Widescreen selection in PC game!

[Stalker]

Hello all you helpful folks!!

I just purchased a 26" widescreen HDTV LCD monitor which I plan on using both as a PC monitor and for viewing HD via Direct TV.

My question is if anyone can help or knows about this is I have a couple of pc games I play that have the option of choosing 16:9 or WS format such as Call Of Duty II and I have enable these options but the game still plays only full screen...not that full screen doesn't look great on this monitor because it does, but I was curious as to why the WS option does not work..I have chose both normal and 16:9 but there is no difference.

I also have tried using both VGA and DVI connections on the card but same result.

Does anyone know if I must be connected to an HDTV tuner video card for that option to work or is it something I am missing?

Thanx in advance for any ideas or help!

Regards
ST*

 

[wallypa]

I have a 27" HDTV and I play COD2 and HL2 at 16:9 with no problem. If you went to the graphics option and selected 16:9 aspect ratio and you have a widescreen, I don't see any reason why you can't play the game in that format. My question is how did you determine that you are not in ws(16:9) format? Definitely, you do not have to be connected to an hd tuner to accomplish this.

 

[Stalker]

Because weather I chose 16:9 or 4:3 it was full screen unless that is how it is suppose to look.

 

[wallypa]

Well, I won't profess to be an expert on this subject matter, because I'm not, but I think regardless of what aspect ratio you select on COD2 or any game for that matter that supports 16:9, will fill up the whole screen. So, what you are experiencing with COD2 I think is quite normal. I could be wrong but I think that with 4:3 aspect ratio on a wide screen, the images in your game might not appear to be proportional because the images are stretched. With a 16:9 ratio on a widescreen, I think the images will appear more normal if you are in the max setting of your HDTV display. Again, this is just my opinion.

Hopefully, somebody in this forum, more knowledgeable than I in this subject can give you a more definitive answer. I hope you enjoy your games as I do.

 

[Stalker]

I have found out with further research you are correct and also found out that 1280x1024 is a 4:3 ratio and you have to have rez set at least 1700x or higher for WS anyway.

 

[T2k]

Register at http://www.widescreengamingforum.com - we're collecting the solutions for years now over there.

PS: for beginners there's even a Resolution Switcher...

 

[wallypa]

Here's a good website regarding this subject:

http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/experttips/markrejhon/htpc_superguide.html