Resolution on External Monitor

[StringJunky]

I connected a 1920 x 1080 monitor via HDMI to my laptop, which has a 1366 x 976 screen, and the monitor has a large black gap around it; the screen is not filled.

 

Does the laptop's hardware/software limit the size of the image? Can it be made to use up the full monitor screen? I suspect the pixels used up on the monitor is currently the same as the laptop. W10 is the OS.

Edited June 14, 2017 by StringJunky

[pzkpfw]

If you are mirroring (same display both monitors) you can get issues with different resolutions.

 

If you are extending (different display on each) then you should be able to achieve full resolution on both.

 

 

Right-click your desktop and go to "Screen Resolution".

 

What do you see?

 

---------------------

 

(

Come to think of it, (without other details) it may just be your background image that are seeing with border; if it's standard def and not set to stretch then it simply won't fill a full HD screen.)

 

To mess with that, right-click the desktop and go to "Personalize".

 

Can you see your mouse in the black-border-area?

 

That'll confirm what type of issue it is.

)

Edited June 14, 2017 by pzkpfw

[StringJunky]

If you are mirroring (same display both monitors) you can get issues with different resolutions.

 

If you are extending (different display on each) then you should be able to achieve full resolution on both.

 

 

Right-click your desktop and go to "Screen Resolution".

 

What do you see?

 

---------------------

 

(

Come to think of it, (without other details) it may just be your background image that are seeing with border; if it's standard def and not set to stretch then it simply won't fill a full HD screen.)

 

To mess with that, right-click the desktop and go to "Personalize".

 

Can you see your mouse in the black-border-area?

 

That'll confirm what type of issue it is.

)

The mouse stops at the edge of the image

[pzkpfw]

The mouse stops at the edge of the image

 

That would make it seem the actual resolution being displayed is SD not full HD. Do the first part of my post (i.e. right-click desktop, "Screen Resolution".).

 

e.g. this is what I get (clicked on monitor 2 in example);

 

 

(in my case, 1 is my laptop and 2 & 3 are both 24" externals. All are full HD, but as you can see, their resolution is selectable. Post a pic of what you have.)

Edited June 14, 2017 by pzkpfw

[StringJunky]

I've used the extended option, Windows Display Options and the mouse moves to the external monitor. The screen is now full but when I click icons in the taskbar on the external monitor everything only happens on the laptop, like, if I click Opera browser icon in the external, Opera only opens on the laptop; nothing happens on the external

[pzkpfw]

If it's not your main monitor, then applications won't open there *.

 

You could try the "[ ] Make this my main display" checkbox.

 

Otherwise just move the applications there. Some will remember where they were last used.

 

(

* Win 10 allows the task bar to show on all monitors, but I don't think it cares which monitor they were on when clicked.

)

Edited June 14, 2017 by pzkpfw

[StringJunky]

 

That would make it seem the actual resolution being displayed is SD not full HD. Do the first part of my post (i.e. right-click desktop, "Screen Resolution".).

 

e.g. this is what I get (clicked on monitor 2 in example);

 

 

(in my case, 1 is my laptop and 2 & 3 are both 24" externals. All are full HD, but as you can see, their resolution is selectable. Post a pic of what you have.)

 

[pzkpfw]

Down below that will the checkbox to, um, check.

[StringJunky]

Down below that will the checkbox to, um, check.

That works with Opera but Chrome and Firefox still do the same i.e clicking Chrome icon in monitor brings it up on the laptop. other programs seem to be fine apart from those two. It's not a biggie... at least I can use a browser on it. I'm just playing around with the monitor until the tower comes for it.. At least i know how to do it if the screen messes up on a laptop of mine. The picture and resolution is great. Thank you.

Edited June 14, 2017 by StringJunky

[pzkpfw]

Try moving them. They might be remembering where they last opened.

[StringJunky]

Try moving them. They might be remembering where they last opened.

How do you do that?

[pzkpfw]

How do you do that?

 

Use the mouse, drag the window by its title bar to the other monitor.

 

With luck, the application (this is an individual thing, not Windows) will remember where it was when closed, and will re-open in same place.

[StringJunky]

 

Use the mouse, drag the window by its title bar to the other monitor.

 

With luck, the application (this is an individual thing, not Windows) will remember where it was when closed, and will re-open in same place.

Yes.. That worked. Super! I wasn't really aiming for two work spaces but that's what it turns out to be, which is a bonus. I just wanted to use the bigger screen at the start. I thought it would be a lot of faffing about using multiple monitors for different jobs. Does the HDMI interface make the process simpler?

[pzkpfw]

Groovy.

 

HDMI will be giving you a better picture than VGA, for example, and an HDMI cable can carry audio so can be useful if connecting to a T.V. to show movies; but otherwise doesn't "mean much" for you.

 

Main thing was that having HDMI told me your laptop was newish and should be able to handle multiple displays.

[Sensei]

Try moving them. They might be remembering where they last opened.

 

Almost every .NET Framework application I am starting from writing this code (right after making controls and resizing routines).

Made even my own faster Store/RestoreForm() methods (stored in registry).

 

StringJunky, when you will be disconnecting 2nd monitor, you absolutely must make sure, in the all applications in which you moved their windows to 2nd monitor, are moved back.

Otherwise searching for where they stored this info (registry/configs) will give you huge huge headaches. Or you will have to reconnect monitor just to move them back..

Edited June 15, 2017 by Sensei

[StringJunky]

 

Almost every .NET Framework application I am starting from writing this code (right after making controls and resizing routines).

Made even my own faster Store/RestoreForm() methods (stored in registry).

 

StringJunky, when you will be disconnecting 2nd monitor, you absolutely must make sure, in the all applications in which you moved their windows to 2nd monitor, are moved back.

Otherwise searching for where they stored this info (registry/configs) will give you huge huge headaches. Or you will have to reconnect monitor just to move them back..

Thanks for the warning but perhaps MS has corrected that bug because Chrome is automatically back at the laptop screen with the HDMI plug removed.

 

Upon you mentioning that, I plugged the HDMI back in and Chrome went back to the external monitor; Windows appears to remember my setup with external monitor plugged.

 

When the tower part of my computer comes, is it better to use HDMI than VGA to connect the monitor to it?

Edited June 15, 2017 by StringJunky

[pzkpfw]

Definitely HDMI (or DVI, or display port) in preference over VGA.

 

VGA is analogue, the others are digital. No guarantee you'd notice the difference, but still ...

[StringJunky]

Definitely HDMI (or DVI, or display port) in preference over VGA.

 

VGA is analogue, the others are digital. No guarantee you'd notice the difference, but still ...

Cheers. I bought a HDMI cable with ethernet capability. What does that mean?

[Sensei]

Definitely HDMI (or DVI, or display port) in preference over VGA.

 

VGA is analogue, the others are digital.

 

DVI has three versions, DVI-A analog only, and DVI-D digital only, DVI-I integrated (both). Obviously digital has the best quality.

Edited June 15, 2017 by Sensei

[pzkpfw]

Pretty much nothing for the use you'll make of it.

 

It allows communication between certain kinds of devices; it won't apply to your monitor.

 

e.g. https://www.cnet.com/forums/discussions/what-is-the-difference-hdmi-cable-vs-hdmi-cable-w-ethernet-539988/

[StringJunky]

Pretty much nothing for the use you'll make of it.

 

It allows communication between certain kinds of devices; it won't apply to your monitor.

 

e.g. https://www.cnet.com/forums/discussions/what-is-the-difference-hdmi-cable-vs-hdmi-cable-w-ethernet-539988/

Right. Thanks. The option was there, at no extra cost, when looking for a HDMI cable, so I thought I might as well get that one.

[pzkpfw]

Yep. Just don't let "them" sucker you into buying $100 cables!

[StringJunky]

Yep. Just don't let "them" sucker you into buying $100 cables!

I think mine was about $4 for 1.8m with gold-plated connectors. The only time I would fuss about wire-type is with speaker cable which does make an audible difference,up to a point; as long as it's thick enough not to degrade the current which degrades the signal, I think. .I notice the loss in bass with thin cable anyway. I am pretty deaf, so the esoteric cables would be wasted on me but I can hear a difference between bell-wire and 49-strand QED.

 

Do signals losses become noticable beyond a certain length with HDMI cable?

 

Is DisplayPort the new top standard for digital connection quality?

Edited June 15, 2017 by StringJunky

[MigL]

This is probably off-topic...

But what is it with you British guys and your audio cables ?

Spending all sorts of money on 'fancy' directional ( ? ) cables, vac tube amps and the like ?

Heck some guys spend more on their cables than their player or speakers.

And then listen to mp-3 files !

( although a lot still like scratchy, wowie, roll-off-at-hi-frequency vinyl discs because like tubes, they have a 'warmer' sound )

[StringJunky]

This is probably off-topic...

But what is it with you British guys and your audio cables ?

Spending all sorts of money on 'fancy' directional ( ? ) cables, vac tube amps and the like ?

Heck some guys spend more on their cables than their player or speakers.

And then listen to mp-3 files !

( although a lot still like scratchy, wowie, roll-off-at-hi-frequency vinyl discs because like tubes, they have a 'warmer' sound )

The Americans make the most expensive valve amps, which can mega money. At the end of the day, if you like hi-fi, it's down the sound that moves and involves you in the music and for some people beyond a certain age, that'''s the 'valve sound'. The valve sound is closer to the 'live' sound of a concert, even with it's peculiarities. I think, technically speaking, because the current is always available, the transients are immediately produced with no delay or chopping... it's smoooooth. With records, snap-crackle-and-pop is part of the experience and, again, they sound more 'natural'' and immediate than digital media. Digital excels on dynamics and noise. Records are still selling well here and even the rock gods of the 70's are very much appreciated by the teens of today, judging by comments I read on Youtube. Analogue is just another flavour in the sonic palette.

Edited June 15, 2017 by StringJunky