A Brief Overview for using PowerStripTM Software
for Display Timing and Resolution Control
(Updated 21 January 2002)
For some HTPC users you may find that using the above described method allows you to enable the additional resolutions and refresh rates that provide the needed compatibility with you TV monitor/projector. However, many home theater owners will have TV monitors/projectors that either require or can best use other resolutions and/or refresh rates that are simply not offered by the ATI drivers. For these home theater owners the only viable alternative is to purchase and install an additional software program called PowerStrip that is marketed by Entech. Version 3 (still in beta as of April 2001) is the first version of this product to provide support for Radeon graphics cards. PowerStrip v3 will allow you to create and store truly custom resolutions and refresh timings that can be fully optimized for your specific TV monitor/projector. You can click this link to
download a trial version of PowerStrip v3.1. It is recommended that you install the trial version to make certain it works correctly on your PC before you purchase the product. The trial version will not let you create or use any user-defined custom resolutions, but you can verify the software is otherwise compatible with your PC and you can use any of the standard or pre-defined custom resolutions provided with the software. Once you verify that PowerStrip v3 works on your PC you can click the following link to make your on-line purchase at $29.95. After you make your on-line purchase you will need to send an email to support@entechtaiwan.com requesting the "software key" to unlock your copy of PowerStrip 3.0. They will respond with an email that has attached a small software key program. When you receive you software key simply save the file on you HTPC hard drive then using Windows Explorer double click on the file name to run the program. You will then need to restart your PC for the update to PowerStrip v3 to be effective. Also, when you install PowerStrip v3 it is not configured to automatically load when you start your PC. Therefore, you will need to added the PowerStrip file: PStrip.exe to your Windows Startup group. The file PStrip.exe can be found in the folder: C:\Program Files\Powerstrip. You will need to add a shortcut to this file in the folder: C:\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp. Once this is done PowerStrip v3 is be loaded each time you boot up your HTPC. A new icon is added to the Windows task bar. To access the PowerStrip menu click (either right or left) and a menu will pop-up with the choices shown in the picture below:
POWERSTRIP POP-UP MAIN MENU
A second level menu will pop-up as you move the cursor over each of these menu items. You will typically need to start off by selecting Options then Monitor Information to either create or verify the correctness of the information concerning the TV monitor/projector you have connected to your HTPC. It is very important that the maximum resolution and maximum refresh rates are entered correctly for your specific TV monitor/projector. Once the monitor setting are correct you can begin to create Display Profiles. You do this from the main PowerStrip v3 pop up menu by selecting "Display Profiles" then "Configure". This will bring up the Display Profiles control panel.
DISPLAY PROFILES CONTROL PANEL
From this panel you will be able to select any of the pre-stored standard resolutions and refresh rates as well as any custom resolutions that have already been defined and saved. In the example of this control panel shown above a custom resolution of 720 x 480 pixels has been selected and this resolution has custom timing setting also defined. To add new custom resolutions you will need to double-click on the "Advanced timing options" button. This will bring up the Advance Timing Options control panel shown below.
ADVANCED TIMING OPTIONS CONTROL PANEL
The Advanced timing options panel is used to resize and center the video image on your display. You can use the arrow buttons on the left side of the control panel to do this. You can also manually enter very fine adjustments to any of the resolution or refresh timing values by using the individual controls on the right side of this panel.
From the Advanced timing options panel (above) click on the "Custom Resolutions" button to bring up the Custom Resolutions control panel shown below.
CUSTOM RESOLUTION CONTROL PANEL
On the left side of this panel there is window with a scroll bar that lists a set of pre-defined custom resolutions, many of which are tailored for use with HDTV monitors or projectors. These pre-defined resolutions are intended to support several different types of fixed resolution devices such as LCD and DILA projectors. Also included are a number of resolutions, labeled "HDTV standard" and "HDTV derived", that are suitable for CRT based HDTV projectors (e.g., 960 X 540p). As you click on a listing in this window the associated resolution and timing values will be shown on the right side of the custom resolutions panel. For example, as shown in the screen capture above, when you highlight the predefined resolution of 720 x 480p on the left side of the control panel the information on the right side will change to indicate the selected resolution and the associated refresh timing setting.
You can also create your own custom resolution by modifying any of these values. Once you have defined the new resolution and associated timings you want to add you then click the "Add new resolution" button. Powerstrip will indicate if the display driver has accepted the new resolution –or- more likely indicate that your PC will need to be restarted to see if your display adapter has accepted the new resolution. Once the new resolution is accepted, and after your PC has been restarted, you should be able to select this resolution from the PowerStrip Display Profiles pop-up menu. The new resolution should now be available on "Display profiles">>"Configure" control panel by clicking on the Resolution pointer. If it is not there then the new resolution was not accepted. Note that you cannot save any use user-defined custom resolutions with the trial version of PowerStrip 3. You must purchase and register PowerStrip 3 in order to use this feature. Also the trial version forces you to view a PowerStrip Tips page for several seconds each time the program is loaded (typically when you boot up your PC). Both of these limitations are in place to encourage you to purchase a copy. You can also create Application Profiles to automatically switch to the desired resolution when a specific application (e.g., ATI DVD Player) is run.
Perhaps the greatest challenge for a new user of PowerStrip v3.1 is coping with the lack of documentation. There is no user manual available and the user interface includes some significant changes from prior versions of PowerStrip. While it is not possible to provide a comprehensive set of instructions on the use of PowerStrip v3.1, it is hoped that the above brief overview provides enough information to get you started.