Green Button login problems and the Acer iDea 500

I am posting here as I have not a clue how else to get round this.

I am trying to follow and reply to threads on greenbutton.com which as
most of you know is a website resource for XPMCE users. However since
they changed their login system and made everyone re-register, they
don't acknowledge any of my attempts to register. The automated
system constantly promises to send me an email with a new password but
never does. Has this happened to anyone else? Or do they just not
like me? I've never even managed to post anything so I doubt they've
blacklisted me. I've tried half a dozen differnt logon addresses but
it makes no difference.

I bought an Acer iDea 500 a few months ago, and it's driving me insane
with its endless glitches and Acer's execrable customer service. I
was hoping to find other users to commiserate and compare notes with.
Unless there's anyone on here who has one?

If so, have you figured out how to get a full-screen picture in HDMI
without huge overscanning?

nl

 

I think that in general, it's not possible without the ability to tweak some
of the video settings. There's even a program for this but I've not gotten
it to work quite right for me... Hopefully someone here remembers the name
of the program <g>.

Have you tried connecting to The Green Button with different browsers? Does
your ISP have a spam filter that may be blocking the email?

Dana Cline - MCE MVP

 

Hopefully someone here remembers the name of the program
The app is PowerStrip

 

Yes, I had a go at Powerstrip and was very impressed, but the Acer
uses an Intel laptop chipset with fixed resolutions that throws a
wobbly when I try to use Powerstrip.

Leaving Pstrip aside, I can get a resolution of 1600x900 which is
obviously the right ratio, but it's 20% too small for the screen. Or
I can up the resolution but then the desktop is too big for the screen
(and doesn't scroll like a PC desktop). Intel I think expects you to
change the TV settings to 'zoom in' to the picture but the Sharp HDMI
interface doesn't permit that. it doesn't have any picture adjustment
settings at all. Considering I plugged in an Xbox 360 that just
worked, first time, makes me very cheesed off with Intel and their
fussy graphics chips and Acer for using 'em.

Of course the joy of the Intel chip system is that you have to tell it
to send an output to a digital TV via HDMI. Which it does. Then MCE
won't let you play a DVD over that HDMI because it claims you have an
external monitor connected. Which I don't, it's the same screen.

And another thing. The PC input on the TV (VGA) shows a rock-steady
picture of stunning clarity (just the wrong size). The HDMI input to
the TV is painful to look at up close. It flickers and twitches like
a horrible old CRT. Why is that?

I'll go away now. This isn't getting anywhere...

nl

 

Is this a laptop or desktop? Are you using a DVI-HDMI cable? Which TV?

Dana Cline - MCE MVP

 

The Acer is a desktop insofar as the Acer Inspire range are desktops.
But the iDea 500 is a dedicated low-profile Media Center. To build a
dvd-player sized machine Acer have used a proprietary motherboard
which includes an Intel 945gm graphics chip usually deployed AIUI in
laptops. (Acer advertises the machine on its website but offers no
support, advice, downloads, forums or FAQs for it online. Nothing.
Zip.)

I am using a HDMI connection to a Samsung 32" LC32GD8E.

(BTW I solved the spdif glitches I was having with this machine when I
wired a different DVD player up to the same surround-sound system. The
fault was with the surround-sound decoder, not the Acer. Good thing I
didn't listen to the Acer support guy who told me to reformat and
reinstall (in other words take two aspirin and go away). )

 

So it sounds like there's no way to add a video board?

Dana Cline - MCE MVP

 

Bummer...that probably means you'll never upgrade that box to Vista as I
doubt the onboard video would handle Aero...

So, to get back to the problem at hand, it sounds like VGA works fine at the
res you want, but HDMI has issues. Can you not just use the VGA interface to
the TV and not worry about the HDMI?

Dana Cline - MCE MVP

 

The VGA connection gives me a picture that is 4:3. There seems to be
no way to get the Intel chip to output for a widescreen monitor. It
would seem that the Samsung TV is partly to blame as its PC input only
accepts three resolutions, the highest of which is 1024x768, which is
still 4:3. I have fiddled and footered with the settings for hours
but although I can zoom it, causing overscan, I cannot change it.
Moreover for some bizarre reason I can't get any proper sound over the
PC connection.

Thanks for your help, but I am happy to drop this thread. I think I
have a hardware-restricted PC connected to an inflexible TV and there
is no way the two are ever going to talk nicely to each other.

In fact the TV crashed three times in a row last night when changing
digital channels, so I might return it under UK consumer law. My TV
crashed! They never used to do that when we had only two channels.

nl

 

Wow, a tv...crash? Can't say I've heard of that happening <g>. Well, good
luck with whatever avenue you pursue...

Dana Cline - MCE MVP