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    #1

    Kubuntu loses 16:10 screen format

    I'll start by pointing out that this was a problem in the last version of Kubuntu also. I am currently in Karmic Koala 2.6.31-21.

    I have a Samsung Synmaster T240, 16:10 screen format, on an Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 (so sayeth the Nvidia Xserver settings). Every time I boot up, I am obliged to redefine the screen size. Instead of 1600x1024 (It does not offer me 1600x1000), it comes up with 1600x1200 and I have to go into System Settings and reset it and accept the config. Using the Nvidia application gives the same result.

    It's not a serious problem, but it is rather annoying. Any ideas?

    Also, why does it not offer a true 1600x1000 possiblity? It seems to me that more and more screens have this format. Unless they are of TV format, 16:9.
    'I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week sometimes to make it up.' Mark Twain
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    #2
    Re: Kubuntu loses 16:10 screen format

    I could be wrong, but the resolutions you are talking about don't exist.

    See: Current standards and scroll down a bit.
    Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007
    "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes​
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      #3
      Re: Kubuntu loses 16:10 screen format -> Acceptable screen formats?

      Originally posted by Snowhog
      I could be wrong, but the resolutions you are talking about don't exist.

      See: Current standards and scroll down a bit.
      Uh-oh. I can see this may become messy. Amazon (France) and some other sites say that the optimal resolution for this screen is 1920x1200, which is a ratio of 1.6. Look 2 paragraphs after the list of "standards" you refer to and you'll see a whole lot of different standards, including 2560×1600 WQXGA, which is also 1.6.

      It looked to me like all the wide screens I found in stores here (France) were either TV-sized 16:9 or else 16:10. My video card definitely does not support 16:9, so, wanting a wide screen, I got this. There are lots of other models with this resolution. Wide-screen TV is (at least here) alwasy 16x9.

      In any case, my video card offers 1600x1024, so why does it not keep this resolution from boot to boot?

      The article also refers to other considerations which I really would rather not get into, which can change resolution for a given screen. At this point, I can feel my eyes starting to glaze over... (Why can't choices like this be simple? Sigh...)

      Is there a computer-industry-accepted standard for screen resolution ratios?

      Uh... help!
      'I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week sometimes to make it up.' Mark Twain
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        #4
        Re: Kubuntu loses 16:10 screen format

        A bit more info:

        My screen measures 52cmx32.5cm, a ratio of 1.6. The same is true for my wife's screen, a different brand (Asus).

        Our LG TV screen however measures 71cmx40cm, which is the same as 16x9.
        'I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week sometimes to make it up.' Mark Twain
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          #5
          Re: Kubuntu loses 16:10 screen format

          To check what is recognized by the system:
          Code:
          xdpyinfo | grep dimensions
          And if you want to get dpi info:
          Code:
          xdpyinfo | grep "dots per inch"
          Use the max for your nvidia settings and you should be good to go. It is no wonder it refused incorrect settings...
          Once your problem is solved please mark the topic of the first post as SOLVED so others know and can benefit from your experience! / FAQ
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            #6
            Re: Kubuntu loses 16:10 screen format

            $ xdpyinfo | grep dimensions
            dimensions: 1600x1024 pixels (521x273 millimeters)

            which is what I set it to (from a pull-down list, so it is permitted).

            $ xdpyinfo | grep "dots per inch"
            resolution: 78x95 dots per inch

            Not sure what this means. Are the pixels not square? Or are the pixels non-uniformly distributed on the screen? If I understand correctly, that gives

            screen width = 52cm = 20.5in * 78 dots/inch = 1597 ~= 1600
            screen height = 32.5cm = 12.8 in * 95 dots/inch = 1215 dots ~= 1200, not 1024!

            But if I set my screen on 1600x1200, which is possible, my photos are definitely distorted!

            Obviously, I do not understand the calculations behind screen sizes. And the Wikipedia article Snowhog refers to shows over 2 dozen "standards". Can one really speak of "standard" when there are so many of them.
            'I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week sometimes to make it up.' Mark Twain
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              #7
              Re: Kubuntu loses 16:10 screen format

              Ah, so 1600x1024 it is... Which doesn't really help us but at least we know what we are at. If the nvidia driver doesn't like those settings perhaps you need to convince it to remember them with an xorg.conf

              I can only refer you to the archwiki page on Xorg - absolutely excellent but always remember to back up before you edit
              Once your problem is solved please mark the topic of the first post as SOLVED so others know and can benefit from your experience! / FAQ
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                #8
                Re: Kubuntu loses 16:10 screen format

                I'll take a look at Xorg. In the meantime, just to complicate things, xdpyinfo tells me

                screen #0:
                dimensions: 1600x1024 pixels (521x273 millimeters)
                resolution: 78x95 dots per inch

                whereas my screen is approx. 520mm x 325mm, not 273. Oh, well...

                Thanks again for your suggestions.
                'I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week sometimes to make it up.' Mark Twain
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                  #9
                  Re: Kubuntu loses 16:10 screen format

                  Where did you get it? Back of a lorry

                  Sorry, didn't mean to offend in any way... Better check the manual, 'cos the info - as you pointed out - is contradictory and you DO NOT want to break it by demanding the impossible of really rather strange hardware...

                  All the best
                  Once your problem is solved please mark the topic of the first post as SOLVED so others know and can benefit from your experience! / FAQ
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                    #10
                    Re: Kubuntu loses 16:10 screen format

                    No apologies needed. But I do not understand why it "such strange hardware"? Most of the wide-screen models I find around here are either 16x10 or 16x9. As for my video card, the highest value of 16x9 it supports is 1360x768 and I wanted bigger. I cannot replace the card for a new one since my computer mother board won't accept the latest cards. (Something about the format...)

                    So what is or, rather should be, the resolution of a wide-screen monitor? And I guess I'll give up trying to make sense out of the various figures I gave above...

                    I guess I'll just close the question in frustration.
                    'I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week sometimes to make it up.' Mark Twain
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                      #11
                      Re: Kubuntu loses 16:10 screen format

                      No need, you could always write yourself a little script using xrandr such as

                      Code:
                      #!/bin/bash
# set monitor to desired ratio 
xrandr -fb 1600x1024
                      Now make it executable and have it autostart when KDE comes up - does that do the trick? BTW, test the xrandr line first to see whether you get the right result
                      Code:
                      xrandr -fb 1600x1024
                      Once your problem is solved please mark the topic of the first post as SOLVED so others know and can benefit from your experience! / FAQ
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                        #12
                        Re: Kubuntu loses 16:10 screen format

                        the 16:10 res closest you 1600*1000 would be 1680*1050 , (its the res i use oddly enuff) do you have that as an option? , also have you installed you video drivers (if needed) check jockey-kde and see if you have drivers to install that could make all the difference when setting your desired res.
                        Mark Your Solved Issues [SOLVED]
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                          #13
                          Re: Kubuntu loses 16:10 screen format

                          Thanks for the suggestion, but jockey-kde tells me I have the right driver installed, Nvidia 173.

                          I cannot get xrandr to work:

                          $xrandr --fb 1600x1024
                          xrandr: specified screen 1600x1024 not large enough for output default (1600x1200+0+0)
                          X Error of failed request: BadMatch (invalid parameter attributes)
                          Major opcode of failed request: 153 (RANDR)
                          Minor opcode of failed request: 7 (RRSetScreenSize)
                          Serial number of failed request: 20
                          Current serial number in output stream: 21

                          For info:

                          $ xrandr
                          Screen 0: minimum 320 x 240, current 1600 x 1200, maximum 1600 x 1200
                          default connected 1600x1200+0+0 0mm x 0mm
                          1600x1200 50.0*
                          1600x1024 51.0
                          1440x900 52.0
                          1400x1050 53.0
                          1360x768 54.0 55.0
                          1280x1024 56.0
                          1280x960 57.0
                          1280x800 58.0
                          1152x864 59.0
                          1024x768 60.0
                          960x600 61.0
                          960x540 62.0
                          840x525 63.0 64.0
                          800x600 65.0 66.0
                          800x512 67.0
                          720x450 68.0
                          680x384 69.0 70.0
                          640x512 71.0
                          640x480 72.0 73.0
                          576x432 74.0
                          512x384 75.0
                          400x300 76.0
                          320x240 77.0

                          So it does not seem to want me to give a width above 1600, tho for me 1680x1050 would be fine. And what set the default to 1600x1200?

                          Could it just be that my video card is too old for this sort of screen? (Not much I can do there without buying a new computer.) The optimum for the screen is supposed to be 1920x1200, but the list given by xrandr does not go that high. 'Course, I do not know where those numbers are coming from.
                          'I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week sometimes to make it up.' Mark Twain
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                            #14
                            Re: Kubuntu loses 16:10 screen format

                            I think you may be using the wrong command for what you want. Try this one:

                            xrandr --output VGA --mode 1600x1024

                            This assume you're using the VGA output. It could be VGA-1. If you're using a DVI connection it's likely TDMS-1 or TDMS-2 and for a laptop likely LVDS.

                            Please Read Me
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                              #15
                              Re: Kubuntu loses 16:10 screen format

                              Good catch, my fault
                              Once your problem is solved please mark the topic of the first post as SOLVED so others know and can benefit from your experience! / FAQ
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