How do I get a full screen through my TV's VGA input?

I just bought a Sony KDS-R50XBR1 rear projection TV with a PC input. I was
hoping it would be ideal for my Media Center PC. The problem is that through
the PC input, the screen is a rectangle in the middle, with black all around.
There's a lot of square inches around the picture that I'm not using. I've
tried using my TV settings, but all it can do is make the viewable area even
smaller.

I am I stuck with this screen size? Why won't the image expand to fit my 50"
screen?

Well, the native resolution is 1920 x 1080 by 1920 I beleive, so I set it to
that resolution in my ATI Catalyst app. When I did this though, it just
expanded the area beyond the black border around the PC image, so I couldn't
see everything on the screen anymore. It's like the black border around the
image is fixed on the TV, no matter what I set my resolution to.

"Tom Scales" wrote:

>
> "John M" <> wrote in message
> newsFE141A3-8042-4001-B886-...
> >I just bought a Sony KDS-R50XBR1 rear projection TV with a PC input. I was
> > hoping it would be ideal for my Media Center PC. The problem is that
> > through
> > the PC input, the screen is a rectangle in the middle, with black all
> > around.
> > There's a lot of square inches around the picture that I'm not using. I've
> > tried using my TV settings, but all it can do is make the viewable area
> > even
> > smaller.
> >
> > I am I stuck with this screen size? Why won't the image expand to fit my
> > 50"
> > screen?
>
> You need to set the resolution of the computer to match the native
> resolution of the TV.
>
> Tom
>
>
>

Does your video card have Dual monitor support, and if so. How are you
connecting it?
I have Two monitors,Nvidia is may Graphics card. It will only let me
Indipendently change the resolution if I am in DUAL VIEW, meaning one has my
desktop and the other is like an extention of it...

THis or try downloading the latest Video drivers from ATI...
Hope this helps

"John M" wrote:

> Well, the native resolution is 1920 x 1080 by 1920 I beleive, so I set it to
> that resolution in my ATI Catalyst app. When I did this though, it just
> expanded the area beyond the black border around the PC image, so I couldn't
> see everything on the screen anymore. It's like the black border around the
> image is fixed on the TV, no matter what I set my resolution to.
>
> "Tom Scales" wrote:
>
> >
> > "John M" <> wrote in message
> > newsFE141A3-8042-4001-B886-...
> > >I just bought a Sony KDS-R50XBR1 rear projection TV with a PC input. I was
> > > hoping it would be ideal for my Media Center PC. The problem is that
> > > through
> > > the PC input, the screen is a rectangle in the middle, with black all
> > > around.
> > > There's a lot of square inches around the picture that I'm not using. I've
> > > tried using my TV settings, but all it can do is make the viewable area
> > > even
> > > smaller.
> > >
> > > I am I stuck with this screen size? Why won't the image expand to fit my
> > > 50"
> > > screen?
> >
> > You need to set the resolution of the computer to match the native
> > resolution of the TV.
> >
> > Tom
> >
> >
> >

I have no other monitors hooked up to the PC, just my TV with VGA input. I
can't help thinking that it's the TV here, because it seems to keep that
black border around any resolution I feed it. I don't know why Sony would
constrain it this way. I had another projection TV that would stretch a 720p
resolution out so it filled most of the screen at least. I probably need to
talk to Sony.

"TriggerfingerEd" wrote:

> Does your video card have Dual monitor support, and if so. How are you
> connecting it?
> I have Two monitors,Nvidia is may Graphics card. It will only let me
> Indipendently change the resolution if I am in DUAL VIEW, meaning one has my
> desktop and the other is like an extention of it...
>
> THis or try downloading the latest Video drivers from ATI...
> Hope this helps
>
> "John M" wrote:
>
> > Well, the native resolution is 1920 x 1080 by 1920 I beleive, so I set it to
> > that resolution in my ATI Catalyst app. When I did this though, it just
> > expanded the area beyond the black border around the PC image, so I couldn't
> > see everything on the screen anymore. It's like the black border around the
> > image is fixed on the TV, no matter what I set my resolution to.
> >
> > "Tom Scales" wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > "John M" <> wrote in message
> > > newsFE141A3-8042-4001-B886-...
> > > >I just bought a Sony KDS-R50XBR1 rear projection TV with a PC input. I was
> > > > hoping it would be ideal for my Media Center PC. The problem is that
> > > > through
> > > > the PC input, the screen is a rectangle in the middle, with black all
> > > > around.
> > > > There's a lot of square inches around the picture that I'm not using. I've
> > > > tried using my TV settings, but all it can do is make the viewable area
> > > > even
> > > > smaller.
> > > >
> > > > I am I stuck with this screen size? Why won't the image expand to fit my
> > > > 50"
> > > > screen?
> > >
> > > You need to set the resolution of the computer to match the native
> > > resolution of the TV.
> > >
> > > Tom
> > >
> > >
> > >

Check your user Sony user manual to find out what resolutions it will accept
over the VGA interface, It might only accept 1080i inttead of the 1080p you
are trying to send it.
However, it acts as though you are sendiig a letteboxed 480i or 480p signal.

"John M" <> wrote in message
news:554F4267-2AB6-4705-A382-...
>I have no other monitors hooked up to the PC, just my TV with VGA input. I
> can't help thinking that it's the TV here, because it seems to keep that
> black border around any resolution I feed it. I don't know why Sony would
> constrain it this way. I had another projection TV that would stretch a
> 720p
> resolution out so it filled most of the screen at least. I probably need
> to
> talk to Sony.
>
> "TriggerfingerEd" wrote:
>
>> Does your video card have Dual monitor support, and if so. How are you
>> connecting it?
>> I have Two monitors,Nvidia is may Graphics card. It will only let me
>> Indipendently change the resolution if I am in DUAL VIEW, meaning one has
>> my
>> desktop and the other is like an extention of it...
>>
>> THis or try downloading the latest Video drivers from ATI...
>> Hope this helps
>>
>> "John M" wrote:
>>
>> > Well, the native resolution is 1920 x 1080 by 1920 I beleive, so I set
>> > it to
>> > that resolution in my ATI Catalyst app. When I did this though, it just
>> > expanded the area beyond the black border around the PC image, so I
>> > couldn't
>> > see everything on the screen anymore. It's like the black border around
>> > the
>> > image is fixed on the TV, no matter what I set my resolution to.
>> >
>> > "Tom Scales" wrote:
>> >
>> > >
>> > > "John M" <> wrote in message
>> > > newsFE141A3-8042-4001-B886-...
>> > > >I just bought a Sony KDS-R50XBR1 rear projection TV with a PC input.
>> > > >I was
>> > > > hoping it would be ideal for my Media Center PC. The problem is
>> > > > that
>> > > > through
>> > > > the PC input, the screen is a rectangle in the middle, with black
>> > > > all
>> > > > around.
>> > > > There's a lot of square inches around the picture that I'm not
>> > > > using. I've
>> > > > tried using my TV settings, but all it can do is make the viewable
>> > > > area
>> > > > even
>> > > > smaller.
>> > > >
>> > > > I am I stuck with this screen size? Why won't the image expand to
>> > > > fit my
>> > > > 50"
>> > > > screen?
>> > >
>> > > You need to set the resolution of the computer to match the native
>> > > resolution of the TV.
>> > >
>> > > Tom
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >

I have another thought, It might be in that your using onboard video..
Try buying a video card that you can return....Get a decent video card with
dual monitor support. It will have a VGA and a DVI connector on it. Hook up
one to your computer monitor and the dvi will use an adapter to convert to
VGA. and hook this one to Your TV.... if it works great. If not you can
return it to the store...
Just an Idea, cause I think your video card on your computer cant handle the
Tv setup...
anyhow good luck


"John M" wrote:

> I just bought a Sony KDS-R50XBR1 rear projection TV with a PC input. I was
> hoping it would be ideal for my Media Center PC. The problem is that through
> the PC input, the screen is a rectangle in the middle, with black all around.
> There's a lot of square inches around the picture that I'm not using. I've
> tried using my TV settings, but all it can do is make the viewable area even
> smaller.
>
> I am I stuck with this screen size? Why won't the image expand to fit my 50"
> screen?

That's an interesting idea. You're saying the VGA might be connected to my
internal graphics card instead of my Radeon? That may be true. So I guess I
need to buy or "try" a DVI to VGA adapter and see how that looks.

I hope it works because I just talked to Sony and they tell me I'm stuck
with my 42" box of screen sitting inside my 50" Tv with black all around.
This wouldn't be so bad if I didn't want to use this to watch movies and TV
with Media Center.

"TriggerfingerEd" wrote:

> I have another thought, It might be in that your using onboard video..
> Try buying a video card that you can return....Get a decent video card with
> dual monitor support. It will have a VGA and a DVI connector on it. Hook up
> one to your computer monitor and the dvi will use an adapter to convert to
> VGA. and hook this one to Your TV.... if it works great. If not you can
> return it to the store...
> Just an Idea, cause I think your video card on your computer cant handle the
> Tv setup...
> anyhow good luck
>
>
> "John M" wrote:
>
> > I just bought a Sony KDS-R50XBR1 rear projection TV with a PC input. I was
> > hoping it would be ideal for my Media Center PC. The problem is that through
> > the PC input, the screen is a rectangle in the middle, with black all around.
> > There's a lot of square inches around the picture that I'm not using. I've
> > tried using my TV settings, but all it can do is make the viewable area even
> > smaller.
> >
> > I am I stuck with this screen size? Why won't the image expand to fit my 50"
> > screen?

Be sure you check with ATI to make sure that your Radeon card has a DVI-I
connector on it that has VGA output on the extra 4 pins for a DVI-I to VGA
connector sinnce only a few of the ATI cards have this capibility.
It sounds like you are outputting a 4:3 letterbox signal from your PC to
your Sony system and that is why you see borders on all sides. The top and
bottom borders being due to the letterbox output and the side borders due to
the 4:3 output.
"John M" <> wrote in message
news:79F185DB-4ECF-4E60-843E-...
> That's an interesting idea. You're saying the VGA might be connected to my
> internal graphics card instead of my Radeon? That may be true. So I guess
> I
> need to buy or "try" a DVI to VGA adapter and see how that looks.
>
> I hope it works because I just talked to Sony and they tell me I'm stuck
> with my 42" box of screen sitting inside my 50" Tv with black all around.
> This wouldn't be so bad if I didn't want to use this to watch movies and
> TV
> with Media Center.
>
> "TriggerfingerEd" wrote:
>
>> I have another thought, It might be in that your using onboard video..
>> Try buying a video card that you can return....Get a decent video card
>> with
>> dual monitor support. It will have a VGA and a DVI connector on it. Hook
>> up
>> one to your computer monitor and the dvi will use an adapter to convert
>> to
>> VGA. and hook this one to Your TV.... if it works great. If not you can
>> return it to the store...
>> Just an Idea, cause I think your video card on your computer cant handle
>> the
>> Tv setup...
>> anyhow good luck
>>
>>
>> "John M" wrote:
>>
>> > I just bought a Sony KDS-R50XBR1 rear projection TV with a PC input. I
>> > was
>> > hoping it would be ideal for my Media Center PC. The problem is that
>> > through
>> > the PC input, the screen is a rectangle in the middle, with black all
>> > around.
>> > There's a lot of square inches around the picture that I'm not using.
>> > I've
>> > tried using my TV settings, but all it can do is make the viewable area
>> > even
>> > smaller.
>> >
>> > I am I stuck with this screen size? Why won't the image expand to fit
>> > my 50"
>> > screen?

ok, I think you misunderstood me about the video card...
Your computer my have onboard video wich if this is the case, the vga
connector (were you connect your monitor) would be around were you plug in
your mouse and keyboard area...
The other option, if you have a video card, it would be mounted Horizontal
near the lower middle of the back of the computer...
The last other option would be a PCI slot, and this would be on the bottom
like 4 or so slots on the computer..
Anyhow, if the vga connector is in the lower middle to lower part of your
computer odds are, you have a video card and not onboard...

The card should look like this one,,,This is an example of one.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...086157&CatId=0

ok, you see the vga and DVI output....ok
the other thing if you have a video card, make sure the onboard video is
disabled, and the video card is enabled and with the newest drivers.
You can disable your onboard video, "once you know wich one it is" by going
to start, right click on my computer, then going to properties
then click the hardware tab and then device manager..
Look for your ati display. If you see two video... find the onboard one.
rightt click and disable it..

Anyhow make sure you look at the link to the video card, because it has a
picture of the dvi and vga. the adapter would convert the dvi to vga so you
can use a computer monitor.. Also these types of cards can control two
monitors.Wich might be what your looking for..
anyhow Good luck.


"JW" wrote:

> Be sure you check with ATI to make sure that your Radeon card has a DVI-I
> connector on it that has VGA output on the extra 4 pins for a DVI-I to VGA
> connector sinnce only a few of the ATI cards have this capibility.
> It sounds like you are outputting a 4:3 letterbox signal from your PC to
> your Sony system and that is why you see borders on all sides. The top and
> bottom borders being due to the letterbox output and the side borders due to
> the 4:3 output.
> "John M" <> wrote in message
> news:79F185DB-4ECF-4E60-843E-...
> > That's an interesting idea. You're saying the VGA might be connected to my
> > internal graphics card instead of my Radeon? That may be true. So I guess
> > I
> > need to buy or "try" a DVI to VGA adapter and see how that looks.
> >
> > I hope it works because I just talked to Sony and they tell me I'm stuck
> > with my 42" box of screen sitting inside my 50" Tv with black all around.
> > This wouldn't be so bad if I didn't want to use this to watch movies and
> > TV
> > with Media Center.
> >
> > "TriggerfingerEd" wrote:
> >
> >> I have another thought, It might be in that your using onboard video..
> >> Try buying a video card that you can return....Get a decent video card
> >> with
> >> dual monitor support. It will have a VGA and a DVI connector on it. Hook
> >> up
> >> one to your computer monitor and the dvi will use an adapter to convert
> >> to
> >> VGA. and hook this one to Your TV.... if it works great. If not you can
> >> return it to the store...
> >> Just an Idea, cause I think your video card on your computer cant handle
> >> the
> >> Tv setup...
> >> anyhow good luck
> >>
> >>
> >> "John M" wrote:
> >>
> >> > I just bought a Sony KDS-R50XBR1 rear projection TV with a PC input. I
> >> > was
> >> > hoping it would be ideal for my Media Center PC. The problem is that
> >> > through
> >> > the PC input, the screen is a rectangle in the middle, with black all
> >> > around.
> >> > There's a lot of square inches around the picture that I'm not using.
> >> > I've
> >> > tried using my TV settings, but all it can do is make the viewable area
> >> > even
> >> > smaller.
> >> >
> >> > I am I stuck with this screen size? Why won't the image expand to fit
> >> > my 50"
> >> > screen?
>
>
>

JW wrote:

> Check your user Sony user manual to find out what resolutions it will
> accept over the VGA interface, It might only accept 1080i inttead of the
> 1080p you are trying to send it.
> However, it acts as though you are sendiig a letteboxed 480i or 480p
> signal.
>

I think I recall something similar happen om my TV.
= see if you have an "aspect ratio" button on the remote. It may have an
affect even on VGA input. (= Perhaps it's preset to 4:3 by default)

Just a guess...