M1438 screenmode issues

[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.

[Harrison]

I hadn't noticed that DVD when I looked at the photo originally, but now you mentioned it I spotted it. You need to take better care of your things mate!!!

The black bars are definitely a limitation of the Amiga, not of the monitor being used. It is just how the Amiga outputs certain screenmodes. They are not the same dimension as a standard 4:3 monitor and so won't fill the whole screen, much like watching a 4:3 TV program on a 16:9 TV. If you want to watch it correctly you have the black bars, otherwise you are one of the idiots who has to have the whole screen filled up with stretched or compressed people running around. Definitely gives new meaning to the TV adding 10 pounds though!

[Stephen Coates]

I think the computer screen looks OK when it is stretched, but somethings won't be very good, like photos.

I don't like watching a 4:3 picture that has been stretched to 16:9. It just doesn't look right.

[Harrison]

My Dad does it too mainly because he doesn't quite understand about such things (he's quite old!). He was complaining when I was talking to him last week that the picture on his TV wasn't filling the whole of the screen. I told him that was because it was in widescreen, but he still thought he was missing some of the image due to the black bars. Mad logic some people have!

[Stephen Coates]

I find it odd why people find it hard to understand things like the aspect ration of a television. But I suppose we all have things which we find confusing.

I think if you have trouble understanding aspect ratios, then you should stick with a 4:3 TV. and have 16:9 pictures displayed in letterbox mode. I have mine set up like this and like it for the convenience, but I don't have any trouble setting widescreen TVs up correctly. And I don't ave any room for a widescren TV so don't really have any choice anyway. That is another problem with widescreen TVs. They are much wider. If I had a widescreen TV on this desk it would most likely be hanging off the edge.

[Buleste]

I've got a 1438 and unlike pc monitors it does suffer badly from black borders but if i remember rightly there are some improved basic drivers on Aminet (just type in 1438 in the search) or if you have a Graphics card use CGX as you canadjust most details of you display including position and stretching the image.

[Harrison]

I didn't know there were actual drivers on there for the 1438. I will have to try that out with mine.

[Buleste]

They're not brilliant but they certainly were an improvement on the old Workbench 3.0 Monitor drivers.