Graphics Quality with Digital to Analog adaptor

[steveb]

(Just talking Business Applications, not Video or Games)

When switching to Vista, I had to replace the card that was running my
Second Display in a Dual Display. The PCI-e card that I could find quickly
was an nVidia with Analog and Digital output.

With a PCIe card installed, the integrated adaptor is disabled by the Bios
(not an option) so I had to use both outputs on the new card.

I have two analog-only LCD monitors:
The analog port on the adaptor looks good, no problem
The digital port with the needed adaptor that came with card has soft focus,
small fonts are unlegable. The screen resoluton is set correctly for the
monitor but the focus/blur is worse than setting the wrong Res on an LCD.

Is this normal when using a digital to analog adaptor, or should I try to do
something about it ??

 

[Dave R.]

(Just talking Business Applications, not Video or Games)

When switching to Vista, I had to replace the card that was running my
Second Display in a Dual Display. The PCI-e card that I could find
quickly was an nVidia with Analog and Digital output.

With a PCIe card installed, the integrated adaptor is disabled by the
Bios (not an option) so I had to use both outputs on the new card.

I have two analog-only LCD monitors:
The analog port on the adaptor looks good, no problem
The digital port with the needed adaptor that came with card has soft
focus, small fonts are unlegable. The screen resoluton is set
correctly for the monitor but the focus/blur is worse than setting the
wrong Res on an LCD.

Is this normal when using a digital to analog adaptor, or should I try
to do something about it ??

I have a similar setup, and although I can tell the difference in
quality between the two it isn't nearly as pronounced as what you are
describing. I also found it nearly impossible to get the colors to
match between the two displays. I chalk it up to the additional
connection / conversion that is happening and live with it but you can
bet my next setup will have a video card with dual DVI outputs and two
LCDs with DVI inputs.

I'd make sure you have good solid physical connections (if you haven't
already) as well as disconnecting/reconnecting to make sure you don't
have any dust/oxidation affecting the electrical connections. You might
also try swapping the two displays to see if that makes a difference - I
know they were both working correctly on your old setup (if I'm reading
your post correctly), but it still could make a difference. You might
also play with the Clear Type settings, but I don't think you can adjust
only one display or the other so that might not help. Good luck...

Best Regards,

Dave

 

[steveb]

Switching the 2 identical monitors between the two ports fixed it. To make
sure it wasn't just a connection issues, I switched them back and it went
bad again.

For some reason one monitor likes the digital > analog adaptor better than
the other.

Thanks