Watching DVDs on LCD monitor - help...

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 7:49 am

I have recently entered the 21st century and purchased a new system, complete with a nice, shiny LCD screen. I'm very happy with the image quality for gaming, but am having a bit of difficulty when attempting to watch a DVD. There is extreme interlacing, with the text on the menu all but unreadable.

I have managed to work around this by, alternatively, lowering the resolution from 1280*1024 and changing the refresh rate to 60 or 52 htz. Trouble is, the image quality is not what I would expect. I can see everything fine, but the picture is a little 'fuzzy', and certainly not as clear as what I am used to on my TV.

Is this normal for an LCD screen, or is something borked on my settings? I've tried hunting around for a solution, but my Google-fu is weak...

lokiju · Post by **lokiju** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 6:09 pm

Mark, you would have to provide some more data. Brand, model, computer specs, etc...

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 8:32 pm

My monitor is a Samsung 172X 17", with an AMD 3000 64 chip, 1G RAM, Abit NF8 Mobo and a WinFast GeForce 6800 GT with the latest drivers. As I mentioned, I can get the damned thing to play without interlacing problems, but the imagine quality just doesn't seem up to scratch.

Grrr...

SirReal · Post by **SirReal** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 4:38 am

Try another DVD player program.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 5:13 pm

Try another DVD player program.

Sigh. Thanks, but I've tried about half a dozen (WinDVD, Mediaplayer, PowerDVD etc), all with the same result. I'm sure it's something ridiculously simple, though, so I'll keep hunting around.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Biyobi · Post by **Biyobi** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 6:51 pm

Is there maybe a newer BIOS for your video card?

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:00 pm

Well, well. I've managed to dig up some information that seems to indicate that the video processor on the NV40 chip is faulty on a number of 6800s. This impacts on 2d performance and video playback. While I have not noticed any problems with my normal 2d display, the video playback is certainly not working correctly. A couple of other users have noticed they can effect a workaround by lowering resolution/refresh rate, but software updates from NVIDIA do nothing.

Might have to give my hardware vendor a call, methinks. Maybe I can swap the GT out to a X800 or something...

lokiju · Post by **lokiju** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 12:39 pm

Glad to hear you have a trail to follow Mark. Sorry that I didn't check back sooner to help you out.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 5:15 pm

Well, bloody hell! I reinstalled all my drivers last night - including my monitor drivers - and now the stupid thing seems to work at 1280*1024 @ 75 Htz. The image quality is still a little 'grainy' though, and the picture isn't as sharp as I would like. Should a DVD played on an LCD monitor look the business, or is the quality less than a CRT screen? Might have to dig around for better software solution....

Freezer-TPF- · Post by **Freezer-TPF-** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 5:55 pm

I don't have one, but I think I have read that LCDs generally don't show the depth of black levels as well as a CRT, which may make things look grainy or washed out, particularly when watching a movie.

lokiju · Post by **lokiju** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 7:49 pm

Freezer-TPF- wrote:I don't have one, but I think I have read that LCDs generally don't show the depth of black levels as well as a CRT, which may make things look grainy or washed out, particularly when watching a movie.

Yeah, that's been my experience. Though I guess it also comes down to which monitor you have, and how you set it up.