Flat Panel Screens 17"

[bonsai]

ok, this is in the way of an update.
I switched the NEC over to my second computer which has a different adapter and I get full 1280x1024.
So I switched back and played with different adapters and now
have 1280x1024 on the original.
so far so good.
I also have a tv card so turned it on and the NEC performance is terrible.
Movies are also poor.

I suspect its a response time issue but 16ms seems pretty good.

Any thoughts on that ?. Certainly not as good as CRT on those particular counts.

 

[RogerM]

Bonsai - there was an installation CD with my NEC's which contained the drivers. Presumably you had a CD? If not I am sure that the drivers will be downloadable from the NEC website. Never used my monitors as a TV, apart from streaming video or video off a CD where there is no fast moving image, so unable to comment on this aspect of performance. However, when I drag my cursor quickly across the screen it momentarily leaves a ghost image, so suspect that TV would not be as good as CRT. And in fairness all the reviews say that for action games, tv and very subtle colouring for photographers CRT is still better. But LCD wins out for static images as in the trading scenario.

 

[bonsai]

there is a disk with the manual on it in 28 different languages.
but no mention of a routine to 'install'
but there are 3 files for 1701.

.cat
.icm
.inf

the last one seems to have install dataon it.
Do I just copy it somewhere or is there an install routine ?

 

[ChartMan]

LCD is fine for DVD's and TV if you have a high spec machine. A low spec machine will look aweful. You have to run the LCD at max "native" resolution for a perfect picture. Your TV card won't let you do this probably.
The INF file is for an installation routine but may not be for win95. You'd be lucky to find anything new that has win95 drives included though win98 drivers should work fine.
Right click on the desktop select properties/settings/advanced/monitor. What does it say for monitor type?
How much memory do you have on your video adapter card? 1280x1024= 1.3M pixels. x 16 bit colour = 20 meg of memory. do you have a 32Meg memory card fitted? even 256 colour will need > 8Mbytes of video.

 

[bonsai]

kit is compatible with win95 (at least that's what they say).
using 'Plug and play' monitor in the absence of any alternative.

take your point about vram but no min spec included in data.
32mg you reckon ? How can I check that ? Or do I have to poke around inside and count the chips?

Off to the local guru by the looks of it and get some more fitted ?

 

[bonsai]

can someone explain why the vram gives good movies on my CRT
but doesnt do so on LCD.

TV card does work at 1280x124 just bad picture.

 

[JonnyT]

Knock the resolution down to 640x480 before playing a movie. You sometimes have to do this with TV out so it might help.

JonnyT

 

[mully]

I think you are using an analogue TV card and that signal is sent out way below the NEC native resolution og 1220x1024. In otherwords you are looking at the picture through a magnifying glass effectively- grainy?

 

[mully]

Forgot to add the TV card will need new drivers to recognise/optimise the new LCD screen

 

[bonsai]

thanks.
TV worked perfectly well on CRT with 1028x764. Even at Full screen. Realplayer as well.Not now though. But Mplayer seems OK (ish)


Yet more drivers ?

Bxxxyzzz !

jonny
they all work ok on lower resolutions.
but then my trading and charting is oversize
so if I want to watch England getting slaughtered again
while watching the market ....
(I know , stop watching England !)

 

[mully]

Bonsai

When your TV card was initially produced it was optimised for monitors that existed. By definition the NEC is new and it is a long shot to assume that your card is optimised to your new LCD screen. So i would check you TV card website for driver updates as a first step.

 

[JonnyT]

Hi Bonsai,

I don't think you will get a fix other than buying a TV.

JonnyT

 

[bonsai]

thanks mully.
I keep resigning myself to have to do it each time something
new comes along but only after I have had a good grump
about it being time somebody did something about it.

 

[bottomdollar]

Bonsai...
You have Win95??? I would recommend XP or 2000.. I've not had any problems with my machine since I've upgraded!!

 

[bonsai]

I have been told that 2000 is fairly stable and will get round to it one day.

btw, will I have to reformat when installing it ?
got a lorra lorra data.

 

[RogerM]

bonsai - my pc had become virtually unusable with W98, but by installing W2000 pro it resolved 99% of my problems at a stroke. There has been much debate here about the relative merits of W2000 and XP - with opinions more or less equally divided which seems to indicate to me that it is not a critical decision.

Hard drives don't last forever and these days are cheap. If you are running W95 I am guessing that your existing HDD will be old and relatively small. Given that you will have to reformat your old HDD and will have to do a clean install, why not install a new hard drive alongside the old one? Then it will be dead easy to transfer data from the old hdd to the new one as well as meaning that you don't have to do it all simultaneously. It also gives you a rudimentary form of backup. You will of course have to install your s/w onto the new hdd, but you would have to do that anyway.

A decent 40GB HDD will set you back about £50. I am not a pc wizard and if Chartman (who is) gives a contradictory message then I suggest you treat his answer as master!

 

[bonsai]

OK Roger but you have to go slow with me.
my existing hdd is 25mb with lots of data, programs etc. There
are upper limits with w95.
Do I gather that a reformat is definitely required to load 2000
The only reason I have stuck with 95 is the horrendous task of
reinstalling all my software.

So I need a work around in order to avoid that.

edit
that should read 25gb !

 

[eminem]

I managed to install XP without re-formatting and I am a complete computer dunce! Someone will now post "ah you shouldn't have done" that but at least my computer is working (famous last words!) and I didn't lose data or software. I did have to re-install some critical items but not many and I did that for peace of mind really. My only computing knowledge consists of boot up, shut down and Ctrl+Alt+Del (which I used a lot with ME) so if I can do it then anyone can.

 

[RogerM]

eminem - I know that W98 can be upgraded to XP but not sure whether W95 is upgradeable. Even if it is I am expecting Chartman to put in an appearance anytime now to vehemently advise against it.

bonsai - A reformat is inevitable occasionally and is a nettle that nees to be grasped otherwise eventually the paint will wear off those coloured beads you flick along the wires! Best to do it at a time of your own choosing than to have it forced upon you at the most inconvenient time when a hdd fails (and they all do eventually), probably taking all your data with it! This could include all your records, music, correspondence, photos - it doesn't bear thinking about.

By installing a second hdd you can transfer data files between them on a straight forward "drag and drop" basis although software will need to be reinstalled on the new hdd. You will then have your data on both hdd's and you can back up critical stuff on both. Doesn't help you if you are struck by lightening (happened to a friend of mine on Monday) or if the pc is stolen so not a substitute to backing up to a separate device ( CD etc).

Also if re-formatting is such a hassle you will not want to repeat the excercise any time soon, so ask yourself whether the rest of the pc is up to scratch. A new hdd is all very fine, but is the chip speed OK? What about the graphics card if you want to use multiple monitors? And the RAM? Cd Writer? Have you seen how much pc (exc monitors) you can buy for £500 these days? Or you could pick up a secondhand 2GHz Athlon with all the bells and whistles for about £250 if you are allergic to spending on a new pc. Just 25pts on the FTSE!

 

[bonsai]

Roger
I know everything you say is true.
Previously I have told myself if it aint broke dont fix it.
It helps to reinforce the animosity I feel for Microsoft.


And at the moment I only have the one problem which
is the graphics on this TFT.

so, being a dinosaur, I will probably just switch cables
on my PC's and use my other terminal (17" CRT) for the
graphic/TV etc.

and when that goes buy another CRT (19") although I get
the feeling that they are so cheap now they will very soon
stop production as there seems very little profit in them.