24" WS monitor appearance with non-WS adapter

[mr-b]

Hi

I'm considering a 24" WS model e.g. Dell 2407WFP or Samsung SyncMaster 244T etc. to use with my PCs thru a KVM switch. However one of my PCs (laptop) only supports non-widescreen VGA resolutions e.g. 1600 x 1200, rather than the WS 1920 x 1200.

How would this look on a WS display? Do these monitors stretch the 4:3 resolution to fit the full screen or do they use black bars at the side? (I think I'd prefer the latter so the text would be the sharpest.)

Also my other PC (that supports WS resolutions) has a DVI output. Can I hook up VGA and DVI simultaneously to the monitor and bypass the KVM?

 

[rexter]

I never tried that approach but if your monitor has a way to select display format like the LCD TV’s then you should be able to select the format you want, If not try to download latest video driver for your laptop and see if you can adjust it to view proper settings. Other wise it may stretch the position display.

And if your PC has dual display output then yes you should be able to put 2 displays simultaneously. Just set you Display properties extend your windows desktop to your second monitor. But if you only have a DVI output and no VGA then the answer is no.

 

[mr-b]

I can't believe that no one has a 2407 to quickly try 1600 x 1200 res out, but never mind ...

I ended up having to call Dell. At first they just tried to sell me another non-WS monitor. :roll: I pressed them for information and they said they'd have to call me back. They then said that it should work but I should really upgrade my laptop's display adapter - but when I asked them if they had any PC Card display adapters, they didn't know.
By that time I'd managed to dig up the 2407's manual which said that there was an aspect setting which could be set to 1:1 pixel mapping i.e. so I guess the screen fills out the widescreen part with black bars. However the apparent lack of WS knowledge in support doesn't fill me with confidence ...

 

[rexter]

I guess the assumption of people buying a WS monitor already own hardware that support it. You may be the first person I heard who wanted to do that route but I’m sure there more people out there who wanted the same for other reason. But like you said that doesn’t sound promising.

Well they now have an external audio add-on 5.1 for mobile pc that we can’t find before on the market. I just wonder how long they can come up with something for your solution. Or it may not be easy as it seemed.

If what you wanted to do with your KVM is, Laptop and PC connected to it, and then out to Wide Screen Monitor with VGA and DVI input.

It would work if the WS monitor can be switch between 2 signals manually. But it might be awkward if you have to change the setting every time you make the switch.

 

[strangestranger]

i own the older 2405fpw and while i have no experience of that actual setup i do know that when using 1:1 pixel fill my monitor only uses the amount of pixels required. AFAIK it makes images as sharp as they can be as there is no interpolation.

 

[asgallant]

How would this look on a WS display? Do these monitors stretch the 4:3 resolution to fit the full screen or do they use black bars at the side? (I think I'd prefer the latter so the text would be the sharpest.)

In the display drivers for your laptop, there should be an option for how it handles the external display. You should be able to select either a scaled output (where is stretches the image to fill the screen, no black bands), a centered image (which keeps the aspect ratio of the resolution you choose, but stretches to fill as much of the screen as it can, possibly has black bands to either the top/bottom or left/right of the image), or perform no scaling at all (which keeps the resolution as is, usually centered on the screen, possilby has black bands around image).

If you leave it up to the monitor to scale the image, chances are that it will scale to fill the screen. and you will get a distorted image.

 

[JasonVaritekMVP]

I just got a 2407 and have been trying to use it for fullscreen apps as well as widescreen ones. So far I have not had any luck doing so. The options under the "display settings" monitor menu for "wide mode" "sharpness" and "zoom" are browned out and cannot be selectd or changed. I really want to be able to change this setting and play some of my fullscreen games without stretching ... any suggestions or solutions from anyone, fellow 2407 users are especially welcome. Thanks.

Dave

 

[strangestranger]

ok using a dvi sharpness and the like will not show. if however the diplay options are the same as mine you should have the option to select either fill, maintain aspect ratio or 1:1 pixels under image settings. note that these options will only be avaible when displaying something out of your native. IMO leave zoom alone unless for some reason something is slightly off screen.

 

[JasonVaritekMVP]

When I change the resolution to something non native I am able to select the sharpness option but zoom and wide mode are still not selectible.

 

[strangestranger]

what about you scaling options in image settings. i do not know if they have changed the onscreen display

 

[JasonVaritekMVP]

I'm actually on the phone with dell right now and they are telling me that its a monitor software issue and they are going to replace the thing ...

 

[strangestranger]

nice, hope it sorts it. luckily i have had my monitor since feb adn no problems.