[mythtv-users] Almost-square pixels (was Re: Fonts unreadable in GDM/Xorg with Ubuntu)

[Michael T. Dean]

On 03/09/2007 01:53 PM, Willy Boyd wrote:
> I'm
> pretty sure I am using square pixels.  1360x768 with 1:1 pixel mapping
> on my LCD.

I've always wondered about that resolution.  It's what I would call 
"almost-square."

I'm assuming you have a 16:9 TV (otherwise, it doesn't even fit the 
almost-square description).  If so, pixels would be square if the ratio 
of the X resolution to the Y resolution is 16:9.  Doing some math:

1360 / 16 = 85
85 * 9 = 765

So, technically, 1360x765 resolution would be square pixels on a 16:9 
display device.  In reality, the difference is within rounding error for 
DPI/DisplaySize/font size calculations, so it won't make a difference 
whether you use DPI (which is close) or DisplaySize (which would be exact).

So, does anyone know the story behind the choice to use 1360x768 for 
some devices (seems to be especially LCD's and Plasmas)?  It's not 
important, but I finally had a reason to mention the issue in case 
someone out there has some info and a willingness to teach me...

Mike