Forcing Screen Resolution

[Grinder]

I know that someone else has to have had this same problem, but I've
been unable to find a discussion that's both on point and with a solution.

A new 20" LCD (Westinghouse L2045NV) has been purchased that has a
native resolution of 1400x1050. There is no monitor "driver" available
for that particular model, as far as I can tell.

There is no 1400x1050 option for "Screen Resolution" even though the
graphics card (Radeon 9200) should have plenty of memory to accomplish
it. I see no way in the (current) version of Catalyst to force a
specific resolution.

How can I get the system to drive the monitor at its native resolution?

 

[Paul]

I know that someone else has to have had this same problem, but I've
been unable to find a discussion that's both on point and with a solution.

A new 20" LCD (Westinghouse L2045NV) has been purchased that has a
native resolution of 1400x1050. There is no monitor "driver" available
for that particular model, as far as I can tell.

There is no 1400x1050 option for "Screen Resolution" even though the
graphics card (Radeon 9200) should have plenty of memory to accomplish
it. I see no way in the (current) version of Catalyst to force a
specific resolution.

How can I get the system to drive the monitor at its native resolution?

I looked in my Catalyst Control Panel, and there is no 1400x1050,
even in the "Force..." submenu. The Force option, is for selecting
stuff outside the normal range. Your 1400x1050 is a 4:3 ratio, which
is great, but appears to be non-standard. If you run out of options,
try Powerstrip from entechtaiwan.com . It works with ATI and Nvidia
video cards, and has a custom resolution setting capability - that is,
if you can figure out how to work it.

Entechtaiwan, also has a moninfo application, which can be used to
examine the EDID info coming across the serial link from the monitor.
If the monitor supports DDC serial, then you may be able to see
a "mode line" in the displayed result, in the moninfo window. By
doing some simple arithmetic (subtracting adjacent numbers of
the mode line), you can get the front porch, back porch and
other assorted numbers. So maybe that is how you would go about
providing info for use in Powerstrip. I've exhausted my Powerstrip
trial period, so I can no longer experiment with it.

(Powerstrip - shareware)
http://www.entechtaiwan.com/util/ps.shtm

(Moninfo - freeware)
http://www.entechtaiwan.com/util/moninfo.shtm

This is my modeline. (1280 1328 1440 1688) is horizontal.
(1024 1025 1028 1066) is vertical.

Modeline................ "1280x1024" 108.000 1280 1328 1440 1688 1024 1025 1028 1066 +hsync +vsync

Actually, it says here:

http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Working_with_Modelines

"Powerstrip can read the EDID data from your monitor and generate
a modeline -- videogen can not."

So it looks like Powerstrip should be able to populate the control
window by itself, with no math. You'd only need to learn about
this stuff, if using display devices with no DDC serial link,
such as projection devices.

Post back how it works out. Someone else might benefit.

HTH,
Paul

 

[kony]

I know that someone else has to have had this same problem, but I've
been unable to find a discussion that's both on point and with a solution.

A new 20" LCD (Westinghouse L2045NV) has been purchased that has a
native resolution of 1400x1050. There is no monitor "driver" available
for that particular model, as far as I can tell.

There is no 1400x1050 option for "Screen Resolution" even though the
graphics card (Radeon 9200) should have plenty of memory to accomplish
it. I see no way in the (current) version of Catalyst to force a
specific resolution.

How can I get the system to drive the monitor at its native resolution?

If there's nothing in the Catalyst Contol Center that will
allow this res., try an nVidia card... just tried it on this
system with one (FX5700) and it supports 1440x1050 as a
custom resolution even with the now old 78.05 Detonator
version I have to use to keep the onboard tuner/capture
drivers happy.

 

[Grinder]

If you run out of options, try Powerstrip from entechtaiwan.com .

That utility looks to be useful, but perhaps a bit to powerful for my
application. I'm looking for something fairly simple as this monitor is
for the daughter of a friend. I'll take a look at Powerstrip--maybe
there's a way to have quick settings, and hide the more complicated
parts of the interface.

A couple of other things I've found:

There are some guys that apparently have there own tweak version of
catalyst that has additional resolutions:

http://www.omegadrivers.net/

Also, there's a bare bones command line force resolution application
that looks a little scary:

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=219749

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Grinder]

If there's nothing in the Catalyst Contol Center that will
allow this res., try an nVidia card... just tried it on this
system with one (FX5700) and it supports 1440x1050 as a
custom resolution even with the now old 78.05 Detonator
version I have to use to keep the onboard tuner/capture
drivers happy.

I'll try that. <roots through parts box>

 

[kony]

I'll try that. <roots through parts box>

DOH!

I meant, 1400 x 1050, that is what I tried and it worked.

 

[Grinder]

I know that someone else has to have had this same problem, but I've
been unable to find a discussion that's both on point and with a solution.

A new 20" LCD (Westinghouse L2045NV) has been purchased that has a
native resolution of 1400x1050. There is no monitor "driver" available
for that particular model, as far as I can tell.

There is no 1400x1050 option for "Screen Resolution" even though the
graphics card (Radeon 9200) should have plenty of memory to accomplish
it. I see no way in the (current) version of Catalyst to force a
specific resolution.

How can I get the system to drive the monitor at its native resolution?

Ok, I tried the Omega Drivers and was able to get my monitor to show
1400x1050 @ 60Hz. Changing to any higher refresh would produce "no
signal." It looks like crap, so I went back to the original drivers.

 

[Grinder]

Ok, I tried the Omega Drivers and was able to get my monitor to show
1400x1050 @ 60Hz. Changing to any higher refresh would produce "no
signal." It looks like crap, so I went back to the original drivers.

Just to quantify "crap" a bit: The display looked like when you set an
LCD to just below its native resolution--mostly clean text with bands
intermittent bands of blurriness.

 

[Paul]

Just to quantify "crap" a bit: The display looked like when you set an
LCD to just below its native resolution--mostly clean text with bands
intermittent bands of blurriness.

Maybe the actual mode it is using, isn't 1400x1050 ?

For whatever reason, maybe the actual video card hardware is running at some
other resolution. Short of using an oscilloscope, I don't know how you can
easily verify what the output of the video card is doing.

Paul

 

[kony]

Maybe the actual mode it is using, isn't 1400x1050 ?

For whatever reason, maybe the actual video card hardware is running at some
other resolution. Short of using an oscilloscope, I don't know how you can
easily verify what the output of the video card is doing.

Paul

While it would be more difficult to determine actual output
resolution without hooking up another monitor capable of
1400x1050 or larger res (and even then, a bit of a pain to
determine if it's really exactly 1400x1050 except maybe if
some kind of 2x2 grid image were displayed then checked for
uniformity, one way to get some idea if the driver is at
least *trying* to do it would be to just do a screencapture
(Print Screen Key) while in that video mode and open it
(paste clipboard into) an image editing app to see what the
reported dimensions are.

I also wonder if there are some menu settings on the monitor
that might control related settings.

 

[Noozer]

A new 20" LCD (Westinghouse L2045NV) has been purchased that has a
Two things... Firmware in the monitor needs updating or that monitor really
isn't 1400x1050.

I mention the firmware because I bought a 24" widescreen Acer LCD that
Windows refused to use at it's native resolution (1920x1200 I think). When I
contacted Acer they acknowledged it was a firmware problem and that a
certified shop could update it. Instead I just returned the monitor.

The reason I think it may not really be 1400x1050 is that I can't find that
model of monitor using Google, and Westinghouse certainly doesn't make their
own. I did find an HP L2045w and it's native resolution is 1680x1050. Will
your video drivers let you choose something higher thatn 1400x1050? 60Hz
refresh is fine for LCD.

Can you verify the information on the label on the back of the monitor?

 

[Grinder]

Two things... Firmware in the monitor needs updating or that monitor really
isn't 1400x1050.

I mention the firmware because I bought a 24" widescreen Acer LCD that
Windows refused to use at it's native resolution (1920x1200 I think). When I
contacted Acer they acknowledged it was a firmware problem and that a
certified shop could update it. Instead I just returned the monitor.

The reason I think it may not really be 1400x1050 is that I can't find that
model of monitor using Google, and Westinghouse certainly doesn't make their
own. I did find an HP L2045w and it's native resolution is 1680x1050.

Here is the product page at Westinghouse, for what it's worth:

http://www.westinghousedigital.com/details.aspx?itemnum=104

Sorry about the typo: It should have been L2046NV.

Will
your video drivers let you choose something higher thatn 1400x1050? 60Hz
refresh is fine for LCD.

I don't exactly recall. (This unit has been installed in a friend's
house, so I don't have instant access to it.) I'll check that out next
time I'm over there.

Can you verify the information on the label on the back of the monitor?

Surely.

 

[Paul]

Here is the product page at Westinghouse, for what it's worth:

http://www.westinghousedigital.com/details.aspx?itemnum=104

Sorry about the typo: It should have been L2046NV.

I see in their product FAQ, they have no intention of providing a driver.

http://www.westinghousedigital.com/faqs.aspx?itemnum=104

"Q: Do I need a monitor driver?
A: You don’t need a monitor driver to drive you LCD display.
Some LCD manufacturers do include an information file of their
monitor for users to load. However, Westinghouse monitors are
fully Plug and Play."

So I guess that means they don't believe in color profiles either.

Paul

 

[Noozer]

Here is the product page at Westinghouse, for what it's worth:

http://www.westinghousedigital.com/details.aspx?itemnum=104

Sorry about the typo: It should have been L2046NV.


I don't exactly recall. (This unit has been installed in a friend's
house, so I don't have instant access to it.) I'll check that out next
time I'm over there.


Surely.

Well, if that model # is right, then it is indeed 1400x1050... Are you using
the VGA or DVI connection? DVI is much preferred.

 

[Guest]

| That utility looks to be useful, but perhaps a bit to powerful for my
| application. I'm looking for something fairly simple as this monitor is
| for the daughter of a friend. I'll take a look at Powerstrip--maybe
| there's a way to have quick settings, and hide the more complicated
| parts of the interface.

It takes a lot of power to overcome deficient software.

 

[Grinder]

Well, if that model # is right, then it is indeed 1400x1050... Are you using
the VGA or DVI connection? DVI is much preferred.

VGA, it's the only connector on the video card.

 

[Guest]

| On Wed, 10 Oct 2007 04:00:28 GMT, Grinder
|
|>I know that someone else has to have had this same problem, but I've
|>been unable to find a discussion that's both on point and with a solution.
|>
|>A new 20" LCD (Westinghouse L2045NV) has been purchased that has a
|>native resolution of 1400x1050. There is no monitor "driver" available
|>for that particular model, as far as I can tell.
|>
|>There is no 1400x1050 option for "Screen Resolution" even though the
|>graphics card (Radeon 9200) should have plenty of memory to accomplish
|>it. I see no way in the (current) version of Catalyst to force a
|>specific resolution.
|>
|>How can I get the system to drive the monitor at its native resolution?
|
| If there's nothing in the Catalyst Contol Center that will
| allow this res., try an nVidia card... just tried it on this
| system with one (FX5700) and it supports 1440x1050 as a
| custom resolution even with the now old 78.05 Detonator
| version I have to use to keep the onboard tuner/capture
| drivers happy.

I have an old Matrox Millennium video card that lets me run 1440x1050 just
fine ... as long as I am willing to accept a lower frame rate due to the
fact that this ancient technology didn't have a very high pixel clock

Fortunately, the G450 has sufficient pixel clock frequency to let me get
it up to 50.5 Hz vertical. The older Millennium (1) could only get up to
about 40 Hz vertical ... which would display just fine in LCD technology
(don't try this on CRT), if only embedded software in LCD monitors would
allow direct synthesizer divider programming.

 

[Guest]

| I mention the firmware because I bought a 24" widescreen Acer LCD that
| Windows refused to use at it's native resolution (1920x1200 I think). When I
| contacted Acer they acknowledged it was a firmware problem and that a
| certified shop could update it. Instead I just returned the monitor.

It's not Windows. It's a limitation of the driver. At work, some of us
use Linux and some use Windows. Both groups have encountered problems
like this. In the case of Windows users it's always the driver doing the
bad. In the case of Linux it's always the desktop window manager (that
changes resolution after you login) doing the bad. Explicit programming
of the modelines in the xorg.conf file always gets around it. But that's
not an option for MS Windows.


| The reason I think it may not really be 1400x1050 is that I can't find that
| model of monitor using Google, and Westinghouse certainly doesn't make their
| own. I did find an HP L2045w and it's native resolution is 1680x1050. Will
| your video drivers let you choose something higher thatn 1400x1050? 60Hz
| refresh is fine for LCD.
|
| Can you verify the information on the label on the back of the monitor?

I have an Acer brand 1400x1050 at work that runs fine. The monitor's clock
is spot on (very sharp crisp text when the text is rendered without any
anti-aliasing). I don't remember the exact model number. It is 20 inch
diagonal. Text console mode is not so good because the monitor can't get
the vertical down to the frame rate needed to effect the 1400x1050 geometry
in that mode.

 

[Guest]

| Grinder wrote:
|
|>
|> Here is the product page at Westinghouse, for what it's worth:
|>
|> http://www.westinghousedigital.com/details.aspx?itemnum=104
|>
|> Sorry about the typo: It should have been L2046NV.
|>
|
| I see in their product FAQ, they have no intention of providing a driver.
|
| http://www.westinghousedigital.com/faqs.aspx?itemnum=104
|
| "Q: Do I need a monitor driver?
| A: You don?t need a monitor driver to drive you LCD display.
| Some LCD manufacturers do include an information file of their
| monitor for users to load. However, Westinghouse monitors are
| fully Plug and Play."

The monitor tells the video card (by some mean ... I never looked up just
how it does that) what the native resolution is. The video card driver
should be able to get that info and just do it. But it seems many video
card drivers don't do this very well.


| So I guess that means they don't believe in color profiles either.

Perhaps not. Or perhaps that's included in the information send from the
monitor to the vide card?

 

[kony]

| On Wed, 10 Oct 2007 04:00:28 GMT, Grinder
|
|>I know that someone else has to have had this same problem, but I've
|>been unable to find a discussion that's both on point and with a solution.
|>
|>A new 20" LCD (Westinghouse L2045NV) has been purchased that has a
|>native resolution of 1400x1050. There is no monitor "driver" available
|>for that particular model, as far as I can tell.
|>
|>There is no 1400x1050 option for "Screen Resolution" even though the
|>graphics card (Radeon 9200) should have plenty of memory to accomplish
|>it. I see no way in the (current) version of Catalyst to force a
|>specific resolution.
|>
|>How can I get the system to drive the monitor at its native resolution?
|
| If there's nothing in the Catalyst Contol Center that will
| allow this res., try an nVidia card... just tried it on this
| system with one (FX5700) and it supports 1440x1050 as a
| custom resolution even with the now old 78.05 Detonator
| version I have to use to keep the onboard tuner/capture
| drivers happy.

I have an old Matrox Millennium video card that lets me run 1440x1050 just
fine ... as long as I am willing to accept a lower frame rate due to the
fact that this ancient technology didn't have a very high pixel clock

So in other words, it doesn't do it just fine.

However, I don't think we've yet determined that the OP's
video card is definitely the problem, as there is still some
question as to whether the monitor is handling what it
receives correctly.

Fortunately, the G450 has sufficient pixel clock frequency to let me get
it up to 50.5 Hz vertical. The older Millennium (1) could only get up to
about 40 Hz vertical ... which would display just fine in LCD technology
(don't try this on CRT), if only embedded software in LCD monitors would
allow direct synthesizer divider programming.

New Higher-Res Widescreen LCD - $250
Used Maxtrox G450 - $5

It would be more cost effective for us all to pay you 20
cents each to offset the loss of your video card instead of
bearing the higher cost of implementing this change and
added support to modern higher-res LCDs... support which
most of us don't need.