Friday, March 26, 2010

PREVENT OVERSCAN ON SHARP LC-42SB45U

I bought a Sharp 42" TV (LC-42SB45U) back during a Black Friday sale for $500 and I've been having a problem with overscan. I don't like to use the Nvidia desktop-resizing tool because all that does is give you a custom resolution. It irritated me that I couldn't get my 1080p TV to properly display a 1080p signal from my HTPC over HDMI. Apparently Sharp TV's are really picky about when they'll let you choose their "Dot-by-Dot" scaling mode but I finally figured out a solution.

I had to go to Nvidia Control Panel > Change Resolution > Add Resolution > Create Custom Resolution > Timing and then select "CVT reduced blank" in the "Standard" drop down. Then Test, accept, ok, confirm, whatever to get back to using that resolution.

After doing that I had a 1920x1080 image that fit my TV perfectly because the TV now let me select the "Dot-by-Dot" scaling mode. So anyway, that should point you to a possible solution if you're having overscan problems.

http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:pHEVdEie-5oJ:forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php%3Fthreadid%3D2386006%26userid%3D0%26perpage%3D40%26pagenumber%3D91+http://forums.somethingawful.com/sho...%23post370435843&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

9 comments:

  1. That technique works great if you are using Windows, but because there is no "CVT reduced blank" option in the Linux version of the Nvidia Control Panel, Linux users need to resort to using a specific ModeLine in xorg.conf. Details on doing that are here:

    http://michigantelephone.wordpress.com/2010/03/09/an-overscan-fix-for-the-sharp-lc-42sb45u-television-set-when-connected-to-a-computer-with-a-linux-operating-system-ubuntu-etc/

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  2. I don't use a computer with my Sharp LCD, but I have the same issue when I use my PS3.. Does anyone have a solution similar to the one posted above about fixing this problem? I have accessed the Service Menu but couldn't see anything about geomaetry in the HDMI section.. If there is some way into tricking the TV to display Dot by Dot or simply allowing the option to be selected, I would be very grateful.

    Thanks.

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  3. I'm also looking for a way to eliminate overscan on this model for gaming. How did you access the service menu?

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  4. Unfortunately, the trick didnt work for me... I am leaving the post up here in case anyone can get it to work.

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  5. This didn't initially work for me, but I played around a bit and managed to get the windows settings to work.

    The main change I set was in the "Adjust desktop size and position" menu in the NVIDIA Control Panel... I changed it from Full Screen to No Scaling and set the Scaling to GPU vs Display.

    After I set that, I was able to change the resolution back to 1080p, 1920x1080, apply it, then go click the customize button, create a new custom resolution, and then set the standard timing to CVT reduced blank.

    The test worked this time and I was able to save it as a custom resolution.

    I'd love to know if this worked for you, you can gmail me at davewujcik

    -- Dave

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    Replies
    1. Reducing to 59Hz and CVT reduced blank worked for me! I'm using Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 with a Sharp screen. I've been trying to get my screen to fit for hours. Thanks so much!

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  6. I created a custom resolution of 1920x1080, 32bpp color depth with a refresh rate of 59Hz, and BAM, dot by dot available in menu on tv and it looks great. Mine would not do the CVT reduced blank mode as the TV reported it as not supported and the test failed, and NVidia drivers make it kind of retarded to apply custom resolutions, but it worked and looks great.

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  7. The AMD/ATI Catalyst Control Center and drivers for my ATI RAdeon HD5450 didn't have a "CVT reduced blank" setting, but I was able to make it work using Custom Resolution Utility (CRU) and what I've learned from those who posted before me (thanks). Here's how:

    1. Download, install, and Run as Administrator "Custom Resolution Utility (CRU)" from monitortests.com http://www.monitortests.com/forum/Thread-Custom-Resolution-Utility-CRU
    2. Create a new, "Detailed resolution": Choose "Add" below the Detailed Resolutions box, choose "Timing: Automatic - LCD reduced", set Active resolution to 1920 x 1080, and "Refresh rate" to 59.94 Hz. Then Ok to exit
    3. Make this new "Detailed resolution" the default, recommended setting by moving it to the top of the list: select the profile and move it using the up arrow. Then okay to exit.
    4. Reboot the computer.
    5. Open "Screen Resolution": right click on Desktop, choose "Screen Resolution"
    6. Change resolution to new recommended: choose anything but the recommended resolution, "Apply", choose the 1920 x 1080 (recommended) setting, and "Apply"
    Verify "Dot by dot" on the TV: choose View Mode using the Samsung remote and choose "Dot by Dot" if its not already selected.
    7. DONE! Enjoy...

    Also, I changed a few settings which seem to have made the picture improve but can't say definitively and haven't fully tested yet:
    1) use Full RGB Pixel Format: right click on Desktop, choose "AMD Catalyst Control Center", select "My Digital Flat-Panels" -> "Pixel Format", and finally "RGB 4:4:4 Pixel Format PC Standard (Full RGB)"
    2) accept Full range inputs: open "ffdshow video decoder" (if you've installed it) from the Windows Start Menu, choose "RGB conversion", and select "Full Range" from Input levels
    3) change output for TV/Projector: in ffdshow/RGB conversion, choose "TV / Projector..."

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  8. I've found that setting the view mode from "Automatic" to "Graphic" got rid of all overscan.

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