Widescreen display - dumb question

[Cooter]

Just bought a new PC which included a 19" widescreen LCD monitor, my first.
The display properties indicate a setting of 1024 x 768 pixels, which is
what I want. However, the entire monitor width is filled, causing a
horizontally stretched image. Can I / should I use the monitor's horizontal
positioning controls to correct the distortion, or is this a characteristic
of widescreen monitors?

Any help appreciated.
Cooter

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Hi Cooter,

Set the display resolution matching the native resolution of your 19" widescreen LCD. Otherwise, the display (particularly the text) may appear blurry or distorted. The native resolution depends upon the make and model of the LCD monitor you're using. Mine is Samsung SyncMaster 940BW / native resolution 1440x900.

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com


Just bought a new PC which included a 19" widescreen LCD monitor, my first.
The display properties indicate a setting of 1024 x 768 pixels, which is
what I want. However, the entire monitor width is filled, causing a
horizontally stretched image. Can I / should I use the monitor's horizontal
positioning controls to correct the distortion, or is this a characteristic
of widescreen monitors?

Any help appreciated.
Cooter

 

[FreeComputerConsultant.com]

That's not a dumb question.

The other reply is absolutely correct. I feel that manufacturers should
make it better known that there is usually only one resolution that the
monitor will display correctly - the "native" resolution.

Especially for older individuals or those with poor eyesight, that may
not work well.

www.FreeComputerConsultant.com

 

[DanS]

That's not a dumb question.

The other reply is absolutely correct. I feel that manufacturers
should make it better known that there is usually only one resolution
that the monitor will display correctly - the "native" resolution.

Especially for older individuals or those with poor eyesight, that may
not work well.

While the higher resolution may be hard to read because it is small, tha
is easily remedied by adjusting the size of window elements in the
'Display Properties' -> 'Appearance' tab - > 'Advanced'.

 

[Guest]

Just bought a new PC which included a 19" widescreen LCD monitor, my first.
The display properties indicate a setting of 1024 x 768 pixels, which is
what I want. However, the entire monitor width is filled, causing a
horizontally stretched image. Can I / should I use the monitor's horizontal
positioning controls to correct the distortion, or is this a characteristic
of widescreen monitors?

Any help appreciated.
Cooter

I have a 19" inch CMV 938D Chimei and just like Ramesh it is set at 1440 x
900 pixels. I had to phone the importer to get that information. The manual
did not even show this setting.

 

[FreeComputerConsultant.com]

Easily remedied on the one hand, but some software does not behave well
at that point.

I have had very few clients able to resolve the problem that way either
because:

a) things 'looked kinda funny' at that point
b) one or more software packages did not fit the text on buttons, etc
after making those changes.

Regards.

www.FreeComputerConsultant.com

 

[DanS]

Easily remedied on the one hand, but some software does not behave
well at that point.

I have had very few clients able to resolve the problem that way
either because:

a) things 'looked kinda funny' at that point
b) one or more software packages did not fit the text on buttons, etc
after making those changes.

That would have been a change of the DPI setting, not changing the window
element sizes.

The softwares that had the font problems is the fault of the programming
team not taking different DPI setting's into account.

 

[FreeComputerConsultant.com]

The softwares that had the font problems is the fault of the programming
team not taking different DPI setting's into account.

Absolutely correct; lousy programmers abound. Unfortunately for the
user, that leaves them screwed; unless their eye doctor can help.