View setup problems.......

[Spoceto1003]

Can anyone suggest a good setup, for this dilema.........
I currently have FS9 running on 1 Pc, with a TH2G giving internal panel views on 2 monitors and the outside view via projector.
My problem is that the internal panels are crisp and look good as you would expect on my 2 LCD monitors, the problem is that the external view is very pixelated and not good. I have REX running for good enviromentals but the poor quality is spoiling the whole setup.
I have good Nvidia graphics card, so I can't think of how to improve this without maybe running another Pc to do the external view?
Can anyone suggest a solution without breaking the bank

Thanks Andy

[wledzian]

Can you give us a bit more information about your setup?

What is your projector's native resolution? What resolution are you using with the TH2go?

Have you tried running -just- the projector for an image quality comparison?


Initial thoughts:
If you are using a resolution that is higher or lower than the native resolution of the projector, it will have to perform some scaling, which will degrade the image. The same applies if you're using the projector's built-in keystone correction.

In general, if the projected image covers a wider field of vision than the monitor, the pixels will naturally appear larger and more blocky.

[Spoceto1003]

Thanks for the reply.
The projector is a "clearco" with a native resolution of 800 X 600, I am running it at 3072 X 768 across the TH2G.

I haven't tried it without the TH2G as yet. The Keystone correction is set almost to the max as I have limited space and the projector is shooting over my cockpit. There is no space to do a reverse projection, Like I said space is at a premium but I was hoping for a better image, than I currently have.
many thanks Andy

[Kennair]

Andy, remember that the TH2GO needs to work to 3 monitors with the same resolution i.e. all 1280 x 1024 or all 800 x 600 etc. It was designed to be used with 3 x 19" 4:3 monitors however the digital version will also work to widescreens if you use the dual DVI output of the video card. If you have monitors and projector at differing resolutions this may explain the degraded quality. Also ensure that the monitors are set to native resolution (particularly the LCD's) and that you have the resolution in FS set the same as in Windows. Deviations between these two can also cause problems.

You should have 2 outputs on your video card so I would try connecting the TH2GO to one and running just the two LCD's in dual head mode (connect to centre output and one side output on the TH2GO), then run the projector from the second output independant of the TH2GO. That way you can have a different resolution on the projector. See how that goes.

Ken.

[wledzian]

Going to a large screen at 800x600 will produce a blockier image than a comparatively small monitor at a higher resolution. There's nothing you can do about that.

As Kennair suggested, if you've got dual outputs on your video card, use one to drive your panels at their native resolution through the TH2GO in dual-head mode. Use the other output to drive your projector at 800x600. By avoiding that first scaling operation, your image quality should improve.

Regarding the keystoning: I don't know the details of your setup, but I'd do whatever I could to reduce the amount of keystone correction required. It's cutting into your available resolution and performing more warping and scaling which has a negative impact on image quality.

By running at your projector's native resolution of 800x600 instead of 1024x768, you're cutting down almost 40% on the 3-d pixel count. As a last-ditch effort, you might be able to get away with turning up the antialiasing without hugely impacting frame rates; scalers seem to do better with a smooth image than they do with a jaggy image.

[Spoceto1003]

Thanks Guys............for your expert advice, I think unfortunately I wanted a good setup but in the cramped surroundings the net effect is that it has it has spoilt my projector view of the outside.
I will try some of the "tweaks" to my setup but if that doesn't improve it, then I think I am going to pull the plug on the whole thing, so I don't spend anymore money and still end up with a disapointing external view. I would rather end it....then have a poor setup that didn't meet my plans.
Regards Andy

[wledzian]

One more thing -
I've never heard of a "Clearco" projector, so I looked it up. Best I could find is that they're made about as cheaply as possible (I found one site selling them for 179 pounds!). I'd be willing to bet that this extends to the electronics used for keystone correction as well, likely using "nearest neighbor" scaling. Try turning off any built-in image correction, and instead use the keystone correction tools which come with your nVidia card (nView, I think it's called). It should be better than whatever is used in the Clearco.