Wide Screen, Narrow Resolution

May 30, 2009 5:20 PM

I have a computer running Windows XP and I just connected it to my TV via VGA cables. The TV reports its maximum resolution as 1024x768, which Windows will happily provide, however my TV is 16:9. This results in an over-wide picture. I would like to have Windows use this 1024x768 resolution, but tell it to use non-square pixels, or something similar to bring everything back to the correct shapes.
posted by Xoder to computers & internet (10 comments total)

I've had pretty great luck with a program called Powerstrip for a similar situation.
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 6:46 PM on May 30

Is there a setting under your graphics options something like "maintain aspect ratio"? If you want to run 1024x768 in the proper aspect ratio on a 16:9 you are going to have some black bars on the left and right side of the screen. The other option is to pick a video setting that fills the 16:9 aspect ratio
posted by Dmenet at 8:02 PM on May 30

i_am_a_jedi, I'm not really sure how to use this program. It seems to allow me to change a bunch of timings, but my TV simply won't accept wonky ones. The program added many more resolutions to the Windows resolution selection box, but still, none over 1024x768 will be accepted.

Dmenet, I wish to avoid the letter boxing, and my TV won't seem to accept any 16:9 pixel ratios, so I am trying to convince Windows to compress itself so the 3:4 will appear to be 16:9 (yes, there will be information loss, but I'm willing to accept that)
posted by Xoder at 9:18 PM on May 30

Does your TV happen to have an HDMI or DVI connection? anything digital will give you more options. If Powerstrip isn't helping I'm coming up blank.
posted by Dmenet at 12:08 AM on May 31

Are you sure its the TV, and not windows that "reports its maximum resolution as 1024x768?"

Some computers, especially older ones and ones without video cards, can't handle a resolution higher than that. If that is the case, the slider in resolution selection dialog just won't go higher than that. To fix this, you would probably have to upgrade your video card.

If the TV really is using non-square pixels, you may be stuck with a stretched out Windows UI. However, there may be hope regarding video and game, if that's what you are using this computer for.

For video, there are several freely available programs that override window's aspect ratio. I recommend Media Player Classic or VLC.

As far as games go, some also allow you to manually set the aspect ratio. The Widescreen Gaming Wiki should have some info about that, I think.
posted by arcolz at 12:18 AM on May 31

*checks manual*

Try 1280x768.
posted by Pronoiac at 8:42 AM on May 31

Which is to say that 1280x768 verifiably works for VGA on my HDTV, & I originally got this from a table in the manual. Before that, the computer only displayed on a fraction of the screen. You could refer to the manual for your tv or tell us the model number so we can look for one.
posted by Pronoiac at 8:56 AM on May 31

How is Windows detecting the TV? Check your display settings. Does it see it as a "generic monitor" or as the actual TV make/model?

You might check to update the display driver - select a different one. Check to see if there's a display driver for the TV somewhere on the manufacturer site. Windows won't allow you to use settings that won't work with a specific monitor driver, and the generic driver it uses by default for unidentified devices may not allow the aspect ratio you desire.

You might also check the display settings on the TV itself. When hooking a Mac Mini (1st generation 2005-era PPC) up to my LCD 16:9 screen, it wouldn't display properly using the VGA input no matter what I did on the Mac in terms of display settings. I finally checked the TV itself, and in the menu settings were options for adjusting input from the VGA adapter. The TV allowed me to set it to accept 1366x768 input. Until I did that, the computer treated it as if it couldn't use anything other than the 1280 x 768, which looked awful (text was hard to read, etc.).

Do a google search on your make / model and find the native display resolution supported. If it's a 16:9 TV it should definitely be something other than 1024 x 768. Check your TV settings to see if it is set to allow only specific aspect ratios input on the VGA connector, and if so see if that setting can be changed. Check for a Windows driver for the model, and update the driver in your display preferences (or use a different generic driver - see if there's one listed for LCD TV, etc. - you will have to uncheck the box marked "Show only compatible drivers" to get Windows to allow you to browse and choose from all available drivers).
posted by caution live frogs at 10:09 AM on May 31

Do a google search on your make / model and find the native display resolution supported. If it's a 16:9 TV it should definitely be something other than 1024 x 768.

Unfortunately, some widescreen TVs, most likely plasma, have a 1024x768 pixel ratio, which would be 4:3 if the pixels were square. But they use rectangular pixels to achieve a 16:9 widescreen ratio, and I guess the TV circuitry figures out how to interpolate the input signal to display widescreen content correctly.

Which is to say the OP may be hosed trying to get his computer to display without things getting stretched out.
posted by 6550 at 11:25 AM on May 31

6550 has it. I'll mark this "resolved" by way of impossibility of solution.
posted by Xoder at 12:14 PM on June 30