Image scaling in nonnative resolution, inquiry.

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truepurple

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Are most monitors good at scaling images with no stretch so the ratio of the source stays true? Does that tend to cause much image quality issue?

Specifically, I was wondering if I need to be concerned about buying a monitor of the same size but a higher native resolution then 1920x1080 or 1920x1200, for watching movies, whether I need to worry about the movie not looking so good (I don't care about black bars) because it's been resized to fit a higher resolution.
 
For PC use, most graphics cards by nVidia and AMD support what is called 1:1 pixel scaling. This allows you to play 720/1080p content with a perfect ratio with no loss in image quality. If you want to hook up an external device a monitor which is native >1080p, scaling can be a serious problem since you are now bypassing your video card and relying solely on the monitor to do scaling (which some >1080p displays do not even support). The HP ZR30w, for example, simply cannot play back content which is not 1600p. If you hook up a PS3 or XBOX360 to it, you won't get any video. The Apple LED Cinema 27" can play back 1080p content with an HD620 converter, but the 1080p video will be upconverted to 1440p which leads to some minor quality loss. The DELL U2711, DELL U3011, and NEC PA271W are three of the few >1080p displays which actually have built in hardware scalers which allow them to display 1080p video with pristine quality.
 
Ashok0 said:
The HP ZR30w, for example, simply cannot play back content which is not 1600p.
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That's because it lacks a dedicated internal scalar. It is great for the person who wants the lowest possible input lag among the 30" panels and doesn't want to spend as much money as they typically would on a 30" ips panel but I had to disqualify it as a choice because I want to hook up my console to my monitor.
 
So are you saying that with a good modern video card, scaling up a image in same ratio will be nearly perfect?

Would the dell U2410 have one of these hardware scalers? What name does this feature go by to know what to search for/look for? Are there different grades of these hardware scalers? If so, please tell me about the different grades/what to look for.
 
truepurple said:
So are you saying that with a good modern video card, scaling up a image in same ratio will be nearly perfect?

Would the dell U2410 have one of these hardware scalers? What name does this feature go by to know what to search for/look for? Are there different grades of these hardware scalers? If so, please tell me about the different grades/what to look for.
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Are you talking about scaling or 1 to 1 pixel mapping. Scaling means changing the number of pixels in one or both directions, 1 to 1 means only using the number of pixels that were there in the first place with black bars arround the edges.

Yes the Dell U2410 has a scaler. Dell usually uses good scalers in their LCDs. I find VGA works better than DVI and scaling with the graphics card is the worst of the bunch. This can vary quite a bit depending on the hardware you are using.

Dave
 
truepurple said:
Are most monitors good at scaling images with no stretch so the ratio of the source stays true? Does that tend to cause much image quality issue?

Specifically, I was wondering if I need to be concerned about buying a monitor of the same size but a higher native resolution then 1920x1080 or 1920x1200, for watching movies, whether I need to worry about the movie not looking so good (I don't care about black bars) because it's been resized to fit a higher resolution.
Click to expand...

No, you do not have to worry about movies looking bad at all. There are a ton of other things that play a much more important part than native vs. non-native when it comes to 1080p content. You will not be disappointed because of image scaling - you might be disappointed with the black level or any such thing but that of course has nothing to do with the scaling (or the resolution of the monitor).


As for keeping the aspect ratio that depends. However, if you play the movie on the computer it will up to the software you use to play it back and I don't know of any software that don't have the option of keeping the aspect ratio.
 
Does "1:1 pixel mapping" allow for increasing the size of a image to fill up a higher resolution screen then source of signal, while keeping true to its aspect ratio?
 
1 to 1 pixel mapping is just that, it will not fill the screen if the native res is higher. What you describe is scaling. As someone said already scaling is a very small issue, because most computer displays do it very well and the screens are too small to notice the difference anyway.

Before you select a new display I suggest you learn about the other issues that really can bite you in the butt.

Dave
 
If I want to hook up a signal directly to my monitor, from a tuner box or console or what not, I will need a monitor with scaling for it to work? I am mostly asking about what Ashok0 said since I understood very little of it.(I understood just enough to worry me :p)

This built in scaler feature that some monitors have, what is the exact name it goes by in most specifications/features lists? Or is it something that most monitors don't list for?

daveswantek said:
Before you select a new display I suggest you learn about the other issues that really can bite you in the butt.
Click to expand...
Like what?
 
truepurple said:
If I want to hook up a signal directly to my monitor, from a tuner box or console or what not, I will need a monitor with scaling for it to work? I am mostly asking about what Ashok0 said since I understood very little of it.(I understood just enough to worry me :p)

This built in scaler feature that some monitors have, what is the exact name it goes by in most specifications/features lists? Or is it something that most monitors don't list for?
Click to expand...

Yes, you need a scaler in the monitor for that and no it is not something that is usually listed - you will have to research every monitor you are interested in.

Unfortunately here is no widely used term for it either.

If you are looking for a monitor with a greater resolution than 1920x1200 well then you don't have much options anyway.

Dell u2711 and dell u3011 (or 3008WFP) are some of your options and all of them have a scaler capable of keeping the aspect ratio.
 
Is there much of a difference in quality levels among various monitor scalers?

1920x1200 with LED/low power consumption would make me happy enough.(there seems to be almost nothing in this regard) I might appreciate higher resolution or IPS, but I can live without. But I ask in case I find a higher resolution monitor I like, and I ask simply to understand the issues better.
 
I have4 read reviews like that (and perhaps that very review) well before posting this thread. Such clearly did not answer the questions I have posed here (if they had, I wouldn't have asked)
 
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