Help with Ugly TV Display (HDMI/VGA/SVGA + ATI)

[Warty]

I'm hoping someone can give me a fix here. I've got a new system, and a new TV for use as a monitor. The card is an ATI HD 5770, TV is a Vizio 42" with 4xHDMI and 1 x RGB (vga). TV has no DVI

So here's the problem:
1. If I connect with HDMI cable, the screen is like "ultra sharp". not sure how to describe it better. Every blackish pixel pretty much has a white halo. I tried changing all the settings on the TV, tried doing color calibration in windows, nothing will get rid of it. Called Vizio support as well. I tried all 4 ports, and tried a second HDMI cable from a different manufacturer.

2. If I connect with a 6' rGB cable (ATI card has dvi out, and they supplied a DVI-to-RGB converter), the screen is perfect: beautiful. What I would have expected from the HDMI.

3. If I connect with a 12' "SVGA" cable, the halo thing isn't there, but the screen won't adjust to 1920x1080. it shows a few options, but basically only 1024x768 works, the rest go to a black screen. I think the highest option was like 1440xsomething.

This is a head-scratcher to me. The 12' SVGA cable I got online looks like it has about 3x the shielding of the cheapo 6' VGA cable, but the 6' one produces full 1920x1080 resolution.

My problem is that the PC is located about 8 feet away from the screen, 10 if I don't want a cable hanging straight in the air.

Anybody ever run into anything like this? 

[Masherbrum]

Each input will have resolution restrictions. 

[Charge]

"3. If I connect with a 12' "SVGA" cable, the halo thing isn't there, but the screen won't adjust to 1920x1080. it shows a few options, but basically only 1024x768 works, the rest go to a black screen. I think the highest option was like 1440xsomething. "

I think it is possible that with longer cable the frequency required to work in 1920x1080 mode is not working anymore and the frequency is lowered to next working resolution. Thus you need to use better quality cable or just shorter, or digital i.e. HDMI.

The halo effect you describe sound strange. Have you tried adjusting the picture settings in Catalyst control panel when in HDMI mode, pixel format, pixel overdrive setting etc? Basically it sounds like a side effect from some artificial setting applied to the picture in HDMI mode.

-C+

[wabbit]

I had the a similar problem with my LG. Running through the VGA connection worked just fine, but using the HDMI produced an odd-ball resolution of just below 1920x1080 and caused an excessively bright/harsh image. Forcing 1920x1080, got the same image, but parts of the desktop were off the screen and couldn't be seen.

Searching the net, found a number of others having similar problems, but no real solution other then to go back to VGA for the connection, which is what I did.

I did see some people mention that using a DVI to HDMI cable worked. My buddy has a DVI to HDMI cable on his tv. I'm thinking of talking him into letting me try it to see if it helps any.  Until then I've gone back to VGA which is working just fine.


Wabbit

Update:

           Don't bother trying a DVI to HDMI cable. I talked with my buddy and he couldn't get 1920X1080 either and had to go to a lower resolution to get things to display correctly.

[Skuzzy]

Here is a sad truth.  The HDMI connections on televisions are not the same electrical configuration as the HDMI/DVI connections on a computer video card.  Most (that is a best guess) modern television sets will automatically switch when a computer DVI signal is detected, but not all sets will.

By the way, DVI is the same as HDMI.  DVI is video only.  HDMI is audio and video.  But computer DVI is not the same as television DVI/HDMI.

Gotta love standards.

[Wiley]

Further to Skuzzy's comment about the computer DVI signal being detected, some TVs allow you to identify what's on the inputs.  Some use different settings if you identify the connection as 'Computer'.  It's not just a label, the TV actually handles the signal differently.

Wiley.