1080 resolution on Pansonic Viera

[simpkins]

Hi all

I've been trying to obtain a 1080i display on a Panasonic 42 inch HD Viera using NVIDIA settings with limited success. Connection is via DVI to HDMI converter cable.

I've changed the signal to HD and selected 1080i but the resulting overscan doesn't give a great result. Resizing the desktop doesn't help. Tried just about every available resolution with no joy.

I have an LG PVR that automatically sets up a perfect 1080i picture and I'd love to achieve the same image with MCE. I feel I must be missing something.

All suggestions & ideas most welcome.



Windows XP SP2
Board: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. G33M-DS2R
1024 Megabytes Installed Memory
NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT with 185 drivers
Pansonic Viera HD 42 inch
C-Media Oxygen HD Audio Device
Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2200

[beneuto]

Are you saying you cant get a picture at all?

Using XP with 1080p I found that with MCE the picture would never fill the screen. With Win 7 it works perfectly - same video card!

[kviecinska]

Hi,

check your viera native res in user manual.
if tv says 1080i usualy it means 720p and native res would be 13?? by 7??
1080p = 1920x1080
You can try 1280X720 or 768

if your card and drivers let you chose it.

as close to native res you'l go better picture you'l get.

[birdie101]

Is it a Full-HD Panasonic, or an older model? If older, the native res of the 42 inch panels is actually 1024x768.

When you send a true 1080i signal, you will see overscan that will affect your windows computer experience, but should show exactly the same as the output of your DVR. Overscan is part of the normal signal and only becomes an issue when you send a computer signal to a "tv" not a monitor.

Hope that helps,
Luek

[simpkins]

Thanks for the replies.

The Panasonic is 3 years old. I'm not too concerned that the Windows desktop may be overscanned but the basic problem is the oversized TV picture. The manual indicates a signal of 1080i @ 50Hz on HDMI connection. Are you saying that a true 1080i will not be possible because of the native resolution? If that's the case, why does the PVR give such a great image?

Is it something to do with scaling? I love the concept of Media Center but the current picture simply does not compete with the PVR.

Any other ideas?

[GlenR]

I had a 42" Panasonic Viera and found it gave a good pic if you set the card to HDTV - 720p. Arguably 720p is better than 1080i, but that's another argument.


When you say you don't like the 1080i picture, what exactly is wrong with it? Is it just overscan or something else?

[simpkins]

It seems to be an overscan problem - images seem out of proportion.

[pistnbroke]

Have you tried the VGA connection ?

You can get a very good picture with VGA and can also customize your resolution easily...

[birdie101]

Could it also be the zoom settings within MCE? Have a play with them and see if it makes a difference.

Luke

[simpkins]

Thanks Birdie101.. that's exactly what it was. Can't believe I didn't think of it!!

Much appreciated.

[birdie101]

So your pic quality is now comparable? I hope so

Cheers,
Luke