[mythtv-users] Aspect ratio wrong

Michael T. Dean mtdean at thirdcontact.com
Sat Apr 8 18:32:54 UTC 2006


On 04/08/2006 01:52 PM, Greg Stark wrote:
> "Michael T. Dean" <mtdean at thirdcontact.com> writes:
>> OK, if not then "you" (where you could also mean the person who built 
>> your distro's scripts) specified "-dpi 100" when starting X.
>>     
> Hm, well yes there is a -dpi 100 in /etc/X11/Xservers. 
>
> You're saying this is a bad thing?
>   

Well, for a desktop system, the monitor (except really old monitors) 
will report screen dimensions, and since X knows the resolution that's 
being used, it can calculate the true number of dots per inch, allowing 
it to better select appropriate font sizes for display on the desktop 
system.

Myth's frontend requires 100 DPI to align graphics and text 
appropriately with the theming system.  So, on a system that only runs 
Myth, setting 100DPI is definitely the right thing.  Setting it on a 
system that runs Myth and other apps (i.e. is a part-time Myth frontend 
and usually a desktop system) is a question of compromises.  The user 
must choose which is more important.

On my 19" monitor running at 1280x1024, I have 87x92 dots per inch, so 
using 100DPI wouldn't necessarily make a very noticeable difference.  On 
my 15.4" laptop widescreen running at 1920x1200, I have something like 
37 dots per inch--which would look very bad at 100DPI.

Note, however, that with TwinView/MergedFB/etc, you have another issue 
because an X server uses a single DPI for all screens.  Therefore, it 
may actually be appropriate to specify a DPI in your case, but I would 
do it in the X config file (not a command-line option).  IMHO, it's 
/wrong/ for any distro to explicitly define the "-dpi" option for 
starting X, as it overrides any setting you put in your X configuration 
file.  (Basically, it seems to be the MS approach of protecting the user 
from him/herself.)

Mike



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