Database Users

Contact Picture Quality

I'm probably not the first to 'complain' about this... but I thought I'd put it all together in one post and see if anyone was having the same issues, or same results...
So...
Trying to 'Sync' Facebook contact pics with my x10 contact pics - tried a few apps, and while most of them did the job to some degree, with varying results, but mainly the same level of disappointment, one thing I found with all of them was that the resolution was abysmal to say the least...
I found also that if I opened Facebook, I could view any of my own profile pics, and I was given the option to assign them to a contact – great (sort of) providing the only people I know are myself. Friends pictures were ‘locked’ such that the assign to contact option did not exist - silly, really.
Now, while fiddling with my phone, I discovered that the some of the Facebook contact syncing apps actually downloaded a full quality pic to my device – perfect – now let me see if I can open them and assign them to a contact... nope, no luck – interestingly, they were ‘locked’ just like they were when I opened them through Facebook – no option to assign them to a contact.
Now, I move them to another folder (one which had pics that I could assign) and all of a sudden, they were unlocked... funniest thing was that pics left in the original folder I took them from were also unlocked... odd... good too, but odd.
So happily assigning all these full definition contact pics, I then had a look at them, and the resolution was again abysmal... WTF...! Anyway, one last go, and instead of going via the picture to assign it to a contact, I went through the contact then assigned a picture to it... Success...! this time proper resolution...!
So from this I assume that going through the picture, or any syncing apps, you’re only getting a contact pic as good a quality as the Android system expects. However, if you go through the contact, the x10 is getting a contact pic at the full quality it knows it needs to display...
Anyway, take what you will from this, but I thought it was interesting...

same over here, the pictures I assigned to my contacts are very high quality and they all look like sh#t on the phone when some one calls me.
It is full of noise and extremely blurry. Really don't understand why...They can't be made this for such a low quality so I assume we do something wrong, but I can't figure it out. Do we need very big resolution pictures to get them proper on this phone? But thanks for the tip, working the other way around does work good, but it keeps being strange...
Cheers.
Arnold

Consider that a phone call needs to pop-up right away. Why waste the processing speed to show a full resolution image?
Note: I think an update that went around to some regions cleaned up the resolution a bit.

iead1 said:
Consider that a phone call needs to pop-up right away. Why waste the processing speed to show a full resolution image?
Note: I think an update that went around to some regions cleaned up the resolution a bit.
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Not the brazilian update.

I'm willing to swear that it's a donut issue... mainly because going the Android way in is ugly, and the SE way in is on the money...
You'll also notice the Android way gives you a square pic, and the SE way gives you an elongated pic to fit with their interface...
iead1 said:
Consider that a phone call needs to pop-up right away. Why waste the processing speed to show a full resolution image?
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Click to collapse
Agreed that it might be low res for this reason, but the x10 can handle the hi res just as good - and considering the contact pics are so large, you definitely want them full res.
Hopefully SE do some updates to improve this... Hopefully...

k1sr said:
You'll also notice the Android way gives you a square pic, and the SE way gives you an elongated pic to fit with their interface...
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Click to collapse
Problem is, I don't wan't the elongated pic or the square pic.
With WinMo I could put any pic format.
Why should I be restricted in Android?

images in browser/apps displaying in low res

Hi
just got a galaxy s on tmobile in the UK.
It's good but it seems that lots of images in the browser and displaying in low res, they all look blocky.
It's happening in apps too - the thumbs of peoples faces in facebook are blurred/blocky, images from the engadget app are blocky etc.
I've compared to another galaxy S and the images on that look fine.
Would anyone have any idea whats causing it? thanks
Edit - It seems to be intermittent too. For example, if i do a google image search, the thumbs are sharp, but if I click on a pic and it goes into the slideshow view all the images are REALLY blocky. If I click the link to the original page were the image is coming from the image loads up fine.

It seems to be my carrier, tmobile.
When i put other sim cards in the phone it works fine.
Very annoying, makes buying a nice phone like this for web browsing kind of pointless.
Anyone know of a way to bypass this?

Q: Blurry contact picture when someone rings

I love my omnia 7 but I have noticed if someone rings me and I have their picture on my phone it shows up blurry on the ringing screen
I used a picture this evening which was stored on my phone on someones contact (took with camera) and it still shows blurry
anyone any idea's have to solve this ?? I know its only cosmetic but its damn annoying

i have this problem too. my contacts have pictures from windows live and facebook account and they allways show up blurry, when taking a call.

Are you sure the facebook photos show up blurry too? The main problem here is because of Gmail, which uses a pathetic resolution for the contacts (96x96?) and therefore, when you have GMail sync enabled, all the photos are replaced with lousy low-res versions, immaterial of whether you uploaded a hi-res version in the first place.
This has been discussed on several threads in GMail support, *WITHOUT* a solution:
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/gmail/thread?tid=166e27ae27e71c7a&hl=en
Are you sure your WL and FB contacts are not showing their GMail pics? (I think WP7 defaults to facebook when available).
If GMail is not your problem, you might want to just do some removal/addition of the FB/WL accounts to see if it by chance fixes the problem.

i don't use gmail, so the issue is caused by something else.

I have noticed that images from facebook are displayed at decent (sharp) quality but if I allocate my own custom photos from the phone or taken by the phone camera, they appear blurry if a Google Contacts account is used.
If you use the Windows Live option, the image appears a lot nicer. In fact, I only did this test after reading this post and i'm going to deviate from using Google Contact and instead move them to Windows Live! Pictures are very nice.
Also, this affects the tiles if you pin the contact to the home screen.
Vozdra phobius

I previously had a LG Optimus 7 and this issue was there too--so unlike the Wiki states, this doesn't look to be an Omnia 7-only problem.
Anyway, I'll consider moving my contacts to Windows Live and see if that makes a difference.
EDIT: I recently updated to Mango--the pictures were still blurry. I re-added the contact pictures from photo albums (still saving them as Google contacts) and now the pictures are sharp! So it looks the this problem was fixed in Mango?

BakedGoodsX said:
I previously had a LG Optimus 7 and this issue was there too--so unlike the Wiki states, this doesn't look to be an Omnia 7-only problem.
Anyway, I'll consider moving my contacts to Windows Live and see if that makes a difference.
EDIT: I recently updated to Mango--the pictures were still blurry. I re-added the contact pictures from photo albums (still saving them as Google contacts) and now the pictures are sharp! So it looks the this problem was fixed in Mango?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have seen that even if you choose a photo you shot from your Omnia, because of the google sync, it gets downscaled. I have heard that people have succeeded by disabling the photo sync on google (don't recall how), but it did not work for me.
BTW, have you updated to Mango beta or the RTM? And, is it worth the effort (assuming it's not too easy to apply the official update after this upgrade).
Thanks!

karthikraman said:
I have seen that even if you choose a photo you shot from your Omnia, because of the google sync, it gets downscaled. I have heard that people have succeeded by disabling the photo sync on google (don't recall how), but it did not work for me.
BTW, have you updated to Mango beta or the RTM? And, is it worth the effort (assuming it's not too easy to apply the official update after this upgrade).
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you're totally right, Google Sync downscaled it. Damn.
I'm not sure the difference between the Mango beta and the RTM (I bought my Omnia unlocked and unbranded). I followed Duck's instructions in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1203948
Personally, I didn't have to do the firmware flash so it was very painless. In fact, it was no harder than running "update.bat" then updating the phone threw Zune. Considering almost no effort it's definitely worth it. Mango is faster, IE9 is much better, some of the additional features are nice (some multitasking, alphabet app-menu, etc).
I'd say, if you don't need to flash the firmware it's totally worth it (only took me 10 minutes). If you have to flash, I might reconsider (I have a lot of game saves, etc. that would be annoying to lose).

Photos uploaded to Facebook are DOWNSIZED - please help?

I can't believe I am the only one having this problem, as I am now onto my second S4, and this new one also has the same problem, and my friend's S4, on a different Network, also does exactly the same...
The issue is, if I shoot a photo on my new Galaxy S4 in full 13Mp resolution, this produces an actual image on my device, that is 4128 x 3096 in resolution, with a File size of around 4.7MB As soon as I share it to Facebook however, either by clicking the Android Share link on the image and choosing "Facebook" as the destination, OR by using the Facebook App direct then choosing an image to upload, then I end up with a problem...
The image that actually arrives on Facebook, is heavily compressed with noise, and is resized down to just 1032 x 774 resolution, and a tiny file size of 178 KB (instead of the 4.7 MB masterpiece it actually was).
It does this with EVERY image I shoot - 100% of the time. And worse, is I mix things up a little, if I first REDUCE the resolution of my camera BEFORE taking a shot, if I drop it down to 8MP and take a photo, then despite the image now being a SMALLER photo, the image that arrives at Facebook is then BIGGER than those shot at 13MP, arriving at 1632 x 1224 instead.
Go figure...
But I suspect it's a bug in Facebook. However, given that my guess is that it affects 100% of S4 users, 100% of the time, I can't believe there are not thousands of discussions and debates about this issue... I can't find ANY discussion, for an issue that is there for ALL users, ALL of the time...
Please note also - whilst I am aware that there were high quality image upload issues on the S4 with Instagram too, this has been fixed in part, through an Instagram update. In my case, the photos that are resized down when uploaded to Facebook, are nevertheless perfectly correct and of the true size and quality when uploaded to any other Android Share location, or Social Networking Site, such as Google+ etc. It is only when sent to Facebook that the images are instead massively compressed, degraded, and down-sized.
So can anyone tell me - is this a known issue, for which the cause has been identified..? Or were none of you aware of this yourselves? If so, can you test it, as it's repeatable 100% here, on various S4's on various networks...
Take a photo on the phone in FULL RESOLUTION. Uploaded it to Facebook using the android sharing function on the S4. Then go to Facebook on a desktop PC and locate the photo you just added. Choose the option to download it to your PC, and save it. Examine the downloaded image, and identify if it is a true 13Mp image, or if for you too, the image has been uploaded at just 1032 x 774
And if that is the case, I'm amazed much more has not been made of this issue. I got the S4 because it has such an amazing camera, and I love uploading photos. Alas, as it stands, the device is useless, as it uploads my images to Facebook at a resolution and quality, lower than that of my first ever 1.2MP standalone Digital Camera of 1998...
Comments or ideas anyone?

Shadamehr said:
I can't believe I am the only one having this problem, as I am now onto my second S4, and this new one also has the same problem, and my friend's S4, on a different Network, also does exactly the same...
The issue is, if I shoot a photo on my new Galaxy S4 in full 13Mp resolution, this produces an actual image on my device, that is 4128 x 3096 in resolution, with a File size of around 4.7MB As soon as I share it to Facebook however, either by clicking the Android Share link on the image and choosing "Facebook" as the destination, OR by using the Facebook App direct then choosing an image to upload, then I end up with a problem...
The image that actually arrives on Facebook, is heavily compressed with noise, and is resized down to just 1032 x 774 resolution, and a tiny file size of 178 KB (instead of the 4.7 MB masterpiece it actually was).
It does this with EVERY image I shoot - 100% of the time. And worse, is I mix things up a little, if I first REDUCE the resolution of my camera BEFORE taking a shot, if I drop it down to 8MP and take a photo, then despite the image now being a SMALLER photo, the image that arrives at Facebook is then BIGGER than those shot at 13MP, arriving at 1632 x 1224 instead.
Go figure...
But I suspect it's a bug in Facebook. However, given that my guess is that it affects 100% of S4 users, 100% of the time, I can't believe there are not thousands of discussions and debates about this issue... I can't find ANY discussion, for an issue that is there for ALL users, ALL of the time...
Please note also - whilst I am aware that there were high quality image upload issues on the S4 with Instagram too, this has been fixed in part, through an Instagram update. In my case, the photos that are resized down when uploaded to Facebook, are nevertheless perfectly correct and of the true size and quality when uploaded to any other Android Share location, or Social Networking Site, such as Google+ etc. It is only when sent to Facebook that the images are instead massively compressed, degraded, and down-sized.
So can anyone tell me - is this a known issue, for which the cause has been identified..? Or were none of you aware of this yourselves? If so, can you test it, as it's repeatable 100% here, on various S4's on various networks...
Take a photo on the phone in FULL RESOLUTION. Uploaded it to Facebook using the android sharing function on the S4. Then go to Facebook on a desktop PC and locate the photo you just added. Choose the option to download it to your PC, and save it. Examine the downloaded image, and identify if it is a true 13Mp image, or if for you too, the image has been uploaded at just 1032 x 774
And if that is the case, I'm amazed much more has not been made of this issue. I got the S4 because it has such an amazing camera, and I love uploading photos. Alas, as it stands, the device is useless, as it uploads my images to Facebook at a resolution and quality, lower than that of my first ever 1.2MP standalone Digital Camera of 1998...
Comments or ideas anyone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I asked the same question in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2256054
Haven't really gotten an answer yet. For now, i use an image resizer app, resize it to the dimensions of 3789 x 2131 .. and then upload to facebook... that ensures the maximum size gets uploaded to facebook. There doesnt seem to be a workaround for this until facebook updates the way its app uploads photos.

I noticed the exact same thing when going from an HTC One S to the S4 and I posted on another thread asking the same question. It's driving me crazy. Pretty sure it's the FB app and not the S4.

I was searching for a different matter regarding the fact that the Facebook app forces you to upload the pictures using a square shape instead of the original photo shape. I recently switched from iOS to Android and found myself with this annoying feature. iOS-version of FB app allows you to upload pictures without having to crop them into a square. Weird. --> Don't ask me how, but this is fixed now. No more square-shaped pictures.
Then again, I tried to by-pass this issue by uploading the picture through the mobile-version of the site/web app and found myself with this pop-up from Chrome.
"Unable to complete previous operation due low memory". Found this thread ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2101893 ) but the solution given is not exactly what I'm looking for. I wish to know why is this message popping up and what am I supposed to do.
Going back to the subject... I experienced the same thing when I uploaded a picture to my timeline (no cropping issue there). Resize is done in a way that messes up the whole picture with the compression.
I'm assuming they've built an algorithm that resizes the pictures to prevent people from uploading +4MB files, data usage... I don't know.
Is there any solution to any of my issues? thank you!
If it matters --> Samsung Galaxy S4 (GT-I9505) - No SD card.

Also my problem with my octa s4.
I wonder why my friend's samsung duos mobile uploads are fullsized, while my s4's uploads are pixelated and so low quality.
For now I'm using Nokia 808 Pureview for my mobile upload but android do have vast application choices for editing photos before upload so I'm really annoyed by this.

Sorry to resurrect this but I'm having the same problem and couldn't find a fix

fransarj said:
Sorry to resurrect this but I'm having the same problem and couldn't find a fix
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Click to collapse
Maybe it's just Facebook doing the automatic downsizing.

dratsablive said:
Maybe it's just Facebook doing the automatic downsizing.
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Click to collapse
You're not having this problem?
If I use the mobile browser to upload, or a 3rd party app, it uploads in high resolution.

fransarj said:
You're not having this problem?
If I use the mobile browser to upload, or a 3rd party app, it uploads in high resolution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know, my pictures seem fine when using the Facebook app.

Oh man I never noticed this till today!
I'm using a Note 3 and it downsides the pictures to 1000*xxx... what? That's like a 4x downsize... why???
Is there any fix (except uploading pix from the PC?)

its 2015 and the problem still exists! i think i'm movin to g+

Contact photos blurry

Some come out clear and HD and more than half are so blurry. Anybody know how to fix this?

j86gon said:
Some come out clear and HD and more than half are so blurry. Anybody know how to fix this?
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Click to collapse
If you haven't already, go into Google+ settings, and check "keep contacts up to date." It can take several hours for the photos to go to good resolution. Aside from that, you may need a third party app.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

j86gon said:
Some come out clear and HD and more than half are so blurry. Anybody know how to fix this?
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I'm having the same problem

subhani said:
I'm having the same problem
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Contact photos are the bane of my existence. I have a touch of OCD with my contacts and have figured out a lot of things as I have experimented with why quality (and actual pictures) vary so much.
First, much of the problem with poor photos comes from the fact that at some point in the past gmail did not support high res photos. I do not know when the change happened, but it was at least a few years ago. So anyone that has not updated their profile photo in over a few years will probably come across as low resolution.
Second, Google Apps does not support high res photos to this day. So, those of us that have apps for our work accounts (tons of government employees) end up with low res photos that show up as people's contacts.
Third, Google + makes a mess of contact photos. Some google apps automatically will use the G+ picture over anything else (apps like hangouts and gmail). I have not totally figured this one out yet, some G+ profile pictures just don't show up as a contact photo even though they are put in on a persons page, the result is a blank profile photo in Hangouts and Gmail.
The fix, I have found, is to put in my own profile pictures for the people I communicate with the most. It is a bit labor intensive, but I just make a "profile pictures" folder in my Google Drive and put the photos in there that I want and set them to their contacts from my phone. The only downside is that my work account (google apps for gov't) still does not support high res photos so every time I get a new phone I have to update the contact photos again to keep the blurry pictures away.
Good Luck!