NVIDIA Geforce GTS 450 HDMI display issues.

[chip75]

Hi guys I have an NVIDIA Geforce GTS 450 1GB graphics card it has HDMI, VGA and DVI outputs. My monitor is a Samsung SyncMaster T24B300 which has a HDMI, VGI and component inputs.

I use VGA as my primary output, either through the DVI (with an adaptor) or the VGA output. My problems arise when I try to output through the HDMI connection. The VGA lead displays 1920x1080 perfectly but recently I've started to redeem Flixster codes and Flixster in the UK has started streaming in HD, so I need a display output that supports HDCP.

As I said VGA is perfect (although the icons are too small for my tastes so I bump the resolution down to 1366x768) but when I try the HDMI option, either as main, extended or dual display the picture is terrible. It seems slight out of focus or fuzzy and the colours are washed out compared to the VGA's crisp and clear image.

I've tried all the settings in the control panel and they're all set as default and I've reset the image on the monitor and tried all the settings (as it's HDMI I lose PC picture display options) but nothing makes any difference. The HDMI lead is the same one I use for my BD player and set-top-box so I don't think that's an issue.

Has any one experienced similar problems? I might take my PC tower downstairs later tonight to try it on my plasma but maybe I'm missing something simple? The graphics card was used on my brother's PC and he didn't have any issues with any of the outputs.

[Lnds500]

Originally Posted by chip75

Hi guys I have an NVIDIA Geforce GTS 450 1GB graphics card it has HDMI, VGA and DVI outputs. My monitor is a Samsung SyncMaster T24B300 which has a HDMI, VGI and component inputs.

I use VGA as my primary output, either through the DVI (with an adaptor) or the VGA output. My problems arise when I try to output through the HDMI connection. The VGA lead displays 1920x1080 perfectly but recently I've started to redeem Flixster codes and Flixster in the UK has started streaming in HD, so I need a display output that supports HDCP.

As I said VGA is perfect (although the icons are too small for my tastes so I bump the resolution down to 1366x768) but when I try the HDMI option, either as main, extended or dual display the picture is terrible. It seems slight out of focus or fuzzy and the colours are washed out compared to the VGA's crisp and clear image.

I've tried all the settings in the control panel and they're all set as default and I've reset the image on the monitor and tried all the settings (as it's HDMI I lose PC picture display options) but nothing makes any difference. The HDMI lead is the same one I use for my BD player and set-top-box so I don't think that's an issue.

Has any one experienced similar problems? I might take my PC tower downstairs later tonight to try it on my plasma but maybe I'm missing something simple? The graphics card was used on my brother's PC and he didn't have any issues with any of the outputs.

I have the same graphics chip as you and it works flawlessly with HDMI. Have you checked the sharpness and contrast settings? I'd suggest being extremely thorough with your monitor's settings, you might have missed something that over-processes your image.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by Lnds500

I have the same graphics chip as you and it works flawlessly with HDMI. Have you checked the sharpness and contrast settings? I'd suggest being extremely thorough with your monitor's settings, you might have missed something that over-processes your image.

I've literally gone over all the PC and TV settings and can't find what's amiss. I'm going to try another HDMI lead and display but it's so frustrating!

[quirkmanly]

Not sure if this link will help, but it touches upon an issue with NVIDIA cards when outputting over HDMI to a monitor.

We suspect you're probably using an nVidia graphics card in your PC. These treat HDMI and DVI connections differently, and make assumptions about what sort of device you're connecting them to.

In this case, nVidia will be assuming that you're connecting your PC to a TV rather than a PC monitor (as would be the case with a DVI connection), and is therefore applying a different set of default values for the black and maximum brightness levels. An HDMI connection with HDMI audio enabled seems to be the trigger for this.

This issue can be difficult to fix, depending on your exact hardware setup. However, some users have reported that using a DVI-to-HDMI adaptor on that port (if their card supports audio via the DVI port) will allow HDMI audio plus the correct brightness levels.

There is a link at the bottom of that article that directs you to a blog by someone who had this type of problem and what they did to fix it.

[chip75]

Thanks for both your replies guys.

[chip75]

I had a look at the article and I noticed my NVIDIA panel has the Full RGB option (I spotted a component one but can't find it now), it doesn't seem to do anything so I ran the registry changing program.

I'm not sure if it worked but I reset all my TV options and fiddled around with the sharpness and I can almost match the VGA display with the HDMI display (the VGA doesn't have a colour option), whether it's the little program that has made the difference (I'm sure I turned the sharpness to zero previously) or it's just the reset that's worked. Either way I'm a lot happier now and I can plug the HDMI lead in if I want to watch a HD movie. It was definitely washed-out as the link title suggests.

Thanks again Lnds500 and quirkmanly!

[stratford]

Have you tried a proper HDMI or DVI cable only?

There has been an ***analog sunset*** so that VGA is not BLU-RAY friendly!!!!!!!

[chip75]

Originally Posted by stratford

Have you tried a proper HDMI or DVI cable only?

There has been an ***analog sunset*** so that VGA is not BLU-RAY friendly!!!!!!!

I gave my DVI to HDMI cable away to a friend so I've only got HDMI and VGA leads. The VGA display is fine and the HDMI seems better too. It was just washed out before with the HDMI connection. How much the Full RGB NVIDIA program helped I'm not sure as my card had the two options previously and they didn't seem to change anything when selected. The HDMI output looks fine now. It would help if manufacturers told us what the sharpness setting do. With some 0 is OFF and 1 is the softest setting with a 100 the sharpest. Others 50 is OFF with 0 the softest and 100 the sharpest.

I'm not a big fan of HDCP either, I understand the reason for it (you could just run a VGA lead to a capture device and make duplicates), but having it with iTunes and Flixster? It seems a bit much to me!

[stratford]

unless you loose the VGA cable nothing will improve