> > >> > I've connected my laptop to a lot of HDTV's and whenever I switch > > >> > the output to display on both screens, black bars appear on the > > >> > left and right of my laptop screen so it displays at 4:3, and the > > >> > HDTV output is 16:9 but looks horizontally stretched. Does > > >> > anyone know how to keep the output at 16:9 on both screens? > > >> > > > >> > - Grant > > >> > > >> You don't give a lot of information here. Are you using mirrored > > >> screen or an extended desktop? Also what is the desktop environment or > > >> window manager you use? > > >> > > >> On thing that might help is to provide the output of xrandr. > > > > > > I'm using xfce4, but I'm not sure if I'm using a mirrored screen or an > > > extended desktop. All I do is plug the laptop into the HDTV with an HDMI > > > cable and hit the keyboard shortcut to switch screens which brings up a > > > little dialog. > > > > There is nothing too complex here, if the TV and laptop are showing the > > same thing, one screen is *mirroring* the other, otherwise, if you see > > different things in different screens, you're using an extended desktop. > > > > > I was able to change the resolution from 1024x768 to 1366x768 with > > > xfce4's Display settings, but when I disconnect and reconnect to the > > > HDTV it displays at 1024x768 again. Do you know how to select the > > > output resolution for an external screen permanently? Is this done in > > > xorg.conf? > > > > This is, I'd guess, a "preferred" video mode announced through EDID, > > where the TV, even if it supports 1366x768, will anounce 1024x768 as > > preferred. You could do the change with a small xrandr one-liner, and > > there must be some way to do it through xorg.conf, although I don't know > > how. > > > > In the end, having the output of xrandr (both before and after you > > change the video modes) would help *a lot*, as it answers most of our > > questions... > > You can set this up either with xranrd entries in your ~/.xprofile or in your > /etc/X11/xorg.conf
I experimented with xorg.conf, but I think the problem is with the xfce4 display switching component. If I don't have anything pertinent in xorg.conf and I reboot with the HDTV connected, both screens come up in 1366x768. I can even display and un-display either of the two screens in the xfce4 Display settings and they come up in 1366x768. But if I use the small xfce4 display switcher dialog that comes up when I hit the keyboard shortcut, the resolution always drops to 1024x768 on both screens if I choose "Both displays cloned". - Grant
