Fat internet pictures

Vroshnak · Post by **Vroshnak** » 27 Mar 2007, 18:44

I'm finding with my TripleHead2Go and three 22" widescreen monitors that many pictures in internet pages are stretched fat... is there a way to stop it?

Post by **ctrlsteef** » 27 Mar 2007, 19:05

Is it possible that you're running your screens in a non widescreen resolution?
If that's the case then you need to put them in widescreen to prevent stretching.

Vroshnak · Post by **Vroshnak** » 27 Mar 2007, 23:31

Possible. What would you suggest?

I have 22" widescreen monitors that support 1680x1050, 1280x1024,1152x864,1440x900,1024x768,800x600, and 640x480.

I have the Triple Head 2 Go which supports 3840x1024, 3072x768, 2400x600, 1920x480, 3840x768, 3840x720, 3072x768 (supposedly but this makes my montiors say "out of range").

Everything looks perfect to me in 3840x1024 except for many internet pictures. Icons, text, games, all look great to me in 3840x1024. I've tried 3840x720 and 3840x768, they make everything narrow except pictures.

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 27 Mar 2007, 23:39

The TH2G doesn't do any triple 16:10 widescreen resolutions so no matter what you do you will have a distorted image on the desktop (and in games ... even if you aren't noticing it ... :wink: )

Moved to the Surround Gaming section ...

Vroshnak · Post by **Vroshnak** » 28 Mar 2007, 03:22

Well since each monitor supports 1280x1024, and the Triple Head 2 Go supports 3840x1024, shouldn't that mean that there isn't distortion?

Or would I get distortion with just one monitor set to 1280x1024?

Valken · Post by **Valken** » 28 Mar 2007, 04:54

The distortion is from each of your monitor's scaling from 1280x1024 res to its native screen size/res.

It is stretching the image across 1680 pixels wide, even though you had set it to 1280 width for the TH2G.

If the LCD monitor has 2 inputs, you can attached two cables to each monitor:

1 cable from each monitor to the TH2G for gaming
and 1 cable to the 2nd DVI/VGA port on your video card for desktop work.

This assumes you have 2 video cards with twin outputs though.
See this thread for proposed solution:

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9148

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 28 Mar 2007, 08:19

Well since each monitor supports 1280x1024, and the Triple Head 2 Go supports 3840x1024, shouldn't that mean that there isn't distortion?

Or would I get distortion with just one monitor set to 1280x1024?

Each of your monitors may support the resolution 1280x1024 but that is a 4:3 resolution and your monitors are 16:10. So yes you would get the distortion with just one monitor set to 1280x1024 ... both in games and on your desktop ... :(

Post by **ctrlsteef** » 28 Mar 2007, 08:27

The TH2G doesn't do any triple 16:10 widescreen resolutions so no matter what you do you will have a distorted image on the desktop (and in games ... even if you aren't noticing it ... :wink: )

Huh, I thought that they added 2 triple widescreen resolutions. :? :shock:

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 28 Mar 2007, 08:34

They did ...

3840 x 720 (triple 1280 x 720) 60Hz 3 x 16:9
and
3840 x 768 (triple 1280 x 768) 60Hz 3 x 15:9

They are not 16:10 resolutions ... hence ...

I've tried 3840x720 and 3840x768, they make everything narrow except pictures.

But the pictures are narrow ... he just isn't noticing it ... just as he isn't noticing the stretching at 3 x 1280x1024 in games ... :wink:

EDIT: Added "in games" to the last line.

Post by **ctrlsteef** » 28 Mar 2007, 08:49

Ah, okay, I get it now. :D

Vroshnak · Post by **Vroshnak** » 28 Mar 2007, 14:01

Thanks for the responses, everything is cleared up now. Though I may be better living in ignorance than constantly attempting to notice the stretching :wink: .

Matrox seems all proud of their widescreen support, so it is dissapointing to learn that it's half-baked.

I'll set up the direct connection on the middle monitor so I can switch between triple head mode and single monitor mode. However, the stretching doesn't bother me much and I may not use single monitor very often.

In another thread it was mentioned that I could setup a hotkey to switch between these two modes. If that works both in and out of games, I think I'll be pretty satisfied... those conversations in Jade Empire are driving me nuts.

Thanks again!

Vroshnak · Post by **Vroshnak** » 29 Mar 2007, 16:15

OK so I hooked my middle monitor to the digital output of my 7800GS, and then hooked up the TH2Go to the analog output. The TH2Go has all three monitors connected to it.

So if I really want 1680x1050, I can switch my middle monitor to its digital input. The two side monitors remain being the side monitors in a 3840x1024 configuration, with the middle monitor invisible. Kinda weird but I could easily have webpages/faq/whatever running there.

I thought I could switch the TH2Go to DualHead 3360x1050 mode and then get 1680x1050 on every monitor, but for some reason when I try to switch to 3360x1050 it says it isn't supported. I haven't a clue what is wrong there, because it sure is supposed to be supported!

Magic Man · Post by **Magic Man** » 30 Mar 2007, 13:22

...Matrox seems all proud of their widescreen support, so it is dissapointing to learn that it's half-baked...

In all fairness to Matrox, they have always clearly stated and pointed out that the widescreen support has been in addition to the native design, i.e. the primary resolution is 3 x 1280 x 1024.

I would assume that anyone who buys a TH2Go for use on three widescreen monitors would be fully aware of the output capabilites and limitations when viewing on such aspect monitors.

JKeefe · Post by **JKeefe** » 30 Mar 2007, 15:47

I would assume that anyone who buys a TH2Go for use on three widescreen monitors would be fully aware of the output capabilites and limitations when viewing on such aspect monitors.

If you look at how many times Paddy, myself, and others take the time to explain that the TripleHead2Go does not offer a true 3x16:10 resolution, and then explain the effects that this has, I think your assumption is incorrect. :)

Vroshnak · Post by **Vroshnak** » 30 Mar 2007, 20:32

To summarize, the internet picture thing is solved.

I simply hook the other cable from my middle monitor into the free output on my graphics card. If I want a true, nonstretched image I can turn on that display. This is fine.

In games, especially Everquest 2 that I've played the most since getting this setup, I cannot tell there is stretching, and the HUGE wideness is immersing and fun!

I would assume that anyone who buys a TH2Go for use on three widescreen monitors would be fully aware of the output capabilites and limitations when viewing on such aspect monitors.

I'd say there are enough people who own stuff (like sailboats, sports cars, Blackberries) who haven't figured out how to use them yet to disprove that theory. So I didn't know the difference between 16:9 and 16:10, the marketing copy didn't indicate there was anything to know. I made the monitor purchasing decision based on Matrox's FAQ:

"Do I need a special brand of monitor?
TripleHead2Go can be hooked up to any monitor, including flat panel monitors. To take full advantage of TripleHead2Go, we recommend you use three identical monitors (that is, monitors that support the same monitor settings such as monitor resolution and refresh rate)."

So I simply went looking for less than 8ms response time, small bezels, and around $200-$250 per monitor.

I tried asking on other forums for suggestions but they were mostly answers from people who didn't own TH2Gos and didn't have anything helpful to say.

Matrox's fault that I have a little inconsequential stretching? No.
The responsibility rests on me, I could have done more research, but they could help people like me who assumed that all there was to monitors was hooking them up by making clearer suggestions in their marketing material.

OK, enough time spent justifying myself. Time to play some more games, I gotta finish Infernal (nice graphics, dumb game).

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 30 Mar 2007, 20:42

... (nice graphics, dumb game).

... and no widescreen or TH FOV support ... :(

diehardDanny · Post by **diehardDanny** » 22 Apr 2007, 20:20

Have you tried this update which offers 3840 x 720 (triple 1280 x 720) and 3840 x 768 (triple 1280 x 768) widescreen modes (among others)???

Matrox TripleHead2Go Mode Expander Tool
http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/gxm/support/th2go/tmet.php

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 22 Apr 2007, 21:22

diehardDanny ... read the thread ... :wink:

Widescreen Gaming Forum