HTPC -> TV native resolution question

I recently switched from a Samsung 37" to a Toshiba 32" as the display for my HTPC.

Both have a native resolution of 1366x768, both connected via HDMI from an ATI HD6450 card. The Samsung displayed text and such really crisp, after doing a bunch of adjustments in the Catalyst control center.

With the Toshiba, I can't get the same "crispness". It doesn't look that bad, movies and pictures are just fine, but looking at text it is a tad fuzzy. It is like it doesn't quite get the native resolution.

I have set the TV to "native resolution", the GPU resolution to 1366x768, and the control center to 0 underscan, and played around with all the other settings there, but can't get it to clear up 100%. It fills the screen and all, but it bugs me that I can't get it as good as the Samsung.

Take the TV resolution up or down a knotch.

On the TV itself - there is no such choice. There is only picture size which can be Native, Full, TheaterWide 1-3, or 4:3. I have it set to Native, which fills the screen correctly and looks the sharpest between all the various settings.

Interestingly, the TV reports the input resolution to be 1080, even though the video card is set to 1366x768. I think this is just the way it reports resolutions > 720.

Wish I could figure this out. Would make reading stuff much easier.

Quote from Wasser : On the TV itself - there is no such choice. There is only picture size which can be Native, Full, TheaterWide 1-3, or 4:3. I have it set to Native, which fills the screen correctly and looks the sharpest between all the various settings. Interestingly, the TV reports the input resolution to be 1080, even though the video card is set to 1366x768. I think this is just the way it reports resolutions > 720. Wish I could figure this out. Would make reading stuff much easier.

I think he ment on the video card. Try outputting at 1280 x 720 or 1080.

I spoke with some VP's at Toshiba TV (Japan) about this, and they confirmed it -- it's not just Toshiba; TV's and computer monitors are designed very differently. TV's aren't designed to be computer displays. A computer display backlight drives an image about two feet, while a TV backlight is designed for view from six to twelve feet. I had this problem with a Samsung combo monitor/TV -- the brightness was never right.

TV scalers usually blend adjacent pixels to make images look smoother. With motion video, this looks fine, but black text against a white background will never come out right. So don't think that the TV lacks "Sharpness" when it simply isn't designed to behave like a computer monitor. If you have a TV that displays PC text & graphics perfectly and it makes a great computer monitor, then it won't work well as a TV, because the properties of motion video display are different.

If its 1080p tv can you try 1900x1080 res on the computer?

I use 1280 x 768 for a Samsung 32" 720p TV, not great, but not bad. It will never be as good as a monitor.

The other option is to try the VGA or computer input. I think some TV's do text better via that port.

Have you tried playing with the overscan settings at all?

Quote from Rebound : I spoke with some VP's at Toshiba TV (Japan) about this, and they confirmed it -- it's not just Toshiba; TV's and computer monitors are designed very differently. TV's aren't designed to be computer displays. A computer display backlight drives an image about two feet, while a TV backlight is designed for view from six to twelve feet. I had this problem with a Samsung combo monitor/TV -- the brightness was never right. TV scalers usually blend adjacent pixels to make images look smoother. With motion video, this looks fine, but black text against a white background will never come out right. So don't think that the TV lacks "Sharpness" when it simply isn't designed to behave like a computer monitor. If you have a TV that displays PC text & graphics perfectly and it makes a great computer monitor, then it won't work well as a TV, because the properties of motion video display are different.

Thanks for sharing. This would be very convincing if I hadn't switched from a 37" Samsung ("720p" with 1366x768 native resolution) to this Toshiba ("720p" with 1366x768 native resolution). And yes, the Samsung works very well as a TV! I guess the Toshiba is a "pixel blender" and the Samsung, when driven @ native resolution, is not.

Quote from nizzy1115 : If its 1080p tv can you try 1900x1080 res on the computer?

It is not 1080p, and when I set it to 1920x1080 the result is small and fuzzy...

Quote from repitall : I use 1280 x 768 for a Samsung 32" 720p TV, not great, but not bad. It will never be as good as a monitor.

I tried that and the native 1366x768 looks still best... but not "pixel sharp". The 37" Samsung worked perfectly as a monitor (from a distance of course).

Quote from mrbobhcrhs : The other option is to try the VGA or computer input. I think some TV's do text better via that port.

Something to try, however, from previous experiences, I really doubt the VGA signal will be clearer than the DVI/HDMI signal.

Quote from LiquidRetro : Have you tried playing with the overscan settings at all?

Yes. Initially the Catalyst Control Center defaults to some percentage underscan, which makes the picture look bad, and, when outputting native resolution, not fill the screen. Bringing it up to its max (0) setting, picture/text looks better/best.


It isn't a huge deal, since the purpose of the TV is mainly to watch movies, and it works well for that. For the infrequent browsing and movie editing and file shuffling it is an inconvenience. Wish I had known that before buying...

Kind of sounds like a deinterlacing setting somewhere to me. Such a thing would probably be very noticeable on movement and not just text, though.