Database Develop

[Q] DPI

So i'm new to this changing DPI stuff.
What are the benefits/disadvantages of changing your DPI?
I know lowering it makes everything smaller, but there is a downside to everything.
Is performance decreased?
Is touch sensitivity effected?
etc
Also, lowering your DPI increases resolution, isn't that counter intuitive?
Less pixels in an area should have lower resolution...

[Study] Does LCD density affect performance?

I had this burning desire to know whether the density of the lcd could affect the overall performance of our phones. The idea is similar to changing the resolution on your PC or laptop. The higher the resolution you choose, the more resources required to run the computer without lag or other undesirable outcomes from rendering the screen differently than if you choose a lower resolution. Sadly, when I did a quick search on XDA I didn't find any answer than to "try it yourself". So why not?
With each test I had the CPU over clocked to 1920 MHz (1.9 Ghz.)
The ROM is Cyanogenmod 10 (4.1.2) by camcory
AnTuTu Benchmark v3.0.3 was chosen as the sole benchmark application
Lcd density^ was changed in the build prop : ro.sf.lcd_density
Now, I have to add that this wasn't a formal test, but rather an attempt at real world numbers. Each lcd density change required a reboot after which I did not load any program besides 1) Set CPU and 2) Antutu benchmark. With that in mind however, I didn't clear any cache, memory, kill any other programs, or anything like that. Just reboot and run.
Here are the results to my tests :
The default density for this device is 240.
240 received a score of 6095
160 received a score of 5875 (The lowest this phone density can go*)
200 received a score of 6016 (This test received varying scores**)
300 received a score of 5967
320 received a score of 5885 (The highest this phone density can go*)
^ The lower the number, the smaller screen appearance. The higher the number, the large the screen appears.
*This is the end of the spectrum of safety in either direction. The lowest or highest I was willing to test it at
** 200 density was tested three times with varying scores : 6016, 5977, 5871. To my knowledge, I did not open any applications.
The bottom line​
The highest scored density was always 240, the default density for this phone. A density that moved in either direction away from 240 on the number line meant a slight , or major drop in performance.
Pictures: 160 density on the left, 300+ on the right.
(Click thumbnails for picture)

Just a little insight here... While your efforts are appreciated, the fact is, those scores are so close, they can all be achieved without touching the LCD density at all. Other factors make the score fluctuate between 100-200 points. Our phone will always be at 480x800. Adjusting the LCD density is nothing more than a software hack to emulate the difference of using another resolution. Rather than make a comparison to changing the resolution on a computer, it should be more comparable to changing the text DPI (eg, 96 to 120, as Windows allows you to do quite easily). There are no more or no less pixels being rendered overall - it's just the size and positioning of each UI element that's being rendered differently. That said, real world performance won't make a difference. It should also be noted that running a benchmarking app is subjective. No real world difference is noticed between a score of 5500 or 6500. I've seen some high scores where there was constant lag, and lower scores where everything ran smooth. The kernel makes the biggest difference, and other various things like being deodexed, having APK's aligned, various RAM tweaks, minfree values, multitasking aggressiveness, etc - those make up the real world performance differences, and quite often, won't even be detected in benchmark results.

[Q] LCD Density

I've used a few different across my android devices (different meaning other than the stock value) but I still don't quite understand...
Higher Density = Higher or Lower quality?
Lower than Stock density = Lower quality at all?
I'm liking 400 but I'm not sure if it lowers quality or not.

If you can't see any quality degradation, then what's the problem?
Sent from my C6603 using XDA Premium HD app

Well I meant in home/settings apps really, i would hate to later play a higher end game or a movie and see the quality is poor

Movies or games should still be rendering at the resolution of the screen. The DPI doesn't change that. What it could (and most likely will) is adjust the size of UI elements (such as camera controls, video player controls, etc.). Depending on what firmware you're running, the different elements and apps may be able to adjust themselves based on the DPI by utilizing different images within the APKs (mdpi, hdpi, xhdpi, etc.).
Take a look at this link. It might help you out a little.
http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/android-tablet-usage-tips-tricks/9444-lcd-density-explained.html
Also, there are ROMs/MODs that allow for different apps to implement different DPIs on the device. Great examples of this are ParanoidAndroid ROMs and Xposed framework mods. These can give you the ability to adjust dpi by application, that way if there are any incompatibilities at a certain DPI, you can work around the issues.

[Q] Looking for a ROM with the capabilities of SlimKat/SlimLP?

I purchased the Nexus 4, 5, and 6 as each has come out. I love the devices, as well as the toolkit.
My issue is this, all of the roms available operate in 'Phone mode' which is useless to me, as the games and apps I use need to run in TABLET mode. I didn't even know there was a difference until I tried numerous other ROMS and had no luck.
Only Slimkat and SlimLP (to my knowledge) run applications in tablet mode, allowing for a much, much better viewing experience.
Without going through all of the methods described in previous threads about the 'XPosed Framework', is there a custom ROM that offers tablet mode functionality like the SlimRoms?
I would prefer to just stick to SlimLP, but it is extremely buggy, and causes me many problems on a daily basis, especially with phone calls, and this is the phone i use for work, and I cannot afford to keep having issues such as the ones with SlimLP until the bugs are worked out.
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

flash any rom then change the dpi to set it into "tablet" mode. thats how slim did it, its not a special mode. by default, the n6 dpi is 560, lower it to below 400, like 390 or something. and you have a nexus, it doesnt need a toolkit, as it easier to do things the right way. learn the right way to do things.

simms22 said:
flash any rom then change the dpi to set it into "tablet" mode. thats how slim did it, its not a special mode. by default, the n6 dpi is 560, lower it to below 400, like 390 or something. and you have a nexus, it doesnt need a toolkit, as it easier to do things the right way. learn the right way to do things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, so learn the right way to do things. Again, I Googled this already, and was driven to installing something called the XPosed Framework, which I do not want to deal with. So the 'right way' according to some pretty exhaustive Googling comes up with nothing about DPI or it's built in functionality, which is what I am asking for.
Is there any simple way to do what I need to do. If not then that is fine, but changing DPI is not available in any of the ROMs I am aware of, and if it is, please let me know which ones there may be.
I am not an android developer or debugger, I am simply an end user looking to enjoy my phone. I don't know what 'it doesn't need a toolkit' means, but I do know I had to root using Wugfresh's toolkit.
Doesn't changing the DPI affect the amount of pixels I am able to see? Or does it only affect applications?

SidedX said:
OK, so learn the right way to do things. Again, I Googled this already, and was driven to installing something called the XPosed Framework, which I do not want to deal with. So the 'right way' according to some pretty exhaustive Googling comes up with nothing about DPI or it's built in functionality, which is what I am asking for.
Is there any simple way to do what I need to do. If not then that is fine, but changing DPI is not available in any of the ROMs I am aware of, and if it is, please let me know which ones there may be.
I am not an android developer or debugger, I am simply an end user looking to enjoy my phone. I don't know what 'it doesn't need a toolkit' means, but I do know I had to root using Wugfresh's toolkit.
Doesn't changing the DPI affect the amount of pixels I am able to see? Or does it only affect applications?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
many, if not most custom roms, have an option to change the dpi in that roms settings. im using terminus, and it has an option to change the dpi. also, you can change the dpi in your build.prop(then reboot to have it take affect). there are also apps that you can use to change your dpi.

simms22 said:
many, if not most custom roms, have an option to change the dpi in that roms settings. im using terminus, and it has an option to change the dpi. also, you can change the dpi in your build.prop(then reboot to have it take affect). there are also apps that you can use to change your dpi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'll do a full backup, and I will mess around. I honestly wish I had asked sooner, as SlimLP has been disastrous.
Thank you again.

SidedX said:
OK, so learn the right way to do things. Again, I Googled this already, and was driven to installing something called the XPosed Framework, which I do not want to deal with. So the 'right way' according to some pretty exhaustive Googling comes up with nothing about DPI or it's built in functionality, which is what I am asking for.
Is there any simple way to do what I need to do. If not then that is fine, but changing DPI is not available in any of the ROMs I am aware of, and if it is, please let me know which ones there may be.
I am not an android developer or debugger, I am simply an end user looking to enjoy my phone. I don't know what 'it doesn't need a toolkit' means, but I do know I had to root using Wugfresh's toolkit.
Doesn't changing the DPI affect the amount of pixels I am able to see? Or does it only affect applications?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK so although some ROMs add "DPI" options in settings, it is not needed. DPI as always is changed in /system/build.prop under LCD density.
As for pixels, that's PPI not DPI. DPI is not related to pixels in any way. DPI is a scaling method.
Think of it this way, if you have a 5".display with 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels, you have a HD display with a very specific amount of pixels. If you have a 10" tablet with the same amount of pixels, each pixel would be bigger. Therefore, everything on a screen would be bigger. This means a tablet would have everything too big and you wouldn't take advantage of a bigger screen. So android use something called DPI to scale objects on the screen. Smaller DPI makes everything smaller on screen. This way, you take advantage of more screen real estate. Apps etc can use lower DPI to identify a phone from a tablet and they will act differently if those apps have a tablet "mode".
There are no real links between pixels. Just the bigger the screen and lower resolution, the lower the DPI needs to be and the smaller the screen with a higher resolution, the higher the DPI should be.

rootSU said:
As for pixels, that's PPI not DPI. DPI is not related to pixels in any way. DPI is a scaling method.
Think of it this way, if you have a 5".display with 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels, you have a HD display with a very specific amount of pixels. If you have a 10" tablet with the same amount of pixels, each pixel would be bigger. Therefore, everything on a screen would be bigger. This means a tablet would have everything too big and you wouldn't take advantage of a bigger screen. So android use something called DPI to scale objects on the screen. Smaller DPI makes everything smaller on screen. This way, you take advantage of more screen real estate. Apps etc can use lower DPI to identify a phone from a tablet and they will act differently if those apps have a tablet "mode".
There are no real links between pixels. Just the bigger the screen and lower resolution, the lower the DPI needs to be and the smaller the screen with a higher resolution, the higher the DPI should be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, OK. I always thought I would be turning my 1440p QHD display into a 1080p. Never knew there was a difference.
Thank you. This forum has been the most helpful, and I honestly should have come here first instead of spending over a month on my own fighting with this device.

SidedX said:
Wow, OK. I always thought I would be turning my 1440p QHD display into a 1080p. Never knew there was a difference.
Thank you. This forum has been the most helpful, and I honestly should have come here first instead of spending over a month on my own fighting with this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah completely different. You don't lose any resolution or image quality by lowering the DPI. I set mine at 400. Not for "tablet" or anything. I just like the look of everything at that size instead of the giant size of 563 or whatever it is by default.
But yeah, you're welcome

AA 480p issue

Hey folks,
I am using this module to enable AA on my BMW headunit:
a.aliexpress.com/_U4Jz5
It kinda works nice except for one thing, resolution is not so clear due to dpi settings. Someone else dug into the system and found that in
etc/androidauto/androidauto_config.xml
The resolution is set to 480p instead of 720p and dpi is set to 150 instead of 180.
We have no SSH access but can only upload .bin update files as we dont know the password.
Does anyone know if it would be possible to change 720p to true and up the dpi somehow?
Carplay apparantly is 720p on this unit.
<DisplayWindow><!-- Head Unit side configuration--> <X_Coordinate value="0"/> <Y_Coordinate value="0"/> <DisplayWidth value="1280"/> <DisplayHeight value="480"/> </DisplayWindow> <Display><!-- Phone side configuration--> <DisplayWidth value="232"/><!-- Physical width--> <DisplayHeight value="87"/><!-- Physical height--> <Density value="170"/> <RealDensity value="153"/> <ViewingDistance value="400"/> <Resolution480P value="true"><!-- fps: 30 or 60--> <fps value="30"/> </Resolution480P> <Resolution720P value="false"> <fps value="30"/> </Resolution720P>

Nobody?

Anyone?

Do you have a copy of the BIN? My guess is unpacking and repacking the BIN will be the hardest part of this. You probably won't be able to do this without source scripts. You are in the right place regarding the XML file inside. All android head units, regardless of what they are, have to tell our phones what resolution to serve up. If the head unit says to run 1024x600 then that is what you are getting.
An alternative would be to ask the manufacture to release an update set to the proper settings.
---------- Post added at 09:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:09 PM ----------
Here you go The Andream unit you have should likely work with one of these firmwares. Do a lot of reading there before you proceed. I cannot be responsible for you flashing the wrong software to your unit.
I have a similar unit to yours and was able to get mine running at the proper resolution.

@heresy_fnord, when you say the proper resolution, what resolution are you referring to? I have the Andream (version: NBT-02B) unit myself, and flashed the latest .BIN with the AA Widescreen fix, but I feel the scale is slightly off. Text and elements are too small compared to the screen size (I have 8.8", 1280x480).

ckarv said:
@heresy_fnord, when you say the proper resolution, what resolution are you referring to? I have the Andream cool:unit myself, and flashed the latest .BIN with the AA Widescreen fix, but I feel the scale is slightly off. Text and elements are too small compared to the screen size (I have 8.8", 1280x480).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, my guess is the physical screen size is the issue. If you are certain the 8.8" screen also runs 1280x480 then the settings for DPI are probably not appropriate. Here is what I see for a 10.25" screen:
<Display>
<DisplayWidth value="244"/> 244mm is 9.6" width
<DisplayHeight value="92"/> 92mm is 3.62" height
<WidthMargin value="0"/>
<HeightMargin value="0"/>
<Density value="220"/>
<RealDensity value="133"/> This calculator indicates a real density of just a hair over 133PPI
So for example, your real density should be set to 155PPI based on that logic. I don't know what your update file was set to. I don't know what your display width and height should be set to since I don't know how the 8.8" screen measures length and width. Finally, I think they are setting the Density of the widescreen fixed update to 210 and you might try 220 which is as big as it can be set before it cuts back over to the non-widescreen view, and see if that works.

heresy_fnord said:
OK, my guess is the physical screen size is the issue. If you are certain the 8.8" screen also runs 1280x480 then the settings for DPI are probably not appropriate. Here is what I see for a 10.25" screen:
<Display>
<DisplayWidth value="244"/> 244mm is 9.6" width
<DisplayHeight value="92"/> 92mm is 3.62" height
<WidthMargin value="0"/>
<HeightMargin value="0"/>
<Density value="220"/>
<RealDensity value="133"/> This calculator indicates a real density of just a hair over 133PPI
So for example, your real density should be set to 155PPI based on that logic. I don't know what your update file was set to. I don't know what your display width and height should be set to since I don't know how the 8.8" screen measures length and width. Finally, I think they are setting the Density of the widescreen fixed update to 210 and you might try 220 which is as big as it can be set before it cuts back over to the non-widescreen view, and see if that works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've put some effort into looking into this now, basically reading 100 odd pages in the "Andream MMI Box - Wireless CarPlay & Android Auto" thread (starting on pg. 135), over at the Bimmerpost forum.
Findings:
- 720p = true setting is required to display AA in "Wide" format (ie. clock, second app on the right side of the display, map and vertical bar with "home", active app, notification and assistant buttons on the left).
- From reading results of testing over at the other forum, the Physical width/height settings did not seem to make a difference to output.
- Density on the other hand is used to scale the elements on screen, and this also impacts readability and sharpness of the objects/text.
-- from some testing, the conclusion was that "200" is the optimum value for the 1280x480, 8.8" screen, although eg. "210" was tested.
-- unsure if changing "Real Density" will make a difference to output (similar to physical measurements)
* Also, I think my scale is correct, or as specified in the firmware. Text and elements just seems so small compared to CarPlay that wife uses.
* Attached a picture of my screen with 200 dpi.
You are using a "Density" value of 220, do you have an example of what that looks like in practice?
Thanks

ckarv said:
I've put some effort into looking into this now, basically reading 100 odd pages in the "Andream MMI Box - Wireless CarPlay & Android Auto" thread (starting on pg. 135), over at the Bimmerpost forum.
Findings:
- 720p = true setting is required to display AA in "Wide" format (ie. clock, second app on the right side of the display, map and vertical bar with "home", active app, notification and assistant buttons on the left).
- From reading results of testing over at the other forum, the Physical width/height settings did not seem to make a difference to output.
- Density on the other hand is used to scale the elements on screen, and this also impacts readability and sharpness of the objects/text.
-- from some testing, the conclusion was that "200" is the optimum value for the 1280x480, 8.8" screen, although eg. "210" was tested.
-- unsure if changing "Real Density" will make a difference to output (similar to physical measurements)
* Also, I think my scale is correct, or as specified in the firmware. Text and elements just seems so small compared to CarPlay that wife uses.
* Attached a picture of my screen with 200 dpi.
You are using a "Density" value of 220, do you have an example of what that looks like in practice?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- 720p = true setting is required to display AA in "Wide" format (ie. clock, second app on the right side of the display, map and vertical bar with "home", active app, notification and assistant buttons on the left).
This is accurate.
- From reading results of testing over at the other forum, the Physical width/height settings did not seem to make a difference to output.
I don't know, perhaps this is true.
- Density on the other hand is used to scale the elements on screen, and this also impacts readability and sharpness of the objects/text.
-- from some testing, the conclusion was that "200" is the optimum value for the 1280x480, 8.8" screen, although eg. "210" was tested.
-- unsure if changing "Real Density" will make a difference to output (similar to physical measurements)
* Also, I think my scale is correct, or as specified in the firmware. Text and elements just seems so small compared to CarPlay that wife uses.
Your scale of text is set by the DPI essentially. Its a combination of resolution and DPI. Basic example, if I was to set my DPI to 200, the text on my screen would be smaller.
* Attached a picture of my screen with 200 dpi.
This is a 10.25" screen with 220DPI
In your case, the one update file was made for a 10.25" screen. The thing is, there will be a DPI difference between the two even if the resolution is the same. I suspect you need check with that community to see if there is an update that maintains widescreen mode but uses the different DPI.
EDIT: To be fair, I think your screen looks "normal" but then, it looks like your clock and such are the same scale as mine. Maybe AA is just smaller text in general?