Thursday, January 19, 2012

Samsung SyncMaster TA350 - Fix Fuzzy or Blurry Text and Fonts

I recently got a Samsung SyncMaster TA350 for my office.  I was really excited about have a nice 23" monitor for laptop and have a nice dual-head display.

The Samsung have VGA and two HDMI ports.  My laptop has DVI and HDMI so I opted to use the HDMI connection.  I was extremely disappointed to the quality of the image.  Text was blurry / fuzzy and I got it slightly better by changing the subpixel settings in my OS and messing with the options in the OSD on the Samsung.  I confirmed that the output was 1920 x 1080 however things just didn't look the best.

There are two tricks to getting great output to your Samsung.

  • I did some research and opted to buy a DVI to HDMI cable.  DVI is just subset of the features of HDMI so cables are less thatn $10. Using this cable improved things a lot.

  • You need to tell the Samsung that you have a computer connected to it.  It is not intuitative at all but it's simple. (Just be sure that your cable is connected to HDMI port 1).



  1. Press the "Source" button on the remote.

  2. Scroll to HDMI/DVI 1

  3. Press the "Tools" button on the remote

  4. Select "Edit Name"

  5. Scroll and select "DVI PC" from the list of inputs in the menu and confirm


Voila! You should have crisp text / fonts on your Samsung.  I wish that Samsung had this in their manual.

Update January 26th, 2014:

  • If you no longer have the remote, I have not been able to find a solution that works without the remote. You might be able to program an universal remote control unit to work with this device however I have not tried.

  • This probably won't work for the HDMI 2 port. Only the HDMI 1 port is PC compatible (just look on the back of the unit, it even says so).

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50 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 22, 2012 at 2:23 PM

    Thanks alot. Your last part about changing the name to DV1 PC saved my day. Thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 24, 2012 at 11:40 AM

    Ditto. I've been digging around the menus off and on for months without luck. Thanks for posting the secret handshake.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Peter J. FarrellJanuary 24, 2012 at 11:45 AM

    Glad to be of help. I'd have to give the monitor a 4 of 5 stars, but the menus only get 1 star. I never thought that editing the name would make a difference.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJanuary 24, 2012 at 5:29 PM

    Thank you for the post! Saved my day, as well. However, this also works with HDMI to HDMI. I picked the source as "PC" and the picture looks so much better!

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousFebruary 26, 2012 at 1:11 AM

    Thanks, thanks thanks! I was going to complain to my dealer. You saved the day.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousFebruary 29, 2012 at 4:56 PM

    Many thanks. I spent hours without finding a solution. I owe you one. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousMarch 10, 2012 at 10:11 PM

    thank you for tip..worked like a charm..
    just one little issue - there's no sound after i connected the laptop to the monitor..are any other settings need to be changed? i was under impression that current hdmi cables to support audio..
    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousMarch 13, 2012 at 2:02 PM

    Thanks! Υou are my hero!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousMarch 20, 2012 at 2:44 PM

    This is great. I had the same problem with my Samsung 52" LN52B750 TV and your solution fixed my problem. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Peter J. FarrellMarch 20, 2012 at 3:02 PM

    @Dim, most computer video cards do not send audio over HDMI cables since they are video cards. Some devices like DVD/BlueRay players or Roku send audio over HDMI too -- but it's not a requirement.

    I had to use a 1/8" mini-stereo to patch audio from my laptop to my Samsung monitor.

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousApril 2, 2012 at 9:12 AM

    Thank you all! I was going crazy trying to figure out why the text was so blurry on my Samsung B2330HD using HDMI to HDMI cable, and changing the name fixed the problem.

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousApril 10, 2012 at 3:50 PM

    What a lifesaver! Thank you so much....so glad this popped up on the first page of the google results!

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousApril 10, 2012 at 5:48 PM

    I have spent at least 3 hours in the menus of this silly thing and have not been happy with my results. Thankfully, google brought up your blog post as the first result on google. 30 seconds and things are beautiful. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousMay 4, 2012 at 7:12 AM

    Thank you so much.

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousMay 14, 2012 at 2:08 AM

    Thanks for this! I was about to be resolved with the thought, "I should've believed those reviews on making HDTV as secondary monitor would display fuzzy text" Good thing I made a quick google search with this entry on the first page :) Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
  16. AnonymousMay 20, 2012 at 3:33 PM

    Thanks, Thanks I spent a full day triyng to improve it and I was decided to back this unit to shop due to the poor image quality.
    Now it works fine

    ReplyDelete
  17. AnonymousJune 28, 2012 at 11:07 PM

    Selecting PC is similar, but will also send sound via HDMI, whereas "DVI PC" does not

    ReplyDelete
  18. AnonymousAugust 8, 2012 at 1:12 PM

    Thanks Peter. You were more helpful than the manufacturer's site and their manual!

    ReplyDelete
  19. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2012 at 1:35 AM

    I have bought this monitor a year ago and I had to live with the horrible blurry text all that time but you cam along finally and saved me from that maze :)

    Thanks for your great tip

    ReplyDelete
  20. AnonymousOctober 22, 2012 at 11:33 AM

    Genius Brother

    ReplyDelete
  21. AnonymousOctober 28, 2012 at 2:15 AM

    Selecting PC with HDMI cable unblurred my display. Thanks a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  22. AnonymousOctober 30, 2012 at 3:29 AM

    We became this monitor from Microsoft as a gift. As soon as wo got it I tryed do connect it with HDMI to my PC. I wass horribly dissapointed when I have seen the picture. It was fuzzy and blury. I bought a new graphic card and a new HDMI cable, but thinhgs didn't get better. I contacted Samsung support and they blamed my PC for that :/ A few minutes ago I found your blog and in less than 30 secodns the picture was sharp as a blade. Thanks to you. Shame on Samsung support.

    ReplyDelete
  23. AnonymousDecember 1, 2012 at 10:01 AM

    Thank you! It worked!

    ReplyDelete
  24. AnonymousJanuary 12, 2013 at 2:37 AM

    Your tip is a f**king good one, thanks 1 million times from french user !!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. AnonymousJanuary 14, 2013 at 8:44 AM

    Hey, I was looking for this option for more than weeks. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  26. AnonymousJanuary 31, 2013 at 2:42 AM

    Hello.does anyone know how can i do all this without the remote??cos i lost it and i cant find anything by the monitor buttons..thanksss

    ReplyDelete
  27. Muhammad EmamMarch 15, 2013 at 9:37 AM

    Thanks man ... This made my day

    ReplyDelete
  28. JohnMarch 15, 2013 at 10:09 AM

    You are the best. Thank you so much. I was about to buy a new f**** monitor for this reason. Thanks again

    ReplyDelete
  29. mimisMarch 31, 2013 at 1:12 AM

    what we can do for the port hdmi 2 ?
    I turned on PC mode but text is blurred
    HDMI 1 works great

    ReplyDelete
  30. CherifApril 18, 2013 at 8:55 AM

    I really thank you for your comment
    taking your time to explain your experience surely helped a lot of people
    shame on Samsung and Praise your mind
    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  31. HariodMay 1, 2013 at 11:50 AM

    Thanks from me too. I have 2 of these connected to 2 computers and was about to return them both!

    ReplyDelete
  32. SteveMay 11, 2013 at 1:07 PM

    Thanks wasn't using HDMI for the longest time because of this but had to switch to HDMI for the longer cable today.

    ReplyDelete
  33. AnonAugust 6, 2013 at 6:43 AM

    I love you, if you ever need a back rub just ask

    ReplyDelete
  34. cchauNovember 10, 2013 at 8:57 AM

    I have the same issue. Using hdmi input produced fuzzy display, however I have lost my remote. Anyone know how to change source to 'DVI PC' using the monitors touch menu? I have spend hours on it and cannot get it to work. My current source is DVI to HDMI.

    I understand if I used VGA, which would use source: PC, the display is great. Unfortunately I don't have VGA out in my pc

    Desperate for some help.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Peter J. FarrellNovember 10, 2013 at 9:08 AM

    I tried using a bunch of combos on the front of the screen touch panel, however the only way I've found to get to the Source menu is to use the remote.

    ReplyDelete
  36. ChristopherDecember 27, 2013 at 4:07 AM

    You just saved my day!

    ReplyDelete
  37. TomJanuary 7, 2014 at 6:55 AM

    I have the same problem, no remote (Dog actually ate it!!!) so can't access the tools button. Can anyone help? I've contact Samsung Support and have referenced this website. Will let you know if they can help!

    ReplyDelete
  38. AlbertFebruary 8, 2014 at 5:32 AM

    Try switching "PC/AV Mode" (Menu -> Setup&Reset->PC/AV Mode) to "PC" instead of "AV"

    ReplyDelete
  39. Video HDMI desktopFebruary 15, 2014 at 10:09 PM

    […] toch gevonden hier .. Samsung SyncMaster TA350 ? Fix Fuzzy or Blurry Text and Fonts | The Harmonious Programmer Bleek dat ik toch iets in de settings van mijn monitor ("edit name") moest doen.. Ni […]

    ReplyDelete
  40. PeiWeiMay 6, 2014 at 6:53 AM

    Thank you for saving me a ton of frustration. Why Samsung chooses to refer to this setting as if it is just a source nickname bewilders me.

    ReplyDelete
  41. NorbertDJune 13, 2014 at 1:28 AM

    Ahhw mate thank you so much, I was totally disappointed when I first connected this beatutiful monitor to my laptop. I used it for weeks with this low compressed JPG-like image, and know... It's wonderful, Thank You Again!

    ReplyDelete
  42. LuisMay 3, 2015 at 1:44 PM

    Very very thanks, I was looking for this for a long time :D

    ReplyDelete
  43. K ZhNovember 6, 2015 at 7:57 AM

    Unbelievably it works with my P2570HD model. Thanks a lot

    ReplyDelete
  44. RogerDecember 8, 2015 at 3:24 PM

    Fantastic! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  45. JoeJanuary 13, 2016 at 11:59 AM

    Wow... I have a TA350 and this has bothered the heck out of me for almost two years! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Peter, take a bow.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Pat FerretJanuary 27, 2016 at 6:51 AM

    Thank you, thank you, thank you! I found the "change port name" trick on other sites, but none og them remembered to mention the fact that only the HDMI1 port is PC compatible. Problem solved!

    ReplyDelete
  47. FabioTexOctober 14, 2016 at 6:36 AM

    Thank you very much, thanks to you and the web I did not spend the entire day trying to fix this by myself. All the best!~

    ReplyDelete
  48. XaviMay 9, 2019 at 5:02 PM

    So simple, yet so genius.

    ReplyDelete
  49. UnknownAugust 8, 2020 at 9:14 AM

    Okay so it's 2020 and I'm using an 8 year old monitor that worked beautifully with my old computer (Samsung HDTV Monitor 1080p). I got a new computer and plugged in an HDMI cable and the monitor looked terrible. I found your article, went into the Source and changed the name to DVI PC and the monitor now looks great! I did have to redo the audio settings to get sound. THANK YOU SO MUCH! You are a lifesaver.

    ReplyDelete
  50. MyNamePedroNovember 21, 2020 at 2:28 PM

    Holy shit, I've had this "1080p" TV for over 5 years and had just accepted the fact that it was crap as a PC monitor...thank you thank you thank you!

    ReplyDelete

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