PC on HDTV question.

[Brando]

Howdy. I was just curious if anyone knows how to pick a widescreen plasma that will fill up the screen top to bottom with an input from a pc. I've only had one chance to try it out and it was on my aunts 60" Sony widescreen high def lcd(vga input). Some resolutions didn't show up on the screen at all and the only one that came close was 1024x768 which put a 4:3 standard type picture in the middle of the screen with lots of empty black border all around it. All of the plasmas I looked at @ Costco today had either 1366x768 res or a 1024x768 res(with wide pixels). I would think that a 4:3 input from a pc @1024x768 would fill the screen perfectly from top to bottom with black borders on the sides but I'm afraid to spend thousands of $ on something if I'm not sure it will work just right. Is there a certain spec to look for besides vga input to verify it will mesh properly with a pc? Thanks in advance.

[LandShark]

most plasma/lcd has a resolution of 1366x768 or so. and most modern video card should be able to output that res. using the latest drivers. try to dig deeper into the driver setting to output custome resolution for your HDTV. both nivida and ati are able to do that with their latest driver.

besides vga (which I personally don't like to use to connect HDTV), pretty much most if not all HDTV also supports DVI with the latest model also included HDMI input too. I would highly recommend to get one with at least one HDMI input for better future proof and one Optical/Coax output (when you pass through the digital sound to your receiver) for better cable management and connection.

[nd4spdbh2]

most plasma/lcd has a resolution of 1366x768 or so. and most modern video card should be able to output that res. using the latest drivers. try to dig deeper into the driver setting to output custome resolution for your HDTV. both nivida and ati are able to do that with their latest driver.

besides vga (which I personally don't like to use to connect HDTV), pretty much most if not all HDTV also supports DVI with the latest model also included HDMI input too. I would highly recommend to get one with at least one HDMI input for better future proof and one Optical/Coax output (when you pass through the digital sound to your receiver) for better cable management and connection.


QFT... the ONLY way IMO to hook a HDTV up to a computer is by the DVI port on a gfx card... the picture produced is FAR better than VGA, or Component. currently i have my HTPC with its 6600gt using a DVI to hdmi converter then a HDMI cable to the TV... the picture is STUNNING... and both cards that i have had in that htpc (ATI 9800 AIW and 6600gt ) both have been able to make custom resolutions to fit the screen just right... i think currently with my 6600gt im running about 1850ish x 1030ish... so i can see the whole picture... it was only cuttin off a very small ammount but it was annoying.

[batboy]

My X1900 with Cat 6.6 (6 month old drivers) has 1280X768 and 1360X768 resolutions available. I would definitely use DVI too.

[Brando]

Cool, thanks for the info. I didn't know what dvi was.

[IR1]

I am in the same situation as Brando, I hooked by laptop (only has VGA) to my Dad's new 42" Westy 1080p. Worked pretty well. Played a little Half-Life 2 at 1080p resolution, choppy as hell though!! I still cannot decide whether I should go with a 720p and save some money or go for the 1080p!! It keeps me up at night!!

[mrgreenjeans]

Not to blow my own horn but......HDTV nVidia Control Panel (http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=493566)

[LandShark]

I am in the same situation as Brando, I hooked by laptop (only has VGA) to my Dad's new 42" Westy 1080p. Worked pretty well. Played a little Half-Life 2 at 1080p resolution, choppy as hell though!! I still cannot decide whether I should go with a 720p and save some money or go for the 1080p!! It keeps me up at night!!
IF you are going to keep the TV for awhile and want some more future proof, plus have the $$, go for the 1080p!!

I'm in the market for a 1080p TV too for my 2nd PS3. my current TV (50" 720p/1080i samsung HDTV) couldn't fully explore the potential of the PS3 and the blueray movie. so I want to get a smaller HDTV (eyeing on Westinghouse 37") for the bedroom & the 2nd PS3.

[IR1]

Im looking at the Westy 37" too!! :/ What is it like $1200?!, I can probably do that... but no tuner built in, guess thats not a huge deal though.

[drshivas]

FWIW, my HTPC is running a 9800XT @ 1360x768 over VGA input to a Toshiba 720p plasma HDTV (50HP16 from Costco.) It plays full screen DVD and DIVX files beautifully.

I'd say finding a HDTV with PC input is top priority. DVI is of course better than VGA, but VGA is good enough.

HTH

[mrgreenjeans]

Most will be HDMI capable, which is the preferred. There are adapters for the DVI to HDMI. Definitely insure it has either a HDMI or DVI input. And if I was spending the bucks today it would definitely be 1080p capable also, otherwise it'd be obsolete in 2 years.

[Jon]

I've got a 46" Samsung 1080i plasma hooked up to my HTPC via DVItoHDMI and simply configured the overscan/underscan setttings for the video card (nVidia 6200 series) to completely fill the screen since it was a bit off natively. Works fine and looks great now.

[Phrenetical]

even my radeon 9000 has a dvi connector, used to use it for my DLP projector. (DVI - VGA connector) 1024*768 native, could do 1280*1024 but lost a bit of quality

it was by far and away much greater picture quality then RCA or sVideo out.