Why does text look so Horrible on my HD monitor?

I just bought a 1080p 22" Samsung Syncmaster 2333HD (connected via HDMI) and the picture and video quality is great but the text quality is absolutely horrible. This monitor has a built in HD TV tuner.

Even as I type now all the text in this text box as well as in the browser toolbar and start menu, etc looks weird - like it all has a white outline around it that makes it jagged and hard to read. It hurts my eyes just to look at it.

I am running my PC in the suggested native resolution of 1920x1080, so what's the problem?

Is this one of the unavoidable downsides of using a HD monitor? Is there a solution to the problem?

10 Answers

I'm using Samsung P2370HD on HDMI connection. The text was really bad when I first started using the HDMI connection (R6850HD), Even lowering the sharpness doesn't make it as it should be. After one day of googling, I found the solution is very simple and that is you just need to rename the HDMI connection name to PC from your Monitor Setup. You can do it from your Samsung remote controller as following:

1. Press the "Source" button.
2. Highlight the HDMI input.
3. Press "Tools" -> Edit Name -> And then simply using the scrolling (up & down keys on ur remote), select "PC" or "DVI PC" for your HDMI. And voila you have crystal clear text just as on DVI.

But remember that if you select DVI PC, you will not get sound through HDMI cable. Select "PC" and you will have both sound & video, and clear text.

Just set up a Samsung B2330HD on a HP DV7 laptop with an HDMI out. Text looked bad until I went in and LOWERED the sharpness from 55 to 10. Text looks much better now.

Is your PC running Windows XP? If so, do you have ClearType turned on? Does it look fine on a normal monitor?

On Windows XP, ClearType is off by default.

On Windows 7 and Vista, ClearType is turned on by default.

You can also try the Microsoft ClearType Tuner

• ClearType (on Wikipedia)
• HOW TO: Use ClearType to Enhance Screen Fonts in Windows XP

I also experienced jagged text with a Samsung B2230HD. I was able to get decent video as follows:

• With remote, hit Menu
• Picture > (hit the right arrow)
• Backlight 12
• Brightness 50
• Sharpness 0 (* important)
• Color 50
• Advanced > (a submenu of Picture)
• Black tone off
• Color Space auto
• Edge Ehancement off
• < to Picture menu
• Picture Options > (a submenu of Picture)
• Color tone cool
• Size Screen Fit (* important; fixes loss of pixels on right edge due to overscan)
• < to Picture menu
• return

This is with an HP laptop running ubuntu 11.10, but I expect similar results for other hardware/OSes.

I have a Samsung SyncMaster B2330 connected via HDMI. The font issue had been driving me nuts. After fiddling with the controls, I achieved the most impact by changing the "PC/AV Mode" from "AV" to "PC".

Menu > Setup & Reset > PC/AV Mode > PC

Try setting the MagicBright setting to Internet or Text.

Also, turn ClearType back on if you left it off and tune it with the online tuner (or the powertoy).

Finally, from the manual for your monitor:

Q: Image is not clear. Picture is blurred. A: Run Frequency Coarse and Fine tuning. A: Turn on again after removing all accessories(video extension cable, etc.) A: Set resolution and frequency to the recommended ranges. 

Had the same problem - I had used the monitor over DVI for a year or so when I got a new video card and wanted to switch to HDMI. Suddenly text looked like garbage.

The solution - go into "setup" and turn on power-saving. You'll notice the image gets darker, several of the HDMI options will be greyed out, but the text is crystal clear again. Then go in picture settings and adjust the brightness/backlight/contract levels and you'll be set.

For my widescreen 23" LG monitor, the solution was to disable the «Super Resolution+» feature in monitor's settings.

One of solution quoted here worked for me: I had to go in my LCD srcreen menu (Samsung SyncMaster 2333HD), select HDMI source, and use "tool" to rename the source as something else (PC in my case) so that the LCD does not think the source is a HDTV. Then it adjusted very properly without more issues. Note that this operation would be impossible without the remote controlto browse through the menu.

Here is a solution which solved the problem on my Samsung Full HD TV, when using it as a monitor for the laptop:

Now I quote:

Why is the picture unclear or text fuzzy when connection PC to my Smart TV?

Last Update date : Oct 20. 2020

Common complaints when connecting a computer to the TV are either the text on the screen is fuzzy or that images seem grainy. This is because the TV's scaling is set for standard HDMI input. To resolve these image issues, you simply need to rename the input to PC or PC DVI. Once renamed, the TV will adjust the scaling of the input. Naming your TV's input can help you remember what is connected to each source.

Please note: Naming an input PC or DVI PC (or PC DVI) will change the scaling of the source and improve the picture quality.

Follow the instructions below to to name your TV source:

1. Turn on your TV and press the Source button on your remote control.
2. Use the navigation keys on your remote control select the source you would like to rename.
3. Once selected press the Tools button.
4. Scroll and select Edit name and then press Enter.
5. Select the name for the input from the available list and press Enter.

Please note: You cannot enter any name but you may only choose from the available list.

6. Exit the menu and your input will now be renamed.

Important: Use HDMI port with DVI port for PC connection, this is the input intended for PC connections.