jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

buiding a media centre pc so whilst waiting for bits, I got a sat tv card and setup my desktop to see if it was worth doing etc.

Last night I tuned the sat card in by using the monitor, and thought I would use the second output on the gfx card to display on the plasma. GFX card is geforce 7950gt and has dual dvi. I changed the nvidia settings to run 2 monitors, and to clone so I could get the same image on both the monitor and the tv.

Unfortunately nothing appeared on the tv. Is it a case of messing around with resolutions and refresh rates etc?

TV supports 1080i

I have a dvi to vga convertor and when I use that on the tv it works fine (wont be a hd signal though will it????)

Cheers

EddScott

If the res is too high, it won't give you a picture on the TV.

We've got a 42" 1080i TV linked to a PC. I think I have it as dual screen with the monitor being the main screen. When we want to watch a film I drag the vid over to the TV. Saves having all the icons jump about every time I switch to the TV.

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

cheers edd, I have tried all resolutions still no joy. Looking on the web it looks like I need powerstrip to modify timings etc, but I have lost a web page where it gives me the settings for nvidia cards

dunx

iTrader: (3)

I ended up with a very cheap PCI card to run a monitor, and a 7800 GT to run the main display.

HTH

dunx

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

hi dunx thanks, but I want to use the existing card as it is more than capable its a 7950gt with 2 x dvi i outputs. I have been playing about and it looks like I can possibly do it via s video to component however that wont give me the best piccy quality (cant try yet as mrs is watching kwok van gok or whatever he is called)

GC8

Its hard to guess from the information that I have (not enough and far from clear), but Id guess that you havent configured the port properly. Do you have access to a DVI monitor? This would be the simplest way to ensure that the port has been configured correctly. Look at your television set: does it react to a source being turned on? If there is any signal at all then Id expect the set to react in the same way that it does whilst tuned to the HDMI-in AV channel, when a source device is turned on (my Sony changes the AV in script to include the detected resolution). If it does this with a working device then thisll help you diagnose the problem. Itll still be easier if you can use a DVI-in computer display too. Another tip which may help is: lower the resolution on your second display (and set it up as an extended desktop rather than cloned); 1366x720 will be a good place to start on 1080 set.

Simon

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

good idea Simon, thanks. Dont usually have a dvi monitor however today I picked one up for someone so have it lying here

Unfortunately it doesnt matter what settings I use, it wont go via dvi to the plasma, no signal at any resolution. I am going to give powerstrip a go tomorrow as you can set up customer timings but i may be stuck with running it via vga, or I think I can get a dvi to component splitter and I can connect it that way (xbox 360 runs happily at 1080i via component)
Only problem then though is when I play blu ray films it may not work via the vga

GC8

I made the mistake of messing with PowerStrip when I couldnt get a picture on my LCD (three years ago, when digital out video adapters were far less common place). It turned out that I wasnt getting a digital signal out through the port: a problem that I couldnt overcome. It was an oldish All-in-Wonder with a digital and analogue DVI port which ran an analogue VGA display using a converter. No matter what I tried the b*stard thing kept toggling its settings back and nothing would persuade it to output in digital when a DVI-HDMI cable was attached.

Id set the DVI device as the secondary display extended and when its working alter the resolution to suit the large set, starting at a lower supported resolution such as 1366x720 (or whatever is listed in its book). That should work, or at least rule out the HTPC end of the equation. To establish that the HDMI-in port works Id connect a DVD player or whatever you have to hand. If both ends work on their own Id suspect the cable...

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

Cheers Simon, I think I am going to have to give up on using the dvi on the tv and stick with the vga. I ran the media centre setup early this morning on vista and it gave me the option of 1080i resolution with some strange refresh rate 59.xx and this works and looks okay. The dvi on the tv works fine as the upscaling dvd player connects to this port and works ok. I managed to locate an online version of the manual for the tv and it said the dvi isnt to be used for a pc connection and to use vga suppose the proof will be when I play a blu ray

alistair

Mine is similar - it says not to connect a PC via HDMI - works fine through VGA though.

It will still be an HD picture though - just analogue instead of digital - a VGA connection is plenty capable of running 1920x1080 or whatever your resolution is.

Powerstrip is a pain in the *** to use - you should only really need that if the aspect ratio is wrong - an extreme case is 1080x1080 - I think it was Hitachi who did that.