Widescreen Monitor Question
 

Just received my 19 inch widescreen LCD monitor last night. Apparently native resolution is 1440 x 900. I have an ATI all-in-wonder Rage 128 card updated to the latest driver, but I still don't have the option to display at 1440 x 900. Tried a dual-head Jaton GeForce-based card I had on hand, but same story. Closest I can get is 1280 x 1064 which is OK, but I know I can do much better. Plus, things are slightly S-T-R-E-T-C-H-E-D horizontally due to the improper resolution.

Any ideas? Does this mean I need to go out and spend more cash on yet another video card? Any cards that you know will definitely do 1440 x 900?

AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

This may simply be due the disparity between a 4:3 aspect-ratio and the 9:16 aspect-ratio of your large screen. The monitor streches the image to the edges of your monitor to make it appear as though it's wide-screen. I don't have a 9:16 monitor myself, but I think it may depend on what format the signal is broadcast in. Does it also stretch the image of other "full-screen" (4:3 ratio) images from other sources like DVDs?

On a side, I once noticed the stretched image on some high-end HD monitors at Best Buy. I asked the clerk why it does that just to see if he knew, and he said he didn't even see anything strange about the image. That kinda goes in hand with my opinion of Best Buy.

No, it's not simply a byproduct of the disparity between 4:3 and 16:9 (actually, 16:10 in the case of this monitor). If I could use a display option of 1440 x 900 everything would be golden. Consider:

ASPECT RATIOS:
----------------------
4:3 = .75
16:9 = .5625
16:10 = .625

NATIVE RESOLUTIONS:
----------------------
640 x 480 = .75
800 x 600 = .75
1024 x 768 = .75
1280 x 960 = .75 (what the manufacturer says to use if 1440 x 900 is unavailable)
1280 x 1024 = .80 (what it's currently set at)
1440 x 900 = .625 (what it's supposed to be)

Yeah, I'm guessing you need a newer video card...

That's what I figure, but it's so annoying that these card manufacturers don't list the resolutions their cards will display in - I've checked half a dozen "specifications" pages and can't seem to find one that will do 1440 x 900.

Anyone here running that resolution? What card are you using?

Try posting the question here: http://www.jcxp.net/forums/index.php?

I suggest you first try to install the drivers for your monitor...although most/all monitors will work directly plugged into your computer and be recognized as a generic display device, these widescreen monitors usually need to have the included drivers installed for them to be recognized as 16:9 and the appropriate resolutions be displayed as an option...either use the included CD in the box for the drivers, or go to monitor's website for drivers...

The monitor did not come with a CD, just a quick start guide that said if you didn't get the 1440 x 900 option you need to update your video drivers. I checked the manufacturer website as well, and there is no driver to download - it says the same thing!

Check it out:

19" Widescreen Quick Start Guide

Go here:

http://www.proview.net/static/support/driversutils.html

Download and install the "for new LCD driver" and give that a try...

Thanks for trying to be helpful, I did see that page but those drivers are for the standard LCD monitors. Notice at the bottom of the page it says "For 19" wide screen, please download : Wide-Screen Flat Panel Monitors Setup Guide.pdf"

I guess what I need to know now is who out there is running 1440 x 900 and what video card are you using?

Are you sure? From the webpage, it implies that
Step #1: install the appropriate driver for your monitor
Step #2: if you have a widescreen monitor, please update your video card driver to the newest one...

I believe that "new LCD driver" is valid for both widescreen and normal aspect ratio monitors...

I dunno...it is just my interpretation of the website, and it seems logical from my previous experience...

Well, what do I have to lose? And you may be right...

I'll try it when I get home. In the meantime, I'm going to Best Buy at lunch to see if I can find a video card that definitely does 1440 x 900. I can always return it if the monitor driver works...

I was looking at the drivers for your video card and it is quite old...I think the newest release was around 2001...I am doubtful it has support for widescreen...I think you are right...you may need to buy a new video card...sorry could not have been of more help :(

Actually, this looks promising. I'm here at work, but just for kicks I downloaded the driver on that page, then attempted to install on a couple PCs here using the "have disk" method, and in the list you can select the 19 wide-inch 926w as an option - that is the widescreen monitor I have.

So it looks like the driver CD may have just been left out of the box - not surprising. I don't want to get my hopes too far up, just in case , but it would appear that this should work.

I hope so. I LOVE my ATI all-in-wonder...