of love coming from my laptop in terms of facilities to deal with this problem. The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator options look crap-tacular. Under Display Expansion I was excited to see a button for "Aspect Ratio Options" but both "Maintain Aspect Ratio" or "Full Screen" options do nothing. I certainly wouldn't expect that this little click box would be the solution to this problem anyway.

Power strip, yeah I used this when it came out all those years ago and I did load it up two nights ago. I tried to create a custom INF file and load it as "the driver" for "the big monitor" to acheive a particular resolution option in the graphics properties; but I failed to get this working. This is the point where I thought I'd come to you guys. Here we are.

So, no I don't need 1:1 mapping, correct AR will do.

Has any body actually acheived this, or does anybody know how to do it. Did you use PowerStrip or some other software? Has anybody actualy managed to make their graphics card spit out a different resolution that suits the plasma? And does it actually fix the aspect ration issue? Does it look like crap?

Wow, a lot of questions there......

Thanks for your help.

FM

Not recommended, I'm hearing you. But videophile image quality put aside, it would be super convenient to display a correctly shaped image on the panel, even if it's not pixel for pixel and something has to crunch it into shape.

No, I didn't see a lot of love coming from my laptop in terms of facilities to deal with this problem. The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator options look crap-tacular. Under Display Expansion I was excited to see a button for "Aspect Ratio Options" but both "Maintain Aspect Ratio" or "Full Screen" options do nothing. I certainly wouldn't expect that this little click box would be the solution to this problem anyway.

Power strip, yeah I used this when it came out all those years ago and I did load it up two nights ago. I tried to create a custom INF file and load it as "the driver" for "the big monitor" to acheive a particular resolution option in the graphics properties; but I failed to get this working. This is the point where I thought I'd come to you guys. Here we are.

So, no I don't need 1:1 mapping, correct AR will do.

Has any body actually acheived this, or does anybody know how to do it. Did you use PowerStrip or some other software? Has anybody actualy managed to make their graphics card spit out a different resolution that suits the plasma? And does it actually fix the aspect ration issue? Does it look like crap?

Wow, a lot of questions there......

Thanks for your help.

FM


I have done it. It doesn't necesarrily require Powerstrip, just use 1360x768. The aspect ratio is correct, it's just not quite razor sharp. Very usable though.

The "aspect ratio" options are really only relevant to the laptop's internal LCD screen. If you chose "full screen" it would stretch all signals to fill the entire screen, even if it was a different AR. That doesn't apply to an external monitor.

You should be able to do something like the following:

1) Hook up the external VGA (or DVI->HDMI, if you have it) output of your laptop to the TV. You should see the HDTV as a second monitor attached to the system when you go into display properties.

3) Set the resolution of that monitor to 1366x768. (You may have to drill down into the 'Advanced' menus to do this.)

4) Set the external monitor to be the 'primary' display.

It's possible that if your laptop doesn't have a widescreen display, the video chipset on there might not support widescreen output modes by default (although I'm pretty sure that Intel GMA, or at least the GMA9XX, does.) In that case, you might need to use something like Powerstrip to force it to the correct resolution.

Yes, guys. That was my original plan. I used the plasma as an "extended" desktop and I tried it as the primary. I couldn't select that particular resolution.

This is why I had a read at these forums and saw power strip mentioned. Still after creating an INF file and using it, I could not get my graphics properties to allow me to select 1366x768 (which incedentally, was the one I wanted to try out).

So, my issue has become a PC graphics issue. Anybody got any help here?
Looking at all my available "Modes", none of them are the same aspect as 1366x768. So, 1024x768, 1280x768, 1280x800, 1280x1024, 1400x1050 - none of these is the AR of 1366x768.

What is the method of getting my PC to do this?

FM

Yes, guys. That was my original plan. I used the plasma as an "extended" desktop and I tried it as the primary. I couldn't select that particular resolution.

This is why I had a read at these forums and saw power strip mentioned. Still after creating an INF file and using it, I could not get my graphics properties to allow me to select 1366x768 (which incedentally, was the one I wanted to try out).

So, my issue has become a PC graphics issue. Anybody got any help here?
Looking at all my available "Modes", none of them are the same aspect as 1366x768. So, 1024x768, 1280x768, 1280x800, 1280x1024, 1400x1050 - none of these is the AR of 1366x768.

What is the method of getting my PC to do this?

FM

Okay. It looks like your current chipset/driver setup doesn't have that resolution. Cheap integrated graphics FTL.

If you haven't done this, see if there is a driver update for the graphics chip. That might open up some more options.

Powerstrip should be able to get it to output a 16:9 resolution. If the chip supports 1400x1050, it's got the bandwidth for 1366x768. It's just that your current driver isn't explicitly giving you that option. Some really old chipsets could only output resolutions with a certain AR, but I doubt you have a laptop that ancient.

My best suggestion is to try searching for information about people who have tried to do this with the same model of laptop (and/or video chipset) and see what worked for them. You could also try this question on a PC hardware forum like Anandtech (www.anandtech.com), specifically asking about getting a 16:9 video mode out of your laptop. Be sure to mention that you already tried Powerstrip and it didn't seem to be working correctly, as "try powerstrip" will probably be the first response you'd get.

If your laptop offers all those resolutions, it'll probably work with 1360x768 (which is what you'll use, not 1366x768). Most likely the PC is not receiving the TV's DDC information, which tells the laptop what resolution it supports. You can go the powerstrip route.

i tried sending this resolution 1360x768, but for some reason my tv flickers. So i have to send 1024x768 and then scale it with my Media player to 16:9

The "aspect ratio" options are really only relevant to the laptop's internal LCD screen. If you chose "full screen" it would stretch all signals to fill the entire screen, even if it was a different AR. That doesn't apply to an external monitor.


I'm a bit confused about what's going on in the topic, but what can be used to apply this to an external monitor. I have my HDTV on 1280x720, and that fills the screen but I run my games on 640x480 and that doesn't fill the screen. Does anybody know how to fill the screen on the external monitor. Sorry for hijacking the thread.

i have my PC hooked up to my Plasma via HDMI, which runs through my Integra DTC 9.8 receiver, on my ATI HD4870 there is a feature that gives me 1920x1080p resolution with my PC "Predefined and Custom HDTV formats" with resolutions for 1080i panels to 720p panel resolutions, and all are 60hz.
I am us my Pioneer PDP while I am typing this, and let me tell you a 50" size computer screen with high resolution is SWEET.:D