A FEW THINGS I NEED HELP IN: HARDWARE/SOFTWARE?

[BeLikeMiKe716]

ok so I have this new computer and its running window XP X64 bit version because I have 4gb of ram.

I also have HP LP3065 30inch lcd monitor hooked up to it.

1. when I play a dvd, the dvd screen does not maximize to the limits of the lcd screen. Not sure if this is a problem with drivers or the dvd program or what.

2. Am I able to have those old printer cables hooked to the new motherboards? I know the new ones dont have the ports anymore but is there a converter or anything?

 

[V00D00]

You can get a parallel PCI card.

What software are you using the play the dvd? It probably won't just go to full screen, you should have to double click in the middle of the image, or go to View > Full Screen.

Do you mean you have the LCD hooked up as a secondary screen? I have a television and an LCD monitor hooked to my PC. There is a mode in your video card settings called "Theatre Mode". This causes any video playing on your pc to go full screen on your secondary monitor. This is only relevant if you have TWO screens though.

 

[Roguestar]

FYI windows XP x64 is a heap of sh!t. It's just the bone MS threw to us in the Athlon 64 crowd to shut us up for a while. Try what V00D00 suggested; it's usually a case of right-clicking in the DVD window and selecting "full screen" or there's a button on the control dashboard.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: BeLikeMiKe716
1. when I play a dvd, the dvd screen does not maximize to the limits of the lcd screen. Not sure if this is a problem with drivers or the dvd program or what.

If you are getting black bars either at the top/bottom, or the sides, then that's normal. For instance, if the movie is not widescreen, then you should get black bars at the sides. If that didn't happen, then the picture would be stretched wide and everyone would look like they gained 200 pounds. Some movies are filmed in really, really widescreen such as 2.10:1. Those would have black bars at top/bottom, or else the people in it would be really skinny. Even HDTV is like that a tiny bit, because it is 16:9 versus the PC monitor at 16:10.

 

[BeLikeMiKe716]

the reason i have xp64 right now is that i have 4gb of memory... i heard that you cant have 4gb of memory in regular windows... true?

 

[jkresh]

yes you need a 64bit os to take advantage of 4gigs, but vista 64 is dramatically better then xp 64 and worth the upgrade (even more so the vista 32 over xp 32). As to not filling the whole size, dvd's are either 16:9 or 2.35:1., widescreen monitors are 16:10 so there will be small bars if its a 16:9 and larger ones for a 2:35 (the dvd case should say what format its in), you can often stretch it to fill the screen but it is probably better to leave the bars.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Zap
If you are getting black bars either at the top/bottom, or the sides, then that's normal. For instance, if the movie is not widescreen, then you should get black bars at the sides. If that didn't happen, then the picture would be stretched wide and everyone would look like they gained 200 pounds. Some movies are filmed in really, really widescreen such as 2.10:1. Those would have black bars at top/bottom, or else the people in it would be really skinny. Even HDTV is like that a tiny bit, because it is 16:9 versus the PC monitor at 16:10.

Most "widescreen" movies are in 2.35:1, which is even wider (or shorter) than 2.10:1 would be.