Monitor scaling question, need info please...

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wasteomind

Gawd
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Aug 13, 2004
Messages
522
Hey guys,

I have a Dell 2407WFP 24" LCD monitor. I've had it for a number of months now and after a lot of visual testing I'm still a bit unsure of the answer to the following question.

Because the monitor's native resolution is 1920x1200, running at resolutions different from the native resolution will cause degredation of the monitor's image quality.

This is completely apparent when the monitor is run in lower resolutions using the "Fit to screen" or "aspect" options, which will stretch or scale the image to use as much as the monitor as possible. Using this method just does not look as nice as the native which is to be expected.

Running the monitor in 1:1 mode causes a visual tear across the screen usually directly across the middle of the screen, or in the lower 1/3 of the screen. No vsync options I have used have been successful in removing this effect.

Now this is what I am wondering. Since the monitor's native resolution is 1920x1200, when the monitor is displaying 1920x1080 or 1600x1200 resolutions does the monitor suffer image quality penalties as it does in other modes?

I ask this because 1920x1080 keeps the image in horizontal aspect, and 1600x1200 keeps the monitor in vertical aspect.

My eye hasn't been able to detect much of a scaling or tearing effect, but perhaps there is something else I am missing?
 
wasteomind said:
Hey guys,

I have a Dell 2407WFP 24" LCD monitor. I've had it for a number of months now and after a lot of visual testing I'm still a bit unsure of the answer to the following question.

Because the monitor's native resolution is 1920x1200, running at resolutions different from the native resolution will cause degredation of the monitor's image quality.

This is completely apparent when the monitor is run in lower resolutions using the "Fit to screen" or "aspect" options, which will stretch or scale the image to use as much as the monitor as possible. Using this method just does not look as nice as the native which is to be expected.

Running the monitor in 1:1 mode causes a visual tear across the screen usually directly across the middle of the screen, or in the lower 1/3 of the screen. No vsync options I have used have been successful in removing this effect.

Now this is what I am wondering. Since the monitor's native resolution is 1920x1200, when the monitor is displaying 1920x1080 or 1600x1200 resolutions does the monitor suffer image quality penalties as it does in other modes?
Click to expand...

The answer is yes. LCD monitors look best ONLY at native resolution, or at 1/2 of both side resolutions in your case 960x600 (in this mode 4 pixels act as 1)
 
So this is the case even with 1920x1080 and 1600x1200 running in 1:1 ratios?

I figured since each resolution was using the full line (vertical or horizontal) that the pixels not being used (from the pillar box or letter box effect to keep it in proportion) would not cause and scaling to occur.

I assumed these pixels were simply off, or fed nothing but black color information while still maintaining the 1920x1200 frame, resulting in no loss of image quality due to no need for scaling.

So this is not the case?
 
wasteomind said:
So this is the case even with 1920x1080 and 1600x1200 running in 1:1 ratios?

I figured since each resolution was using the full line (vertical or horizontal) that the pixels not being used (from the pillar box or letter box effect to keep it in proportion) would not cause and scaling to occur.

I assumed these pixels were simply off, or fed nothing but black color information while still maintaining the 1920x1200 frame, resulting in no loss of image quality due to no need for scaling.

So this is not the case?
Click to expand...

If what you are saying is that your monitor resolution is set to 1920x1600 and you are watching content in a window with black bars around it you are correct. If you change the resolution of the monitor to anything but 1920x1600 then scaling will occur.
 
No I am saying I am playing games at either 1920x1080 or 1600x1200 with black bars on either the top or sides when the monitor is in 1:1 mode.

I assume this does not invoke the scaling unit built into the monitor, nor does it reduce image quality in any other way because it is not the "native" resolution, but utilizes one dimension of the "native" resolution.
 
If you have 1:1 pixel mapping then you won't lose image quality. You simply aren't using some pixels.
 
wasteomind said:
No I am saying I am playing games at either 1920x1080 or 1600x1200 with black bars on either the top or sides when the monitor is in 1:1 mode.

I assume this does not invoke the scaling unit built into the monitor, nor does it reduce image quality in any other way because it is not the "native" resolution, but utilizes one dimension of the "native" resolution.
Click to expand...

Ah, then you have a monitor with extra inputs. Then yes, there is no scaling. It has nothing to do with the fact that you are using one dimension of the native resolution. If you are sending the monitor a low res signal, even something 720x480, and you are in 1:1mode there will be no scaling and no distortion. The monitor will just place black bars on all 4 sides.
 
wasteomind said:
Then why do some resolutions have an unstoppable tearing when in 1:1 mode?
Click to expand...

This is an odd problem. I suspect that it's a flaw in Dell's 1:1 mode implementation. In very rare cases,however, I have noticed similar things on other displays when using game consoles. I *think* that it may have something to do with changing aspect ratios while the console is on. For e.g., you're playing an xbox game with an input initially set for "wide" or overscan. You then go into the OSD and change the setting to 1:1, while the console is still on. At times, that has resulted in some tearing, in my experience. I haven't noticed any problems when you start up the machine in 1:1, though.
 
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