Dell XPS L501x hdmi PROBLEM

I so regret not going with the 435 without this optimus. These drivers blow, I cant duplicate display, when i do extend desktop i get bad overscanning which when i correct i end up getting 1808x1036 on my tv. I cant play any punkbuster enabled games because i get kicked for multiple direct3d.dll instances. Dell has these ty proprietary driver packages so when nvidia does finally come out with a fix we have to wait for dell to rerelease the drivers in there only little package. Nothing but headaches and worst of all the battery life is still terrible even with optimus. Such a joke, im really getting irritated with this whole situation.

 

Im in the same boat as stated above. Ive tried all the the other settings but cant seem to get it to work. What is the hdmi output for if wont display onto the hdtv? I even tried playing a bluray to see if that would work nothing but the desktop background on my hdtv.

What I do notice though is if I move my mouse pointer above to the top of my desktop I then can see my pointer on my hdtv.

Update: Okay what's described above is the extended setting. I was able to view my entire desktop using the projector setting. The laptop screen goes blank but at least the entire desktop is now on the hdtv. I had to adjust the resolution so I could read the text etc. But now I am able to play games and watch movies etc on the hdtv. Also sound is transmitted to the tv as well. The duplicate setting only makes the hdtv go blank.

 

Hello.

I am having the same problem you described; only with an L401x. I spent 2.5 hours on the DellChat while a technician fiddled around with my laptop attempting to "work around" this issue. 2.5 hours later, after several times refusing my request to chat with a supervisor or someone more familiar with the issue, I finally get a Dell supervisor who immediately advised that this issue is endemic to systems with Nvidia Optimus.

You guys probably understand this better than me; but the Dell supervisor explained it as follows: "the Nvidia Optimus technology which uses both the Nvidia Video card and the Intel Integrated video and due to which we do not have an option to configure the clone mode for dual display".

***Well, you could have told me that 2.5 hours ago instead of having a Dell technician play guinea pig with my system!!***

AS FOR A SOLUTION:
The Dell supervisor said that "there have been several such instances reported and we are still working on it.... Would not be able to promise an exact time frame but we are working on it to get a solution for this limitation".

I guess that is something; perhaps we will see a solution from Dell/Nvidia provided soon. I certainly hope so.

Interesting to note that the Dell technician who was fiddling aimlessly with my system for 2.5 hours was looking at this forum -- this thread indeed -- for suggestions. The supervisor actually said "He tried certain things which he found as a workaround for the issue in a forum" and linked me to you guys! Well, I'll be!

If anyone hears anything new; please do update this thread as I'm sure we'll all be checking back frequently for the solution.

Cheers!

 

The external display problems may not be directly related to the Optimus technology (although that may still be an issue). I have the i7 (hence no Optimus possible) with the GT 435M and I am also having external display issues. I bought the mini display port to VGA adapter with my L501X specifically so I could use my Sony Bravia KDL32S5100 as an external monitor.

I am able to get HDMI at 1080p to work under Windows 7, but I cannot get the mini display port to recognize my HDTV at any resolution above 1024x768. I know the TV is capable of more than this resolution via the PC connection because I had an old laptop hooked up to it running at 1360x768 under both Linux and Windows XP. Also, the TV specs say it can do 1080p via this connection:

http://esupport.sony.com/referencebook/en/s5100/pages/gettingstarted/connectingthetv03.html

I have so far been unable to get either HDMI or the mini display port working under Ubuntu 10.10 using the nvidia proprietary driver. My suspicion is that this is a nVidia driver issue on both Win7 and Linux, but I don't really know what the issue is.

I would really like to get the mini display port working properly under both Windows 7 and Ubuntu since 1) I dual boot and HDMI doesn't display until the OS is running and 2) the fonts look crappy via HDMI compared to using the PC connection on my TV. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

I have an XPS 15 with Geforce 420M and a HDR TV KDL-32S2020. I am using a HDMI 1.4 cable.

I am unable to get the screen to the PC with any setting duplicate, extend etc...

Anyone got any advices? (Except the ordinary like checking so that the resulution is correct etc)

 

I am having issues with XPS15 (i5 with Optimus) and Panasonic G10 HD TV
I have not progressed beyond a blank display (i.e. nothing just black) on the TV in any mode: - extend, clone or swap.
The XPS recognises the G10 and tries to drive it at 1920x1080
I have tried forcing other resolutions but always a blank screen.
Any ideas gratefully received please.

 

I am having similar problems. I have a Dell XPS l501X with GeForce GT 420M graphics card and trying to connect to a Sony KDL-32EX301 TV.
I am using a 1.4HMDI cable, however on any resolution it shows red noise - i.e. red distortion lines all over the screen, and these are more pronounced on black images.
I didn't think the HDMI cable should affect the output, but should I be using anything in particular to connect to a HDTV?

 

Satch1984, I'm sorry you seem to be having similar problem, although I am glad I am not alone.
I tried driving an LCD monitor (17" Hitachi) via HDMI to DVI cable and that worked fine first time out in any mode I chose so there is definitely an output there just not one that works with on the Panasonic TV :-(

I wonder if there is something odd about the Dell HDMI output that makes it incompatible with mainstream HD TVs?

Its a real nuisance as the L501x doesn't have DVI or VGA only the HDMI for external monitor and I dont want to crash £70 for an Intel Wireless Display adaptor to watch movies from my Pc on the TV?

 

SORTED!
Bought HDMI 1.4 cable from eBay for a couple of quid and Bingo!
I can run displays at different resolutions, extended or TV only!
Picture quality perfectly acceptable right up to max resolution for TV (1920x1080).
Happy Days!

 

Can you provide make/manufacturer or link to ebay item please?

 

No problem:
HDMI Cable 2m Gold V1.4 Video HDTV 1080P 3D HDMI 1.4 on eBay (end time 25-Mar-11 12:30:40 GMT)

 

I just had the same problem gettin my xps 15 dell laptop hooked up to my Sony Bravia 46 inch lcd tv. The bottom of the screen was being cut off. I found a solution. The Problem was with the tv's settings. When I went to the menu on tv and selected "settings" then selected "screen" then there was optin for "display area" where I found option "Full Pixel". I choose "full Pixel" and it now displays correctly in 1080p. Hope this helps someone.

 

Has anyone found an update or solution to this yet?

Recently I tried connecting my XPS L501X to my 42" VIZIO Plasma TV. I'm only able to get the desktop wallpaper and audio to work. Then I tried connecting it to my 50" Sony Projection TV and 24" Dell 2408WFP. The Sony displays everything, but the picture is slightly cut off on the top and bottom of the screen. While the Dell works 100% perfectly!

Finally, I decided to try my old Dell XPS M15. Works 100% perfectly on all 3 screens!

 

Solution is here:

Unable to Mirror Dell XPS 15Z's display on a HD TV - CNET Dell Forums

Basically you need to configure the display through the Nvidia control panel (right click on your desktop)

I have an XPSL502x Dell Laptop and this worked for me