BIOS displays too large via HDMI connection

[Legolad]

Greetings,

I have an annoying little problem which doesn't prevent me from doing what I need, but it bugs me and I wonder if others see the same issue.

• I have an ASRock X79 Extreme4 Mobo with the latest BIOS (3.70).
• I run an EVGA GTX 560 ti video card.
• I connect the card via HDMI to an AV Receiver which passes through the video to my Panasonic AE3000U projector.

When I boot into the BIOS, interface does not display entirely on 1 screen. I've never seen this before in any of my other computers.

I can see the top left 80% of the screen, but the bottom 20% and right 20% are off screen.
If I move my mouse cursor all the way to the right, the display shifts to reveal the right 80% of the screen, but then I can't see the left 20%. Same with the Top and Bottom.

Basically, I can never see the entire screen at one time.
I'm not sure if I should try to adjust my projector, something in the receiver, or some sort of BIOS resolution.

[parsec]

Re: BIOS displays too large via HDMI connection

If there was anything in the BIOS/UEFI to change resolution, it would be in the main screen. But only some very new ASRock boards have a HD UEFI GUI display, that can be toggled on or off.

Never had a resolution issue previously with a BIOS/UEFI UI and your projector? I assume at least some of them were of the UEFI/GUI type? Were the PCs that did not have this issue connected to the projector in the identical manner the X79 Extreme 4 PC is?

I've had the same issue with a small 720P TV, but I forget what the video source was, and not with your board. Resolution compatibility between PC video sources and anything television related is not always perfect, even with apparently identical resolutions, like standard HD (1920 x 1080.) A common resolution in (some, many?) ASRock UEFI GUIs is 1024 x 768.

If you run the Nvidia Control Panel software, and check the Change resolution option, in the list of resolutions do you have a second heading besides PC, which in your case should be TV? Is 1024 x 768 included in the TV resolution list? If not, that could explain why you have this issue.

You could try a different resolution setting, but I'm not sure that would be active when using the UEFI GUI. Plus it's inconvenient to change resolutions for the UEFI GUI and your standard resolution.

What resolution is your projector operating at?

Did you try connecting the video card directly to the projector, just to test if the receiver is causing the problem for some reason.

[Legolad]

Re: BIOS displays too large via HDMI connection

If there was anything in the BIOS/UEFI to change resolution, it would be in the main screen. But only some very new ASRock boards have a HD UEFI GUI display, that can be toggled on or off.

Never had a resolution issue previously with a BIOS/UEFI UI and your projector? I assume at least some of them were of the UEFI/GUI type? Were the PCs that did not have this issue connected to the projector in the identical manner the X79 Extreme 4 PC is?

Nope. This machine was the first to exhibit it. Previous PCs worked fine in exactly the same setup. Though now you mention it, this machine is the first I've had that used UEFI.

If you run the Nvidia Control Panel software, and check the Change resolution option, in the list of resolutions do you have a second heading besides PC, which in your case should be TV? Is 1024 x 768 included in the TV resolution list? If not, that could explain why you have this issue.

The only category is "Ultra HD, HD, SD". The connector shows as HDMI - HDTV. 25Hz refresh with 32-bit color depth. I'm pretty sure the refresh is meaningless for HDMI. What I mean is that the HDMI spec allows the refresh rate to be governed by the display (my projector). My projector and receiver both function at a nominal 60 Hz for HDMI connections. If there were actually an issue with the refresh rate, I'd expect to see no picture at all.

What resolution is your projector operating at?
Did you try connecting the video card directly to the projector, just to test if the receiver is causing the problem for some reason.

My projector runs at 1920x1080.
Yes. I've connected directly to the projector in the past, but I can't recall if I used the BIOS when I did. I'll try that when I have the time.

Thanks for your thoughts. I'll tinker with it and report back later. :-)

[parsec]

Re: BIOS displays too large via HDMI connection

Nope. This machine was the first to exhibit it. Previous PCs worked fine in exactly the same setup. Though now you mention it, this machine is the first I've had that used UEFI.

I had a feeling that was the case. The GUI capability that UEFI firmware provides is the source of your issue, the old BIOS UI is low res and obviously your projector can deal with it. I never bothered trying to fix the "scrolling BIOS" display since I also had a PC monitor connected to the PC.

The only category is "Ultra HD, HD, SD". The connector shows as HDMI - HDTV. 25Hz refresh with 32-bit color depth. I'm pretty sure the refresh is meaningless for HDMI. What I mean is that the HDMI spec allows the refresh rate to be governed by the display (my projector). My projector and receiver both function at a nominal 60 Hz for HDMI connections. If there were actually an issue with the refresh rate, I'd expect to see no picture at all.

Those resolution types are a bit odd in my experience. I didn't think a '560 video card would be "old" enough to not list specific resolutions, but I've have seen HD and SD listed with a TV connected with a '650, but I could swear I had others listed too. Any chance a newer video driver might help?

You could try creating a custom resolution in the Nvidia Control software, but again you'd need to change the res once the OS boots, assuming the custom res was active while using the UEFI GUI.

I agree that the refresh rate is not related to this situation.

My projector runs at 1920x1080.
Yes. I've connected directly to the projector in the past, but I can't recall if I used the BIOS when I did. I'll try that when I have the time.

Thanks for your thoughts. I'll tinker with it and report back later. :-)

I mentioned not using the receiver in case it is not passing some information that is used to adjust the resolution while using the UEFI GUI. Depending upon the age and quality of the receiver (no offense) its HDMI pass through may not be complete. I'm aware that some receivers may not have the appropriate internal electronics or quality to pass an HDMI signal connection with complete integrity. The HDMI version supported by the receiver might also be a factor, and even the cable of course.

The basic question is why a PC monitor does not suffer from this effect, while a TV-type device does.

[Legolad]

Re: BIOS displays too large via HDMI connection

Good points all, Parsec.

No offense taken. My receiver is a Yamaha RX-Z7 which may well have issues with pass-through given its age but I have no idea.

As for the resolutions, there's an entire list of actual resolutions in the NVidia control panel. Their listed under the main heading I mentioned.
They range from 480p through 1080p with 32 variations along the spectrum.

Anyway. There's probably something in UEFI sends the resolution request but maybe that doesn't make it past my receiver for whatever reason.

Maybe if I'm bored later I'll mess around with it some more.