# TV screen resolution when connecting laptop through HDMI



## Aeter (Jul 9, 2012)

So I'm trying to watch some films on my laptop on TV through an HDMI cable.

But the resolution of my TV screen is incorrect. 
It seems to be zoomed in or cut off.
I've tried numerous settings in Display settings of Windows and the GPU, but I can't get the screen to fit properly, even though the TV and my laptop both have HD-ready resolutions (1366x768).

So how can I fix this issue?


----------



## Lanlan (Jul 9, 2012)

have you messed with settings on your tv? try setting the computer's resolution to 720p or 1080p


----------



## p1ngpong (Jul 9, 2012)

Go into the Nvidia or ATi control panel and select the resize desktop option.


----------



## MelodieOctavia (Jul 9, 2012)

Your best bet would be to set both the TV and your laptop to 720 or 1080p. Any other odd resolutions, and you may be asking for trouble.


----------



## Aeter (Jul 9, 2012)

p1ngpong said:


> Go into the Nvidia or ATi control panel and select the resize desktop option.



I can't the option in my Nvidia drivers and adjusting things in my Nvidia drivers doesn't seem to work, it appears it only works on my HD 3000 Intel drivers from my Sandy Bridge CPU/GPU.


----------



## Lanlan (Jul 9, 2012)

just change your computer's resolution to 1280x720 and try it then. have the tv set on full hd. if it works try 1920x1080. I had my laptop outputting 1080p via the vga port before, so yours should be able to easily.


----------



## Aeter (Jul 9, 2012)

Lanlan said:


> just change your computer's resolution to 1280x720 and try it then. have the tv set on full hd. if it works try 1920x1080. I had my laptop outputting 1080p via the vga port before, so yours should be able to easily.


It didn't work the TV still couldn't display full screen.


----------



## Lanlan (Jul 9, 2012)

Aeter said:


> Lanlan said:
> 
> 
> > just change your computer's resolution to 1280x720 and try it then. have the tv set on full hd. if it works try 1920x1080. I had my laptop outputting 1080p via the vga port before, so yours should be able to easily.
> ...


what exactly do you mean? try every possible combination of things you can do. that's how i fix a lot of stuff


----------



## Aeter (Jul 9, 2012)

Well I guess I could try brute forcing it like that, but I figured there would be an easier way, like some setting I overlooked, like the one pingpong mentioned.


----------



## jalaneme (Jul 9, 2012)

i have the same problem with my tv, i connect my current pc through vga, and there are black borders in the bottom right hand corner, i tried everything in windows and intel drivers to remove them but all it does is cut of the internet browser so i can't see the buttons, i've tried to see if there is any software to correct this problem but there is none so in the end i just got a new pc, hopefully connecting it via hdmi will get a better picture especially with 8 channel sound too, i can't wait. 

but if it cuts off like the vga display i am going to go into major rage mode!


----------



## Aeter (Jul 9, 2012)

Apparently it's HDMI overscan of the TV and can sometimes be fixed with 1:1 pixelmapping setting or something similar, usually in the hidden service menu of the tv.
In my case I apparently can't adjust it in the service menu, so I have to figure out a fix in my video drivers somewhere.


----------



## Arm73 (Jul 9, 2012)

Your problem is that your TV has a resolution of 1366x768 but won't let you use it to display a 1:1 picture with your computer.
Usually those TVs will accept a 720p signal, and then upscale it to 1366x768 automatically, and depending on the TV, the upscaling should be barely noticeable.
There is no way you can change that if your TV is anything like my old Sharp Aquos.
What you need to do is go to the nVidia control panel, set your screen resolution to 1280x720 ( 720p ) and then look for an option called TV overscan ( or something like that ). A square will appear and you'll be able to expand it or shrink it until you fill your TV screen to your likeness.
Note that you still won't be able to use your full 1366x768 TV resolution(but more 1280x1152 or something ), but at least you won't see any black borders or miss part of the picture.
I hope it helps.


----------



## Aeter (Jul 9, 2012)

Arm73 said:


> Your problem is that your TV has a resolution of 1366x768 but won't let you use it to display a 1:1 picture with your computer.
> Usually those TVs will accept a 720p signal, and then upscale it to 1366x768 automatically, and depending on the TV, the upscaling should be barely noticeable.
> There is no way you can change that if your TV is anything like my old Sharp Aquos.
> What you need to do is go to the nVidia control panel, set your screen resolution to 1280x720 ( 720p ) and then look for an option called TV overscan ( or something like that ). A square will appear and you'll be able to expand it or shrink it until you fill your TV screen to your likeness.
> ...


I checked the Nvidia settings none of those you mention are there.


----------



## Arm73 (Jul 9, 2012)

Aeter said:


> Arm73 said:
> 
> 
> > Your problem is that your TV has a resolution of 1366x768 but won't let you use it to display a 1:1 picture with your computer.
> ...



You have to enable the second display first. Once the nVidia control panel recognize your TV, check the various settings for the second display and you'll find an option to adjust the TV overscan
It might be called something else now, I don't have an nVidia card anymore, but the option should definitely be there.


----------



## Aeter (Jul 9, 2012)

Arm73 said:


> Aeter said:
> 
> 
> > Arm73 said:
> ...


It does find the second screen/tv, it just doesn't show the options you mention and I this is because of the Intel HD Driver being the standard GPU to use and I don't see any options in the Intel Graphics settings that has the same outcome.


----------



## Aeter (Jun 19, 2013)

I was finally able to fix it.
What I did was first set my laptop resolution to 1280x720, which automatically set my TV to the same resolution.
I set the refresh rate of both to 60p Hz.
Than I set the scaling options to be adjustable, which enabled sliders for horizontal and vertical scaling.
Now I adjusted these values to fit the screen perfectly, which is:
- Horizontal scaling: 61
- Vertical scaling: 64
And now it looks fine.

I did this using the Intel HD 3000 configuration settings.
Here are some pictures for people who also have these problems with Intel HD graphics cards and HDTVs.
The text is in Dutch but you can probably figure it out, if not you can contact me by pm.

These are the laptop screen settings:






These are the TV screen settings:


----------



## Arm73 (Jun 19, 2013)

Good for you.
I didn't know the Intel HD card was able to output trough the HDMI port, nowadays laptops have two video card usually paired with an Intel HD / nVidia or AT, the latter being in charge of multi monitor support.
But yes, scaling or overscanning are basically the same thing I was talking about ...ehm....last year !


----------



## Aeter (Jun 19, 2013)

Arm73 said:


> Good for you.
> I didn't know the Intel HD card was able to output trough the HDMI port, nowadays laptops have two video card usually paired with an Intel HD / nVidia or AT, the latter being in charge of multi monitor support.
> But yes, scaling or overscanning are basically the same thing I was talking about ...ehm....last year !


I know, but I either couldn't find the option last time or it might be the option came with a driver update. 
And apparently the nVidia GPU does not allow me to mess with settings like resolution and such as those options are only available in the Intel HD configuration. It does show me the 2nd screen in the nVidia settings but it doesn't have many options.


----------



## doug fuoco (Apr 29, 2014)

Aeter said:


> So I'm trying to watch some films on my laptop on TV through an HDMI cable.
> 
> But the resolution of my TV screen is incorrect.
> It seems to be zoomed in or cut off.
> ...


 


dont know if it has been resolved and dont feel like reading all the suggestions.. turn overscan off on your tv. probably was suggested but if not thats ur go to solution


----------



## nando (Apr 29, 2014)

on a mac you van override resolutions to connected devices by dumping the profile of the device into a text file via terminal and changing it's settings there. then you add the file to your profiles. does your system have something similar?

i had rob display issues with my tv. i was able to fix that plus add extra resolution options and now it looks great.


----------



## Aeter (Apr 29, 2014)

It was fixed and I posted the solution already. Also I don't have a mac. 

This can be closed.


----------

