[66Stingray427]

I've checked the guides and scanned over the boards but I still can't find the answers I'm looking for. You'll have to forgive me as I'm brand new to the whole HTPC/HDTV scene so the information may have been there, quite possibly it just went over my head



I'd always avoided PC gaming as I was more the type that would rather sit on a nice comfortable couch and enjoy my console games on a large television, even if it did mean less graphical prowess. However I happened to catch wind that Alienware was coming out with a new line of DHS Media Center based PCs at this years E3 and my interest was piqued. I'm not sure what this formus general consensus is on Alienware and while I do realize I probably could have built a system for less considering my PC experience doesn't extend far beyond surfing, word processing, etc... that wasn't really an option.



Anyway I ordered the flag ship DHS~321 (specs listed below for reference) a couple weeks ago and since that time I've seen a number of people bad mouth the use of a standard HDTV/Monitor as your main display so I wanted to get a second opinion.



The TV in question that will act as my monitor is a 36" Panasonic Tau (CT36HX42). The set supports 480p and 1080i (sadly no native 720p). The Alienware DHS will be hooked up via standard component cables.


Given that information what types of resolutions can I expect to run the latest games in?? I tried speaking with one of the Alienware Sales Consultants via their "live chat" on the official site and was given the run around when inquiring about the resolutions until he finally told me I'd have to speak with their sales and information department over the phone. I immediately called them only to be told that it would depend solely on the monitor, and again I told him the specifications for the set and he tried every way possible to say he didn't have a clue without actually having to admit so.


Any help you all can provide would be greatly appreciated. As well if my question is in the wrong forum then please forgive and point me in the right direction.




As for the system itself the specifications are as follows ~


Alienware DHS-321


Pentium 4 3.0 with HT Technology

2GB DDR SDRAM

ATI Radeonâ„¢ 9800 Pro 256MB w/Silent Thermal Protection

250GB Western Digital Caviar® SE Serial ATA 7,200 RPM 8MB Cache

Panasonic Slot Loading 4x DVD+/-R RAM Drive



And finally the OS, obviously, is Windows XP Media Center 2004.




Thanks in advance for the assistance!!!~

 

[pepar]

With that configuration, you should be able to run nearly all current games at 1280 x 720 with a lot of detail. Upcoming HL2 and Doom will probably make it stutter at those settings; lowering detail and/or resolution will make it run smooth again.


I do not know about what resolutions are compatible with your TV, but 1280 x 720 is a standard res and should be one of them.


Search this forum for "powerstrip."

 

[taz291819]

As pepar said, it depends on what resolutions your set will accept. To help explain this a little more, remember when it comes to htpc's, 480p and 1080i are timings, not actual resolutions. Also keep in mind that your set will accept 540p also (since it accepts 1080i).


Read Karnis' guide on Powerstrip, it's the perfect starting point on configuring your acceptable resolutions.


Once you find the resolutions your set will accept and look good with minimal over/underscan, you'll be halfway there.


The next part comes down to the games themselves. Most games don't offer custom resolutions in their in-game menus. You'll have to edit a config file most of the time to force a game in whatever resolution you need. This part isn't really difficult at all once you understand what to look for. It usually takes a few minutes to find and edit the correct file. A good source to better understand the procedure is:

http://tigerdave.com/


Good luck.

 

[pepar]

Wouldn't they be "half" resolutions, and the horizontal refresh/scan rate be the timing?

Originally posted by taz291819

As pepar said, it depends on what resolutions your set will accept. To help explain this a little more, remember when it comes to htpc's, 480p and 1080i are timings, not actual resolutions. Also keep in mind that your set will accept 540p also (since it accepts 1080i).

 

[Socio]

Another great place to check out is Widescreen Gaming it has lot of info on what games are out of the box widescreen which need tweaks or patches to make them widescreen and how.

 

[taz291819]



Originally posted by pepar

Wouldn't they be "half" resolutions, and the horizontal refresh/scan rate be the timing?

Quote:

Originally posted by taz291819 As pepar said, it depends on what resolutions your set will accept. To help explain this a little more, remember when it comes to htpc's, 480p and 1080i are timings, not actual resolutions. Also keep in mind that your set will accept 540p also (since it accepts 1080i).

Technically yes. I called them timings because that is how it is normally used in Karnis' guide. i.e. 856x480 in a 540p timing.

 

[pepar]

Quote:

Originally posted by taz291819 Technically yes. I called them timings because that is how it is normally used in Karnis' guide. i.e. 856x480 in a 540p timing.

I'm slipping further down into the soup on this; wouldn't a res of 856x480 be either 480p or 480i?

 

[66Stingray427]

Is 1280 x 720 linked to 720p or is that a resolution could expect to attain simply with 480p/1080i??



As well I am greatful for the help and the links, which I'm checking out at the moment.

 

[pepar]

Quote:

Originally posted by 66Stingray427 Is 1280 x 720 linked to 720p or is that a resolution could expect to attain simply with 480p/1080i?? As well I am greatful for the help and the links, which I'm checking out at the moment.

The "720" in 1280x720 is the "720" in 720p. It means there are 720 lines of horizontal resolution. The "p" means progressive in that each frame is drawn in one scan. The "i" in 1080i means each frame is drawn in two passes and the scasn lines are interlaced. Persistance of vision (mostly) sees it as one image, but there are other issues.

 

[66Stingray427]

So, to confirm the obvious, if you TV doesn't support 720p then naturally it isn't going to support 1280x720?

 

[pepar]

Quote:

Originally posted by 66Stingray427 So, to confirm the obvious, if you TV doesn't support 720p then naturally it isn't going to support 1280x720?

10-4.

 

[66Stingray427]

I was reading a thread that popped up when searching for "powerstrip" that mentioned the new Catalyst 4.5 and custom resolutions. I also ran across a post that mentioned 1024x768 and 1280x1024 resolutions, are either of those compatible with 1080i??

 

[pepar]

Quote:

Originally posted by 66Stingray427 I was reading a thread that popped up when searching for "powerstrip" that mentioned the new Catalyst 4.5 and custom resolutions. I also ran across a post that mentioned 1024x768 and 1280x1024 resolutions, are either of those compatible with 1080i??

Only if 1080 somehow equals 768 or 1024.


Sorry, couldn't resist. The "last" number in the resolution spec is the horizontal resolution. 1080i is "something" by 1080 - interlaced. 1080p is "something" by 1080 - progressive. (The "something" for a 16:9 aspect ratio is 1920.) Ditto "480", "540" and "720."

 

[66Stingray427]





Maybe I'm going at this the wrong way, you'll have to forgive the confused fool.



Let me see if I can ask the most basic question possible and hopefully you can enlighten me from there


Is there a commonly used resolution that my television should support without using Cat or Powerstrip to enable custom resolutions.



If not then, providing this is a question one could answer without knowing the ins and outs of the TV in question, what type of custom resolutions are going to be ideal.



Furthermore are any of these resolutions going to be full screen, without stretching, when displayed on a 4:3 set??

 

[jimwhite]

Pepar.... twice now you've muddied the waters with "Horizontal Resolutiuon" when you meant "Vertical Resolution "... let's not confuse the noobies....

 

[pepar]

Quote:

Originally posted by 66Stingray427 Is there a commonly used resolution that my television should support without using Cat or Powerstrip to enable custom resolutions. If not then, providing this is a question one could answer without knowing the ins and outs of the TV in question, what type of custom resolutions are going to be ideal. Furthermore are any of these resolutions going to be full screen, without stretching, when displayed on a 4:3 set??

Time to read your manual. It should list resolutions that your TV will accept and display. Nearly any resolution, standard or custom, can be generated by an HTPC.


Your 4:3 question is another matter entirely. No 16:9 image (also expressed as 1.85:1) will "fit" a 4:3 (1.33:1) screen without distorting - squooshing left to right, or stretching north and south. Period.

 

[pepar]

Quote:

Originally posted by jimwhite Pepar.... twice now you've muddied the waters with "Horizontal Resolutiuon" when you meant "Vertical Resolution "... let's not confuse the noobies....

Perhaps it is I who is muddied. In a 1980 x 1080 there are 1980 vertical "lines." And that is a metric of horizontal resolution. You're right, I misspoke.


The "last" number is vertical resolution.

 

[boiler11]

66Stingray427,


Welcome to the world of HTPC.

Quote:

my PC experience doesn't extend far beyond surfing, word processing, etc...

I don't know much about the alienware setups, but this will most likely have to change if you want to get much out of your new HTPC.

Quote:

Originally posted by pepar The "720" in 1280x720 is the "720" in 720p.

YES AND NO! 1280x720 means you have 720 active vertical lines, but it DOES NOT mean you are in a 720p timing. You can display 1280x720 in 1080i timings.


Read MARK REJHON'S DEFINITIVE SUPERGUIDE and follow the step by step instructions. The only information that doesn't jive with recent versions of powerstrip is the number of vertical lines and refresh rates with more recent versions of powerstrip. These are the correct values:

Code:

Resolution   Vertical Refresh   Horizontal Refresh      Vertical Lines 
----------   ----------------   ------------------      -------------- 
480P         60.0               31.5                    525 
540P         60.0               33.75                   563 
720P         60.0               45.0                    750 
960I         30.0               31.5                    1050 
1080I        30.0               33.75                   1125

Keep in mind that Mark's guide is about 3.5 years old, so advice on best video card, etc., is a little out of date. But the instructions for using powerstrip still apply.


If you are using the ATI dongle, you should be using Catalyst 4.5 and enable Center Timing Mode.


Many 4x3 TVs automatically squeeze HD inputs into the 16x9 window and will not allow you to easily strectch it back to 4x3. My JVC AV-36P903 is like this. To overcome this, I permanently modified the service menu settings to strecth 720p inputs to a 4x3 window while leaving 1080i in its normal 16x9 mode. This allows me to always have 800x600p in 720p timings in a 4x3 ratio on the TV without having to mess with the service menu or anything. However, when I play games in 1024x768i in 1080i timings, I have to use the service menu settings to temporarily strectch the image back to a 4x3 ratio.


Good Luck!


Sean.

 

[pepar]

Quote:

Originally posted by boiler11 YES AND NO! 1280x720 means you have 720 active vertical lines, but it DOES NOT mean you are in a 720p timing. You can display 1280x720 in 1080i timings.

Oh come on now! This is unnecessarily confusing, and technically not true. If you are displaying in "720p timing" you have 720 active vertical lines. If you are displaying in "1080i timing" you have 1080 active vertical lines. If you display a 1280x720 SOURCE in whatever x 1080, you have 1080 active vertical lines. That the source has been stretched or scaled does not change the number of lines being displayed.


What did I miss?

 

[dmastro]

OMG - this is so not the place for a newb like me. I'm having 2nd thoughts about getting an HTPC...