While going through some photos it occured to me just now that the color depth seems skewed a bit. Its like looking at images on one of the old 4096 color devices. As far as I can tell there's nowhere inside of wm5 to change bit-depth on the display and the only thing I can guess is that one of the programs I installed recently may have tweaked a registry entry somewhere. Are rescoe photo viewer or conduit pocket artist known for this kind of behavior? Other than that a few games are the only other 3rd party apps I've installed.
The display on the Universal shows 16 bit (565) but the pictures themselves are 24 bit. If you look at them on a PC you will see the full quality.
I'd be willing to accept that explanation if it wasnt for the fact that not so long ago the image clarity was exceptional... the color depth and apparent dithering has gone from amazing to hardly tolerable. I was poking around inside morphgear and saw that it had driver changing options and that the configuration menu (graphics or otherwise) seemed to make the display go a bit wonky.
Hrmmm... attempted a hard reset and still no better. It did occur to me that I hadnt really done anything graphical until recently and not TOO long ago I had an LCD replacement done by pocketpctechs.com. Does anybody know if they use the OEM LCDs or if maybe I would have gotten an old 4096 color model?
You could try and check with the attached testpatterns.
They are basically three vertical gradients - greyscale, red, green, and blue
Each gradient in turn is composed of 3 columns
left column: 16bit - Rx5bits (32 levels) Gx6bits (64 levels) Bx5bits (32 levels)
middle column: 24bit - RGBx8bits (256 levels)
right column: 12bit - RGBx4bits (16 levels)
There's two files - one with dithering and one without (banding). The dithering method used is a basic Floyd-Steinberg which is used in most dithering engines next to a regular dither (not included, but I have one of those in the same kit
Be sure to view the image full-screen, as otherwise you will run into resizing issues
What you'll be looking for, essentially, is which of the two left/right columns most resembles the center column. Unless you have a full 24bit device, there should be either banding or dithering occuring, and the center column should look like the left or right column.
If you're not sure - load the image, take a screengrab ("Magic SS" functions with VGA), and attach the result here for us to peek at. I'm *assuming* that it would grab the actual output data and would thus get us the screengrab post-bitreduction
well, it would APPEAR that everything is in order, in the standard non-dithered image the left column matches up best visually to the center which would indicate a 16bit display, as the device is rated. however, in all my time of graphics work, downsampling a 24bit image to display on a 16bit display has never produced such unsightly results
magicss will force the saved BMP into 565 (16 bit). For a true 24 bit screen capture use my ScreenShotCE program (search Handango)
(of course this is a red herring since the screen is 16 bit, and not 18 or 24 bit.)
yeah, the point was to get a screengrab of what he's actually seeing - not what's being sent to the driver -before- downsampling/etc.
low color deth on display
I have the some problem about.. the color deth is low, I have bad quality, it look like 4096 colors, the today screen, the pics, the movies.. everything, I tryed a hard resert, but nothing to do..
Some help ???
MDA II - WM5 2.01a
Related
Just got my nice new XDA2...
And I am dismayed to find that the screen colours/wallpapers etc, all seem to be dithered images in a low colour depth.
Instead of smooth gradients, it seems banded from one colour to the next, and shades are made up of dots instead of many colours.
As this has 65,556 colours, I was not expecting this.
Its much like a real pc running in too low a colour depth - but unlike a real pc where this can easily be changed to 24bit or 32bit colour, I can find no such option on my XDA2. Anyone got any ideas, or is it really this bad (because that's how I would genuinely describe it - bad...)
Bumping ^
Anyone?
Same problem we all have, I think it is down to pixel alignment as if one tilts the top of the Xda II backwards the pixels and display appear how one would expect.
I feel cheated, i used to have a Dell X5 Advance. That display was flawless. Now i cant use some colors, especially blue. It gets really messed up...
Its sad
I still never found a satisfactory explanation, as it STILL looks as though the screen is simply NOT displaying anything like 65K colours...
Discovered this bug early on, but found a workaround. The problem seems to be a contrast issue (too high). Use the Pictures application and adjust the contrast of your pictures one notch downward.
I had an iPAQ H5555 before the XDA II (and a long list of iPAQ's before the H5555 ) I have no complaints over the display on my XDA II colours are crisp and clear, focus contrast and brightness are fine also.
Are you having problems with the default wall paper themes or other inages you have installed?
I have problems with any image used as the today background.
Even those created in Paint Shop Pro.
On my PC, they are smooth, gradiented fills, and blend smoothly.
Soon as you put them onto the XDA2 however, and it gets 'Banded' terribly. Legs appear in what seems like just two colours, a light flesh pink in the mid, and another lighter colour for the outline - a sharp jump from one colour to another - no gradiented fill in between.
Alas, I can't of course attach REAL screen shots, as in so doing the images would appear fine on here, as the images really ARE fine - its only their appearance on the XDA2 that goes haywire.
A simple example of what I mean, SIMULATED however, is as attached.
I have done this simply by posting a view from my window, in true colour 24K format, and then a copy of it, with the colour depth reduced to just 256 colours, with no error diffusion used.
This is almost EXACTLY what the resultant appearance is like on my XDA2. But sure enough, as some users say, if you ANGLE the XDA2, this becomes a lot less pronounced.
I am at a loss to understand why it does it at all however, becuase as far as I know, current screen technology does not need to suffer an issue such as this.
Mmmmmm.....
I have not found any sollution to the problem.
I am saddened to say, but it seems like it's the phone to blame.
So much for 65K Transflective being the bees knees.
I have designed a batch of about 60 themes for the phone, using photos. No matter what quality I save at, or even saving as .bmp based, half of them look terrible, with skin tones such as legs being made up of a lighter outline colour, with a big pool of a darker colour in the middle - TWO colours used to make up a part of an image that should be 100's of colours.
Terrible.
Even worse, I notice now, that this applies to Windows Media Player, playing back videos too.
If you angle your head/the XDA2 a certain angle, this reduces the effect. But I mean come on.
Obviously (based on my last comment there) this is a limitation of the screen technology.
Not impressed by far is all I can really say.
This annoys me too.
It feels like somewhere deep inside the XDA2 there's a hardcoded 4096 colour setting left over from the XDA 1. It's especially noticable on web pages.
You should bring this device back to where you got it from and test it side by side with another XDA II using the same themes.
The quality of my screen is perfect and the colours are all vivid and no banding appears unless the theme itself has banding.
I had an iPAQ 5455 that had the same problem as yours, colours appeared to only show 4096 colours 8bit. I sent back and it was replaced with another one that had a perfect screen.
Cheerio
Howard
Mmm - now this topic is getting interesting...
Anyone else think that there is a problem?
I have hinted all along that it's as if the XDA2 is only displaying images in a limited number of colours, and to now hear other people saying the same kind of thing makes for interesting reading...
hmmm
maybe i'm totally wrong, but: do you use CLEAR TYPE ???
i did activate it, and realized that eg. in the phone application the "talk" or the "number" buttons did really look awful.
so i turned clear type off, and my problems where gone... or was it all imagination ? i don't know ...
just a thought
servus ize|man
I do use it, so I'm about to experiment, and report back.
Was worth a try, but alas, no difference on my XDA2.
Just chose a couple of my themes that seem poorly 'dithered' and colour 'banded'.
Turned Cleartype off.
Did a reset...
And the themes look no different or better alas.
Damn.
Thanks for the suggestion though mate.
It REALLY does seem as if the 65000 colour XDA2 is forced into running with just 4096 colours - possibly even less.
But the way or angle you look at the screen makes all it look different, so then again, this could be an inherit issue, and in effect, 'feature' of the screen technology.
A very poor one if so, given the hype of how much much better this new screen is over the original XDA.
Probably one of the poorest that I have seen...
Here's my image quality.
I took your good image and put it onto my machine and took a screen shot. Here's the sample.... no banding!
Cheers
Exactly the same for me: no banding, good quality.
Perhaps something is wrong with your device.. :roll:
Er no guys...
Because that was just a SIMULATED screen shot, which I don't even use on my XDA2 - I just took a photo I had from my back window, and recoloured it down to 256 colours, to simulate what I see (as this is EXACTLY what it looks like with other themes).
I SHOULD have done it with a real theme I use, but in this case I hadn't.
I will post a theme file that is bad for me, and you can try that if you like...
My problem of course, is that all my many themes, are ADULT based images of my gf and her gf etc, so not suitable to post in a general forum such as this.
I have attached a screenshot of one of the 'tamer' ones though.
The screenshot, taken straight from ActiveSync Remote Display, appears FINE on a PC - it's on the DEVICE that it looks bad though.
So take a look at the screenshot, the area where I indicate bad 'banding' then run the also attached theme on your device, and tell me if you get 'banding' where I indicate, when you put the theme on your actual device?
Shadamehr,
It's the result of too much contrast. Try this:
1. Take the background bitmap you used for your theme and copy it to your XDAII.
2. Load the Pictures application and view the picture you just loaded.
3. Click Edit|Brightness And Contrast and adjust the contrast one or two settings downwards until the picture looks okay.
4. Save the picture, copy it to your PC and us it in your theme.
5. Try your new Theme on your XDAII and see if the banding problem goes away.
Hope this helps,
Rene
Why is it that today screen images show up rather poor? They seem to be locked to 16-bit color instead of 32. The original image show up fine in the album but has visible shades when used as today. I read that the Theme Generator (from Microsoft) always locks em to 16-bit. Any ideas? Thanks.
sekinoss said:
Why is it that today screen images show up rather poor? They seem to be locked to 16-bit color instead of 32. The original image show up fine in the album but has visible shades when used as today. I read that the Theme Generator (from Microsoft) always locks em to 16-bit. Any ideas? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Magician can only show 16-bit colour i.e. 65536 colours. But I know what you mean about the today screen. I used theme generator and get the impression its using closer to 12 bits.
sekinoss said:
Why is it that today screen images show up rather poor? They seem to be locked to 16-bit color instead of 32. The original image show up fine in the album but has visible shades when used as today. I read that the Theme Generator (from Microsoft) always locks em to 16-bit. Any ideas? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try to save your wallpaper in .gif 256 clrs 294*320, rename it to Default_stwater.gif and replace the default in /windows dir. Then, reset your today and all be fine!!!
I see. Almost forgot that the screen's only 16-bit. The problem is, the image showed up great on the Album, but displayed poorly when used as today (thru theme generator, image as wallpaper, etc.). GKill, I don't understand what you're talking about, but I'll try it out anyway. Thanks!
sekinoss said:
GKill, I don't understand what you're talking about, but I'll try it out anyway. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am talking about replacing the standart windows wallpaper (blue with win. logo) that located in widows dir. This image you cant delete, but it is possible to replace it! TYou must search this .gif file (see above) and copy to your desktop, then open in photoshop. Make own wallpaper and save it with similar dimensions in .gif. Then replace, like I said and you will receive own designed wallpaper as windows default!!!
It is good because it suitable as for portrait, as for landscape modes!
Hey thanks! The pic looked better now but I just realized that today's are limited to 256 colors (GIFs)?? If so then is there any way to display 16-bit pics? Thanks!
sekinoss said:
Hey thanks! The pic looked better now but I just realized that today's are limited to 256 colors (GIFs)?? If so then is there any way to display 16-bit pics? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear this!!!!! :wink:
Do you really want 16 bit??? Heh, but try to notice any difference (withe bare eyes) between your 16 bit unconverted (jpg for examle) and converted 256 colors .gif!!! What do you see??? Yes, it is VERY hard to see ane difference! Man, dont f*ck your brain, girl is better :lol: :lol: :lol:
Could someone help me with this: the gifs have only 256 indexed colours, so if you have a nice picture, like a sunset, the smooth gradient turns into bands or ugly pixels (dithering?). So how cannot one make the difference between a jpg and this horrible gif ? The jpg files are displayed OK in the album view. If I try to set one of these jpgs as desktop image it gets whitish like through a fog. How can I set a sunset without pixels or bands as the "desktop image". It seems so complicated ...Could someone please help ?
Could someone help me with this: the gifs have only 256 indexed colours, so if you have a nice picture, like a sunset, the smooth gradient turns into bands or ugly pixels (dithering?). So how cannot one make the difference between a jpg and this horrible gif ? The jpg files are displayed OK in the album view. If I try to set one of these jpgs as desktop image it gets whitish like through a fog. How can I set a sunset without pixels or bands as the "desktop image". It seems so complicated ...Could someone please help ?
kelu said:
Could someone help me with this: the gifs have only 256 indexed colours, so if you have a nice picture, like a sunset, the smooth gradient turns into bands or ugly pixels (dithering?). So how cannot one make the difference between a jpg and this horrible gif ? The jpg files are displayed OK in the album view. If I try to set one of these jpgs as desktop image it gets whitish like through a fog. How can I set a sunset without pixels or bands as the "desktop image". It seems so complicated ...Could someone please help ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When converting in photoshop, set dithering options to "off" (no dither). remember that display in Magician is 65K. This means maximum colour depth is 16 bit. In any case, I'm using the 256 .gif pics with beautiful landscapes and it looks great! If you want, I can post here one...
ok developed an app and just decided to use images for buttons.
Made a nice glossy button in photoshop, added to my app and put it on my HTC HD 2 for a test.
Why does the image not look as smooth? like I can see the blend/gradient lines.
Does the dpi have any effect and bit depth? Image was made at 72dpi
Cheers
DPI only comes into play if you print your image. Bit depth might make a difference. I don't know offhand the color bit depth of the HD2's display, but if it isn't the same as your computer's display, your buttons will look different.
yep its the colour depth. PC, i'm using 32bpp where as most phones are at 16bpp.
What language is the pictures being used in? Recently I've found out that C# uses Bilinear image resizing, which means it inserts estimated pixels in with the image when resizing.
Try the following:
1) save the image as a 24 or 32 bit png
2) make the image the same size as the button
I'm using c# and I'm not resizing the image at all.
The other thing i have noted is that if I add a picturebox to my app and set the image to the same one I'm using for my button, again I make sure I display the image at its actual size, it looks better than what it does for the button.
Why is that?
Same image, displayed at actual size looks, better in a picturebox than it does in my custom control?
just picked up the tab about an hour ago, and just started playing with it... so far, so good
the one thing that stuck out at me so far is the color... it's at least 300-500K too warm, and waaaaaay to vibrant...
is there anyway to tone it down a bit ?
I couldn't find a way to adjust/calibrate the color on the device. I wanted my photos to look correct ... so I created an action in Adobe Photoshop that correctly adjusts the photos before I download them to the SGT 10.1.
Below is a copy of a post I made on the post processing forum on fredmiranda.com:
A little work allowed me to create a Photoshop action that will take images from my normal calibrated NEC 2690 work environment and apply a transform that preps them for use on the Galaxy Tab 10.1. In case anyone needs to get images looking good on a tablet, here is what worked for me.
In Photoshop, I created three adjustment layers.
1. Hue/Saturation - Reduced saturation (this was to overcome the highly saturated LCD on the Samsung).
2. Curves - I adjusted the individual RGB channels in the curves adjustment layer to get the right color balance on the tablet.
3. Exposure/Gamma - I reduced the exposure slightly and adjusted the gamma value to offset the gamma on the tablet.
Then resized the image for the small screen and applied appropriate sharpening.
I standardized on using sRGB for output. I left the original images intact ... this action can be used to create a a custom set of images for display on the tablet.
The good news ... I ended up with a beautiful tool for sharing images.
UCSB said:
I couldn't find a way to adjust/calibrate the color on the device. I wanted my photos to look correct ... so I created an action in Adobe Photoshop that correctly adjusts the photos before I download them to the SGT 10.1.
Below is a copy of a post I made on the post processing forum on fredmiranda.com:
A little work allowed me to create a Photoshop action that will take images from my normal calibrated NEC 2690 work environment and apply a transform that preps them for use on the Galaxy Tab 10.1. In case anyone needs to get images looking good on a tablet, here is what worked for me.
In Photoshop, I created three adjustment layers.
1. Hue/Saturation - Reduced saturation (this was to overcome the highly saturated LCD on the Samsung).
2. Curves - I adjusted the individual RGB channels in the curves adjustment layer to get the right color balance on the tablet.
3. Exposure/Gamma - I reduced the exposure slightly and adjusted the gamma value to offset the gamma on the tablet.
Then resized the image for the small screen and applied appropriate sharpening.
I standardized on using sRGB for output. I left the original images intact ... this action can be used to create a a custom set of images for display on the tablet.
The good news ... I ended up with a beautiful tool for sharing images.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks
i guess that's the workaround...
not sure i like having to work around the color issue, but i guess it's better then sitting in front of a booker explaining why the model looks like she just took a bath in orange juice
I think turning off Auto adjust screen power in the screen settings helps the reds a little. There is also an app in the market that will let you adjust the RGB but for the life of me I can't remember what it is called. I uninstalled it because it made the launcher laggy but other than that it worked OK.
Found it: color filter service is the app. Its 99 cents.
jtseidner said:
Found it: color filter service is the app. Its 99 cents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
will definitely try this app...
rgb controls would be ideal, and will allow me to use a colorimeter...
thanks
hi,
Looking to write a program for android(java - eclipse -adt) which receives a photo, from either a local or network position , scales the photo to fit a specific border on the screen - then has the capability to analyse the photo colour in 16 different positions to find the mean colour value.
I then need the camera to be able to save a shot to a temporary local file position from where it can be analysed (in 16 diff positions again) for the mean colour , the mean colour of the camera pic can then be compared against the other photo's mean value and then various other features would be incurred if it was in +-'x' range for example.
To conclude , I need to know how to:
1. easily assign a number variable to a colour so I can manipulate it.
2. Need to know what libraries I need for receiving, sending and analysing the colours of these pictures.
3.need to know libraries for camera operation and how to save either a local temporary location or network location.
also suggestions regarding how to incorporate this into a clean ui with nice screen transitions would be great.
Answers / suggestions for all/any of these points will be much welcome,
thanks.
1) Are you looking for something like the Color class? http://developer.android.com/reference/android/graphics/Color.html