resolution issues with pictures

[jdeboeck]

When I look at Pictures via Media Center they look slightly blurred. You don't notice it on a 1024x768 LCD, but it becomes noticeable on a 1280x1024 LCD. I decided to make several test patterns, with alternating black and white lines.

One image was 1024x768 and is displayed on the 1024x768 without blur, as you would expect, since the image matches the screen pixel for pixel. The other image was 1280x1024, again matching the 1280x1024 screen, but this comes out all blurred. It's as if the image is downsampled to 1024x768 and than upsampled back to 1280x1024. Since Media Center is DirectX based, I believe there may be a texture size limit or Media Center may be using an XGA thumbnail instead of the actual image.

Don't rush to your Media Center yet! I've attached an image that is half test pattern, and half what I'm actually seeing. If your Media Center is running higher than 1024x768, please download the image and tell me what you see. Compare it to what you see when you drag the image into Internet Explorer or a decent viewer.

EDIT: I am running MCE2005 Update Rollup 2 on several computers and they all have the same problem. I've had the problem with all other MCE2005 versions as well. I am always running at the screens' native resolution and test with images in that same resolution. I'm using certified graphics cards. I'm not doing slideshows, just displaying a single image.

1280.zip

Edited October 14, 2005 by jdeboeck

[jdeboeck]

Also when zooming in on these pictures, I don't get any additional detail. The test pattern is blurred, and remains blurred even on the maximum zoom level. This makes me to believe that Media Center just uses an XGA thumbnail instead of the original images. This would look even worse on higher resolutions, making Media Center unusable on 1080p displays.

EDIT: I've rendered some photos and test images into a WMV HD movie, and this does not have the blurring effect. It is fortunately limited to My Pictures.

Edited October 15, 2005 by jdeboeck