Using an RCA LCD TV as a PC Monitor

[burritonator]

Hi,

I'm looking for some advice concerning some display problems that I'm having.

I just purchased an RCA 32" LCD HDTV (model: L32WD12; spec sheet here:

http://tv.rca.com/NR/rdonlyres/8FE5C137-8504-4009-B6AA-9424D07BDBDD/0/L32WD12.pdf).

I've connected the TV to my PC's video card via the VGA ports on both devices. The video card is an ATI Radeon x850 XT Platinum Edition (256 MB RAM; specs sheet here:

http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonx850/radeonx850series/index.html).

The problem I'm having is that there is a bad shadowing affect on the TV when I'm using it as a PC monitor (television looks OK). I refer to the problem as "shadowing" instead of "ghosting", because it is always visible, even with still images such as the icons on the desktop. A good example that I can use to try to explain what I'm seeing is that when my mouse cursor is sitting still, I can see two more "dimmer" mouse cursors to the right of it. This same shadowing effect exists on all graphics, whether on the Windows Desktop, within games, etc. This results in the display quality being very poor.

I've spent a significant amount of time adjusting the display settings on the TV and the Video Card, to no avail. I was able to improve the display very slightly by increasing the contrast setting on the video card; however, I noticed that for all practical purposes, none of the adjustments that I make have any real affect on the shadows. I also updated my video card's drivers to the latest version, but that didn't have any noticeable affect.

So, with all of that being said, here are my questions:

1. Does anyone have any general advice on what might cause this and how I can correct it?

2. My video card has a DVI port, and the TV has an HDMI port - if I connect the video card to the TV using a DVI->HDMI cable, what are the chances that could correct the problem?

3. Someone told me that problems like this were usually related to signal strength. While I'm aware that is an important factor when dealing with coax cable and TV connections, but is the idea of "signal strength" applicable when dealing with a VGA connection? If so, what could I do to improve it?

Thanks,
Brent

 

[ski]

The max recommended length for a VGA cable is approx. 10 meters when displaying 1024x768 resolution, and less for higher resolutions.
If your application exceeds these, then either lower the resolution, or install an extender/repeater.
A DVI cable has the same approx. limitations.

 

[Nelviticus]

Is your PC's display mode set to 1366 x 768? That's the TV's native resolution according to the spec sheet. If your desktop has a different setting you won't get a good picture.

Ski's reply is good but I'd just add to it that also make sure the cable is good quality and try not to have it running too close to other cables, particularly power. Any electrical signal loses strength and picks up interference when it passes along a cable.

A DVI->HDMI cable or adapter should work and will give you a better picture than VGA but they can be quite expensive.

Regards

Nelviticus

 

[burritonator]

I wound up breaking down and buying the DVI->HDMI cable, and it did the trick. The display looks great now.

The odd thing is that the VGA cable I was using previously was only six feet long - maybe it was just a low-quality cable.

Brent