Solved! Dell Demensions 4700 computer w/XP and Vizio HDTV Model M220NV

disgusted_74

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I am trying to use HDTV for a computer monitor Both have RGB ports.
When I hookup and turn on and Windows tries to load and then I get an error message of "Invalid format " How do I correct this problem?

I have used this computer with a larger model Vizio HDTV and it worked fine. Seems the format of HDTV is not compatable, how do I change it?

Why does it work fine on other model? Same cable RGB hookups
 
Solution
It could be the resolution selected on the computer.
Booting the video is at 640 x 480 resolution, when it switches to windows it changes to the control pnl settings.
Are both TV's rated for the same maximum resolution?
1 is HD or 1920x1080 I'll bet the other is only 1400x 700 or 1368x???
Lower the computer resolution to 1280X??? and see what happens.

mhelm1

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It could be the resolution selected on the computer.
Booting the video is at 640 x 480 resolution, when it switches to windows it changes to the control pnl settings.
Are both TV's rated for the same maximum resolution?
1 is HD or 1920x1080 I'll bet the other is only 1400x 700 or 1368x???
Lower the computer resolution to 1280X??? and see what happens.
 
Solution

tu_illegalamigo

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I agree with the person above me. If the resolution or refresh is set too high you can get "out of range" errors, and there will be no picture. If you can set the res to VGA then you should be able to see something. Are you using d-sub as your signal carrier?
 

disgusted74

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to: tu_illegalamig
thanks for the advice but I tried all resolutions the computer will not keep any res above 1240X10xx
If it is plug and play why doesn't it find the correct resolution?
I don't know what d-sub is so guessing no.
 

JimJohnson

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I want to use a Win7 Pro x64 notebook (mostly for Windows Media Center) with my new top of the line, 47" Vizio HDTV. The notebook has a VGA port, but not a HDMI port. The TV has a like port (called RGB)for attaching a computer. The notebook automatically detects the native resolution of almost any flat panel monitor - however it will NOT automatically detect the native resolution of my Vizio TV. I see this as a shortcoming with the TV.

My video card won't let me manually assign a resolution unless a monitor is plugged in. When I plug in the TV via the VGA port, all I get is "Invalid Format" ... it means the TV is telling the notebook that it's native resolution is a format it actually cannot support.

My notebook's built-in panel only supports up to 1280X800, and the TV supports 1920X1080 (1080p), but the next lowest commonly supported value is 1024X768 (60Hz used for all resolutions). So this is my only solution so far...

I set the notebook display to 1024X768, then enable screen cloning. The same image then shows on the TV. Next I EXTEND the desktop across both screens, and make the TV my primary monitor. I can then independently set the resolution for each screen - my notebook to its native 1280X800, and the TV to its native 1920X1080.

This works fine so long as both screens are in use. But if I close the notebook (it is set to NOT sleep because of this) so I only have the Vizio TV, the notebook again tries to read the native resolution (forgetting the resolution I just set) and again I get "Invalid Format". Vizio needs to do a firmware upgrade.