M1438 screenmode issues

[StuKeith]

what's the best screen mode to use? I cant seem to get a mode I like. Either it flickers like mad in the resolutions I want to use, or I get big black or grey boarders around the screen with no way of adjusting it to fit the screen.

If you have one what do you use?

[Puni/Void]

I had such a monitor, but unfortunately it died after being used every day for many years. Anyway, I remember using DBLPAL as the main resolution for Workbench. You'll get, as you mentioned, some black borders around the screen, but not much. You can remove some of this by using Overscan in prefs.

[Stephen Coates]

Overscan doesn't remove the black borders.
It just extends it to fill the grey space made by the Amiga.

Do you get the same black borders that can be seen in this photograph? They do actually look bigger than they are in the photo. The mode used is MultiScan productivity. I used the vertical knob to sctrech the picture to go right from the top to the bottom, and therefore elimintae any black bars at the top and bottom. There is no horizontal knob to stretch it the other way though (unless there is one inside)

[Puni/Void]

There is no horizontal knob to stretch it the other way though (unless there is one inside)

I remember that this was a bit annoying. On the 1942 from Commodore, you had this possibility as far as I can recall. Too bad they didn't implement this one on the 1438.

Anyway, I came to think of a program I used to better the display concerning such borders. You can find it here on Aminet.net:

http://aminet.net/driver/moni/MonSync101.lha


There is also an older program:

http://aminet.net/package/driver/moni/MonEd3a

Be careful using it though, as it can cause problems after what I've heard. If you are not sure of what you are doing, then drop it.

[StuKeith]

Overscan doesn't remove the black borders.
It just extends it to fill the grey space made by the Amiga.

Do you get the same black borders that can be seen in this photograph? They do actually look bigger than they are in the photo. The mode used is MultiScan productivity. I used the vertical knob to sctrech the picture to go right from the top to the bottom, and therefore elimintae any black bars at the top and bottom. There is no horizontal knob to stretch it the other way though (unless there is one inside)

Thats the one! I did dl some drivers from aminet to use. but dont seem to have helped much.

Maybe its still best to get a flicker fixer so I can use the hi res modes flicker free.

[Stephen Coates]

Could it be something to do with the actual resolution of the screen? Like, the resolution outputted by the amiga is thinner than the actual size of the display?

[Harrison]

That image you took Steve is identical to how my A4000/A1200's run in higher resolution modes on my 1438 monitor too, and it is due to the screenmode and the pixels being square. It never really bothered me when I used the Amiga all the time as the resolution was flicker free and much higher than any other modes, allowing for more screen real-estate.

I do however remember getting a VGA display driver from a coverdisk that allowed you to adjust much more and allow for the whole screen to be used. I forget which magazine it was one, but at a guess I would say one of the AUi disks. It should be on Aminet too.

[Stephen Coates]

It is obviously not a limitation of the 1438, as I just got an RGB-VGA adaptor which I used to connect the A1200 to my Trinitron monitor. The image looked the same as on the 1438, with the black bars.

The VGA monitor does have the option to stretch the image horizontally. I'm not sure whether it was meant to be stretched though. It didn't look any worse when it was stretched.

The only problem with adjusting the picture to suit the Amiga is that when I switch back to the PC, the BIOS and Windows 2000 boo screens are the wrong size and in the wrong place, so I'm guessing they are the same resolution/scan rate as Multiscan productivity.

[TiredOfLife]

Never had that problem with the 1084.
Then again the display was that small, there was no chance of WB not filling the screen.

Stevie boy, tut tut.
Pick the CD/DVD off the floor and put it back in it's case.

[Stephen Coates]

Such problems won't occure on the 1084 as it is a PAL monitor and PAL screenmodes fill the screen on both the 1084 and the 1438.

I don't actually know what that DVD on the floor is, but it obviously doesn't have a case, and is unlikely to be important. It is not there any longer though so I probably found a case for it.