Monitor vs TV

Ace Modder · 27 Jan 2013 at 22:11

Hi guys.

I have setup my HTPC.

why does windows look so crappy on my 40" 1080p LED TV. Is it purely just down to the screen being so big, and I'm used to a much better res (2560 x 1440 on 27") on my main PC?

Films look ace on it, just windows 8 is poor, mainly the text. I have tried increasing it to 150% but it just doesnt look right.

Uncle Petey · 27 Jan 2013 at 22:52

Is the TV scaling the image in a zoomed or smart mode? Is it set to 1:1 pixel mapping?
The screen size shouldn't be an issue as I'm on a 40" here and have no text res problems

Akagi · 27 Jan 2013 at 23:37

It might just be that you're not used to the pixel density. Obviously it is MUCH less than on your main PC.

I have used my PC on a 40" 1080P Bravia before and experienced the same thing. Movies looked ace, desktop use was comparatively poor (unless I sat quite a long way away).

And thats coming from someone who has a setup with a 24" 1080P screen and a 20" 1050P screen, so i'm not used to particularly high pixel density anyway. (by comparison to a 1440P screen I mean)

Ken · 27 Jan 2013 at 23:45

I had this problem. Fixed it by changing the input label for the connection. On my LG 42", when I select the input there is the option to change the HDMI connection input label to "PC".

Akagi · 27 Jan 2013 at 23:50

Ken said:
I had this problem. Fixed it by changing the input label for the connection. On my LG 42", when I select the input there is the option to change the HDMI connection input label to "PC".

Oh really? That's interesting... I might have a search in the settings the next time the PC ventures downstairs for movie watching

Ken · 27 Jan 2013 at 23:55

acme15 said:
Oh really? That's interesting... I might have a search in the settings the next time the PC ventures downstairs for movie watching

I initially used a VGA cable which was fine but the moment I switched to HDMI it was all weird like Ace described. Text was blurry/fuzzy and contrast was too much. I adjusted the settings in nvidia and on the TV for ages and finally got the display as it should by changing the input label.

kn100 · 28 Jan 2013 at 01:08

Be warned, on some other cheaper monitors made by Technica and a couple of others, you may not be able to get out of this dumb zoomed in mode. I've had this problem in the past and there literally just is not an option whether connected via HDMI or VGA. In the end, I just created a custom resolution in the nVidia control panel to just about fit what's visible on the screen. As you can imagine, it did NOT look good.

Uncle Petey · 28 Jan 2013 at 01:17

acme15 said:
Oh really? That's interesting... I might have a search in the settings the next time the PC ventures downstairs for movie watching

I'm on a bravia too fwiw and I forgot to mention that my hdmi input is labelled as PC :0 I can't remember if I changed it for image reasons or just simple labelling though