Monitor resolution; 1680x1050 but "active" resolution 1680x945

07
2014-07
  • rabid_J

    For the passed few days I've noticed that fullscreen'd youtube videos and video games have black borders on the top and bottom of them but I had no idea what the problem was since my monitor resolution was the same as it had always been.

    It wasn't until I launched the Steam 'big picture mode' that I saw what was happening:

    enter image description here

    You can also see the black bars I'm talking about in that screenshot.

    I've absolutely no idea how to fix it so any help would be greatly appreciated. Tried updating my graphics card drivers.

    • Answers
  • Jason C

    1680 x 1050 = 16:10

    1680 x 945 = 16:9

    Widescreen format is typically 16:9, not 16:10. Your monitor size is slightly taller than widescreen. Your content is probably traditional widescreen content at 16:9 (I imagine that's what "big picture mode" is - widescreen 16:9 as opposed to 4:3), and so it pads the top and bottom (this type of padding is called letterboxing).

    Edit: Steam's Big Picture Mode is "designed specifically for TV". Most wide TV's are 16:9. For example, HD 1080p is 1920 x 1080, which is 16:9. So I guess that's what they designed it for. If your display has a different aspect, the image will be letterboxed to 16:9.

    I'm presuming the YouTube videos and such that you are watching are 16:9 as well (if they are standard HD resolution), and thus, same effect - it letterboxes instead of stretching.

    16:10 is not uncommon for computer monitors, the extra vertical real estate helps with document editing and such.


    • Related Question

    Resolution issue
  • Questioner

    My harddrive crashed and I recently got a new one and re-installed Windows XP. When I am in windows, it will not allow me to change the resolution to anything other than 640x480. I think that it doesn't recognize the monitor properly as in the window where the resolution can be changed it only says Default Monitor and not a particular one. Any suggestions on how to get it to recognize my monitor?


    • Related Answers
  • William Hilsum

    The most likely cause is that Windows is defaulting to the "Default VGA Adapter".

    If I was you, go to either the Nvidia or ATI website and download the latest drivers. (or Intel / Via / other if you have that instead).

    Once installed, you should be able to select the correct resolution.

  • secureBadshah

    I got into exactly the same issue, a week back. I was re-installing on a Dell laptop. Basic Windows XP installation was allowing only 640x480 resolution. So I took another CD provided by Dell, and installed some of the drivers on it (the Dell software detected the HW and associated drivers). So if you have vendor's CD, then try it. Otherwise, use device manager to note the video card you have, and download it directly from internet.