HDTV and a PC

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

On Thu, 21 Jul 2005 16:25:25 GMT, Philadelphia Frank wrote:

> I'm trying to connect my PC to an AKAI PT46DL10 television. It is a
> "DLP" rear projection 46" TV. I'm new to HDTV issues but have been
> around PCs for a few years.
>
> Refresh rates? What kind of refresh rates can I choose for a DLP TV?

I would stick with 60Hz, unless your manual says it can go higher.

>
> The AKAI has a maximum resolution of 1280 X 720 pixels. When I try to
> set my video card (an NVidia GEForce FX 5200 256MB) to that resolution
> the image is bad. The screen is distorted with a greenish color. The
> bad image is similiar to what I saw when i tried to use a DVI
> connection with my cable box. The solution to the cable box\DVI issue
> was to change the output of the cable box to 720P from 1080i.

Since the native resolution of your TV is 720, you should set your cable
box to 720. That way the TV doesn't need to convert the signal. (Plus most
HDTV is in 720p anyway, so your cable box won't be converting much either.)

>
> The PC input of the AKAi may be limited to 480i (I'm not sure I can't
> find that info). What is the connection between the "Input Format" of
> the TV and "Resolution". Will a 480i input format display a 1280 X 720
> resolution?

I assume you are referring to the VGA input. By default VGA is 480p. You
should be able to get a picture from 800x600 and even 1024x768, but you may
not be happy with them, because they are at a 4:3 aspect ratio. There is a
great tool called Powerstrip that will adjust some graphic adapters to
display a true 16:9 image.

>
> Can anyone suggest a link to a site that explains using an HDTV with a
> PC?
>

Look here for a great starting point for how to use Powerstrip:
http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/powerstrip.html

Brad Houser