1080P display problems on Intel H55 based HTPC build

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digitalv

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I recently started building an Intel H55 based HTPC but I'm facing one really nagging issue with 1080P output.

The following is my HTPC configuration.

Processor: Intel i3 530
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H
RAM: Transcend 4GB (2GB DDR3 x2)
OS HDD: Kingston 128GB SSD
Media HDD: Seagate ES 1TB x 2
Case & Power Supply: Not Decided yet (Currently running off a standard PC case & 500W SMPS)
OS: Windows 7

The HDMI O/P is connected to my Philips 42PFL7409/98 100Hz LCD TV which is 24P capable @ 1080P unscaled.

Everything works fine till 1280 x 1024 resolution but when the HTPC is set to 1920 x 1080 for Full HD playback, the windows desktop icons gets jagged edges and the font edges are not smooth. Not to mention that the same image distortion is seen in video playback as well as the menu of XBMC, MC7...

I've tried the following...

# Updated Intel Video drivers to latest ones - Problem remains
# Turned OFF all image processing features on my TV (HD Pixel Perfect) - Problem remains
# Changed HDMI cable (but same brand) - Problem remains
# Tried different refresh rates - Problem remains

My TV has a PC mode which helps solves the edge distortion problem, but this mode disables all HD image processing and has severe lag and huge motion judder. In short, PC mode is not well suited for watching movies.

Unfortunately I don't have any another 1080P source to isolate whether this is a problem with the HTPC or the LCD TV.

Any help in isolating the issue would be much appreciated.
 
digitalv said:
I recently started building an Intel H55 based HTPC but I'm facing one really nagging issue with 1080P output.

The following is my HTPC configuration.

Processor: Intel i3 530
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H
RAM: Transcend 4GB (2GB DDR3 x2)
OS HDD: Kingston 128GB SSD
Media HDD: Seagate ES 1TB x 2
Case & Power Supply: Not Decided yet (Currently running off a standard PC case & 500W SMPS)
OS: Windows 7

The HDMI O/P is connected to my Philips 42PFL7409/98 100Hz LCD TV which is 24P capable @ 1080P unscaled.

Everything works fine till 1280 x 1024 resolution but when the HTPC is set to 1920 x 1080 for Full HD playback, the windows desktop icons gets jagged edges and the font edges are not smooth. Not to mention that the same image distortion is seen in video playback as well as the menu of XBMC, MC7...

I've tried the following...

# Updated Intel Video drivers to latest ones - Problem remains
# Turned OFF all image processing features on my TV (HD Pixel Perfect) - Problem remains
# Changed HDMI cable (but same brand) - Problem remains
# Tried different refresh rates - Problem remains

My TV has a PC mode which helps solves the edge distortion problem, but this mode disables all HD image processing and has severe lag and huge motion judder. In short, PC mode is not well suited for watching movies.

Unfortunately I don't have any another 1080P source to isolate whether this is a problem with the HTPC or the LCD TV.

Any help in isolating the issue would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...

1)
There is a "Just Scan" mode in the HDTV, it is present in the video options along with 16:9/4:3, sometimes by the name of 1:1.
Most probably your TV is set to 16:9, try changing that to "Just Scan"

2)
Another option would be checking the actual output resultion from the resoultion tab, check all the available options under 1080p that you intel video card has detected for the HDTV
 
Thanks a bunch for your responses

jayad08 said:
1)
There is a "Just Scan" mode in the HDTV, it is present in the video options along with 16:9/4:3, sometimes by the name of 1:1.
Most probably your TV is set to 16:9, try changing that to "Just Scan"

2)
Another option would be checking the actual output resultion from the resoultion tab, check all the available options under 1080p that you intel video card has detected for the HDTV
Click to expand...

In Philips lingo, Just Scan is termed "Unscaled" and I've correctly set it to Unscaled mode a.k.a. 1:1

Intel utility shows a myriad of resolutions upto 1920 x 1200 but the recommended resolutions is 1920 x 1080 as highlighted

spirovious said:
Pls read philips manual for HTPC,
Pls.check if SMPS 500w is enough for full HD.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry I didn't understand the first part; Philips manual for HTPC?
If you meant the instruction manual of the TV, it just says the following.
1920 x 1080P supported at 24,25,30,50,60 Hz refresh rates
Click to expand...

I've changed the SMPS to a 750W model to compare. The problem continues :-(
 
Do you have any other options to test the 1080p signal say like a prj/DVI monitor capable to handling 1080p (convert HDMI to DVI)..
Another option that you can try is connecting 1080p output from DVD player/AVR/Media Player etc..

Other than that expert members with LCD experience would provide solution to this problem..
 
babhishek said:
may i just say get a dedicated graphics card for this?
Click to expand...

I think that the problem may be that your TV needs a "1080p" signal for a resolution of 1920x1080 resolution.

You may be currently be set a to PC signal (VGA). (I don't know whether I am explaining in the right terms here).
Over a VGA signal, your TV may accept a limited resolution (e.g. 1280x1024 as you see now, it may even be 19201200). TV manual should tell you exactly.

The normal windows resolution setting dialog will not allow you to change this (PC to HDTV signal), you will need to go into some special dialog for. Not sure for Intel, but for ATI for example this the Catalyst Control center.

So:
1. Try to set the resolution as 1920x1200 (note not 1280). You TV may support it.
2. Try to look up your motherboard manual to see how change the signal format.
 
Philips LCD had similar issues in past(online rev).You can check refresh rate of your PC which shld match to that of LCD.
Yes,manual is philips's.You need to follow instruction in manual as only one of the HDMI's is recommended for HTPC.
Perhaps GC can may solve the prob.
 
There can be two issues here:
1. I too had similar issues when I connected my PlayOn HD player to the my LCD monitor through HDMI input. It was showing jagged edges etc. The problem was the the player was previously connected to my CRT TV and was outputting the same 480i resolution video. Once I set it to HDMI Auto, it worked like a charm. So check whether you are really sending 1080p signal to the TV. I suspect that you are sending 720p signal. Can you make sure that your video card can actually do 1080p?

2. Second reason can be that dreaded HDCP. Is your motherboard/graphics card HDCP certified?
 
jayad08 said:
Do you have any other options to test the 1080p signal say like a prj/DVI monitor capable to handling 1080p (convert HDMI to DVI)..
Another option that you can try is connecting 1080p output from DVD player/AVR/Media Player etc..

Other than that expert members with LCD experience would provide solution to this problem..
Click to expand...

At the moment, I don't have any other source/receiver which is capable of 1080P. I'll ask around among friends to see if I can borrow any devise but IIRC, all of them are running 720P setups.

babhishek said:
may i just say get a dedicated graphics card for this?
Click to expand...

Hmm...That would be an option, but all online reviews claim H55 +I530 combination is more than sufficient for fluid Blueray and 1080P playback. I may switch to a dedicated graphics card when I exhaust all other options. If a dedicated GC solves this problem, I'm more than happy to invest in it even though I'm not a gamer.

yrk1969 said:
I think that the problem may be that your TV needs a "1080p" signal for a resolution of 1920x1080 resolution.

You may be currently be set a to PC signal (VGA). (I don't know whether I am explaining in the right terms here).
Over a VGA signal, your TV may accept a limited resolution (e.g. 1280x1024 as you see now, it may even be 19201200). TV manual should tell you exactly.

The normal windows resolution setting dialog will not allow you to change this (PC to HDTV signal), you will need to go into some special dialog for. Not sure for Intel, but for ATI for example this the Catalyst Control center.

So:
1. Try to set the resolution as 1920x1200 (note not 1280). You TV may support it.
2. Try to look up your motherboard manual to see how change the signal format.
Click to expand...

The TV is connected via HDMI cable. It supports VGA connectivity but only till 720P as expected. I tried 1920x1200 but the problem remains.
I need to look up the Motherboard manual to see if there are any special settings.

spirovious said:
Philips LCD had similar issues in past(online rev).You can check refresh rate of your PC which shld match to that of LCD.
Yes,manual is philips's.You need to follow instruction in manual as only one of the HDMI's is recommended for HTPC.
Perhaps GC can may solve the prob.
Click to expand...

Could you please link me up to those online reviews if you can... I've been tasking google to find any such mention, but not successful so far.

I've tried on all 4 HDMI ports. There is no special mention in the TV manual of any specific HDMI port suited for HTPC connectivity. The issue remains the same with all ports.

A separate GC would be my last ditch effort since as I explained earlier, all online reviews claim H55 + I530 combination is more than sufficient for fluid Blueray and 1080P playback. Avoiding a seperate GC and hence lower power was the only reason I went for the H55 based setup.

bansal98 said:
There can be two issues here:
1. I too had similar issues when I connected my PlayOn HD player to the my LCD monitor through HDMI input. It was showing jagged edges etc. The problem was the the player was previously connected to my CRT TV and was outputting the same 480i resolution video. Once I set it to HDMI Auto, it worked like a charm. So check whether you are really sending 1080p signal to the TV. I suspect that you are sending 720p signal. Can you make sure that your video card can actually do 1080p?

2. Second reason can be that dreaded HDCP. Is your motherboard/graphics card HDCP certified?
Click to expand...

I'll scour through the Gigabyte motherboard manual to see if there are any special setting for 1080P. I don't remember seeing any such setting though.

I'm sure that the HTPC is pushing out 1080P else in the Unscaled mode of the TV, the picture will not fill the screen. I've observed this while setting lower resolutions in the HTPC. In Unscaled mode, the scaler inside the TV is bypassed and the pixels are mapped 1:1.

HDCP: Hmm....Now you've got me thinking... I need to read about HDCP a bit since I don't know anything about HDCP other than the acronym expansion. But I'd be very surprised if HDCP comes into play for static windows desktop @1080P.. But as I said, i dont even know how HDCP works.
 
Last edited:
It is just possible that the software that you are using (XBMC etc) do not support the on board graphics of your motherboard. This is a new board and processor.

Did the motherboard come with a player? If not, try with PowerDVD and KM Player. VLC claims that they support some new GCs and motherboards. It may be worthwhile checking that also.

Cheers
 
venkatcr said:
It is just possible that the software that you are using (XBMC etc) do not support the on board graphics of your motherboard. This is a new board and processor.

Did the motherboard come with a player? If not, try with PowerDVD and KM Player. VLC claims that they support some new GCs and motherboards. It may be worthwhile checking that also.

Cheers
Click to expand...

Won't that be applicable only for hardware-assisted decoding?
 
venkatcr said:
It is just possible that the software that you are using (XBMC etc) do not support the on board graphics of your motherboard. This is a new board and processor.
Click to expand...

It is true that XBMC SW does not support HW acceleration on H55 based hardware. At least not in the stable Camelot build. I've tried recent XBMC nightly builds as well but I guess my problem lies elsewhere.

The default windows desktop icons itself has distortion and that should eliminate SW players or even support for HW acceleration from being the culprit here.

bansal98 said:
Won't that be applicable only for hardware-assisted decoding?
Click to expand...

True.
 
digitalv said:
It is true that XBMC SW does not support HW acceleration on H55 based hardware. At least not in the stable Camelot build. I've tried recent XBMC nightly builds as well but I guess my problem lies elsewhere.

The default windows desktop icons itself has distortion and that should eliminate SW players or even support for HW acceleration from being the culprit here.

True.
Click to expand...

Can you please post a screenshot/photo?
 
Here is the screenshot. Looks as clear as it can be without any distortion. A photo should show the distortion. I'll upload one soon.


EDIT: Sorry. I guess the VB forum sw has scaled down the image automatically. Here is the Imageshack link to the screenshot.
http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/7218/1920x1080screenshot.jpg
 

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