jpadua,
PLEASE HELP I assembled my PC but the bad thing is I didn't follow your advice on the spec of an HTPC. My setup are as follows:
AMD Athlon 2.4 XP Copper Cool
Asus A7V8X 8X gp kt400 DDR
INNO3D GF4 MX440SE 64MB DDR TV
VOLCANO 6 CU+ FAN
VGA EXTENSION CABLE 6 FT.
SEAGATE 40 GIG 5400RPM
SAMSUNG COMBO 48/24/48CDRW/16X
256MB PC333 DDR
Now, the installation of the windows XP worked fine with some visible wavy lines, then when the windows was loading after the installation, it went blank.
Hindi ba kaya ng set-up ko yung resolution na kailangan ng pixelplus? the screen prompted that the pc set up resolution is set to low and asked whether to adjust the resolution to fit the current monitor (pixelplus). When we clicked yes it went blank.
Will increasing the RAM from 256 to 512 or more will do the trick? Masyado na kasing mahal kung bibili pa ako ng Raedeon na video card worth P8k right? Hindi ba enough yung videocard ko or yung setup ko What should I do to make it work without incurring additional cost aside from increasing the RAM
I hope you can help me and also the other guru out there.
Thanks
Hi Dongkhoi,
I already know what the problem is,
I also encountered that the first time.
All HDTV's accept 640x480@60hz resolution. So that includes your our Pixelplus (BTW did you get the 29" or the 34" sarap pag naka 34" ka! mine is 29")
First thing you have to do is, use a standard monitor first to set the proper resolutions. do not connect it to you TV until you have set all the correct resolutions on your PC.
Pixel plus, accepts the following resolutions
progressive scan resolutions
640x480p
720x480p
720x576p
720x540p
960x540p
Interlaced resolutions
(all the interlaced resolutions are good for gaming, especially the 1280x1024 since this fills the whole screen)
800x600i
1024x768i
1280x1024i (best fo gaming)
1440x1080i (best for DVD playback if your card supports it e.g. radeon)
Very important information you must know about TV's especially your pixel plus.
TVs aren't multi scan unlike PC monitors. So they can only accept a certain horizontal and vertical frequency.
The standards are as follows:
NTSC 60Hz vertical and close to 34Khz horizontal
PAL 50hz vertical close to 31Khz horizontal
Pixel plus accepts both NTSC and PAL signals.
(I suggest you print this so that later when you set up it would be easier to reference, this may be a bit extensive)
Step by step guide.
1. connect a pc monitor to your computer and boot up
2. set your desktop resolution to 640x480, right click on desktop, then properties, then settings, then advanced, adaptor, list all modes. Select 640x480 60hz. Windows XP will auto matically adjust your vertical refresh rate to the highest your monitor will support thats why you have to go through the whole list and select 60HZ so you are in the NTSC range. Go back to settings, then advanced but this time click on the Monitor Tab. Click properties->driver->update driver->display list of known drivers->show all hardware->Sony Corporation->Sony GDM-W900. Your monitor now will now display GDM-W900 as your default monitor. (You need to select this because the GDM-W900 allows all resolutions to be set, if you use standard monitor some resolutions will not be available).
3. after you're desktop settings have changed, without shutting down your computer, remover your monitor and plug in your Pixelplus and switch to AV3 (this is where the VGA connector is). Congratulations, you now have a 640x480 screen on your TV. Now that you have tested your TV. unplug it again, then plug your monitor back in.
4. Install a utility called Powerstrip make sure its V.3.3 so you have the latest HD resolutions.
5. After installing powerstrip, you will find a small powerstrip icon on your tray near the clock. Right click and select options->properties->quicksetup->rescan. Here you will tell powerstrip that 640x480@60hz is the default resolution and the GDM-W900 as the default monitor. (you need to do this so that you can always revert back to 640x480 via hotkey).
6. right click options->hotkey manager, turn it on and remember the hot key to return back to default ... default is usually ctrl-alt-s.
7. now its time to setup your HD resolutions. right-click powerstrip icon on tray, then click on display profiles-> configure->advanced timing options, custom resolutions.
Now its time to add a resolution, scan the list for HD resolutions. Select 960x540 hdtv derived, look at the right panel, and change 960 to 720 (since our pixelplus is 4:3 not 16:9) make sure that the vertical and horizontal frequencies are 60hz and 34khz respectively.
then click add resolution. Powerstrip will inform you whether your video card has accepted the resolution, or will ask you to reboot. After this, click all the nesessary buttons to close the powerstrip window, make sure the power strip is still active and sitting on the tray.
5. go back to your desktop and rightclick properties->settings->advanced->adapter->list all modes. Look for 720x540@60hz. And select it. After your desktop settings have changed, test it again on your TV by removing your monitor and plugging your video card to the vga port on your TV and select AV3 again. You will now see your desktop on the TV! you may notice a little overscan or maybe the screen isnt centered. To fix this, right click on the powerstirp icon on the tray, select display profiles again->configure->advanced timing options. on the left panel you will see arrows, position and size, only move the left and right arrows to center, do not click on the other arrows cause this will make changes to the vertical and horizontal frequencies. Adjust to your liking then click OK. Then click save as. 720 x 540 pixels, TrueColor (32 bit). then OK to exit. Now when you right click powerstrip display profiles, you will see a new resolution 720x540!
Ok more or less thats it, nextime you reboot your computer, you can leave the TV connected now. And you will be displaying 720x540.
Why 720x540? cause.. your Geforce Card, does not fully support interlaced desktop resolution (only works in games) since 1080i is what we are gunning for, 1080 interlced is just 540lines odd and 540 lines even being displayed one at a time so this would be the same as 540 progressive. Your TV will detect your resolution as 1080i.
You can experiment with other resolutions, using the same steps when setting up our 720x540 res. Remember anytime you screw up your screen, you can always press.. ctrl-alt-s to go back to 640x480 and get your desktop back and try again.
You can always experiment with different resolutions, always remember to be as close as possible to 60hz and 34khz for NTSC and 50hz and 31.5khz for PAL.
The best resolution I have been successfully able to set is 960x540p so you get the full lines from your DVD Disc.
I Use Theatretek bacuse I can Fix Aspect ratios, and resize the DVD playback overlay. Since I am using 960x540, the picture looks tall so I just do a software vertical squeeze.
Good luck in setting up your PC! I hope this would help you.
There are still a lot of Tweeks we can do to even get a much sharper and higher resolution picture!!! thats why I love HTPCs hehehe, like using VMR9, FFDshow Video Processor, Video upscaling etc.. but we can tackle that some other time, when you have been able to get comfy with your PC connected to your HDTV
For now, enjoy! DVD HDTV Heaven!
By the way, your Geforce 4MX440 SE 64 is ok to begin with once you start tweeking you will itch for a better video card. If you are interested, I'm selling my Inno3d GeForce 4 ti4200 128mb... I'm planning to get a radeon soon.
Jay