HDMI to TV Overscan Problem

[rm]

The latest computer I bought came with a NVIDIA GeForce G100 card which has DVI and VGA output connectors.  Since this machine is going in the living room and my TV has a free HDMI connection I decided to give that a try.  Unfortunately, I ran into what seems to be a very common problem at the moment.  The image would not fit on the screen.  This problem is called "overscan".  I fiddled a little with it trying some suggestions offered at the AVSForum, but I really don't have time to be fiddling with this.  So I gave up and just plugged the PC using the VGA port.  It is not bad, just not quite as good as with DVI.  In Vista the video driver did allow me to shrink the display to the right size.  So, I guess I can always use Vista if I want to see a movie at full resolution.

I found an interesting article on the subject today.

http://www.ypass.net/blog/2009/07/dvi-to-hdmi-overscan-screen-edge-cutoff-on-an-hdtv/

I am not inclined to mess with this any more right now, but I figure I would post it here in case any one is having a similar problem.  If you can get this to work, please let us know. 

[nixer]

I had that problem and this is how I solved it...

Install "nvdock" from synaptic and open the program - Start > system > NVdock.  It will load in the system tray.  Right click on it and it will open the program.

Look in the left side of the window and click on the listing that is at the bottom and see if you see "Overscan" in the main window.  If it is not there click on the next to last listing on the left, and go up until you see it.  I think it is in the next to last, or the third from the bottom.  When you see it, click on the slider bar and drag it to the right.  It will resize the resolution.  It works like a charm on my HTPC and I searched a long time to find it.

Hope this helps.

[rm]

Wow, that sounds really promising.  I'll have to try it when I get home.  I'll let you know.

[rm]

Woohooo!  It worked.  As an FYI, one does not have to install NVDock since one can launch the NVidia Configuration Settings tool from Applications > More Applications > Configuration.  The tool is a bit tricky to use.  I had to change the resolution to something other than the default one first in order to get the Overscan slider.  Once it showed up, I stretched the display to the very edges of the monitor.  Don't worry if you don't yet see the full edges of the desktop.  That is cleared out by the last step, setting the resolution back to the default one.

The difference between DVI and VGA is like night and day.  I had seen the NVidia Configuration Settings tool before but since I couldn't see any obvious way to change the scale I gave up on it.  Your post encouraged me to look at it again and find the solution.  Thanks a whole lot for that!

[nixer]

Thanks for the information about the nvdock program and I am glad you got it working.  I looked forever before I finally found the overscan feature.  Enjoy your HDMI viewing, it is much, much better... 

[wayne1932]

My friend is using his Samsung HDTV also as his computer monitor.  He had a problem with video location as well.  Since he is definitely tech challenged, I got into his machine and used the setup procedure for his TV to fix this.  I found a menu item on the Samsung setup that was  what I needed.  It allowed me to move the picture around on the screen.  Under the computer video setup I used 1366x768 as video resolution (his TV is only capable of 720p)

[DBobb]

Usually the problem is best fixed by adjusting the setting on the TV first. Many HDTV's have a 'zoom' or 'stretch' setting which is meant to make 4:5 (standard TV) images fit on the screen better. On other HDTV's you'll have to look for an option called 'overscan' and shrink the picture that way.

In most cases, the first place you should look to solve these problems is in the TV's menu itself.

[nixer]

Usually the problem is best fixed by adjusting the setting on the TV first.

A question - But would adjusting the tv settings effect all viewable inputs such as the blu-ray disk player, game station, and tv control box?  If it was only the PC that needed adjusting, would it not be better to change only the PC?  I guess I should try this before asking, but my sony does not have an "overscan" feature, not can I see where to resize, or move it.  It may have it since it seems to have everything else, but I can't find it in the menu.

Either way, if it works, then all is well. 

[wayne1932]

I can say that at least on the Samsung, the setting of stuff in the PC section did not affect his TV viewing.  I was afraid that it might, but it didn't happen.