Resolution vs Disply size etc

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1

Hi There,

I try to ge a better understanding of the resolution’s of displays etc.
For example.

We have a 4k Display Ultra Hd.
Screen resolution 3840 x 2160.
Screen Size 16:9

We have a Minix Neo X7mini connected.
In the settings output is set to HDMI 1920x1080/60hz in the Android settings

In the default setup for Xibo CMS i currently use the Resolution 1080HD Landscape setting for the layout. 1920x1080
I als created an additional ‘Resolution’ for 3840x2160!

One of the regions there contained a Webpage. But that wad not readable.
I also added two JPG pictures.
One with a resolution of 1200x1200, Size 1920x1080
One with a resolution of 1200x1200, Size 3840x2160 (Smame as the resolution of the Display)

If I use the large resolution I get this message.
"This Layout is very large, So we have disabled Region Drag and drop"
If I resize the Layout the message does not go away. I need to reload the layout.

So my questions

What would the optimal settings be for this setup?
Resolutions, Display settings, Layout.

What would the best format for a Jpeg be that needs to be displayed full screen? Irt the Resolution of Layout, player and display.
Currently my Jpegs seem to be a bit Blury. Especially the text in the Jpeg’s.

I also see a field “screen dimensions” in the “Display setting” “Location” section.
Currently I did not configure anything there. How does that influence the display/content?

Where can I find additional information to optimize the output? Beides this great community :slight_smile:

Kind regards

1 Like
2

Hi,

General note, layout resolution should match display resolution

So if you want to have a layout with 3840 x 2160 resolution you should (as you did) create a new custom resolution.

Now depending on the monitor on which you will design this layout ( so not the tv connected to minix) your resolution or the 4k resolution that’s there by default will display this message ‘This layout is very large…’

In this message you have instructions on how to deal with it, so:

  • click option, select enlarge designer few times (probably 4-5 times) to make this message disappear and to enable ‘drag and drop’ layout design.

It’s quite possible that you won’t see much and it will be troublesome to design the layout, so:

  • Zoom out your browser a little bit (to 80% or something)
    Then you can design your layout in a normal fashion

Screen dimensions, if you send this layout with this resolution to your display device and if that resolution is a native resolution for it, then, it should be displaying it fine. You can check ‘Screen Size’ on status window to make sure.
If not you can override screen dimensions from the display settings page.

Images, if you want to use full screen images then yes 3840x2160 (probably with no more than 96dpi)
If you want to display images in a smaller regions then either images should have the same aspect ratio as the region or the same resolution as the region then it should be fine.

Alternatively just use standard 1080p resultion on layout it will be scaled to 3840x2160 on your display it’s the same aspect ratio so it should be also full screen (if not you know where you can override screen dimensions)

I don’t have anything with more than 1080p currently to test with, but it should be fine.

1 Like
3

Hi Peter,

Thanks for all the info.
I think I am on the right track then.
I just notice that the native screen on of the Minix X7 is Christal clear on the screen. But the content in the Xibo Client is not. A webpage for example is hard to read in 1920,1080 layout. But it is unreadable in a 3840,2160 layout.
So I am either doing something wrong there or the transcoding is messing up the display.

Just one more,
What do you mean by "You can check ‘Screen Size’ on status window to make sure"
What Status window?

Thanks

4

Well with webpage it will also depend on scaling option, you might need to experiment with that.

Status screen on Android device, so when you open Xibo app on the device there is (or will be when you click with mouse) an action bar at the top with 3 buttons:
‘Hide’
‘Status’
‘3 dots’ (connect to CMS, check licence, settings, about)

and if you click on the ‘Status’ it will show status window with all the important information, including screen size.

5

Ah…That one.

I had seen it on my Smart phone.

But not on the Minix.
As soon as I start Xibo there I see the bar half a second an then it is gone. No time to click it.
Android Profile is set in the Display
Action Bar mode is Timed in the Profile.
Timer is set to 30 seconds. Just set it to 60 but that does not make a difference

6

If you don’t have any 3rd party software that may do this, then that’s odd.

Anyway if you have a mouse connected to that minix, you should be able to click on the screen (while Xibo app is running) to bring back action bar or is it disappearing then too?

So in general action bar is useful so it would be good if you could have access to it, but it is possible to get status information via CMS, please see this for details - How to Get Status Information.

7

It does not show.
And not if i click on the screen either.

So I used the Debug option.
I see only this size. 1280 x 720 Does not look like the 1920x1080 set in the CMS :frowning:

This is the output:
{“statusDialog”:“General Information\nVersion: 1.7\nCode Version: 57\nContent Management System: http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx\XiBO/xmds.php\nStorage Selected: Internal Storage. 84.0%\nDisplay Name: NEO X7 Scherm Service Development Android\nLicenced: true (trial, 13 days remaining)\nRegistered: true\nCurrent Layout: 11\nScreen Size: 1280 x 720\nMemory Limit: 384 MB\nMemory Allocation: 45 MB\nImage Cache Hit Rate: 0,96\nScreen Shot Request Interval: 0\n\nCMS Status\nRegister: Registered.\nSchedule: Up to date\nRequired Files (Inside Download Window): Up to date. 15/15\nQueued Network Connections: 0\n\nSchedule Status\nAll layouts (* = not scheduled): 11* (Default), \nNext: CMS\nScheduled Layouts: 11, \nValid Layouts: 11, \nInvalid Layouts: \n\nBlacklist\n\nLast 5 log messages\n\n\nInstall Service Status\nUpdate Window: 00:00 - 23:59\nVersion Information from CMS: \n”}

8

Hi Peter,

If I enlarge the Designer screen and change for example a background, Save the position, the designer shrinks back to it’s original size.
Is there a way to Save the size of the Designer?

And do you have nay Idea why the Xibo App uses a lower Screen size 1280x720?

PS:
I uninstalled the App from the Minix.
Reinstalled it and now the Status bar showd once.
Screen size stil in 1280x720 mode.
After the first layout was loaded I could no longer access the status bar.

Change:
Found this article on the Sping Signage Site. Does that mean the app does not run 1920x1080?
https://springsignage.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/72658-recommended-android-hardware

Kind regards

9

Firstly, the resolution of your panel doesn’t matter at all - it is the resolution of your device that is important. If you are running a Minix x7 with stock firmware, the resolution of your device is 720p which the TV will upscale accordingly.

You can get a 1080p firmware from the Minix forum which will mean your device is outputting 1920x1080 and your TV will still upscale.

If you want to output natively at 4k, then you will need a 4k device. I appreciate that this is unfortunate given your other topics about not being able to install Xibo directly onto the TV.

Realising that your device output will be a maximum of 1080p, it doesn’t make any sense to add a 4k layout - you will just make it harder to design the layout (because the layout is far larger than the design window you have available to you).

There will be a way to do this in 1.8.0-alpha3 (it is one of our requirements for the new designer).

It sounds a lot like you have the Minix action bar installed/enabled and have clicked the double down arrow - which means hide the bar and never come back. Dragging the mouse UP from the bottom of the screen should bring the bar back - from then onwards you can let Xibo hide it for you (in which case it will always return).

10

That did the trick.
Can’t remember hiding the Minix action Bar. But that was it!

Thanks.

The 1080 makes sense. No use to make it bigger.
Tried to get and update from Minux but did not jet succeed to get the box connected to my PC.
Looks like the cable is broken.

Kind regards

11

Managed to do the update to release 240.
Was quite a search to find out why the device would not connect to the PC.
Had to check the option in Android settings USB …pfff

But now the app is running on 1080 resolution.
The quality has improved massively.

Thanks.

12

Very pleased that all of that made sense and helped! :smile:

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