Why is 1080p washed out?

wtd03

Distinguished
Jan 10, 2012
42
0
18,530
I have a samsung ln52a650 hdtv and a new 7970. I am trying to play saints row 3 and 720p is really detailed and crisp yet when I play in any other resolution the screen looks cloud/foggy like the brightness is too high or something. Even my desktop looks like this at 1080p as well all washed out looking

Has anyone seen this before on their setup? I have my tv input set to pc but cant seem to get better detail at 1080p like I do at 720p.

Is there any kind of instructions on how to best setup these amd cards for use on an hdtv in 1080p?
 

wtd03

Distinguished
Jan 10, 2012
42
0
18,530
I am hdmi. I disabled the pc setting and the games are no longer washed out but the desktop looks terrible.

If anyone is playing through an hdtv with an amd card how did you set it up?
 

bloc97

Distinguished
Sep 12, 2010
1,030
0
19,460


HDMI is from 2003 and offers 10.2 Gbit/s (we are talking about single-channel here since HDMI only has 1 channel)
DVI is from 1999 and offers 3.96 Gbit/s per channel, and only 7.92 Gbit/s with 2 channel.

HDMI Max res = 4096 × 2160
DVI Max res = 1920 × 1200 (Single Channel)

Don't forget that 7.1 Surround Audio on the HDMI also eats a lot of its Bandwidth...

But DisplayPort wins over all! :)
 

bloc97

Distinguished
Sep 12, 2010
1,030
0
19,460


Are you kidding?!?!? So now you're trying to say that Analogue signals are better than digital ones? So why doesn't everyone go back to the old Composite cable?
There is no way that DVI produces better quality video than HDMI, you don't have any proof on that.
 

Especially with radeon cards, dvi is digital, with hdmi everything is blurry and with dvi or vga everything is crystal clear.
 



I am going to have to ask for proof on this, I have seen all 3 and I can't really tell the difference between them.
 

bloc97

Distinguished
Sep 12, 2010
1,030
0
19,460


Haha... I get it, you have the same old problem like others with the "Underscan" option... If HDMI makes black bars around your screen and look really blurry, go to CCC with advanced view, then "My Digital Flat-Panels", "Scaling Options", and finally slide the bar all up to the right.

Lol, I can't belive that you really think that VGA is better than HDMI, then why you think that VGA needs an Auto-Sync feature?
 
Ok enough of the complaining.

First off

HDMI look NO better then DVI and at first they used the EXACT same signalling. HDMI was the home theater answer to requiring DVI + digital or optical audio.

So you have DVI video + digital audio = HDMI

As newer revisions came out they added things(network for one), but in general HDMI is based on the very core technology of DVI.

Many HDMI devices had a limit of 1080P resolution. This has been corrected with different revisions.

Now onto the why DVI may work better for a TV.

I see it listed already, TV's overscan the HDMI input, while many will not do the same to the DVI input.

DVI will not bring audio, but for some people works out better.

It is a valid reason to "Try" DVI (or VGA) + Audio if you have it

Ohh yeah and VGA will do 1080P just fine :). Please note VGA lacks the copy protection needed for bluray playback and you have to get creative to use it.

Damn that was all off topic.

OP, Is overscan an issue for you? Or is it just washed out looking but not falling off the edge of the screen?
 

someguynamedmatt

Distinguished
^ Thank You. Neither one of the two is "better" than the other.

Now that that's settled, nukemaster's advice is definitely what I'd try first. If your TV has a DVI input, go buy a cable (or not, if you already have one) and try it through that. If not, VGA is your next best bet.
 

Yargnit

Distinguished
Aug 17, 2010
261
0
18,810
Overscan is what i was wondering about as well. Every TV has its menu's arranged differently so I can't tell you exactly how to disable it, but somewhere in the video options there should be the ability to change the display format. It's likely listed as aspect ratio or similar.

On my TV the option is called "Just Scan", but yours is likely named differently. That is the first thing I would try though.

HDMI or DVI should make 0 difference. Electronically the two are 100% compatible, so there isn't any change in the signal what-so-ever. You can actually get cables that have a DVI on one end, and HDMI on the other end even. (I actually use a couple of these) HDCP for Blu-Ray even works over DVI > HDMI cables just as if it were straight DVI or straight HDMI.
 
I looked all over my Samsung monitor(245T) and never did have an option to disable over scan(But not i am gonna go look again). The video card options let me see the start menu, but it was just not sharp. It would be fine for watching TV, but not computer use.

It was a shame because I also got one of those DVI->HDMI cables just to get everything all fuzzy(not the cables fault, just my screen) :(. Ohh well, just went back to VGA(I wanted to use HDMI to free up VGA for other stuff and DVI was in use already).
 

Yargnit

Distinguished
Aug 17, 2010
261
0
18,810
That's a PC monitor nuke so it doesn't have overscan at all. His is a TV so it does.

From the Cnet review site, in the spoiler tags it explains where to find the option to disable overscan for your television wtd03;

The LN52A650 has three adjustable picture modes that are each independent per input. That's great, but in addition there are three more picture presets, called "Entertainment Modes," that cannot be adjusted and are accessible via a separate key on the remote and the Setup menu. This arrangement is unnecessarily confusing on a TV with so many settings anyway; we'd prefer to have all of the picture modes, both adjustable and non-adjustable, be accessible together from a single key on the remote and one area of the Picture menu. Also, if you're in Entertainment mode, you're prevented from making picture adjustments, or even selecting one of the adjustable picture modes, until you actively cancel an Entertainment mode by navigating to the Setup menu (which the onscreen instructions suggest) or toggling the mode to "Off" using the remote. That's an awkward hitch in an otherwise smooth menu design.

Not every submenu gets the updated graphics, however, including the important (and still perfectly functional) white balance controls.
Others picture controls include five color temperature presets along with the ability to fine-tune color using the white balance menu; three varieties of noise reduction, including an automatic setting; a film mode to engage 2:3 pulldown (it also works with 1080i sources); a seven-position gamma control that affects the TV's progression from dark to light; a dynamic contrast control that adjusts the picture on the fly; a "black adjust" control that affects shadow detail; and a new color space control that lets you tweak the Samsung's color gamut.
You can choose from four aspect ratio modes for HD sources, two of which allow you to move the whole image across the screen horizontally and/or vertically. As we'd expect from a 1080p TV, one of those modes, called Just Scan, lets the LN52A650 scale 1080i and 1080p sources directly to the panel's pixels with no overscan--the best option unless you see interference along the edge of the screen, as can be the case with some channels or programs. There are also four modes available with standard-def sources.

Overscan is something TV's do by default to cut out the dead area that some channels had around the very edges of their broadcast. (Much less common now than it was when HDTV was new) You'd often see a thin line of gray fuzz alone one or more sides of the screen on many channels in the past if overscan was disabled.

The side effect however, is that you aren't displaying a true 1080p image. it's more like 1880x1040 instead of 1920x1080, as it cuts roughly 20ish pixels off every edge. This means that the center 1880x1040 or so image is stretched to fill the full 1920x1080 panel resolution, which of course is non-native and can cause blurriness.

With dedicated monitors however, they are made with PC's in mind which of course fill the full 1920x1080 signal, so they don't have this option.
 

It sure does, it is a monitor as well as a tv(S-video,Composite,Component and HDMI inputs(even has audio out for HDMI in), everything but the tv tuner)
It also overscans my cable box. I am MORE then aware of overscan(Take HDMI -> DVI, no more overscan).
 

amberale4

Distinguished
Jan 23, 2012
1
0
18,510
First thing you want to do is get your monitor remote and go to:
Menu > Input > Edit Name > edit your HDMI so it says PC next to it

Second thing you want to do is enter your Catalyst Control Center and go to:
My Digital Flat-Panels > Scaling Options (Digital Flat-Panel) > turn the scaling to 0%

My Digital Flat-Panels > Pixel Format > select RGB 4:4:4 Pixel Format PC Standard (Full RGB)

You may want to try turning on Image Scaling if you have a problem with other resolutions letter boxing in:
My Digital Flat-Panels > Properties (Digital Flat-panel)
 

If that was for me?

I just tried it

If I set scaling to 0% I have lots of the screen missing. I think it is just my screen(Not my cards fault). Either way, thanks for the suggestions. For movies, it would not even be much of an issue, just the way text looks.

For the hell of it, i am going to try Intel GMA 3000 :)

EDIT

Intel GMA, same thing, it is not too bad for video or even some games(I was playing some GMA Just Cause 2), but text is just awful.