PC on plasma screen

We have a plasma screen in a meeting room at work that is connected to a Compaq PC with a matrox g400 graphics card.

Has anyone any experience of this type of combination? I cannot get the desktop to fill the whole screen without distorting it. I have looked on sony website and matrox website for drivers, but to no avail

I have seen a website that sells special graphics cards for £300 , but i was hoping for a software solution, i.e. free.

Any help would be appreciated as I would also like to fit a tv tuner to the computer and watch tv channels. A dvd system is already connected to it successfully.

Ta

 

Hi G,

May need more information.
There may be a limitation on the resolution you can use on that screen. May need to find the specifications for it. Is it a Sony and can you post the model number?
How are the display settings listed when you go to Control Panel>Display (eg: is it listed as a TV or a monitor)?
How is it connected to the video card... S-video, DVI or VGA connection? (Edit: if it connected/adapted through "analog/standard VCR" connections, then the amount of data transfer will be very limited.)

Matrox website has some of the best information regarding multiple monitor/screen setup. Could also try nVidia and ATI websites.

How would the other video card be "special "?

Which version of Windows are you using?

Matt

 

Matrox manuals:
http://www.matrox.com/mga/support/user_manuals/home.cfm
Note the different adapters that can be used.

Specifications:
http://www.matrox.com/mga/products/tech_info/pdfs/g400/chip_specs.pdf

 

Matt,

Thanks for the reply. The screen is a Sony PFM-50C1, resolution of 1365 x 768, ratio 16:9.

The graphics card is a Matrox G400 in a Compaq EN500 running Windows 2000, connected to the screen using a standard VGA cable. The DVD connection is a separate compsite y/c connection

I can change to XP pro easily if necessary and I also have a Matrox dual-head G550 available to use.

The special card I have seen is a "Pixel Perfect" card that converts from the stardard ratio of 4:3 to 16:9 without distortion.

The screen is just listed as Default Monitor, I havent installed any extra drivers yet.

I will have a good look at the matrox manuals you have pointed me to though.


Thanks

 

Just wondering if there may be an "interface" that could change the ratios for you without having to buy another card. Will do some searching.

Try installing drivers for it if you have them or can get them.

Matt

 

A suggestion:
Reset the screen as a TV, not a monitor (I cannot see specific drivers for it). Use the directions on the Matrox website if you can't find any others. As a TV you should still be able to push up the resolution pretty high.

The manual for the screen can be found at:
http://www.sonypresentation.com/
go to:
Products > Projectors and Displays > Professional Plasma Screens > PFM-50C1E > manuals and guides
It is a 5mb download, so set some reading time aside . This should tell you the ways of setting it up on your computer .

Matt

 

I downloaded the manual. It does not seem to have anything regarding PC setup other than it is an imput. Try my suggestion about setting it as a TV not a monitor.

Try reducing the resolution. The screen may take high resolution, but your video card may not be able to supply what it needs.

There is information about 4:3 -> 16:9 on page 34-35(GB)...88-89 of PDF, but it may require you to reduce your resolution on the PC to cope.

Do you have the latest drivers installed for your video card? This may help.

Matt

(I can understand a computer setup in less than half the time it takes to understand a Video/TV's instructions )

 

Found...resolution/frequency settings are on page 28(GB)...82 PDF. Matrox settings are #30-32. You may (?) need to set these in your Display settings of Windows.

The SDTV/HDTV settings may be required for your TV card.

By the way...I'm hoping you haven't tried/know all this already . Let us know if you have some success.

Matt

 

Well Matt, that is certainly posting above and beyond the call of duty and I really appreciate it.

I have been reading the Screen manual (the copy that came with the device, but it seems to be the same as the d/loaded one), and I think everything boils down to screen ratio and Installed monitor.

I have installed the latest Matrox drivers and in the advanced settings, all combinations of screen size are listed. Unfortunately, anything that isnt 4:3 is listed as unavailable.

I looked at the Matrox website again and they list the G200 as having an available ratio of 1920 x 1080 which is exactly 16:9, so as luck would have it, I found a G200 in an old machine and tried that with the latest powerdesk drivers, Once again all possible combinations of pixel sizes were listed, but only 4:3 were available.

This makes me think that you were right about setting the monitor to a TV and if I could tell the computer that a TV was available, I may be in luck. Unfortunately, I dont know how to do that. I could easily find some branded monitor drivers but as far as I know all monitors are still the 4:3 ratio. I will keep searching for TV drivers now that I know the Matrox ones are up to date.

I won't be installing a TV tuner card, as we are getting satellite TV installed which will supply al the terrestrial channels anyway.

Once again, many thanks for your help.


P.S.

I still have to get my 9 year old son to set the VCR to record

 

Grunty, my searches are getting bogged down and I don't want to lead you down dead-ends.

When you set up the second screen on your computer I think you get the option of setting it as a TV or monitor (was a long time ago). You may have to set it up again.

There should be no reason why you cannot use the screen as a second monitor, all-be-it with a reduced resolution, since the DVD can be displayed at full screen.

The Matrox knowledgebase seems to have changed to a forum system. You could post to their forum (and give them a really hard time if they can't give you a direct solution ).

Another way would be to email Sony support. They are a big company and should be willing to keep purchasers/prospective purchasers happy. You should not NEED to purchase a special video card to get a reasonable display from that screen.

Matt

OR...hand it all over to the younger generation, will probably have it running in minutes

 

Thanks for all your help Matt,

I gave you the wrong impression that I was connecting the plasma screen as a second monitor. The card only has one output so the screen is the only monitor I can connect.

If I use the dual-head card I have, I may be able to specify a TV screen and hence a 16:9 ratio

I will contact sony anyway

Thanks again

 

Some recent (wide-screen) televisions have been released with the description TV/monitor, which should mean that they are capable of being run as a primary display on your computer. Yours is described as a TV/projector and probably can't function as a primary screen as such.


I would think that you should be able to run it well as a secondary monitor/screen though.

Hope you have some success.

Matt