Screen Resolution ??? (1 Viewer)

[BioGuyver]

Hi All,

I'm new to the forums as a poster but have read a great deal of useful and interesting stuff here since I started using MP about a year or so ago.

Ok I am not sure where i should post this question so if this is wrong then I apologise and if the Admins need to move it feel free.

I currently use MP on a pc that is running its screen res at 1920x1200 and outputs this over DVI to a 24" dell widescreen monitor. Obviously the monitor is not 16:9 but close enough that i have never had any problems.

My question is really one that is more to do with advice and infomation to understand how MP and a normal Tv works.

I am looking to buy an LCD flat panel display. The MP pc is the primary thing that will be connected to it so I am trying to understand how the PC res is setup to get the best from and LCD tv. I have read that the native resolution on some LCD screens is 1024x768 which is a more 4:3 than 16:9. Basic HD is 1280x720 and full HD is 1920x1080. So how do you guys setup your MP pc to talk to these type of screen and is there any TVs out there that really don't work with a PC as the main source? I appreciate that I might be looking for information that is better found in an HDTV forum but I want to use MP on the new set and I figured you guys would know the best answers thru your own experiences. Also do the widescreen skins work properly on these LCD tvs and still look ok?

Anyway thanks alot for any help or info you can throw my way.

Cheers
Ja

 

[jburnette]

I think what you mean is 1280x768, which is a resolution used in a lot of high def LCD TVs. They use this resolution instead of 1280x720 because it's cheaper to manufacture (or some reason like that, I'm not exactly sure why). Regardless, I think a lot of people run Mediaportal at 1280x768 allowing their video card to scale any 720p video signal up to 1280x768 without any noticeable quality loss.

I think that running at this resolution causes some skins to not be aligned correctly. I'm not exactly sure which skins are susceptible to this and how bad it really is.

 

[Spragleknas]

Good reading: Why 1366x768

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

I think more important is to get a 1x1 pixelmapping screen, if was getting a new TV full 1080i\p support is a must, not just HD.

ps jburnette is correct 1280x768 is my 720 HD res otherwise things look slightly squashed.

Sk's post 1366x768 does make good reading indeed.

 

[BioGuyver]

Thanks guys,
There is some good reading in there and i think I am getting my head around it. Is there any recomendations for a TV capture card to capture Sky Tv into my MP box that will produce the best results when displayed on the new TV. At the moment I don't have a capture/TV card but want one that makes the best use of the new TV.
Thanks Again

Ja

 

[mdbarber]

There seems to be a few inacuracies in that post sk but nothing that cant be explained by delusional paranoid thinking lol
The limit of screen perfection is a true one to one pixel mapping#
using a pc based player on a 1366x768 panel you actually can achieve full 720p display without scaling and anyone who tells you otherwise is a fool.
Of course there is the small matter of the black bands round the side ie 1366-1280/2 and 768-720/2 minus the usual pixel padding
this will vary in impact due to the size of the panel ie 32,37,42 or higher but with the lights off you will hardly notice on a quality set
the discrepancies in matching the two is simply where the two industries(TV and PC) are meeting for the first time
720p (a broadcast standard) and 1366x768 (a panel manufacturers standard) based on optimum division of production lcd panels

The next generation has already been planned by them together, its called 1080p and sets are available at not too extortionate rates already

 

[Leon_Gjerland]

For the best result, set your screen resolution to your panels native resolution to avoid unnessecary scaling.

For 16:9 displays they are usually 1366x768 or 1920x1080. For 1366x768 you normally have to set it to 1360x768 (which is dividable by 8).
Some plasmas have 1024x768 which is a 4:3 resolution, but since each pixel is "stretched" by 1.33 the panels 16:9 ratio i maintained. In this case you have to set the "Pixel Ratio Adjustment" under Settings, Screen-setup, Screen Calib so MP can handle its own aspect ratios correct.

More important than 1:1 pixel mapping is to set the correct refresh rate depending on the source material to get smooth motion. For TV this is 50 Hz for PAL and 60 Hz for NTSC. 60 Hz is no problem, but 50 Hz often needs to be created through custom resolutions in nVidia- or ATi-driveres, or by PowerStrip. Also note that many displays handles 50 Hz even if its not "officially suported".


For optimal GUI-performance set "Max FPS" to your screens refresh rate under Settings, Screen-setup, Scroll Speed.

This is the "short version" as there are many other aspects and compromises involved in getting "the perfect picture", such as codecs, deinterlacing, post processing, color space etc etc.

 

[BioGuyver]

Thanks for the info guys. I still have to decide what TV to buy but I at least have some ideas now on what I should be looking for.
Is there anywhere on here I can get feedback from people that have tried different TVs with MP and which screen look the best?
Thanks again

 

[Hi There]

Bioguyer, you may want to choose a TV with plenty of extra digital inputs, and a VGA input can't hurt. Otherwise, the same criteria you would use to evaluate performance on television and DVD's would be the performance criteria you would use for a tv in an HTPC setup. Choose the resolution that best supports your needs for watching movies (best available in a reasonably priced tv right now is 1080p), and don't worry about resolution out of the HTPC until you begin your setup. Both ATI and Nvidia make graphics cards capable of running custom resolutions to support just about whatever tv you decide on, and applications such as Powerstrip will allow you to achieve 1:1 pixel mapping on just about any display you want. Once you decide on a tv, check out AVS forum, do a search, and there's likely to be a custom resolution already mapped out for you somewhere.