I'm just fed up with this wallpaper issue in Manila.
When I got my Touch HD I figured someone will figure out why exactly is the 800x400 screen reducing wallpaper image quality to some low-res sh*t.
But, it's been months now, and no one seems to be working on this, so what the heck - I've decided to post it here, in hope that someone will actually try to do something about it.
What really disappointed me was the fact that even the latest Manila 3 from Topaz and Rhodium still has the exact same issue. So, it seems obvious to me that guys from HTC have no intention of fixing this. Why? I don't know.
But I do know it's frustrating to have all those fancy graphics, all that big, high-res screen, and then be forced to stare at THAT all day long.
Since I've seen so many great things being done to improve Manila, such huge changes to the whole system, I reckon there must be a way to improve this as well.
p.s. If no one cares, just take this as a bunch of rambling from a visual kind of guy
Oh, and just to share my info so far:
- the wallpaper picture format has no impact (I have tried them all - jpg, png, gif, bmp, 8 bit, 16 bit, 32 bit etc.)
- wallpaper picture size has no impact (it will look just as bad if you use 640x480, 800x400 or 8000x4800 pixel)
- if you put 800x400 wallpaper, it will not be stretched in any way - it will fill up the screen exactly 100% full, so people reporting 640x440 photos having better quality when used as wallpapers were having a placebo effect.
- the default Manila wallpaper is crisp sharp - no trace of any quality degradation.
- all default Manila wallpapers are very simple looking, with small number of colors, and very short range of colors (mostly it's just shades of gray and black)
- TF3D obviously applies some kind of compression algorithm to any applied photo, increasing brightness and applying very, very, very agressive image compression.
I believe it is this compression that is the cause of the image degradation. If someone could find the registry key to turn it off, I assume the problem would be solved. I also have a feeling that this compression was pushed up so high in order to speed up TF3d.
I am attaching an enlarge example of this compression. Original wallpaper vs. how it looks on TF3D.
I have no idea if I should move this somewhere else..
so Rozenthal, is this meant to be a development thread?
Well, more of a "hacking" if you want. If an application would arise from this, it would sure be great, but tracking down the problem itself and finding a manual solution would be also very much appreciated.
I posted this into this forum because I figure here's where most of the people dealing with Manila graphics are hanging out.
Bla, fixing up my CFC patch for Manila to be able to load PNGs would possibly solve this. However I seem to recall something about the background always being shrunk to 512x512 max with the vertexes then stretched to fill the screen. Not completely sure on that, though.
And yes, QTC compression (used for Manila) is definitely lossy. It can be pretty decent though, depending on the editor you use.
Chainfire said:
Bla, fixing up my CFC patch for Manila to be able to load PNGs would possibly solve this. However I seem to recall something about the background always being shrunk to 512x512 max with the vertexes then stretched to fill the screen. Not completely sure on that, though.
And yes, QTC compression (used for Manila) is definitely lossy. It can be pretty decent though, depending on the editor you use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Chainfire, you must be reading my mind! I was just now reading that thread of yours where you used CFC to resize images for QVG and was going to write to you
I believe that information you provided in that thread MUST be somehow linked to this problem. I have only skimmed through your thread, but from what I understand there is in fact a compression algorithm involved in all Manila graphic files?
About the 512x512 - I can almost certainly say that this is not the case in Touch HD. The images you use for wallpaper do not get scaled in any way if they're in 800x400 resolution. They stay the same (this was the first thing I tested). However, they do seem to go through some sort of compression that causes any kind of graphic to look bad.
So, you're saying there's a way to manually compress with better results? But what then? How do we apply the custom-compressed image? I'm guessing it would be necessary to first find out which file is the default Manilla wallpaper, and then replace the new one with that? Would that work? Can this somehow be automatized?
I know it's a lot of questions, and it's late, but any help would be appreciated, especially because I feel that this might be the closest we got to solving this damn problem.
Cheers!
Have you tried interlacing your .pngs? I realized that interlacing my images for manilla 2D themes helped. I was also under the impression that HTC has some special compression going on with their images, but while saving my images in photoshop, I save them in .png and select interlace option in the end. Try it.
Here's what's up:
1. When you save images for your pocket PC, they DO have to be in a loss less format, such as .png... This goes for Homescreen backgrounds as well, so when you save a picture off your phone camera, it'll be pixelation by default because they're usually in .jpeg format.
2. When you save images in Photoshop, in a format like .png. Save them as Interlaced images, or they'll come out crappy on the device.
3. If you are using the color overlay feature in Photoshop to, say, change the color of the image, There will be pixelation if there are any gradients in the picture. Most of the images in the Manilla 2D theme files have gradients, so almost all of them result in pixelation. What you have to do for those is: Zoom in and use the Blur tool (Smart Blur filter on larger images.) to smooth out the pixelation!
Hope this works for other people, and if someone can contribute anything else, it would also be appreciated.
The screen is 800x480 isn't it?
yes it is 800*480
makes me feel bad that it looks like that on such a beautiful device.
its obviously unacceptable that HTC playes like that.
i dont understand whats their big problem to give us some drivers that would solve this annoying issue
Here, try this file out. Make a backup copy of yours unless its cooked in rom, that way you can delete this if necessary. It makes a difference for me. In this section of script, I changed the values to 200, 200 and it was reeeeeally crappy. I did that when I was checking effect. Originally it was 512, 512. In this one, I made it 800, 800.
I think it also makes bg's better if you make them square(in my case 640x640), especially if your using the new landscape manila. I know on touch pro, the rotation works better with bg's that don't have to be stretched.
BackgroundAsyncImageFactoryLoader = AsyncImageFactoryLoader()
BackgroundAsyncImageFactoryLoader.Priority = TaskPriority_BelowNormal
BackgroundAsyncImageFactoryLoader.Quality = 100
BackgroundAsyncImageFactoryLoader.OnComplete:connect(BackgroundImageResized)
BackgroundAsyncImageFactoryLoader:ResizeImage(machineStatus.HomeBackgroundPath.Value, CachedImagePath, EncoderType_JPEG, 800, 800, true, false)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does anyone know what the true, false is at the end of that line?
Re Wallpaper Resolution
I'm sorry but the Wallpaper you have as an original is of such poor quality that no phones resolution could correct it. I have a Touch HD myself and have made many Themes for all different phone resolutions and now for my new phone as well and have never had trouble getting what I expected and I use all of the graphic formats ie: .png .jpg etc.
For WVGA the Backgrounds actually need to be 480 x 696 for portrait and 800 x 366 for Landscape, what has not been taken into account is the size of the top and bottom bars which are both 52 pixcels adding up to 104 pixcels this needs to be subtracted from the overall size.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=492857&highlight=touchflo+vista
stickfigure said:
Have you tried interlacing your .pngs? I realized that interlacing my images for manilla 2D themes helped. I was also under the impression that HTC has some special compression going on with their images, but while saving my images in photoshop, I save them in .png and select interlace option in the end. Try it.
Here's what's up:
1. When you save images for your pocket PC, they DO have to be in a loss less format, such as .png... This goes for Homescreen backgrounds as well, so when you save a picture off your phone camera, it'll be pixelation by default because they're usually in .jpeg format.
2. When you save images in Photoshop, in a format like .png. Save them as Interlaced images, or they'll come out crappy on the device.
3. If you are using the color overlay feature in Photoshop to, say, change the color of the image, There will be pixelation if there are any gradients in the picture. Most of the images in the Manilla 2D theme files have gradients, so almost all of them result in pixelation. What you have to do for those is: Zoom in and use the Blur tool (Smart Blur filter on larger images.) to smooth out the pixelation!
Hope this works for other people, and if someone can contribute anything else, it would also be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course I tried. I tried interlacing both PNG and GIF's, I also tried different color depths, and all supported picture formats. It had no impact.
The thing is images don't look crappy on the device - when you view them in Album application, they look excellent. Actually, they look better then on my 30" Apple cinema screen, because HD has such huge pixel density.
However, when you apply these images to act as wallpapers on Home screen, they drop in quality and sharpness so much that it degrades the whole device appearance. And this is very annoying
grzegorz10 said:
I'm sorry but the Wallpaper you have as an original is of such poor quality that no phones resolution could correct it. I have a Touch HD myself and have made many Themes for all different phone resolutions and now for my new phone as well and have never had trouble getting what I expected and I use all of the graphic formats ie: .png .jpg etc.
For WVGA the Backgrounds actually need to be 480 x 696 for portrait and 800 x 366 for Landscape, what has not been taken into account is the size of the top and bottom bars which are both 52 pixcels adding up to 104 pixcels this needs to be subtracted from the overall size.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=492857&highlight=touchflo+vista
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The image I attached is 600% blown up version, that's not full size wallpaper.
And it doesn't matter what kind of quality of image I use - the images always appear much less sharp and with reduced quality when applied to home screen wallpaper.
Also, I don't think you're right about 480x696. That is the "visible" area of the screen, but homescreen wallpaper will always be used in 100% if the width is 480 or height 800. It might get cropped tough, can't say that for sure.
But, for example lets say you want to use image that is 800x800 in original resolution. When you set it as wallpaper, it will not be resized to fit 696 height, but rather it will be cropped on the sides, and the top and bottom bars will cover the top areas of the image. But there will be no scaling involved. This can be easily tested simply by overlaying the original image over the captured image of the device.
showaco said:
Here, try this file out. Make a backup copy of yours unless its cooked in rom, that way you can delete this if necessary. It makes a difference for me. In this section of script, I changed the values to 200, 200 and it was reeeeeally crappy. I did that when I was checking effect. Originally it was 512, 512. In this one, I made it 800, 800.
I think it also makes bg's better if you make them square(in my case 640x640), especially if your using the new landscape manila. I know on touch pro, the rotation works better with bg's that don't have to be stretched.
Does anyone know what the true, false is at the end of that line?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, thanks! I have tested this, using 640x640 images, as well as 800x480, and 800x800. I can't say if it's a placebo effect, but the image does look slightly better.
Could I ask you to make a few versions of this file with parameters that can be substracted by 512? Because if I remember correctly, Manila likes those 512 numbers. So, if you would be so kind to make 1024x1024, 1536x1536, and 2048x2048.
I would be glad to test them to see if there are any further improvements over this issue.
Ok, I tested everything again with a different wallpaper, so there's no more question whether the source file is good quality.
I think this image is suitable, because it has a lot of small details, but also large areas with soft transitions, so we can see the effect of compression on both the detail and the textures.
I also tested 696 file, and as I said earlier - it has absolutely no positive effect to image quality.
I have also noticed that in fact even the HTC Album applies some sort of image compression, but it's much much less visible! You can notice the effect of this on the dark area transitions. However, it's barely noticable when viewed on the device.
Perhaps if someone who knows where the HTC Album Manila files are, maybe it would be possible to compare them with the files that control compression in Home screen? Perhaps it would be enough just to copy the settings for HTC Album? Just an idea...
I'm attaching the files, they speak for themselves.
ok i've search in the registry with:
compress
quality
jpg
wallpaper
desktop
but nothing
BadCluster said:
ok i've search in the registry with:
compress
quality
jpg
wallpaper
desktop
but nothing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So did I Same results.
I don't think it's that simple anymore. We probably need to combine 2 things: the edited Manila file to support graphics up to 800 pixels, a way to easily compress a photo with ATC compression and then make Manila use it.
OK, I think I finally figured out some stuff. First of all, we knew from before that wallpaper image for landscape was made out of 2 bitmaps.
However, it seems that this is the same case with the portrait wallpaper as well.
Digging through Manila graphic files I've found that indeed the maximum image size is 512x512pixels. So, in order to get the 480x696 pixel needed to cover the whole visible screen area, guys from HTC simply used 2 images, each with 512x512 resolution, but first actually covering 480x512 area, and the second 480x184.
Together, as you can see, they make 480x696.
But, what happens when you load 800x400 pixel image?
Most likely that the image first gets cropped to 480x696 dimensions, and after that top part (480x512) is put into one file, and the bottom part (480x184) is put into a separate file. They both get compressed with that ugly algorithm and that's why we end up with crappy looking wallpaper photos.
Files involved are:
LANDSCAPE:
29cff4fe_bglevel0_landscape_left.png
058acf31_bglevel0_landscape_right.png
PORTRAIT:
70083a29_bg_level0.png
77feee1d_bg_level0_bottom.png
Now, it's clear that Manila indeed does support full resolution, but because the wallpaper is being split into 2 parts and compressed, we have poor image quality. What brings us back to my first idea - is there a way to disable this compression, or increase the quality of the compressed photo by somehow forcing the compression algorithm to produce higher quality images?
Another way would be to use a Manila editor, cut the images into 2 manually, update old Manila default wallpaper files and always use the default background.
This is of course major pain in the a$$ to do each time you want to simply change a wallpaper.
Oh and by the way, for the record, I just manually updated these Manila graphic files, overwrote the old ones and I'm looking at my full-resolution wallpaper right now.
So, this obviously can be done. The question is can it be automatized?
this is a tricky subject.. well i've always edited the 4 manila files to create my wallpapers on my Raphael.. well i also tried background for all tab but that's kinda buggy in the prosess of when i change from portrait to landscape.. well it's like the background for all tab app kinda takes the image i want as background and overlap the 4 manila files that has to be edited manually to make a great background,... well anyway i'm stuck with the same thoughts as this thread states... it's not so fun to always have to edit those manila files to create a good background and so forth...
I tried to get into geotagging my pictures and I have to say that I'm very disappointed by the Footprints software.
What's with the resolution of the pictures taken by Footprints? There are only thumbnails in the AppData/HTC/HTCFootprints/thumbnails folder. Why doesn't the software take the pictures at full resolution like the camera? Or are they stored elsewhere? This was the only place where I could find pictures.
I copied them to my PC only to see that the pictures don't contain any GPS info. Apparently they are only saved in the Footprints database and not in the pictures themselves (EXIF...)! That is completely useless!
Is there a way to use the normal camera to add geotagging?
Sure, there is a "GPS Photo" mode in camera settings. Just hit the camera icon and chose the propper mode.
hmm u can open ur camera
click the middle icon for capture mode and click next
there a mode call GPS photo..
maybe that will help u
Oh, thanks, that explains a lot.
Nevertheless I agree with the author, this is stupid not to have a full resolution version of the pictures taken with footprint. You basically need to take 2 pictures : one for footprint and another one for your PC ! this is insane and i'm sure it would not required a lot of modifications to get this thing work properly.
I think, that footprint was originaly intended as fast mobile service, how to inform your friends, where you are. Therefore taken pictures are small, ideal for MMS and e-mail.
I started this hints and tips thread for the HD2 (LEO) as i like most others wasn't to happy with the default camera app that the HD2(LEO) had to offer, to be honest the camera quality was lacking in most areas. The purpose of this thread is to collate all tips and have them available within the first few posts as opposed to having to search for tips among the many pages and threads. Please submit additional tips and hints you have and I will update the first few posts.
you will need a registry editor to do most of these tweaks and their may also be .cabs attached to the bottom of the corresponding post to save the effort need when editing the registry. u can use apps like resco, memmaid, sktool to edit the registry or an app of ur liking
for best possible picture from the HD2(LEO) - you may want to use these setting, use with all mods i post here and you will be very happy with the outcome and possibly feel overwhelmed by the quality of your HD2(LEO) cameras like most ive share these with
WB - either auto or indoor light dependent on ambient light
iso auto - if in a very bright sunny outdoor type weather set this to 100 for best result
5M resolution
wide-screen OFF
touch focus OFF
super fine quality
contrast +4
saturation +3
sharpness +4
metering mode average
1). extrasuperfine quality
Go to HKLM\software\htc\camera\image\jpegquaity\superfine and replace the 5Msize value with 746028 (default value = 643628)
or install the extrasuperfine.cab or install BsB Tweaks 1.5
before and after photos
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=5157324&postcount=107
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=5135805&postcount=55
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=5135911&postcount=56
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=5130666&postcount=3
2). unlock additional video modes
Go to [HKLM\Software\HTC\Camera\P2 and replace the EncodeFormat value with 2147483647
or install the additionalvideomodes.cab
this will unlock all modes/resolutions listed below
H263(3gp)
CIF 352x288 \ M 176x144
mpeg4
L 320x240 \ CIF 352x288 \ VGA 640x480
3gpp2
S 128x96 \ M 176x144 \ L 320x240 \ CIF 352x288 \ VGA 640x480
motion jpeg
S 128x96 \ M 176x144 \ L 320x240 \ CIF 352x288 \ VGA 640x480
H264
L 320x240 \ CIF 352x288
3). enable .BMP mode in camera
Go to [HKLM\Software\HTC\Camera\P1 and replace the EncodeFormat value with 3
(not quiet working cant get it to stick auto goes back to jpeg in camera app, im hoping people can help me out alittle with this one)
4). improve camera recording quality of mpeg4-vga (boost bit-rate = less fussiness and pixels)
Go to [HKLM\Software\HTC\Camera\recparam\MP4VGA and replace the BitRate value with 4194304 (default value = 2097152)
this will increase your video quality from 2100avg bit-rate to 4500avg bit-rate, leave fps set to 30 as when detail is high in video it causes major fps loss, so with this ur camera will run better than ever and also have improved image quality while recording in MPEG4 vga mode, going any higher in bit-rate will cause slower fps and offer no additional improvement over my posted tweak
please keep in mind that video size increases approx 2times of the default settings, so a 10sec vid normally cost 2700kb while the tweak costs 5500kb
im working on 720p, micro-modes, bmp files and also increased video quality so keep looking for updates daily
ADDED:
19/12/09 = new cab for improve camera recording quality of mpeg4-vga
DAMIEN123_666 said:
2). unlock additional video modes
Go to [HKLM\Software\HTC\Camera\P2 and replave the EncodeFormat value with 2147483647
this will unlock all modes/resolutions listed below
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Damien, but I'm not able to enter a 10 Digit Number in EncodeFormat. Only 8 digits are possible. Did you change the key type?
cyclingfan74 said:
Thanks Damien, but I'm not able to enter a 10 Digit Number in EncodeFormat. Only 8 digits are possible. Did you change the key type?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi no its the same, should be a value : double word (decimal). u can use both sktools and memmaid to edit the value, what app are u using ?
I'm using Taskmanager v3.1 by FdcSoft
cyclingfan74 said:
I'm using Taskmanager v3.1 by FdcSoft
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi ive made a cab please use it for ease
Thanks, but I installed SKTools now. It worked. I mean, I could enter a 10-digit number at least. Let's see, if the tweak is working, too.
Yes it did!
I have tried all the new video modes but mpeg4 still gives best results?, does for me.
Wow, thanks for this great thread and useful hints! I'm really looking forward to 720p video recording! This would be awesome!!
jrvenge said:
I have tried all the new video modes but mpeg4 still gives best results?, does for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Normally mp4 will always give the best results.
menus are active, still don't understand the quality ... good for me anyway ;-)
Hey, great work. This thread is something I would like to see sticky or linked in the wiki.
I am unable to select anything other than JPEG and BMP format. It then greys out. The registry entry mentioned above was changed with the cab. Anyone tell me the default value for this so I can change it back? I cannot uninstall the cab as it is not listed in programs.
DAMIEN123_666 said:
hi ive made a cab please use it for ease
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Could you please detail what this cab changes? I installed it and now cannot select anything other than JPEG and BMP. It allows one change then greys out.
Thanks.
derta said:
Hey, great work. This thread is something I would like to see sticky or linked in the wiki.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i hope to so, i assume i have to earn this though
why
why will disabling touch focus improve quality?
why will disabling touch focus improve quality?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the focus on this camera for light is controlled by this option basically
touch focus = spot = the overall light of the picture is dictated by the spot u select to focus on
center focus = center picture = the overall light of the picture is dictated by the center light in the picture
average focus = the picture takes all light form around the image and averages it out for one even picture,
so basically if u take a picture of a object that gives off light like a tv or light or sumat like this the touch focus, focuses on that object and the rest of the picture will be over dark and maybe even black, when average focus is selected it evens it out so u get to see all the objects in the light and dark evenly
DAMIEN123_666 said:
the focus on this camera for light is controlled by this option basically
touch focus = spot = the overall light of the picture is dictated by the spot u select to focus on
center focus = center picture = the overall light of the picture is dictated by the center light in the picture
average focus = the picture takes all light form around the image and averages it out for one even picture,
so basically if u take a picture of a object that gives off light like a tv or light or sumat like this the touch focus, focuses on that object and the rest of the picture will be over dark and maybe even black, when average focus is selected it evens it out so u get to see all the objects in the light and dark evenly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 3 modes all have their uses though, you need to work out when to use them. For example when taking a picture of a large plasma or LCD TV in the dark the touch focus is excellent. You end up with a very clear screen image and nothing else. If you try bto do the same with a 'better' camera phone, like a symbian you just cant get the same effect.
rovex said:
The 3 modes all have their uses though, you need to work out when to use them. For example when taking a picture of a large plasma or LCD TV in the dark the touch focus is excellent. You end up with a very clear screen image and nothing else. If you try bto do the same with a 'better' camera phone, like a symbian you just cant get the same effect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
very true matey, for general images of say out doors or portraits the setup on post one i made is by far the best option but if you do intend to take images of brighter objects touch focus will give better results if you only wanna focus on that object
play with the settings is all i can recommend
thx for the video cab, awesome!
SD Card Storage Capacity official update
@ DAMIEN : Hey mate, I better ask first than ask too late... Do you think these (Yours, also future) tweaks won't have problem with the official ones? I ask because there's another one out - SD Card Storage Capacity - from HTC. I guess it has nothing to do with the tweaks, but you know... Thx devilman
4). improve camera recording quality of mpeg4-vga (boost bit-rate = less fussiness and pixels)
Go to [HKLM\Software\HTC\Camera\recparam\MP4VGA and replace the BitRate value with 4194304
Go to [HKLM\Software\HTC\Camera\recparam\MP4VGA and replace the FrameRate value with 60
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I accidentally set VSbitrate value to 4194304. could someone please provide me the original setting?...
hi,
is ti possible to capture photo without the jpeg compression?
If you're looking for RAW files, I don't think that will be possible. However, if you want to play around with reg files, I think a good place to start would be HKLM\Software\HTC\Camera\P1 and then value "EncodeFormat"
Good luck
No phone camera's can't make RAW pictures.
Svegetto said:
If you're looking for RAW files, I don't think that will be possible. However, if you want to play around with reg files, I think a good place to start would be HKLM\Software\HTC\Camera\P1 and then value "EncodeFormat"
Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Harmageddon said:
No phone camera's can't make RAW pictures.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok, it's not possible.....thank you both
Any third party camera application to capture raw file?
Why would you want RAW on a phone?
Basides, the camera on the phone doesnt capture enough info to make a complete raw file.
TIFF might be an idea, but i still see little point....
The image quality still can't beat my old Nokia 3M pixel camera which has Carl Zeiss lense. Just wondering HD2's compression rate is too much, with RAW file I am free to use any PC software.
Camera cannot be changed from jpeg.
No software or other program will change this.
It is hard coded in the camera firmware and also in the phones ROM.
It is unlikely that someone will ever bother with a hack for this, as it is not just a question of cooking a new ROM, but a fresh design of firmware for camera and phone, and then no guarantee that the camera will work with other file formats.
Thanks for the explanation...look like have to bear with it.