Let's talk about Letterboxing

[Torque]

I just bought myself a new monitor today.. an ASUS 23.6 inch LCD
My ATI automatically set itself for 1920:1080 resolution, which is 16:9 according to my fancy calculator (a calculator) and it looks great. Sharp edges and colors, and the full screen in use.
Now.. I set up to play starcraft, change the resolution to 1280:720 ALSO a 16:9 aspect ratio, and BAM letterbox! wtf?! I hate feeling like I'm paying to use only half my screen... What gives here? how do I NOT get letter box, but still have a screen that's not all...... squashed...?

[synkr0nized]

So do you mean that you have extra black bars on the top and bottom?


Do any of the other video modes fill the screen without letterboxing, and if so are they also 16:9 [just to see]?

You may need to adjust your scaling options in your ATI control panel [or the monitor's] -- it may not be set to scale smaller resolutions up properly.

[Torque]

Yes... the black bars.
I change the in-game resolution to 1280:720 a 16:9 ratio, and I get the black bar letterboxing.
I tried a new resolution... 1280:960 and it fills up the whole screen... but that's a 4:3 ratio... AND it looks a little squashed.
Changing the in-game res to 1920:1080 gives me full screen with proper proportions, but I'm not sure I have the system to actually run a game at that high a resolution. Not too sure why a smaller resolution at the same ratio would get me the letterbox.

[bluestarultor]

Wait. You're saying that the game letterboxes when you set it to a lower resolution than your actual monitor resolution?

I hate to tell you this, but that's just normal. Some monitors do that, rather than stretching the image. Run it at full resolution and enjoy the game. It really shouldn't affect your performance that much.

[Torque]

hmm... I assumed that as long as the ratio is the same then no letterboxing would occur.

[bluestarultor]

hmm... I assumed that as long as the ratio is the same then no letterboxing would occur.

Nope. It depends on the monitor. Some stretch it, some center it. If it's centering it, that's your monitor's fault.

[synkr0nized]

You may need to adjust your scaling options in your ATI control panel [or the monitor's] -- it may not be set to scale smaller resolutions up properly.

Right...

[Torque]

Thanks guys.. I checked out the display options on my ATI card, and found the scaling and resolution options. Scaling was disabled, so I guess that just meant it let the monitor do it's own thing. with scaling enabled I have no more letterbox! Huzzah! Kudo's all around!