Screen resolution problems on new HP Spectre x360

[Grambers]

 Apps (including browsers) working on my new PC seem to have trouble detecting my 1920x1080 screen resolution. The settings menu assures me I am on the maximum Full HD resolution; if I do a 'print screen', it yields an image that's 1920px across and 1080px down; and if I watch a video on YouTube or Vimeo and manually crank up the quality to 1080p, things look good. In short, my computer is capable of playing Full HD, as per the laptop specs. However, when I run any browser-based screen resolution test it tells me my screen is detected as being 1280x720. I've tried at least five different websites on two different browsers - Chrome and Edge. Indeed, this is the kind of quality I am getting when I ordinarily play videos. The quality I am getting on BBC iPlayer is good, but certainly not Full HD and - most problematically - my own HD videos look for all the world to be playing at 720p, despite (the same files) looking absolutely gorgeous when played on my (admittedly much larger full HD TV). I am deeply confused. I have spent more than an hour today chatting with a HP customer service rep who took remote control of my system, reinstalled graphics drivers and did a winsock reset. Nothing has changed. My computer is clearly capable of playing HD, but I cannot get certain apps (including native video players on my system) to display HD properly.

Other evidence that something is amiss is the look of certain buttons and dialogues. The three buttons in the top right corner of Chrome (minimise, expand, shut down) look like they belong on a machine from the early 2000s, and the dialogue box I conducted the HP Support chat today on was the same.

Despite all this, I still have a nagging doubt: are my eyes deceiving me, and is this just the way a 13-inch laptop screen 'does' HD? As things stand, HP is coming to collect back the laptop on Thursday with a view to giving me a replacement and I just don't know for sure whether there is anything wrong. But I have no doubt that the kind of quality I am getting when I go into Vimeo or YouTube and manually crank up the quality to 1080p is BETTER than when I play my (1080p) videos files off my desktop using, say, VLC or Windows Media Player. And I know for sure that when I play the same video file on my 42-inch HD TV and my new 13-inch HD laptop, the quality is worlds apart. 

Thanks.

[MKazi]

@Grambers

Let me take a moment to thank you for posting on the HP Support Forums. 

I have read your post comprehensively. I read that that the HD display is not upto the mark while playing HD videos. I further read that this Thursday, the laptop is being taken back by HP and get you a replacement. 

Please feel free to keep me posted for any further help once you get the replacement laptop. I'm always here to help. Cheers! 🙂

[Grambers]

Will do. Thanks. Though still agonising over whether it's worth sending back at all. However, for a computer that is supposed to wow me, I'm currently unwowed with the display at least.

[MKazi]

@Grambers

You're welcome. 

Honestly, we do not recommend using the third party apps as they aren't usually accurate. Although the YouTube and Vimeo players get the HD display to work fine. 

Do the videos stutter? Were you able to check offline videos?

If you have already updated the BIOS and the video card drivers then you may consider the replacement of the laptop and keep me posted for further help. 

Good luck!

[Grambers]

Hi,

I sent my laptop back and HP sent a new one today. Before I did anything, I went to the HP Support Assistant and updated all drivers (including a BIOS update and a new graphics driver). Sadly, upon testing, the problem is identical. The computer is capable of displaying Full HD video. YouTube automatically picks up the 1080 screen resolution fine. However, as before, browser-based screen resolution tests suggest they are detecting that the screen is 1280 x 720, and BBC iPlayer only plays videos at a maximum of 720p (See pic). Offline videos also look to be 720p too. 

Really frustrating. The PC is otherwise excellent, but it's really difficult to accept that a £1,000 plus laptop plays online video at a lower resolution than my 8-year-old Dell. 

[Grambers]

And in case there is any doubt over the issue, here is a screen resolution test using Javascript within HTML (see pic). The problem is clearly the fact that that browsers (I've tested Chrome and Edge) are telling apps and websites that the computer is 1280 x 720. There is no problems with the PC hardware - it's capable of playing Full HD. The problem is the communication between the PC hardware and browsers and apps.

[Grambers]

One final point of clarification: this is a particular problem as I do most of my video watching through BBC iPlayer. Unfortunately, BBC have discontinued their Windows 10 app, so I need to view through a browser, and the browser (as I have mentioned) is telling the site that it is dealing with a 1280 x 720 screen. There is no manual button to select resolution so I am stuck at 720p. One of my main motivations of buying this 2-in-1 laptop is that I can watch HD TV whenerver and whereever I want. At the moment, I can't. 

[MKazi]

@Grambers

I have escalated your concern to HP’s Support Team in your region to have it reviewed for available options, if any. You should be contacted within 4 business days (Excluding holidays & Weekends).

Response times may vary by region. Please send a Private Message, if you aren’t contacted within 4-5 business days.

[dan_291]

  I have new HP Spectre x360; when using screen resolution recommended 1920 X 1080, the mouse pointer is stuck in the TOP RIGHT CORNER of the display screen. If I move the cursor away from the top right corner position, it snaps back to the that position. This happens when using the Windows 10 desktop, a web browser (Chrome, and probably others) and a Office application (Word or Excel). This problem makes it very difficult or impossible to use the computer.

SOLUTION:   The only solution I have found is to use a lower resolution, such as 1680 X 1050.

  I chatted online with HP Support who tried changing and updating drivers, but this did not work. Has anyone else had this problem or another solution? Cheers. Dan.

[Pipeg]

I have exactly the same issue you describe with screen resolution. after sending my spectre 360 back I received today the new laptop and it is exactly the same as before.  I have an old 2016 HP and screen resolution is better than this Usd 1300 spectre. I am feeling hugely frustrated and disappointed