Anyone know how to fix TV edge cut-off?

[bluberry]

I tend not to notice it as much playing something like Halo 2 compared to when I'm playing something like Guilty Gear but it's definitely there no matter what game I'm playing; it seems like about 5 to 8% of the TV's image on each side is going off-screen. In GGX2#R, for instance, half of the character is missing if I back all the way up to the left, and about a third of the character if I back all the way up to the left. Anyone know how to solve this type of problem? Thanks.

[MegaDrive20XX]

Service Mode! I asked this question a long time ago (Back in October I believe)....if I can get a link for that I can help you find out....just need to know the model of your TV..that way we can find out how to fix that...since each TV has a unique way.

[bluberry]

IIRC it's a Panasonic CT-27SL14

[it290]

You can do it in service mode, but keep in mind that different games/systems will actually use different amounts of overscan, so you might not be able to find a setting that works correctly for all your games. Once you find a good 'medium' setting, keep in mind that many 3d games will allow you to change the screen size in the options menu.

[Sylentwulf]

It's not the TV's problem in most cases.
The game consoles need to have a screen adjust built in the system (right now some games have it, some don't, none allow you to shrink or stretch, only move)

The consoles need to be able to be set up MUCH MORE. I'm sick of picking what type of stereo system, screen size, dimensions, locations, and brightness level for every game I play. Do it when you set up the system and have done with it for chrissakes.

[it290]

Some games do allow you to shrink and stretch. Confidential Mission for DC is one I can think of off the top of my head. But yeah, I agree, it needs to be a system-wide setting (although in that case the setting should be ignored for 2d games to avoid scaling problems).

[rbudrick]

I've only seen this on older tvs. I used to have a 19" zenith that did this...it would be really frustrating because it would cut off the menus and such (score, health, etc.). I never thought there'd be a fix for it....maybe in my case there isn't, considering the age of the tv.

-Rob

[Sylentwulf]

Actually, I've seen it WORSE on newer TV's. Every time I hook up a NES to a newer TV it gets worse and worse. Can't ever remember having that problem back in the 80's.

[bluberry]

Well, I can't find much out online about it but I'll call Panasonic and ask sometime. Thanks to everyone who helped.

[maxlords]

Buy a flat screen TV. I bought a flat screen TV (the kind with a tube) and I've not seen it since. It's the curved screen ones that suck for that.

[joshnickerson]

I've noticed (at least with my TV) that as the TV gets older, it tends to "blow up" the image a bit, causing edges to cut off. For instance, I recently played Super Mario 64 again. I know when I first played it on my TV, I could see the HUD and the text on the bottom just fine. But when I played it last, some of the numbers were partially cut off, and I could only read the top half of Peach's lines at the end.

[joshnickerson]

ah interesting. How would I go about getting that done?

[slip81]

Anyone know how to get into the service mode on a Toshiba 27A33 tv?

[SirDrexl]

Another solution is to get a device that lets you play your games on a VGA monitor. You shouldn't have any overscan that way (or if you do you'll easily be able to adjust for it). One "problem" you do notice is that some games don't even fill the screen.

[PrototypeFC3S]

I've noticed this problem more on "Flat Screen" tube tv's. Instead of regular ones. I have a buddy who has this problem too, in the upper left hand corner the screen looks "warped". If you go to Best Buy or any other electroics chain, you'll notice the same thing on the display models. This goes from DVD players to game consoles.

[LocalH]

You can also use an analog video capture device to do this as well. PCI capture cards will work better than analog-to-DV converters.

I'd also like to see overscan toggles on more PC games - if a game is playable in a good fashion with a gamepad, then I usually prefer to play it through S-Video TV-out at either 640x480 or 720x480. But many games place status and HUD information at the very edges of the screen, meaning that I either have to live with it, or use the nVidia control panel to underscan the TV-out image, which sucks because then you have an ugly black border around the whole image.

[Sylentwulf]

And to prevent blooming, you can TURN DOWN THE DAMN BRIGHTNESS and contrast to a normal level using a home theater Calibration DVD.

[The Manimal]

I will never buy a curved screen TV again. My "flat" screen TV is the nicest I have ever owned, with the best features. The geometry is better than the curved ones (watch CNN Headline News or anything with ticker-tape) and the lack of GLARE is great.