Overscan with 1080p Mitsubishi 57731

Question

I've read alot about HDTV's having overscan occur when hooked up to a computer. I have my Mac mini hooked up via the DVI input with 1080p accepted as native resolution. Overscan occurs and I'm forced to format a 1080p reduced mode to remove the overscan but it does take about an inch away from each area of the screen. My problem is the reduced mode isn't nearly as sharp the normal 1080p(I'm older and my eyes strain more now). Anyone have any experience with this brand TV(Mitusubishi 57731) or using the switch res program to remove the front porch settings etc? Also if I change the front porch settings etc will that prevent a full 1080p signal?

Answer 1

+I've read alot about HDTV's having overscan occur when hooked up to a computer.+
Yes, and this is especially true of DLPs and other RPTVs (rear projection TVs) because, by design, they are set to have overscan. They never actually show their true resolution on the screen. So even though your Mits has a 1080p engine in it, you never see that many pixels on the screen.
+I have my Mac mini hooked up via the DVI input with 1080p accepted as native resolution.+
Well, from reading your TVs user manual on-line, I'd say you are lucky to have gotten that far. Pages 89 and 90 do not present a very rosy picture for being able to do that. For example, page 89, under section titled "PC Viewing" it says, "Your Mitsubishi TV can display resolutions from standard VGA (640 x 480) through XGA (1024 x 768) 60-Hz refresh rates only." So that's good you got it to run from 1080p from the mini. The manual for that TV suggests that shouldn't even be possible.
+Overscan occurs and I'm forced to format a 1080p reduced mode to remove the overscan but it does take about an inch away from each area of the screen.+
As stated, in a DLP set, overscan is always present. It's just not obvious with typical source material like TV and movies because you can't tell where the edges are to begin with. A computer's output is totally different in that regard because where the edges are is made very obvious by things like the OS X menu bar and dock.
+My problem is the reduced mode isn't nearly as sharp the normal 1080p(I'm older and my eyes strain more now).+
That's because scaling is taking place and there is no longer a one-for-one relationship between pixels in video memory and pixels on screen. The 1920 x 1080 pixels are being squeezed into a reduced area and the clarity will suffer.
+Anyone have any experience with this brand TV(Mitusubishi 57731) or using the switch res program to remove the front porch settings etc?+
I own a Mits LCD 1080p TV that I have hooked to my mini and it's working nicely, out-of-the-box, and I didn't need to use SwitchRes X. But I don't own a DLP set so can't comment specifically on configuring SwitchRes X or DisplayConfigX to try and get the display working better. It may not even be possible. Certainly you cannot get true 1080p to display native with all the pixels on the screen. That just can't happen.
+Also if I change the front porch settings etc will that prevent a full 1080p signal?+
No, fiddling with porches does not alter the original format. But neither does it typically have any predictable affect on the image size displayed on a digital TV set.
Have you tried the AVS Forum? There are a couple threads there that might be of interest to you, and at least you'd be communicating with people that own the exact same or similar TV.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=722331&highlight=57731
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=581433&highlight=57731