LCD Flat Screen Monitors

Settings ( Having a problem )

Published on May 12, 2006 By Fairyy~ In PC Hardware

My old monitor ( was only 3 years old ) died last week. I went out on Monday and bought a new 17 inch LCD Flat Screen.
I never had one before and I figured it was time to get with the rest of the world. Now the problem is - while everything looks 10 times better...and I'm able to see just fine on 1024 reso rather than the archaic 800x600 I was use to......no matter what I do or how many times I twiggle and jiggle the settings ...Objects that were once perfectly round are slightly not round. Although I can live with this..why should I ? Seems it should not be this way. Im wondering if I should return it to the store. My Icons that are round and Widgets ( Clocks ) have a very slight elongated look vertically. Just ever so slightly..but enough that I notice it. Is it me ? I know this isn't something anyone can really help me fix but im frustrated trying to fix it and just need advice in case this is not uncommon.

Comments (Page 1)

Fairyy~

on May 12, 2006

Bump

Island Dog

on May 12, 2006

Do you mean LCD?

DanaGoyette

on May 12, 2006

It sounds like you aren't running at the monitor's native resolution (1280x1024). 1280x1024 is a different aspect ratio than most monitors (an odd 5:4 rather than 4:3), so stretching the image will make things not square. The best way to fix this is to set your desktop to the native resolution.

Fairyy~

on May 12, 2006

[Island Dog]
Do you mean LCD?

And im dyslexic on top of it all. yes...I have no idea why I wrote it that way...

Fairyy~

on May 12, 2006

When I bought the monitor..I asked that question. The description in advert said 1280 reso. I asked the salesman " Does that mean upto 1280 " He said yes....and that they were all preset on 1024 . Now I need to figure out if he didn't know what he was talking about or im still doing something wrong.

Lantec

on May 12, 2006

Under "Display Properties - Settings - Advanced - Monitor" be sure that the refresh rate is set to 60 Hertz also check the "Hide Modes......" box hit apply. Go back to the settings page and use the slider to choose your resolution. because of the way LCD are manufactured you'll want to use the "native" resolution which for a 17" is probably 1280x1024 If you WANTor NEED to go with 1024x768 you might want to trade in for a Coventional Flat Screen

PoSmedley

on May 12, 2006

I do a lot of reading on stuff. Someday, I may actually my back might get beter and I will be able to work again and buy me some toys. lol.

Anyway...I think they are only just refining LCD's to be as good as CRT's when it comes to graphics and such. Crt's are more suitable for exacting graphics and unlike an LCD which has a fixed number of pixels defining it's resolution, CRT's are not so constrained. In order for an LCD to display at a lower resolution, it must interpolate, and this can look horrible.

I don't understand the finer details, someone else does I'm sure, but you want to check the pixel pitch. Two of the more recomended LCD monitors have a pitch of .26mm and .258mm (The first goes for about $750 and is good, the second for $1600) One of the reasons they are so good with graphics also, is that their native resolution is 1600x1200.

I would checkwith the vendors for any updates or patches that would apply to your vid card and monitor and their compatability.

I went through this a few years ago with my first lcd (A Gateway) and didn't know it was out of the norm til I saw my graphics on a CRT. I was able to make some adjustments through the Nvidia card that came with the PC, but I never quite got the 'rounded' look I should have had on some things. I think it was partly due to the fact that it wasn't an 'exceptionally' good LCD monitor. Since then, I've pretty much stuck with CRT's. My wife's new laptop, which is a far cry beter than our desktop isn't as good with graphics as the desktops CRT monitor.

Can you adjust the screen settings with your vid card?
You could also try running an Active X diagnostic scan and maybe adjusting some of the resolution settings there as well.

Or wait til someone who can explain it all beter comes along.

Good luck!

Fairyy~

on May 12, 2006

[Lantec]
Under "Display Properties - Settings - Advanced - Monitor" be sure that the refresh rate is set to 60 Hertz also check the "Hide Modes......" box hit apply. Go back to the settings page and use the slider to choose your resolution. because of the way LCD are manufactured you'll want to use the "native" resolution which for a 17" is probably 1280x1024 If you WANTor NEED to go with 1024x768 you might want to trade in for a Coventional Flat Screen

I had tried changing from 60 Hertz to 75 before..I put it back to 60 now. This monitor has and auto config when you change resolutions. I tried going with 1280 x 1024 and it prompted me to reboot. While it helped a bit on round objects vertically...they were off a bit horizontally ........

Thanks Po for your imput too.. I guess I may have to return this for a regular flat screen. I know I need a new computer but I was holding off..the graphics driver is really old but there doesnt seem to be an updated one for this computer. Others have tried looking for me and found nothing newer .

Again..thanks for the advice ( all ) .. I knew this is not something you can fix for me. But at least I have a better understanding of the problem.

Corky_O

on May 12, 2006

Fairry,

Return the monitor for a new one, or another of your choosing - especially if this is at the lower price range.

Some manufacturers use inferior electronic components in their products to offer them at lower cost. It is not uncommon to find a monitor that has just passed the quality control inspection process, and is really not meeting the 'nominal' standard.

I would also suggest uninstalling the current display (and video adapter) via Device Manager and turn off the computer > replace the monitor with one of your choice > start computer and allow Windows to load the drivers (for both the display and video adapter) > use Device Manager (or the Add Hardware Wizard if it is invoked), to update the driver(s).

Any circle should be mapped to, and displayed correctly by, the pixels - and therefore displayed as a circle (assuming you are using a supported mode).

Inge18

on May 12, 2006

If you want to have all the advantages a LCD display has, you have to connect the panel with a DVI cable (your graphics card must have a DVI output). When you connect it with a normal VGA cable, then the digital data the graphics card produces has to be converted to an analogue signal, and the monitor again converts the analogue signal into digital data. The result is a loss in transmission. Cheaper LCD models produce a shadow around the pixel, so the LCD looks as unsharp as a CRT. Connecting via DVI transfers the digital data from the graphics card right to the monitor without losses. (ooh, my English)

And yes, I can only second that: Run the LCD only in the native resolution.

Phoon

on May 12, 2006

Let's not forget to enable clear type on that DVI connection. Go to your display properties, Appearance. Hit the Effects button and change the method of smoothing screen fonts to Clear Type.
This will make a nice change to text displayed on DVI LCD's.

PoSmedley

on May 12, 2006

Let's not forget to enable clear type on that DVI connection.

YES!

When I did my full restore a few weeks ago, I was going nuts cause all the text and graphics were off. I forgot about the clear type setting.

Fairyy~

on May 12, 2006

[Phoon]
Let's not forget to enable clear type on that DVI connection. Go to your display properties, Appearance. Hit the Effects button and change the method of smoothing screen fonts to Clear Type.

Glad you mentioned that...I had it set for Clear Type...yet when I just checked it had been changed somehow.

And yes, I can only second that: Run the LCD only in the native resolution.

Thats what Im doing at the moment..but I dont like it at 1280.

Return the monitor for a new one, or another of your choosing - especially if this is at the lower price range.

Some manufacturers use inferior electronic components in their products to offer them at lower cost. It is not uncommon to find a monitor that has just passed the quality control inspection process, and is really not meeting the 'nominal' standard.

I would als

Thanks Corky..i wasnt really trying to " cheap " out here ..I let the salesman kinda talk me into this one. I know I asked the correct questions...im not sure he answered them honestly though.

My old monitor ..I could adjust any resolution so objects were round..this one I can't..plain and simple. Unless it remains on 1280.

Thankyou all for your time.

Phoon

on May 12, 2006

Fairyy,
Would a screenshot be too much to ask? I'm curious about this.

Jafo

on May 12, 2006

Main difference between a CRT and LCD is the latter has static pixels. They won't 'move' no matter what you do to the screen res...[short of hitting it stupid with a hammer and rearranging its shape].

A CRT scans/sprays the 'pixels' across the screen...and generally will support a quite extensive resolution variation, though ultimately there are limits.

The LCD has a finite number which corresponds to one specific resolution. Any deviation from that resolution will guarantee an inferior image.

Same goes for refresh-rate.

If your native res is 1280x1024 then that is THE size you will be using. The only time you 'should' see a different res is while booting....then it'll be VGA's default....640x480.

If you want to be playing with multiple-choice resolutions....and adjusting your own refresh-rates...and still maintain a quality/clarity of graphic image...then you are [still] stuck with CRT. Simply buy a truly flat one and the only disadvantage you will have is the size of the 'box'.

A good quality 'flat' CRT will and does still out-perform a LCD....and for less dollars...

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