Hey guys, i wonder if anyone could help me with a problem i've been having with my display in windows XP

I have just bought a Samsung 24 inch high dev monitor, i am running it through my gfx card, DVI to HDMI converter, into my HDMI port into my monitor

My problem is that im having overscan issues, my monitors picture is cut off at the sides

I tried to resize it using my nivida resize desktop setting, although this helped, i did not get an exact 1:1 ratio on my screen, causing blurry text

has anyone else had this issue with not getting an exact 1:1 picture?

Also sometimes my monitor will randomly automatically adjust the picture, giving a perfect result, which will go away once the pc is reset

specs:

Core i7 920
Asus GTX 295
Windows Xp 32 bit sp 2
Samsung syncmaster 2494hs 24 inch HD monitor
MSI x58 Pro-3 mobo
6 gig Kingston ddr3

Any help would be greatly appreciated

I have seen similar problems with TVs that accept HDMI computer inputs, but monitors tend to sync up with computers pretty well. All LCD monitors have a native resolution where they perform best - check your manual, check the web - or post the model number back here if you can't find it. If you know it, make sure the resolution is set to match the monitor.

Um, he did post the model: Samsung syncmaster 2494hs 24 inch HD monitor

From what I can find, 1920x1080 is the res needed.

As Ztruker stated, i have posted the model number in my first post, it is hidden off to the side

My res is also set at 1920 x 1080

Samsung drivers and manuals are not that much help at all, could not find any decent support, i think it is a problem with the nvidia drivers anyway and not the monitor

I have been looking for a few days now, the closest thing i can find to a solution is changing my registry so that my nvidia drivers won't recognise my monitor as a HDTV. Many people seem to have done this with success, although i have only found solutions for Vista, have not found any sites where i can alter the registry using XP

Has anyone found any registry values that i can edit using XP? Or any solution at all for that matter? I am either going to have to bite the bullet and get Windows 7 or plug my old DVI cables back in if i cant solve this problem

Um, he did post the model: Samsung syncmaster 2494hs 24 inch HD monitor

it is hidden off to the side

Oops. Yeah, hidden in plain sight!

Before anything drastic, did you use the Samsung's OSD menu options to see if would resize properly?

or plug my old DVI cables back in if i cant solve this problem

I wish I had been more observant, I would have recommended DVI in my first response to see if that resolved your problem. HDMI is great, and definitely the way all future graphics will go, as it is now with home theater systems. But it still has some issues with computers.

Understand the digital video data protocol in HDMI was developed from the DVI standard. So, the digital video data sent along in HDMI cables is exactly the same as that sent via DVI - no difference in quality, speed or anything that has to do with how the human eye sees the image. The primary difference between HDMI and DVI is HDMI also carries 5.1 audio in the same cable. HDMI also supports HDCP (HD content protection).

Many devices that support HDMI also use HDMI for intercommunications between the devices. This allows receivers and TVs to automatically switch inputs when you insert a DVD into the DVD player, for example - instead of having to fiddle with 1/2 dozen remotes.

HDMI is slowly pushing DVI out as more and more computers are being connected to TVs in home theater setups, but the reality is, home computer setups don't normally need 5.1 audio sent to the monitor, nor do they need HDCP. Most computer users still use the audio output connections provided by the audio card to feed their speaker systems or their monitor's speakers so audio in the HDMI connection is not even used.

If you note your monitor, it supports a maximum resolution of 2560x1600. If you factor that out, you will see that works out to a 16:10 ratio. 1920x1080 is a 16:9 ratio. What I suspect might be happening (if the OSD option does not help) is your monitor is seeing the video feed on the HDMI connector and the monitor's internal HDMI circuits think you are wanting to watch a TV source rather than a computer source.

I would try DVI and see if it lets you set it up the way you want, and most importantly, the settings hold after a shutdown/reboot.

Thanks for your replies Digerarti, i have tried all the options in my monitors menu to no avail, I think i am resigned to the fact that i will have to plug my DVI cables in, when i got this monitor that's what i was using and had no issues whatsoever, the only reason i bought HDMI cables was expectation of a more crisper picture, but in actual fact the change was barely noticeable (except for the blurry text :P)

True as well i don't use my monitor for sound, so there is not real point to having my HDMI plugged in, ah well, 80 bucks down the drain i guess.... When i am willing to get Windows 7 i will surely plug them back in, i have heard the Nvidia drivers for Windows Vista and 7 are easier to edit for this purpose than the XP drivers

Quote:
[I]What I suspect might be happening (if the OSD option does not help) is your monitor is seeing the video feed on the HDMI connector and the monitor's internal HDMI circuits think you are wanting to watch a TV source rather than a computer source.

I definitely think this is the source of the problem, as i stated earlier the people that were getting around overscan issues were changing the registry so that the gfx drivers did not recognise their HDMI output as a HDTV, just sucks that people have to go to these lengths to use HDMI on their PCs!

Hopefully Nvidia will release some real support for this soon...

Thanks for the support, DVI cables are being plugged in as we speak

the only reason i bought HDMI cables was expectation of a more crisper picture

Well, quality cables might give a better picture over cheap or damaged cables in terms of image anomalies, artifacts and such, but not necessarily a "crisper" image - since digital is digital. And as noted, the video in DVI and HDMI is the same so assuming good cables, the picture quality would be exactly the same with either. Sadly, many folks are under the misconception that HDMI offers superior quality video - and only find out otherwise after buying expensive HDMI cables.

Good luck and keep us posted.