DVI - HDMI Connection help

tonyk01

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Guys, can you please help me.

I have a Samsung LE32R74BD HD LCD TV and am connecting my media centre PC via DVI - HDMI lead. The native resolution of the TV is 1366 X 768 which is not a compatible resolution via this connection. I have installed the ATI Catalyst Control Centre and created a custom resolution of 1216 x 684 50Hz so that the desktop fits and the text is readable. As far as I’m concerned it looks great for the desktop and better than VGA when watching movies.

My question however is? Firstly, is this a better picture quality than VGA? and secondly am I losing any picture quality when watching movies as I have made a custom resolution which is less than the native resolution?

I’m just not sure if I’ve done the right thing and whether I should have stuck with a VGA cable.

I'd really appreciate some help.

Thanks
 
Can you not send 1360x768 and set the TV to non-stretch mode? That way it's native, and you're only losing 6 pixels width. If you can be bothered you can then fiddle with powerstrip to get 1366 and gain the pixels back:)
 
Im not sure. Do you know if you can set the TV to non stretch mode? I didnt realise that was an option?
 
By going into the HD settings. You can create custom resolutions there.
 
You've sort of answered you're own question in the first post! You've said that movies look better over HDMI.

I've always made the assumption that it's better to use the native resolution if you can. That way you avoid any scaling by the TV so ideal for small text & for DVDs you avoid double scaling in the PC & TV. If you're eyes tell you HDMI looks better then perhaps you should stick with that. I've seen several posts that make similar claims, especially about better colours with HDMI although I assume this can be fixed with TV/graphic card settings.

If you are displaying 720p movies from the PC then you will lose a little detail from the downscaling but it's probably not that noticeable.

The 50hz refresh rate with HDMI is a good thing. With VGA you're normally limited to 60hz which can cause some juddering & tearing with PAL material.

I'm using VGA at the moment but you've got me thinking about trying an HDMI connection now, just need to buy the right lead.
 
Thanks Pete

Im not displaying 720p movies, just standard dvd's. I assume you mean HD material dont you when you say 720p movies?

The main reason I changed from VGA was because of the refresh rate. VGA doesnt support 50Hz so it was a bit juddery when watching TV through media centre. It's much better with DVI - HDMI but like I said I dont want to lose any quality when watching movies.
 
Guys, can you please help me.

I have a Samsung LE32R74BD HD LCD TV and am connecting my media centre PC via DVI - HDMI lead. The native resolution of the TV is 1366 X 768 which is not a compatible resolution via this connection. I have installed the ATI Catalyst Control Centre and created a custom resolution of 1216 x 684 50Hz so that the desktop fits and the text is readable. As far as I’m concerned it looks great for the desktop and better than VGA when watching movies.

My question however is? Firstly, is this a better picture quality than VGA? and secondly am I losing any picture quality when watching movies as I have made a custom resolution which is less than the native resolution?

I’m just not sure if I’ve done the right thing and whether I should have stuck with a VGA cable.

I'd really appreciate some help.

Thanks

good thread this - i'm also considering purchasing the same 32inch Sammy (hoping for another price drop).

noobie question but when you say

"The native resolution of the TV is 1366 X 768 which is not a compatible resolution via this connection"

why is this? Why does is VGA compatiable but not HDMI?

some people say the VGA input is better and others say the HDMI input is better? How can this be? Surely HDMI is the new standard and far superior to VGA?
 
why is this? Why does is VGA compatiable but not HDMI?

some people say the VGA input is better and others say the HDMI input is better? How can this be? Surely HDMI is the new standard and far superior to VGA?
Because the set designers decided that PCs should connect to their TVs via VGA & HDMI should only be used for DVD players, set top box etc.

HDMI inputs are often limited to 720p or 1080i inputs only so won't accept the native 1366x768 resolution. They also apply overscan processing that means you lose part of the display.

There are a few sets around (e.g. LG) that have PC friendly HDMI input & it's a lot more common on the larger sets that have a 1920x1080 resolution that seems to be both a PC & HD video standard. Just make sure it has the option to turn off overscan processing if a PC is connected.

I wouldn't say HDMI is vastly superior to VGA. VGA is perfectly capable of displaying very high resolutions > than 1080p. HDMI has the advantage of being an all digitial link.
 

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