An apparatus which switches between video display modes, including a display panel having multiple display pixels formed in a matrix; a display controller coupled to the display panel and including a detector to detect a phase differential between received timing signals and output a synchronous determination signal, and a control signal generator coupled to the detector, the control signal generator to generate a first set of control signals corresponding to a first driving mode or a second set of control signals corresponding to a second driving mode in accordance with the synchronous determination signal, the first set of control signals to cause the display panel to display images in accordance with the first driving mode using a first set of selected display pixels, and the second set of control signals to cause the display panel to display images in accordance with the second driving mode using a second set of selected display pixels, with the second set having a number of selected display pixels different from the first set. Other embodiments are described and claimed.