Freebox Jukebox

I am thinking of changing the default skin to a 1024 skin in the V4 release and i wanted to see what resolutions people were actually running at. I don't want to switch to a 1024 skin if i am going to be leaving users stuck. Please be aware support for 800 x 600 will not be going away in V4 just the default skin might become 1024.

I run 1024x768 because the current new skins look good at it. I've ran 800x600 on the older skins.

Changed the title of the poll so it makes more sense.

I run 1024x768 because that is what my monitor looks best at and thats why I made the B&B skin at.

i was using 800x600 from the beginning until the latest skin release. now im using 1024x768 and have to say it works, and i like it better now.

I prefer 800x600, only because I have a bunch of NCR 12.1" touchscreen POS computers, and that's as high as they will go.

1280x1024, please!  ;D

Seriously, I'd go to 1024x768 for the default, as long as there's at least one 800x600 skin kept current with new versions.

I would have to agree on 1280x1024.  I am running 1024x768 now, but that isnt the monitors native resolution.  Might look better if I ran it at its native.

TurnItUp

If you want 1280, then you need to make a skin for that yourself. I was just thinking of upping the default skin. However as someone is stillusing 800 i might not do that now.

1024x768 - perfect size for the "econimical" 15" touch screens

I agree, I use 1024x768 as I use a 15" monitor and that's it's default res.

My new touchscreen said it can run at 1024x768. I am unsure if it can run at any higher resolution since it is not here yet.
Tom

i use 1024x768 

i really like B&B,  nice job squirrellydw

thanks, I can run mine highter but the optimal resolution is 1024x768

Pls for wide screen maybe base on width 1024 & Height 640

Thanks again

Quote from: ottosuke on May 19, 2009, 08:35:12 AM
Pls for wide screen maybe base on width 1024 & Height 640

Thanks again

Wide screen base i went for was 1360 x 768. The resolution you have requested I have not actually seen myself maybe someone will want to scale the skin once it's complete.

Quote from: Barcrest on May 19, 2009, 11:34:50 AM
Wide screen base i went for was 1360 x 768. The resolution you have requested I have not actually seen myself maybe someone will want to scale the skin once it's complete.

Barry,

I think what he is asking for is legit, and I think the res you are using for "widescreen" is actually a bit wrong.  Lemme try to explain:

He is asking to base the widescreen skin at 1024x640.  If you divide 1024/640, you get 1.6.  The screen is 1.6 times wide as it is tall.

My 22" widescreen max res is  1680x1050. My 12" laptop widescreen is  1280x800.  You divide both of these (1680/1050  or  1280/800) and you get 1.6. The screen is 1.6 times wide as it is tall.

This "1.6" aspect ratio is typical of widescreen computer monitors, or widescreen laptops.  They call this a 16:10 aspect ratio (divide them, and you get that magical 1.6 again).


For the res you used, you divide 1360/768 and you get 1.770833. Seems like it's a wider than widescreen.  This is more common for LCD TV sets, or for a new crop of "all-in-one" PC's just coming out.  You hear the term "16:9 widescreen" being thrown around, which means that the screen is 16 units wide by 9 units tall.  If you divide 16/9 you get 1.770833.


Think about it this way:  the existing skins shipping with E-touch are 800x600 and 1024x768.  If you divide these, you get 1.3333 for both.  These were designed for a regular square PC monitor, what is called a 4:3 aspect ratio.  Why did you develop both of these??  Because some monitors could only handle 800x600, while others could handle 1024x768, and get a little clearer picture without looking so blotchy.  I never complained in the past, even though my monitor ran 1280x960, because it was the same 4:3 aspect ratio.


So it boils down to:
1) Freebox already has two established skins at 4:3 aspect ratio, 800x600 for low res and 1024x768 for hi-res.
2) Barry is working on a 16:9 widescreen skin  (but we now realize that 16:9 is meant for TV's, not PC monitors)
3) We are requesting a 16:10 widescreen skin, maybe 1024x640 for a low res version, and maybe 1280x800 or 1680x1050 for a high res skin.

If we can get the 16:10 skins created, then E-Touch would cover the old-school 4:3 users  as well as the new-school 16:10 widescreen users.

Barry?  Thoughts?
FJ

Well i have no issues with whatever people want to create but I seem to be getting suckered more and more back into the skins and it's not something i am capible of doing or really want to do. I'm more than happy to fix up the BnB for the widescreen res I am working on and I will probably do BnR at that resolution as well but nothing more. I have to fix up the "Filtered on:" box for BnR 1024 tonight as well and like i said I can't do graphics and would rather spend my small amount of freetime coding and bug fixing.

Eist and squirrely created the skins originally and have done a great job in keeping them updated with new releases and it is to this end why I have not changed anything for a while that would break the skins because maintiaining them for each change is a pain. I also hoped with a more stable skinning platform (I.E. Not changing things every release) that there would be more people coming onboard to create skins. So far this hasn't really happened and I am not sure how to remedy this.

Hopefully if i keep the skinning platform unchanged (Which does limit new feature implimentations to ones not involving a skin change.) more skins will become availble and we can have a skin repository like I have always wanted. AFAIK The BnR and BnB skins are the only ones that have been released that are fully compatible with the V5 releases. In that past the constant changes have probably put people off fixing up their skins and I know there are features in the skinning of freebox that have not even been used as of yet (Different menu backdrops on menu button press for example).

Hopefully that explains the current skinning situation a little clearer.

I think the issue with widescreen skins is that there are so many different sizes, as I just looked on my laptop and 1360x768 isn't an option I have 1152x864, 1280x720, 1280x800, 1280x960, 1280x1024, 1400x1050, 1440x900, 1600x1024, 1600x1200, 1680x1050, 1920x1200. I'm sure if someone looks at the settings for their monitor theirs will have other setting options, as there really isn't a set standard. What needs to be done is to find the settings for the All in One screens, as these would be the best suited PC's for widescreen jukebox use. Unfortunately there is no way to create a skin for every resolution. If people want to get familiar with the skintool and upadte the skins to their resolution then let Barry post it, that would be the the only way of keeping up. I still need to find time to update the buttons with transparent backgrounds on the BnB and RnB skins.

Quote from: eist1 on May 19, 2009, 04:07:51 PM
I think the issue with widescreen skins is that there are so many different sizes, as I just looked on my laptop and 1360x768 isn't an option I have 1152x864, 1280x720, 1280x800, 1280x960, 1280x1024, 1400x1050, 1440x900, 1600x1024, 1600x1200, 1680x1050, 1920x1200.

Forget the word "sizes" for a moment, and use the words "resolutions" and "aspect ratios" instead.

Of the 11 resolutions you listed, you have 4 resolutions that are 4:3 aspect ratio, 4 resolutions that are 16:10 aspect ratio, and 3 oddball resolutions at oddball aspect ratios for "specialty" use like watching letterboxed movies or something.

Height    Width      Ratio
1152   864   1.333333333
1280   720   1.777777778
1280   800   1.6
1280   960   1.333333333
1280   1024   1.25
1400   1050   1.333333333
1440   900   1.6
1600   1024   1.5625
1600   1200   1.333333333
1680   1050   1.6
1920   1200   1.6


E-touch comes standard with  800x600 and 1024x768 skins, which are 4:3 aspect ratios (1.33 times as wide as it is tall).  You could use either of these on your laptop at   1152x864, 1280x960, 1400x1050, or 1600x1200.

The other 4 are 16:10 ratio (1.6 times as wide as it is tall).  Currently there is no E-Touch skin that supports that.

Barry is working on the 1360x768 skin (1.777778), which is an oddball size that your laptop only does at 1280x720.  Since Barry's skin is natively larger than your lowest graphic setting, the skin will physically hang off the end of your screen, and you cant use it.

If Barry is gonna work on a skin, I think the efforts would best be focused on the 16:10 aspect ratio, not on this oddball 16:9 (1360x768 resolution).  The community and the majority of widescreen PC's and laptops would get way more benefit from 1280x800 resolution or something similar at 16:10 (1.6 ratio).

I dont want to get down on Barry.....I just want to see a widescreen skin, and I want what would be best for the majority of users........whats best for the "community".
FJ

FJ,

Thanks for the info, that's exactly what I was trying to say earlier. A standard Resolution for widescreen use is what needs to be decided on before skins are created, or one would need to be done for each resolution, which wouldn't happen. With the above info, it can be better decided on what the best widescreen size should be that will work on "most" widescreen monitors. Thanks

Quote from: Barcrest on May 19, 2009, 03:10:58 PM
Eist and squirrely created the skins originally and have done a great job in keeping them updated with new releases and it is to this end why I have not changed anything for a while that would break the skins because maintiaining them for each change is a pain. I also hoped with a more stable skinning platform (I.E. Not changing things every release) that there would be more people coming onboard to create skins. So far this hasn't really happened and I am not sure how to remedy this.

Hopefully if i keep the skinning platform unchanged (Which does limit new feature implimentations to ones not involving a skin change.) more skins will become availble and we can have a skin repository like I have always wanted. AFAIK The BnR and BnB skins are the only ones that have been released that are fully compatible with the V5 releases. In that past the constant changes have probably put people off fixing up their skins and I know there are features in the skinning of freebox that have not even been used as of yet (Different menu backdrops on menu button press for example).

Hopefully that explains the current skinning situation a little clearer.

Spot on there Barry.....

I mucked around and created a few personal skins but gave up on them because everything kept changing....

I decided to wait for a stable skin tool to start over again......

Now there have been so many things added I've lost track......

At some point I'm gonna have to knuckle down and re-learn the skintool......

Trouble is at the moment  I just don't have the time......

Johnny,

The 1280 x 720 would seem to be the best wide format in my opinion.

Woody

Quote from: Woody on May 20, 2009, 03:48:18 AM
Johnny,

The 1280 x 720 would seem to be the best wide format in my opinion.

Woody

This is what Johnny is calling an oddball resolution, which is basically the same as what i am making the widescreen skin for now. I am going to carry on with the resolution I am working on and get that completed.

The latest "all in one" touch screens have a resolution of 1366 x 768. so barry is on the right track  ;) I have an all in one that I purchased recently and even though the graphics on the main screen alter size to suit, when I go to the config screens the "grey" option boxes do not change size and hide the buttons along the bottom. this is not a big problem as I can see the ones I want, so I look forward to the "new skin " at 1360 x 768

Cheer up to you Barcrest  :D
I'll waiting for wide screen support (16:10) version

Thank you very much