I'm trying to help my Uncle set up his Sony 1080p HDTV with his Windows Vista Home Premium PC (He is going to mainly use it as a MediaCentre PC). I noticed that the clarity of the screen was not all that impressive and found out that it was running at a resolution of 800*600. I checked the monitor that it had and it was displaying a non plug and play device. He has connected the PC to a DVI>VGA converter as the PC input for his HDTV is VGA and not DVI.
I'm assuming that i need to change the monitor driver, but to what? As far as i know there are no Sony drivers available?
Sorry if this a n00b question, but haven't had the luxury of using HDTVs and Vista!!!

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"We’re busy doing nothi

More info is definately needed - especially regarding the video card, it's connectors and capabilities, AND the television and it's inputs, and what resolutions it'll accept over each type of input.  But, generally speaking, you don't want to use the "PC Input" of a 1080p HDTV.  AND, most new video cards and the newer video card drivers will have very good support for HDTV's via DVI and/or HDMI.

First off: 1080p = 1920 x 1080 (pixels) as a "standard" PC monitor resolution.  Even so, your video card settings will probably allow you to "treat the display device as an HDTV" and allow standard "720p", 1080i", and probably even "1080p" HDTV resloution support.  The TV should have a DVI Input - if so, use that.  If it's only got HDMI connectors, you may need a DVI-HDMI adapter and an HDMI cable.

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MS Vista Ult x64 * Mitsubishi HC5500 1080p projector * Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H mATX MB w/HD3200 IGP * AMD Phenom 9550 * 4GB RAM * 300GB + 500GB SATA * LG GGC-H20L BD + DVD/RW * PVR-150 NTSC * DVICO FusionHDTV3-T Gold + HDTV5 Gold USB ATSC tuners

Simple solution:

Hop on monoprice and buy a 6' dvi to hdmi cable.  No quality loss, all problems fixed.

I do not know of a SINGLE 1080p sony tv that will accept ANYTHING close to that over vga.  You wouldn't want to use it even if it did.

Easy fix, should cost about 10 bucks.

PC is a Phillips lx3000 spec:-

-	Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5200
-	1.66GHz, 533MHz FSB, 2MB Cache
-	Genuine Windows Vista (R) Home Premium
-	2048MB RAM Memory
-	250GB Hard Drive
-	Dual Layer DVD ReWriter Drive

-   Intel Graphic Media Accelerator 950 (DVI out)

HDTV is a Sony kdl46x2000 spec:-
2xHDMI
3xScart
1xVGA(15pin D-Sub) PC input

As stated previously PC is dvi out but is then connected to a DVI>VGA converter which is connected up to a VGA cable which is plugged into the back of the HDTV's VGA(15pin D-Sub) PC input.
I'm guessing it would be better if i use a DVI>HDMI Converter. But am i not just wasting the PC input on the HDTV and shouldn't I be able to get 1920x1080 res via the PC input anyway, which should give me the same clarity?

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"We’re busy doing nothi

Hi Leek,

I've just bought an 40" W2000, I remember reading somewhere that it was possible to get the VGA input to 1080p, but I can't find the url now - if you hunt around on Google, sure you'll find it.

I personally have my media center connected by DVI->HDMI cable, picture quality is great, only problem I have is the known ATI graphics card problem whereby if you change input on the tv, the graphics card signal isn't found when u change back again

Tony

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AMD64X2 6000+ | 3Gb Ram | 750Gb Samsung Spinpoint for TV | 200Gb Maxtor SATA OS Drive | ASUS M3N 78 PRO | FloppyDTV + Dragon CAM | Avermedia 707 | XFX 8600GT Silent Video Card | LG Blu-ray/HD DVD Drive | Xbox 360 | Arcsoft TMT3

leek:

PC is a Phillips lx3000 spec:-
 But am i not just wasting the PC input on the HDTV and shouldn't I be able to get 1920x1080 res via the PC input anyway, which should give me the same clarity?

Maybe - maybe not!  That's why I asked for the TV's specs (usually right there in the back of the User Manual).  Many HDTV's will only accept certain display resolutions via "VGA".  Mine is that way - it's a 1080i widescreen, but it'll only accept 640x480 over the "VGA" input.  Via DVI, it's true 1080i...  Look it up!  If it'll support 1920x1080 over "VGA", there are ways to make that happen - even if the PC doesn't recognize the display device as 1080p. 

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MS Vista Ult x64 * Mitsubishi HC5500 1080p projector * Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H mATX MB w/HD3200 IGP * AMD Phenom 9550 * 4GB RAM * 300GB + 500GB SATA * LG GGC-H20L BD + DVD/RW * PVR-150 NTSC * DVICO FusionHDTV3-T Gold + HDTV5 Gold USB ATSC tuners

You should not need a DVI to VGA or DVI to HDMI "converter".  All you need is a cable with the proper ends on it.  DVI connectors on most video cards have 2 distinct sets of pins...1 set for Analog and the other for digital connections.  This is knows as DVI-I (I for integrated).  The other 2 versions are DVI-D (D for digital) and DVI-A (A for analog, rarely seen).

As others have suggested, your best picture is obtained by using a DVI to HDMI cable.  By definition, this is a digital connection from the PC to the monitor and should provide the best results.

The next step is changing the resolution of the computer.  This is done by Right-clicking on the Windows desktop and selecting Personalize.  On the windows that pops up, click on Display Settings.  Make sure that you select the appropriate resolution: 1920x1080.

Lastly, you may have to run the "Configure your TV or Monitor" settings wizard in MCE.  This allows you to tell Media Center the type of device you are displaying on so that it will use the best display ability for the TV.

leek:

I'm trying to help my Uncle set up his Sony 1080p HDTV with his Windows Vista Home Premium PC (He is going to mainly use it as a MediaCentre PC). I noticed that the clarity of the screen was not all that impressive and found out that it was running at a resolution of 800*600. I checked the monitor that it had and it was displaying a non plug and play device. He has connected the PC to a DVI>VGA converter as the PC input for his HDTV is VGA and not DVI.
I'm assuming that i need to change the monitor driver, but to what? As far as i know there are no Sony drivers available?
Sorry if this a n00b question, but haven't had the luxury of using HDTVs and Vista!!!

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1: Dimension 9200 - Vista Ult, 2.4GHz Q6600 Core2Quad, 4GB RAM, 160GB, 750GB, 500GB USB, Nvidia 8300GS, PVR-150, HDTV Wonder, Vbox 3560, X360, DMA2100

2: HP m376n - MCE 2005, 2.6 P4 w/HT, 1GB RAM, 250GB, 400GB USB HD, Nvidia 6200, Emuzed MAUI, X360

Yep . . . You just need the cable:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10231&cs_id=1023104&p_id=2404&seq=1&format=2

or this one:
http://www.accessories4less.com/cgi-bin/item/MCV600HDMIDVI4


No, the vga WILL NOT do full resolution - and even if it did you wouldn't want to use the analog interface when you can have digital for

5 bucks for generic cable
12 bucks for monster