Widescreen Gaming Forum

I want to buy a Samsung 226BW, but I need to know what would happen if I ran a game at 1280x1024 on it. I really don't care if there are black boxes on the sides (and a small one on top) as long as the image quality doesn't go to crap from stretching.

Does it put black boxes on the sides by default, or does it stretch by default. If it stretches, how can I make it put black boxes instead of stretching.

Note: My Girlfriend's laptop puts black boxes on the sides by default, but I keep hearing about stretching. How exactly does this all work?

It depends on the capabilities of either your graphics card or your monitor. If you have a good graphics card, you can set your graphics card to upscale non-native resolutions while preserving the aspect ratio. If you can do this and choose to, then a 1280x1024 picture will fill the vertical span of your monitor with black bars on the left and right. 1024x768 might be preferable, though, because if the game is not optimized for widescreen, then it's most likely optimized for 4:3, and 1024x768 is 4:3, while 1280x1024 is not quite 4:3.

If your graphics card lacks this functionality, then your monitor might have it. Different monitors have different upscaling functions and quality, but none are as good as a decent video card.

If neither your graphics card nor your monitor have this functionality, or if you just choose not to use them, then you get a stretched screen.

Well, I could always use 1280x960 if I wanted to keep the 4:3 ratio instead of the 5:4. The main concern is stretching though. I don't mind loses a bit of screen space (on the 226BW, it would end up a tad shorter than the VX922's screen even with black bars on the sides).

Does it put black bars by default or does it stretch by default? How to I tell the computer which one to do?

I have a GeForce 7800 GT if that helps.

I have a GeForce 7800 GT if that helps.

That helps. If you have the latest Forceware drivers installed, you'll have an option in your NVIDIA Control Panel under "Display" that says "Change flat panel scaling." Select this option, and set it to "Use NVIDIA scaling with fixed-aspect ratio." This will set your graphics card to do the scaling while preserving aspect ratio. 4:3 resolutions will fill the vertical span of your screen with black bars on the left and right.

I have a GeForce 7800 GT if that helps.

That helps. If you have the latest Forceware drivers installed, you'll have an option in your NVIDIA Control Panel under "Display" that says "Change flat panel scaling." Select this option, and set it to "Use NVIDIA scaling with fixed-aspect ratio." This will set your graphics card to do the scaling while preserving aspect ratio. 4:3 resolutions will fill the vertical span of your screen with black bars on the left and right.

Thanks, I had a feeling you guys would be more helpful than Samsung, lol.

This is a quote from their support on the subject:
"Thank you for contacting Samsung E-Mail Support.

Unfortunately, changing the resolution on a wide screen monitor to a full screen resolution will not allow you black bars. It will just convert your image to fit the screen which will cause the picture to be distorted. We suggest purchasing a full screen monitor to receive the best picture quality. If you would like to speak with a live customer care representative give us a call at 800 SAMSUNG.


Have a great day!"

Why do I always have with those "helpdesks" that they doesn't help you with anything, but ask you only questions about things what you've already done.