Another major breakthrough! Reprogram your bugged Westinghouse LVM-37w3se EDID chips directly
I have found a way to update the EDIDs in the display itself. Yes EDIDs, there are three of them in all, one for VGA, one for DVI, and one for HDMI. This means everything works as it should, from the BIOS/POST screen not being cropped, to devices like the Xbox 360 being able to select 1080p output over HDMI/DVI. Forget sending your SE back to Westinghouse, fix it yourself!
Disclaimer: Note that this is a significantly more technical procedure than the NVIDIA OverrideEDIDFlags tweak, and carries the risk that goes along with flashing memory chips. I take no responsibility for any damage that might occur as a result of using these instructions. Do not use cables longer than 6 feet or so to perform the update as the risk of electrical interference causing corruption on raw bytestream data greatly increases with cable length. You assume all risks, including that of your warranty being voided, that may arise as a result of attempting this procedure.
That out of the way, on with the nitty gritty.
How to tell if your LVM-37w3se is bugged or not (any of these are symptoms):
The EDID in this monitor has, in addition to the standard 128 byte block that all displays have, an additional 128 byte extension block with detailed timings, an increasingly common characteristic of HD monitors and televisions. Unfortunately there is no consumer-grade, free or commercially available software that can write EDID data beyond the standard first 128 byte block. If you would like to see PowerStrip support this functionality, which would make this fix 100% comprehensive, post your support for requesting such a feature in this thread. From my testing so far this hasn't been a serious issue, but it has the potential to break compatibility with some devices that rely on the timings in the extension block. I have no idea what devices if any could be affected by this limitation, but just be aware of the potential for problems. Hopefully there will be a method for writing beyond the first 128 byte block in the not too distant future.
Update - 10/20/07: The PowerStrip developers have said that the EDID extension block writing feature will be implemented in the next version of PowerStrip, but they don't know when this will be available. This is fantastic news. This feature will allow us to fix the last of the problems caused by the faulty EDID. In the meantime, you can try a workaround: http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1031558956&postcount=13
Update 2 - 12/2/07: PowerStrip's latest beta version has been updated to support writing EDID extension blocks, and I have tested it and written up a second part to the guide, making the workaround above unnecessary. The details are here: Link
Instructions:
This is the fix I think we've all been looking for. Fixes all those nasty issues resulting from the monitor being programmed with the completely wrong EDID.
As always, if you try this fix please let me know how it went. Good luck and enjoy!
I have found a way to update the EDIDs in the display itself. Yes EDIDs, there are three of them in all, one for VGA, one for DVI, and one for HDMI. This means everything works as it should, from the BIOS/POST screen not being cropped, to devices like the Xbox 360 being able to select 1080p output over HDMI/DVI. Forget sending your SE back to Westinghouse, fix it yourself!
Disclaimer: Note that this is a significantly more technical procedure than the NVIDIA OverrideEDIDFlags tweak, and carries the risk that goes along with flashing memory chips. I take no responsibility for any damage that might occur as a result of using these instructions. Do not use cables longer than 6 feet or so to perform the update as the risk of electrical interference causing corruption on raw bytestream data greatly increases with cable length. You assume all risks, including that of your warranty being voided, that may arise as a result of attempting this procedure.
That out of the way, on with the nitty gritty.
How to tell if your LVM-37w3se is bugged or not (any of these are symptoms):
- When your machine first boots, the POST/BIOS screen is cut off on the sides by black bars
- Your monitor is identified by the NVIDIA drivers or PowerStrip as a WDE4207 or W4207
- When running at 1920x1080 resolution, pushing the "info" button on the remote shows that it is running at 1920x1080i (interlaced)
- Some devices, such as the Xbox 360, are unable to select 1080p as an output format when connected via DVI or HDMI
- You will need to buy the registered version of PowerStrip, as only the registered version has the ability to write to EDID memory. It's $30 USD but that's a lifetime license and it's a very versatile and useful tool for all things relating to graphics cards and displays. Well worth it, even if only for this one purpose!
- You will need a desktop PC with a PowerStrip-supported graphics card with VGA and DVI outputs. A notebook may or may not work, as some are unable to directly interact with the EDID. Also NVIDIA 8x00 series cards may not be compatible, I'm not positive on that though.
- You'll also need the necessary cables for hooking up to the VGA, DVI and HDMI ports (a DVI to HDMI cable is needed for updating the HDMI port). As I said before, keep these cable lengths below 6 feet or so to minimize the risk of interference. Monoprice.com is great for getting inexpensive, good quality cables.
- Finally you'll need the two EDID .DAT files I've put together. One is for the analog interface (VGA), the other is for the two digital interfaces (DVI and HDMI). Download here.
The EDID in this monitor has, in addition to the standard 128 byte block that all displays have, an additional 128 byte extension block with detailed timings, an increasingly common characteristic of HD monitors and televisions. Unfortunately there is no consumer-grade, free or commercially available software that can write EDID data beyond the standard first 128 byte block. If you would like to see PowerStrip support this functionality, which would make this fix 100% comprehensive, post your support for requesting such a feature in this thread. From my testing so far this hasn't been a serious issue, but it has the potential to break compatibility with some devices that rely on the timings in the extension block. I have no idea what devices if any could be affected by this limitation, but just be aware of the potential for problems. Hopefully there will be a method for writing beyond the first 128 byte block in the not too distant future.
Update - 10/20/07: The PowerStrip developers have said that the EDID extension block writing feature will be implemented in the next version of PowerStrip, but they don't know when this will be available. This is fantastic news. This feature will allow us to fix the last of the problems caused by the faulty EDID. In the meantime, you can try a workaround: http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1031558956&postcount=13
Update 2 - 12/2/07: PowerStrip's latest beta version has been updated to support writing EDID extension blocks, and I have tested it and written up a second part to the guide, making the workaround above unnecessary. The details are here: Link
Instructions:
- If you have already installed NVIDIA drivers with the OverrideEDIDFlags tweak, uninstall those drivers and reinstall without the tweak (following the safe mode/driver cleaner instructions as you always should when reinstalling drivers).
- Download, install, and register PowerStrip
- Download and extract the .DAT files from the zip file here
- Open up PowerStrip, right click its icon in the system tray and select Options->Monitor Information.
- In the Options drop-down box, select "Read data directly from monitor" and verify that the currently connected interface has the bugged W4207 data (model ID = WDE4207, max res = 1366 x 768, etc.)
- From the same drop-down box, select "Update EDID"
- It should say a valid EEPROM was found. Click yes. If a valid EEPROM was not found click the option to search the bus for other EEPROMs. If still no go, keep trying a few times. Try different combinations of video driver versions, video cards, cables, even computers if you are that determined. If it just doesn't work, you may be out of luck. Also if it says the EEPROM is write-protected, you are definitely SOL. Mine was not write-protected so I simply assumed they were all like that, but who knows...
- If connected via DVI or HDMI, locate and select the WDE14FAD.dat file (note the D at the end -- for digital).
Otherwise if connected via VGA, locate and select the WDE14FAA.dat file (A for analog) - Click yes again to confirm.
- If the update went well it should ask you to restart your computer, and the data on the Monitor information page should be updated to reflect the new proper LVM-37w3se EDID.
- Instead of restarting, shut down, unplug the video cable you were using and switch to the next type. Boot to Windows and repeat steps 4-11 until all three interfaces (VGA, DVI and HDMI) have been updated.
This is the fix I think we've all been looking for. Fixes all those nasty issues resulting from the monitor being programmed with the completely wrong EDID.
- BIOS/POST/DOS/Windows Boot screens are no longer cut off on the sides. If your BIOS supports and is set to 1:1 mode a.k.a. disabled VGA expansion, these screens are properly displayed with 1:1 pixel mapping centered in the middle of the screen. Otherwise they are stretched to fill the panel.
- The Xbox 360 and other devices that limit themselves to EDID-reported modes can finally select 1080p over HDMI!
- The monitor is properly recognized as a LVM-37w3se
- Resolutions available:
640x400 (good, but is squashed to fit a 4:3 aspect -- as always)
640x480 (good)
720x480 (bad: overscanned and cropped, very blurry -- but it was always like that)
800x600 (good)
1024x768 (good)
1280x720 (good, somewhat blurry though -- as always)
1280x800 (good)
1280x1024 (good)
1360x765 (good)
1920x1080 (perfect!) - I suspect the blurry 720p and 480p modes could be improved with the extension block properly programmed as discussed in the "Caveat" section. Remind/pester the PowerStrip developers about it until they cave and give us multi-block EDID writing.
As always, if you try this fix please let me know how it went. Good luck and enjoy!
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