Advantage of HDMI

[neutron]

I just got a cheap used 26" Olevia LCD HD TV with a resolution of 1366 x 768, what i wanted to do is just try it out as a PC monitor. Fired up the analog TV & sheesh was i disappointed snowy, crappy image with ghosting & i guess my antenna was to blame for that so i decided to try out the AV & was not happy also. Colors where off & there was smearing & the angle of viewing was a bit narrow - once your off center of about 45 degrees the LCD starts to turn green #_#

Next stop I tried the VGA input hoping to use it as a monitor/ play games/ watch movies but to my dismay the screen was mostly green! I tried all sorts of adjustments but to no avail! Everything was almost crap! Last test for this LCD TV was the HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) input but i didn't have an HDMI source but then i remembered about the DVI to HDMI output of cards & surely  my X850GTO was supporting this function.

I didn't want to get those expensive DVI to HDMI cables costing around P2K since i was just planning to test it & if it fails me this time i'm gonna ditch the TV. So i got one of those china branded ones @ P300 & hooked it up to my PC. I was on dual mon so that i can see what's going on if in case theres no output going to the TV. To my surprise there was output to my LCD TV & not only that it was like "almost" crystal clear! Although it defaulted to a res. of 1280 x 800 it as OK to my eyes. i couldn't get it to run with it's native res. of 1366 x 768 no what i do!

I started to play around with ATI's control panel & got it to run @ 1920 x 1080, i guess this was the compatibility thingy with the 1080P spec of the TV. For PC usage well it's not recommended for everyday long hour use since the brightness would burn your eye & the Text are still not that clear to read. But for movies & games it was an EyeCandy, yikes i typed to much already lol below are some pics of what i got out of HDMI @  1920 x 1080 settings. movies samples where just divx low qa.

actual view is better than this




comparison of the Olevia 26" LCD TV & 17" 4:3 from Philips






http://hongkong.olevia.com/products/productMain5.aspx

[glutnix_neo]

Man I got two questions for you! Where did you got that TV? And, for how much?

[danny]

HDMI is really good. Most of our customers nowadays using HDMI Connection, some still
using component out. 
Every time we design and install home theater system, we always recommend HDMI connection.

and yes DVI to HDMI are very expensive specially the high end ones.
Be careful with the HDMI jacks, they are very easy to break. 
I replaced  lots of HDMI Jacks from some ceiling projectors, plasma/LCD, stereo receiver, blu-ray players
and video processors. most of them were caused by carelessness.

That is an awesome picture dude. sure enough, its eyecandy. 
great job.
How much did you pay for that   

[neutron]

Man I got two questions for you! Where did you got that TV? And, for how much?

got it here in HK, choose LCD for price > http://www.jumbo-computer.com/pricelist.asp
Olevias site http://hongkong.olevia.com/products/productMain5.aspx

@danny yeah the HDMI input is really really good, after a few tweaks with windows I'm now using my TV as my monitor. The good thing also about Firefox is the ability to zoom the pages too bad my vid card is a bit old & it does not carry sound but I'm amazed that the LCD can show 1920x1080 kahit na 1366 x 768 ang native resolution nya.

BTW i have a "slight" problem, kasi pag nag sleep mode ang PC o kaya nag reboot ako Kuminsan hindi bumabalik yung signal. I have to re-select the input & scroll back to HDMI & even that sometimes wont work, so ang ginagawa ko binubunot ko yung HDMI cable sa likod ng TV tapos saksak ko ulit but since you mentioned na marupok yung saksakan nya i got a bit worried.

ano kayang problem doon? weak kaya yung signal na galing sa Vid card or baka yung cable na mumurahin ang dahilan?

[danny]

@neutron

I understand your problem, most HDMI lalo na
yung first generation is always having an issue with handshaking.
I've seen this a lot sa mga home theater na ini-install namin.
sometimes you have to turn the tv on first and then unplug the player
ang plug it back in  will solve the issue. In our case we download the
latest frimware version ng player (source) assuming na luma pa yung version
ng firmware na nasa source. Some of them will fix the problem
and some of them not. depende din kasi kung anong brand ang plasma or lcd mo.
Ito ang malaking issue ng HDMI, handshaking with different brands.
Some of the newer models are better, very seldom na ma encounter namin yung handshaking problem.

In your case, I am assuming na nde dapat ganun, pero pls. make sure, baka naman ganun talga
ang card mo. try to check the websites and look for an updates regarding that issue.
Always look for the latest firmware update and download it in case na meron.

I will try to ask the other engineer at work kasi alam ko he setup one system like that.
pc and an lcd w/ HDMI connection. Not sure kung nawawala ang signal pag nag
sleep mode. I will inform you as soon as I talk to him.
pls. be very carefull with the jacks. nde biruan yan. trust me.
I've seen a lot. madaling masira yan. also dont use a heavy guage HDMI cable.
just use the regualr one lang.

[neutron]

i guess it has something to do with my card, now i'm using the latest ATI drivers pero ganoon pa rin. sinilip ko nga yung saksakan ng HDMI sa likod ng TV mukha ngang mdaling masira kung panay saksak bunot ako o kaya kung talgang heavy gauge ang yung cable mo. Meron bang HDMI booster o pwedeng ikabait in between the TV & the VGA card?

i guess i have to upgrade my Card para masolve ang problem pero sayang naman itong X850 ko

[danny]

nde ko pa nakausap co-worker ko, he is on the field for 3 days
i will keep you posted.
I'm not sure kung may booster for HDMI
nde pa ako nakapag include niyan sa design ko.
dont use heavy guage utang na loob hehehe 

[danny]

neutron

nakausap ko na finally yung co-worker ko
nde daw dapat nawawala ung signal.
baka naman daw bumabalik sa vga ung settings mo everytime
na nag sleep mode or pag nag reboot ka.
try to check daw kung may settings na ang default card mo is yung may HDMI
does ur old video card is still inside your pc? if yes, try to remove it.
kung built in naman try to disable it. other than that
kung ganun pa rin baka naman may compatibility issue during handshaking.
hope it helps. 

[neutron]

siguro nga compatibility problem sya, tinanong ko yung dealer ng Olevia wala naman "daw" silang problem sa ibang HDMI units na ginagamit nila.

i guess i have to get me an ATI 3850 or 3870 card nalang 

[danny]

try to visit olevia website to see if there is a firmware update regarding HDMI.
minsan kasi baka yung napag tanungan mo is a sales rep lang, not the tech support.
when you get a new card, ask the dealer about your problem in compatibility
baka may suggestion sila regarding your problem.
btw, just to let you know, I just did a service bulletin on stereo receiver
having a video problem on HDMI out. Video dropout.
replaced few capacitors on the HDMI board.
retested works fine.
so usually meron talagang mga unit na nag kakaproblem
regarding HDMI. It's a good thing that some manufacturers
has a service updates ready for that particular issue.

[neutron]

...so far no go pa rin, even with the latest drivers from ATI nag bla-blank screen pa rin sya, kayo ano experience nyo sa HDMI out ng mga VGA cards nyo?

[rdpzycho]

try mo sa DVI. merong DVI to HDMI adapter, pero malamang parehas lang din ang output noon.

hindi ko pa na-try 'yan, wala akong adapter e.