Problem with 22" flat screen

Hesten · Post by **Hesten** » May 2, 2007, 6:34 pm

Hi guys

Today i just got my new Samsung SyncMaster 226bw, and was looking forward to changing from a 19" normal monitor to a 22" flat screen.

BUT...

When i unpacked it and put it up and started enjoying it, i tried to play movies, and its doing MAJOR pixelation in anything movie related. Its a little less on DVDs (on V for Vendetta at least) but still noticeable.
Then tried a few games, no problems at all, can play Max Payne 2 with no problems, but tried Command and Conquer 3, and all video are pixelated, even the EA logo gets horribly messed up, with major green pixelation all over the edges of the expanding green in it. The game itself are ok, but the videos mess up.

So i was wondering if anyone had a clue to what i can try to do now. Tried the newest drivers for the screen and graphic card, tried lower resolution settings, tried 16 bit colour, but nothing seems to help.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 2, 2007, 6:41 pm

Make sure you're running it in it's native resolution which should be 1680X1050. Anything else won't look good.

Hesten · Post by **Hesten** » May 3, 2007, 2:44 am

I am, so thats not the problem.

Waikiki · Post by **Waikiki** » May 3, 2007, 9:14 am

What program are you playing the DVD in?

It's probably whatever video decoder is being used to decode the MPEG2 stream. Personally I use Nvidia Purevideo Decoder, although it costs money but you can find it elsewhere for free. *wink wink* You can get a trial version from Nvidia to test it out too.

Another option people have seem to like is the Intervideo decoders that come with the player. I believe this is a free option you might want to try.

Kluden · Post by **Kluden** » May 3, 2007, 11:26 am

Video cards are usually packaged with a DVD decoding program, and some motherboards too (Especially true for Intel mobos).

Use one of them. PowerDVD, IntervideoDVD, or Nvideo.

Also, make sure "Video card acceleration" is checked in the dvd player program options (if it exists). If it is somehow unchecked, it will work like shit and be all pixelated. That was an immediate fix here at my office a handful of times.

Hesten · Post by **Hesten** » May 3, 2007, 1:23 pm

Its not just DVD playing.

Movie playing tested in the following so far:
Media Player
VLN
Intervideo DVD player.
Whatever movie codec C&C3 uses to play its video.

But ill try Nvidia Purevideo Decoder, but doubt itll help

. Gonna try to test on my laptop later.

And tried to use a VGA cable and a DVI converter, like my old monitor used. Didnt work either.

Oh, and this was NOT a problem till yesterday where i changed to the new 22" flat screen.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » May 3, 2007, 1:43 pm

Refresh set properly? 60Hz!

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 3, 2007, 1:52 pm

Hesten wrote:Its not just DVD playing.

Movie playing tested in the following so far:
Media Player
VLN
Intervideo DVD player.
Whatever movie codec C&C3 uses to play its video.

But ill try Nvidia Purevideo Decoder, but doubt itll help . Gonna try to test on my laptop later.

And tried to use a VGA cable and a DVI converter, like my old monitor used. Didnt work either.

Oh, and this was NOT a problem till yesterday where i changed to the new 22" flat screen.

This would be a good time to download one of the live CD/DVD's of a Linux distro and see how videos look on your new LCD using it's movie players. It will be setup to do so right off the CD/DVD so you can see if it's a windows issue or a hardware issue.

Swoned · Post by **Swoned** » May 3, 2007, 1:59 pm

I was actually looking at that monitor a few days ago on Newegg. That stinks that you're running into issues with it after just receiving it. When you updated your video drivers, did you do a clean install? I've had several issues in the past where if you just install over the old drivers you end up having problems. There's a free program out called Driver Cleaner Pro that works great to purge all the old driver files and registry entries from previous versions. While I'm not sure if that will fix your problem, it could definitely be a last resort option.

I recall reading on newegg that there are several different models of that monitor (i.e. A,B,C,D), and each one is a different level of quality. Some people are really satisfied with some models and the other models aren't as good. You may want to check the feedback section on newegg for your monitor if you haven't already.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 3, 2007, 2:16 pm

You shouldn't get major pixelation, but remember that DVDs are only 480 lines of res. They can look pretty crappy on a 24" LCD running at 1920X1200 so the same may be true for a 22" screen. I'm not saying that's it, but some people don't realize this. Standard def on an LCD HDTV looks aweful without a good scaler. Garbage in, garbage out.

ffdshow combined with a nice mpeg codec can make the picture loook much better.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/ffdshow

I bought the nVidia purevision codec when it first came out (went through a name change at some point) but it's a pain to keep up with them so I just pirate the new releases when I need the latest one. (sad how it's easier to pirate even if you own stuff)

Right now, I'm not sure what codec I have going for mpeg2. I haven't tinkere with it since installing Vista.

Hesten · Post by **Hesten** » May 3, 2007, 3:08 pm

Yes, im set at 60hz refresh rate. Can only set it at 59 and 60

The drivers for my Gforce 7800 GTX are from novenmber or so when i installed them, but im gonna try to uninstall and install again, in hope that might help.

If i put my old screen back, no problems

Hesten · Post by **Hesten** » May 3, 2007, 4:43 pm

Removing then reinstalling drivers didnt help.
Installing PureVideo DVD Encoder didnt help.
Installing ffdshow codec didnt help.
Changing from Samsung drivers to windows pnp standard didnt help.

And tried to connect the old monitor again, and problem goes away.

Any other suggestions?

Swoned · Post by **Swoned** » May 3, 2007, 5:20 pm

Do you by chance have another computer to hook the monitor up to? Also, are you using the Analog or DVI port? (Assuming DVI). Could see if the results are any better. Although, I'm sure you'd rather use DVI.

Like I said earlier, make sure you UNINSTALL the drivers and wipe out the driver residue using a program like driver cleaner pro. Reinstalling doesn't always do the job.

Other than those suggestions, I would call samsung and see what they have to say about it. I hope it just isn't the case that you got an inferior model of the monitor.

Siji · Post by **Siji** » May 3, 2007, 5:54 pm

Hesten wrote:Any other suggestions?

Kick it. Then drink a pint.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 3, 2007, 7:06 pm

Hesten wrote:
Any other suggestions?

Yes, my suggestion of downloading a Live Linux CD that you can boot up and play a movie from to see if you still have the problem.

How bad is the pixilation? Is it ghosting? Are you sure it's just not that the DVD is 480 lines and it looks bad for everyone on a high res LCD?

My second suggestion is to download anything (a short clip) that's in high definition and play it to see if you get pixilation using a HD source. You shouldn't. 720p or 1080i.

Hesten · Post by **Hesten** » May 3, 2007, 9:02 pm

I use the DVI port on the monitor, tried a VGA cable and then use a VGA/DVI switcher just for testing (my old screen were VGA only, and my graphic card are DVI only, so used that solution untill i got this, worked fine), but no luck, still problems, and using VGA made the screen kinda blurry, which it wasnt before.

And tried to hook it up to my IBM T60P, same problem. Cant even show the EA logo from C&C3 without MASSIVE pixilation problems.

So now im down to either a bad DVI cable (dont have a spare, gonna borrow one from a friend tomorrow) or a defective screen, although i dont know anyone who have heard of a defect like this before.

Winnow, if you know a program that can take screenshots of it, i can show you all

.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 3, 2007, 9:11 pm

Fraps shold be able to take desktop picture showing video.

http://www.fraps.com/

It very well could be the cable.

Zaelath · Post by **Zaelath** » May 3, 2007, 9:25 pm

If it's a problem with the *monitor* you can't take a screen shot of it on the *computer* (before it leaves to be displayed on the monitor)

If in fact you can screen shot the problem, then I will rapidly conclude you are as silly as you sound from the problem description.

Hesten · Post by **Hesten** » May 4, 2007, 6:39 am

Zaelath wrote:If it's a problem with the *monitor* you can't take a screen shot of it on the *computer* (before it leaves to be displayed on the monitor)

If in fact you can screen shot the problem, then I will rapidly conclude you are as silly as you sound from the problem description.

Lol, true Zaelath, i wasnt really thinking there

.

Hesten · Post by **Hesten** » May 5, 2007, 5:28 pm

Grr, tested with another DVI cable borrowed from a friend that i KNOW work. Still not working correctly