7.1.3 Display Context Menus Context menus for Device Management Context Menus, Tooltips and Infotips for DVI These tips display on pointer hover in Windows Vista, or on right click for Windows XP. Right click on the DVI icon in the Display Devices or on items in the Device Settings: DVI area to display the context sensitive Tooltips and Infotips for DVI. The context menu for DVI may include Refresh rate.
7.2 S3 ScreenToys Device Management Display Settings ACCESS: The Display Settings Display Configuration page is accessible from the Options dropdown list on the right display device area of the Device Management page. OPTIONS: Display Settings This page is similar to the Display Settings page provided by the operating system.
Extend Desktop layout There are three radio buttons provided as an aid to relative positioning of the multiple displays in an extended desktop configuration: Select Horizontal to arrange the desktop in a horizontal row with the Primary display (1) positioned on the left and the secondary (2) on the right. Select Vertical to arrange the desktop in a vertical row with the Primary display (1) positioned above the secondary (2). Select Grid when you have four displays to arrange in a grid pattern.
Refresh rate… From the Options dropdown list, select Display settings… Near the lower right corner, click the Refresh rate… dropdown list to select a refresh rate from the available refresh rates for the display device icon outlined in blue which represents the current output display device. The operating system will test the selected refresh rate and you will have the option to accept or decline the change. User Guide for Chrome 400/500 Series Graphics SG195-B.
7.3 Fine Tuning CRT When your display device is detected as a connected and active CRT, you can configure the CRT using the S3 ScreenToys Device Management page. Adjustments you make are remembered by the S3 Graphics software even when your system is sleeping or rebooted. ACCESS: To adjust CRT, right click on the desktop and click from the menu to select S3 ScreenToys. In the left menu column, select Basic, Device Management. In the Display Devices area, click the CRT icon.
Device Settings: CRT model info & settings area Size The Device Settings title row will report the manufacturer name and model detected for the selected display device. The following options may be available for adjustment for the selected CRT. NOTE: If using multiple monitors, you must exit Extended desktop mode for these settings to be available. The Size controls allow you to increase and decrease the horizontal and vertical size of the display image.
Refresh rate… Click the Refresh rate… button. The CRT Properties Screen Refresh Rate window will appear. Select a refresh rate from the dropdown list of available refresh rates for the current output display device. Click Apply to apply your change. The operating system will test the selected refresh rate and you will have the option to accept or decline the change.
7.4 Fine Tuning DVI When a DVI is detected as connected and active, you can configure the DVI using S3 ScreenToys Device Management page. Adjustments you make are remembered by the S3 Graphics software even when your system is sleeping or rebooted. ACCESS: To adjust DVI, right click on the desktop and click from the menu to select S3 ScreenToys. In the left menu column, select Basic, Device Management. In the Display Devices area, click the DVI icon.
selected DVI device. For example, if the Expansion options are dimmed or do not appear, then the expansion options listed below are not configurable for this DVI device instance at the current resolution. Panel Type Details the physical size (in pixels) and panel type of the device selected. Display Scaling image icon The icon shows an example of the currently checked Display scaling option.
Preserve aspect ratio Select the Preserve aspect ratio checkbox to ensure the desktop image always maintains its original aspect ratio, or relationship between the horizontal and vertical size (in pixels). For example, if you have a wide screen panel you might choose not to maintain the aspect ratio and thereby allow the S3 Graphics hardware and software to horizontally expand the image to fit the wide panel size. Refresh rate… Click Refresh rate… to launch the S3 Graphics Screen Refresh Rate window.
7.5 Fine Tuning HDMI When an HDMI display device is detected as connected and active, you can configure HDMI using S3 ScreenToys Device Management. Note: S3 HD Audio must also be configured to ensure a satisfactory sound and video synchronization. See Fine Tuning S3 HD Audio for detail. ACCESS: To adjust HDMI, right click on the desktop and click from the menu to select S3 ScreenToys. In the left menu column, select Basic, Device Management. In the Display Devices area, click the HDMI icon.
processed by the driver from data specified in the HDMI monitor’s information. The driver also prunes the list to those formats which do not exceed the graphic board’s available digital interface bandwidth. Note: If you have a 16:9 wide screen device, 4:3 formats will appear on your screen with black areas on the left and the right of the screen. If you have a 4:3 standard screen, 16:9 format types will appear on your screen in letter-box mode, i.e., with black areas on the top and the bottom of the screen.
Note: If you have set and saved a Custom Mode for this device, the Custom Mode will be used, regardless of the current Display scaling setting. Auto Mode checkbox (Windows XP only) The Auto Mode checkbox allows you to let S3 Graphics software own the selection of the optimized mode for your HDMI-output. Select the Auto Mode checkbox to have S3 Graphics software automatically determine which HDMI Type is optimized for your configuration.
YCbCr 4:2:2. This format is not supported for color depths greater than 24-bits. Advanced… Click the Advanced button to open the HDMI Options page. 7.5.1 Advanced: HDMI Options HDMI Options page These additional HDMI configuration options are available for selection through the HDMI Options window, accessible from the Advanced button located in the HDMI settings area of the S3 ScreenToys Device Management window.
they may have the option to set a custom resolution for their display. Default: Define custom mode… button HDMI Define custom mode Custom Resolution Settings: Size This area provides the default resolution for your HDMI device. Click the Define custom mode… button to open a dialog window which allows you to customize your HDMI desktop size.
ratio (proportional relationship) between horizontal and vertical size. If the Preserve aspect ratio box is checked (default), the aspect ratio is fixed (locked), the horizontal size controls are disabled and you will only be able to adjust the vertical size. Any adjustment made to the vertical size of the display automatically causes an adjustment of the horizontal size necessary to maintain the existing aspect ratio.
7.6 Fine Tuning S3 HD Audio Microsoft Windows Vista includes an HD Audio software driver. After the installation of the S3 video driver, S3 HD Audio will be available for selection as the default audio device. If the video driver is removed, then HD Audio will not be available. Note: If your video board does not include a connection for HDMI or DP, your board may not support S3 HD Audio.
7.7 Fine Tuning LCD When the mobile system’s LCD panel is detected as connected and active, you can configure the LCD using the S3 ScreenToys Device Management. Adjustments you make are remembered by the S3 Graphics software even when your system is sleeping or rebooted. ACCESS: To adjust LCD, right click on the desktop and click from the menu to select S3 ScreenToys. In the left menu column, select Basic, Device Management. In the Display Devices area, click the LCD icon.
Preserve aspect ratio is the default setting. The S3 Graphics software will maintain the aspect ratio and up scale the screen image as large as possible to the device’s native resolution. Note: Even if you have enabled the monitor’s built-in scaling, the monitor’s scaling will not occur. The S3 Graphics driver does the expansion to the native display resolution.
SECTION 8 MORE DISPLAY SPECIFIC PAGES In addition to the S3 ScreenToys Device Management settings page, the Basic and Advanced menus provide access to general information about the graphics subsystem and pages which provided settings to control Desktop Color and Desktop orientation, Power management controls for power-sensitive systems, Color and Chromotion filter controls for video, and Direct3D and OpenGL controls for 3D. These controls are discussed in the next sections.
OPTIONS: Select the display for which you want to adjust color from the Monitors: dropdown list in the upper left of the S3 ScreenToys Desktop Color page. Configuration options include: Display dropdown list Monitors: This dropdown list menu will contain the configurable displays. If only one display monitor is connected, this list will not be visible. In Clone multiple monitor mode, the list will be grayed and not selectable.
Calibration monitor image This "monitor" image will display an image you select from the list of calibration images. The visual reference is intended to help you adjust the color. Calibration image list Click the arrow to the right of the Calibration image dropdown list to display a menu of calibration pictures available to display in the calibration monitor image. Clicking on the monitor image repeatedly will also cycle through the calibration images. Click on the image you want.
list to see the menu of all Desktop Color Profiles available for selection. Click on a profile to select it. Save as… Click Save As… to save the current settings using the existing Profile name or a new name. Click OK to complete the save. Delete Click Delete to delete the currently selected Desktop Color Profile. Adjustment list Click the arrow to the right of the Calibration dropdown menu to show a list of color channel(s) to adjust. Select Red to make further adjustments only to the red channel.
Reset buttons Click the black Reset button to the right of the slider to Reset the value for the individual slider to its default. Defaults Click the Defaults button at the bottom of the window to return all gamma, brightness, and contrast settings to the default for the current display Monitor. User Guide for Chrome 400/500 Series Graphics SG195-B.
8.2 S3 ScreenToys Rotation Rotation of the desktop screen image is available through the S3 Graphics S3 ScreenToys Rotation page. ACCESS: To rotate your desktop screen image, right click on the desktop and select to open the S3 ScreenToys window. In the left menu column, select Advanced, Rotation. The S3 ScreenToys Rotation orientation options are now available for selection. Rotation control is also accessible from the S3 taskbar icon menu.
Monitor orientation options: OPTIONS: Each connected and enabled device may be rotated independently. The Display to be changed can be selected through the Monitors: dropdown list located in the upper left corner of the S3 ScreenToys Rotation page. S3 ScreenToys Rotation options are: Image area Orientation reference image CW CCW Use this group to step through orientation options and view the result. View this bitmap image of a desktop to see the effects of any proposed screen orientation selection.
Orientation area This group contains four radio buttons, one for each of the orientations available for selection. Normal (Primary landscape) Click the Normal (Primary landscape) button to orientate the screen image to the default rotation position. This image has 0 degrees of rotation. Click the 90 degrees (Primary portrait) button to orientate the screen image to a vertical format as if the image were turned 90 degrees clockwise.
SECTION 9 TOOLS FOR THE VIDEO ENTHUSIAST 9.1 Video Requirements Install up-to-date versions of Microsoft’s DirectX and Media Player for your Windows Vista or Windows XP. DirectX Updates Your S3 Graphics software is designed to take full advantage of the advanced features available with DirectX. For the best possible performance and visual experience, be sure you have installed DirectX and are using a level compatible with your driver. http://windowsupdate.microsoft.
9.2 Video Viewing with Application Software The advanced high quality ChromotionHD 2.0 programmable video engine of the CHROME 500 Series GPUs is fully compatible with Microsoft DirectX-VA 2.0 media acceleration and supports Protected Video Playback (PVP) of a wide range of video codecs, including Windows Media VideoTM 9 HD (WMV9-HD), MPEG-2 HD, VC-1, and H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC). High definition playback of Bluray Discs is possible with lower CPU utilization.
9.3 S3 ScreenToys Video Color Settings With S3 ScreenToys Video Color Settings you can adjust the brightness, contrast, hue and saturation of the display of video. S3 ScreenToys Video Color Settings include ChromoColor™ support using the front-end pixel shader for these adjustments. ACCESS: To adjust video settings, right click on the desktop and click from the menu to select S3 ScreenToys. From the left panel Basic menu, select Video Color Settings.
Select the device whose video adjustments you wish to configure. (You can test the selection by experimentally moving a slider to detect which monitor is currently configurable.) ChromoColor image This image shows a graphic. This is a non-functional user interface element. Profiles area Video Color Settings Profiles can be created at any time, and saved for future re-use.
Hue slider Drag the slider thumb along the bar to the right to adjust the hue of the display output towards purple. Drag the slider bar to the left to make the hue greener. Saturation slider Drag the slider thumb along the bar to the right to increase the intensity of the colors in the display output. Drag the slider thumb along the bar to the left to decrease the color intensity of the display output.
value has been increased, and the overall image shadows appear darker. Black Point Threshold increased: White Point Enhancement slider The White Point Enhancement control allows you to adjust the range of white values which are displayed in the highlight areas of the image. The adjustment lets you expand the value range to make the whites in the image appear either more intense (whiter whites) or clip the value range to make the highlights darker (darker with lower contrast).
9.4 S3 ScreenToys ChromoVision for HDMI ACCESS: To enable ChromoVision capabilities for your HDMI device, visit the Advanced/Options settings page accessible from the S3 ScreenToys Device Management window. In the Display Devices area, click the HDMI icon. Next check the Device Status checkbox underneath the icon. In the lower device settings area, click the Advanced button. Locate the ChromoVision checkbox.
Normal Select Normal to display 4:3 source on 16:9 wide screen with no scaling and no change to aspect ratio. With Normal view, vertical black bars will appear on both sides of the 4:3 image to fill the unused areas of the wide screen. Zoom Select Zoom to display letterboxed 4:3 source which would otherwise show black bars all around the wide screen image (such as a 4:3 letterbox DVD). Zoom uses equal amounts of horizontal and vertical linear scaling to expand the image to fill the wide screen 16:9 area.
User Guide for Chrome 400/500 Series Graphics SG195-B.
9.5 S3 ScreenToys Chromotion Video S3 Graphics’ hardware support for video acceleration is optimized for compatibility with DirectX Video Acceleration (DXVA). The Chromotion Video Engine provides IDCT support and post-processing capabilities for de-interlacing, subpicture blending, video scaling, rotation, color conversion and video effects.
Effect/Filter dropdown list Select an effect or filter from this dropdown list. Then use the slider to set a value for the amount of visual effect to be used during display of any video playback. A slider bar allows you to adjust the amount or intensity of the effect. The slider thumb can be moved to the right to increase (More) or the left to decrease (Less) the amount of the effect. Each filter may have a different number of allowed steps between left (Less) and right (More).
Complex Picture Smoothing Click Complex Picture Smoothing to use offset deblocking which affects both the block boundaries and the inside of the block. Use this method for flat images. Complex Picture Smoothing should resolve image artifacts propagated from the previous frame. Move the slider thumb along the bar to the right to increase the amount of the applied effect. (seven step). User Guide for Chrome 400/500 Series Graphics SG195-B.
SECTION 10 TOOLS FOR THE 3D ENTHUSIAST 10.1 S3 ScreenToys 3D Settings Use the S3 ScreenToys 3D settings configuration page to configure or toggle 3D-related capabilities to compensate for differences in the requirements and behaviors of various Direct3D and OpenGL applications. ACCESS: To adjust 3D Settings, right click on the desktop and select S3 ScreenToys from the menu. In the Advanced dropdown list in the left panel, click 3D Settings.
10.1.1 S3 ScreenToys 3D Settings Application List Application area The application area allows you to specify an application for which you can select custom 3D feature settings. Application dropdown list Click on the down arrow to view a dropdown list of application names whose features you can customize. Three types of applications may be listed: Overall setting is the default “application.
Note: The Defaults button at the bottom of the page does not remove added applications. You must use the Remove button. 10.1.2 S3 ScreenToys 3D Settings Features and Settings You can customize 3D features both globally and by application using the Feature and Setting portion of the S3 ScreenToys 3D Settings page.
The dropdown list will fade and the new value will appear. Reminder: You must click Apply All to activate the new value. The appearance of the text strings in the Setting area will vary. For the Overall setting entry, the list will contain only the value name of the setting. For all other application entries, o a value which is not customized, will appear as Overall setting (value name) where the value in parentheses is the same as the current saved value for Overall setting.
Overall custom Application custom Click Apply All and the new settings will take effect immediately. Apply All Note: If you have an open 3D application, you should restart the application to be sure the new settings take effect for that application. 10.1.3 S3 ScreenToys 3D Settings Features Descriptions Feature descriptions The Feature list contains options available for adjustment. Most features can be applied for both Direct3D and OpenGL 3D applications.
Synchronizing with the vertical retrace constrains the frame rate so that it does not exceed the refresh rate. OFF – Select OFF to allow buffer swaps to be processed without waiting for vertical synchronization. When a buffer flip occurs at a different time than during the vertical blanking period, visual artifacts, often described as “tearing” or “shearing” may be apparent. Note that while visual artifacts will probably occur with this setting, the frame rate may increase.
super-sampled anti-aliasing. This will provide optimized anti-aliasing and still have only a minimal impact on performance speed. Anisotropic ratio Anisotropic (which means non-uniform shape) filtering is a filtering technique more advanced than trilinear and is a technique which is useful for quadrilateral shaped and angled areas of a texture image. A shaper image is accomplished by interpolating and filtering multiple samples from one or more MIP maps to better approximate very distorted textures.
16X – Select 16X to force use of classic anisotropic sampling using 128 taps in a non-square sampling pattern. This level of filtering will produce very high quality visual output, usually with a decrease in rendering speed. 10.1.4 S3 ScreenToys 3D Settings Feature Descriptions for OpenGL-only Feature descriptions (for OpenGL only) The following Features will be applied only to OpenGL applications. This setting value will be ignored for Direct3D applications.
support for an earlier version of OpenGL which might have a smaller buffer allocated to store extension information. Use this option to prevent unexpected problems with older OpenGL applications. 10.2 S3 ScreenToys and MultiChrome Special Note on MultiChrome: If two identical S3 Graphics display adapters are detected as installed in your system and your installed software supports MultiChrome, the MultiChrome option may be available for selection from the Advanced area of the left menu bar.
SECTION 11 POWER MANAGEMENT CONTROLS The S3 ScreenToys Power Management controls provide an aid for conserving power on notebook (laptop) and other power-sensitive systems. It is available on selected systems running Windows Vista and Windows XP. 11.1 S3 ScreenToys Power Management S3 ScreenToys Power Management has two basic modes for controlling the level of power conservation: Automatic Power Conservation Mode (Default setting) which lets the S3 Graphics software decide the optimal setting for you.
System Status Power Source This area shows the current graphics power management status. The power source may be reported as: AC power Battery, or Unknown. If the power source is not Battery, then the Battery and hours remaining options are blank and disabled. Battery remaining If the power source is Battery, then the battery life remaining (as a percentage) is shown. Hours remaining If the power source is Battery, then the time remaining for the available battery power is shown.
GPU Power Settings area When the Let me change… checkbox is checked, you are in Advanced manual mode and the slider bar will be available to adjust and change power settings. A dropdown list will appear along the area’s title bar, which will contain a menu of the available power options. Power source bitmap A bitmap to the left of the slider bar represents the current power source.
Power Plans Below are the power plans which may be available. Power Saver setting Use the Power Saver setting to reduce power consumption. This setting will reduce speed and may lower performance. Balanced setting The Balanced setting provided the default setting provided by the driver to provide an optimal balance between power consumption and high performance. High Performance setting Increase the High Performance setting by moving the slider bar to the right.
SECTION 12 DISPLAY IDENTIFICATION & INFORMATION Use S3 ScreenToys Information, Control Panel System tools or WinS3ID to identify your Display Adapter. This information is useful when troubleshooting or locating compatible driver updates. 12.1 S3 ScreenToys Information S3 ScreenToys Information page and tab both tell you information about the S3 Graphics adapter and associated software. The S3 ScreenToys tab has been discussed previously, see Display Settings Advanced S3 ScreenToys tab.
BIOS version System memory Shows the S3 Graphics video BIOS version. Shows the amount of detected system memory. Video memory Shows the amount of detected video memory. Bus information Shows the bus interface standard for this Hardware (for example, PCI Express x16), and the current enabled capability. Engine clock Memory clock Shows the graphics engine clock setting and the clock setting for the graphics memory. S3 Driver area This area includes information about the display drivers.
Additional Info: Direct X version Reports the version of Direct X installed in the system. Direct X Media version Display the current version number of the installed Direct X Media files. Processor information These lines contain detailed information about the system processor, including manufacturer, speed, cache detail and key features. User Guide for Chrome 400/500 Series Graphics SG195-B.
12.2 Information from Control Panel System To use Windows Vista or Windows XP Control Panel System information to identify your graphics device: • • • In Windows Vista, click Start. Right click on Computer, click Manage. In the left panel, select Device Manager, or In Windows Vista, click Start, click System & Maintenance, then click System. In the left panel Tasks list, select Device Manager, or In Windows XP, click Start, click Control Panel, double-click the System icon.
12.3 WinS3ID for Chip Identification WinS3ID is a Windows-compatible utility that you can run to identify the S3 Graphics product installed in your system, even when no S3 Graphics software drivers are installed. This tool is not included in driver packages, but is available for download from the www.s3graphics.com drivers download access page. User Guide for Chrome 400/500 Series Graphics SG195-B.
SECTION 13 MAINTENANCE GUIDE 13.1 Finding Driver Updates Periodic software updates may be issued by your vendor as new features or bug fixes become available. Places to check for driver updates available for installation with your hardware might include: Your OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) board vendor’s website. This is often the only location where drivers customized for specific OEM hardware are available.
Step 3. Follow the install tool’s direction. Steps for this install are similar to those outlined for initial installation using your vendor supplied CD, except that the hardware is already in use. Step 4. Click Start, Shutdown, Restart to fully initialize your update. 13.3 Software Removal Use one of the following procedures if you want to remove your S3 Graphics software. 13.3.1 Software Removal with Vista Uninstall Step 1. With Windows Vista: Click Start, then Control Panel. Step 2.
Caution: Windows will not physically delete the S3Graphics Driver and Utilities files. After reboot, Windows may be able to identify your hardware and will try to reinstall the drivers. 13.3.2 Software Removal with XP Add/Remove Programs Step 7. With Windows XP: Click Start, then Settings, Control Panel. Step 8. Double-click Add or Remove Programs to open the Add or Remove Programs window. Step 9.
Caution: Windows will not physically delete the S3Graphics Driver and Utilities files. After reboot, Windows may be able to identify your hardware and will try to reinstall the drivers. 13.3.3 Software Removal Using Device Manager Step 1. Vista: Click Start. Right click Computer. Click Manage. XP: Right click My Computer. Click Manage. Step 2. The Computer Management window will appear. In the left panel, click Device Manager. Step 3. The right panel of the window will display a list of devices.
Step 5. The Confirm Device Removal window will appear. Click OK. Step 6. The System Settings Change window will appear, asking “Do you want to restart your computer now?” Select No. Step 7. For the changes to take full effect, you must now reboot. If you are going to physically remove your S3 Graphics hardware: Click Start, Shutdown, Shutdown. Remove the board from your system now before rebooting the system. If you will keep your current S3 Graphics hardware in the computer.
SECTION 14 TROUBLESHOOTING Below are some of the common answers and solutions available for questions and problems that can occur with display driver installation and use. No Display on System Boot Verify that your graphics card is properly seated in its slot. Verify that all display cables are properly connected to your card. Verify that connected displays are plugged-in and receiving power.
Windows Driver Roll Back feature If you encounter problems after updating your drivers under Windows Vista or XP, you may use the Driver Roll Back feature to reinstall the previous “good” driver and restore any driver settings that were changed when the new driver was added. To roll back to the previous version of a driver Step 1. In Windows Vista or Windows XP, click Start, then Control Panel. Step 2. In Windows Vista, click System & Maintenance, then click System.
Step 5. Windows will then restore the files and settings for the previously installed display driver. Once the previous driver is restored, click Close. You will then be prompted to restart your computer to complete the driver roll back. Software Updates Windows Updates Your S3 Graphics software has been tested with versions of the Windows operating systems available at the time of the software’s release.
SECTION 15 GLOSSARY This glossary includes definitions for only a few of the terms used in the S3 Graphics User Manuals. Numerous on-line glossaries are available if the graphics term you are looking for is not listed below. Brightness - Visually, brightness reflects the intensity (or luminance) of the image going from darker to lighter. In S3 ScreenToys Desktop color, brightness represents the lowering or raising of the gamma curve.
Multi-Monitor – A Windows feature that allows multiple video cards to be active, each one displaying a portion of the entire desktop. Support for two monitors can be accomplished through the use of either two separate or one dual head adapter. With two separate display adapters, there are two separate drivers driving the separate displays, with each one displaying a portion of an extended desktop. Dual Head adapters, such as S3 Graphics GPUs, simulate the presence of two video cards with a single chip.
