How can I increase the resolution of PC's output image for TV?

If right-click desktop and go to Properties/Settings/Screen resolution, I can choose one of the following:

800x600
1024x768
1152x864
1280x720
1280x768
1280x800
1280x960
1280x1024

And for my screen I like 1280x1024. But I have a TV near my PC, so sometimes I disconnect the screen and connect the TV.

The problem is that I can't use the TV at its full resolution (1920x1080) because it isn't in the list, so I must choose 1280x720 (it has the same aspect ratio).

Then, I can't watch my 1080p videos at full resolution.

Is there a way to increase the resolution?

I have:

GPU: nVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430, with the latest driver (v307.74).
OS: Windows XP SP3
TV: LG 47LD465-ZA
Connector: VGA

Oriol

Posted 2013-02-23T17:21:51.947

Reputation: 1 199

OOC, what model TV? – Keltari – 2013-02-23T17:41:05.337

what type of connector are you using to connect your TV to your computer? – Alex P. – 2013-02-23T17:41:09.633

@Keltari The TV is LG 47LD465-ZA – Oriol – 2013-02-23T17:54:08.800

@AlexP. I use VGA connector – Oriol – 2013-02-23T17:54:42.637

I can't seem to find any information on the ADC (analog-digital converter) chip used in your TV but it is possible that it does not support that high resolution for analog input. – Alex P. – 2013-02-23T18:25:53.960

@AlexP. Thanks. I'll try reading the TV manual, but I don't think it says anything about the chip, because other times I tried to find information in it I found out that it only has useless info. – Oriol – 2013-02-23T18:31:20.277

Answers

I think I have resolved the same problem -

My TV would not accept values > 1280 x 800 (or thereabout) over a VGA connector. I had to use an HDMI connector to get higher values. This limitation was imposed in the monitor reporting only a subset of the resolutions it supports through the VGA cable.

davidgo

Posted 2013-02-23T17:21:51.947

Reputation: 49 152

But my PC doesn't have a HDMI slot. And I guess that using VGA to connect the PC to a VGA->HDMI adapter, and then connect the adapter to the TV won't work? – Oriol – 2013-02-23T19:25:04.647

Not sure if you get affordable VGA->HDMI adaptors, but I'd imagine a DVI->HDMI adaptor might work for you. (By the time you have got a VGA to HDMI converter you would probably be better off with a new video card which can handle HDMI - that was where I found myself and found a low power NVIDIA card for about US$40, less then the converter and much more powerful) – davidgo – 2013-02-23T20:55:38.340

[I had a bit of brain freeze earlier] The monitor/TV tells the vga/dvi/hdmi cable what modes it supports using the "EDID" protocol. You can probably find some software which will allow your computer to query this to double check that the monitor is indeed not advertising the high res modes. Thats how I worked out the problem was for me (under Linux). I've not used it, but DumpEDID claims to do this for free under XP - http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/dump_edid.html

– davidgo – 2013-02-23T20:57:59.133