Help with getting HD from PC to TV

[integraoligist]

Hi all,
I'm new to HD and getting HD signals TVs and what not. Here is my Setup:

Mobo: M4A785-M
CPU: AMD Phenom II

TV: Samsung 51" 450 Plasma 720p and 1080i

Now, the mobo says I can get a full 1080p signal (so I should be able to get a 720p or 1080i no problem) through the HDMI connection.

Well I connect it to the TV's HDMI and I get a full screen picture, but it definetly does NOT look HD, and the best resolution and i'm getting on the desktop is 1360x768 If I change it to anything higher the desktop is bigger then the screen and the graphics look even worse.
I have the latest drivers and software for the onboard video the mobo has, it's justing Radeon Graphics AMD Vision Control Center.

I'd like to get a full HD picture and make the desktop smaller but still a good guality HD picture so that I can multitask.... my regular monitor is a 20" LCD and I can see 2x's the amount of items on the desktop then on this massive TV.

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[hang-the-9]

That TV is not 1080, the resolution on it is 1,280 x 720, which is 720p. It may work with a 1080i signal OK, but does not display 1080 lines.

The reason it looks unlike full HD is that 51" is pretty big for really good quality at 720p, 720 tends to start looking less and less like HD past 37". Your 20" LCD is probably higher resolution than the TV.

If you want to use such a large monitor and get a more HD looking image, you need to get a 1080 resolution screen.

 

[integraoligist]

ok, lets just call everything 720p....the 720p image from my Dish is crystal clear, but when I try to watch the same 720p image from the PC, it looks like crap.

Why is that?

 

[hang-the-9]

It's not the same image though, it's the same resolution sure, but what are you viewing from the computer? Are you playing a regular DVD or some recorded video to on the computer? The source you are playing needs to be in HD for it to look good, not just the resolution settings on the video card output.

 

[integraoligist]

if I watch a movie on Dish in 720p then go download or even stream the same movie in 720p, it dosent look HD, just like a regular 480. I tried Youtube videos, and a few other 720p downloads but none look correct.

 

[integraoligist]

also, no audio is going to the TV through the HDMI cable either, is this normal?

I can take my laptop which also has HDMI, connect it to the TV and it's perfectly clear in 720p and also has the sound.

 

[hang-the-9]

Could be the onboard chip that is the issue here, laptop works over HDMI with the same source as the PC would mean something on the PC. The HDMI out on the motherboard may not have audio capability, or it may be disabled or set to something else in the audio options.

Do you have a chance to try an add-on video card? Maybe borrow a card from someone and see how it works.

 

[integraoligist]

i do not, everyones video cards are DVI, and no one has a DVI to HDMI cord. If there are problems with the settings, would those be in Windows or in the BIOS?

 

[hang-the-9]

I don't like ruling everything out, but 99% of the time image quality would be Windows settings, or just the card hardware capabilities. Since you have another system you tried, if the tests were equal, you ran the same application with the same file on both computers, you have a pretty narrow list of items to go through.

Are you using the same cable and input on the TV for both PCs also? Keeping as many things constant in the tests is the best way to do things here.

 

[integraoligist]

yes, the tv settings and the cable are all the same... i just move the HDMI from the laptop to the tower and you can see the dramatic difference.

So you suggust that the onboard graphics, even though say it's HD, still does not produce a quality picture, and I would need to get a new graphics card to rectify this?

 

[hang-the-9]

yes, the tv settings and the cable are all the same... i just move the HDMI from the laptop to the tower and you can see the dramatic difference.

So you suggust that the onboard graphics, even though say it's HD, still does not produce a quality picture, and I would need to get a new graphics card to rectify this?

It's a possibility, the thing is, is it worth $40-70 for a new video card to test to you? Different video card do have different quality outputs, but it could be that there is a driver setting that can get you something good enough for use with the current setup. I just don't have the exact setup to try and see what options you'd have to go though. And there are usually a lot in modern cards to tweak.