Wide Version update? - Page 4

James · 08-17-2002, 02:04 AM

ic.... so u mean u just adjust the TwinView setting as horizontal extension?

as ur monitor problem I suppose it only happens to CRT monitor while LCD monitor won't interference each other....mmmm.....dreamming two LCD monitor inlaid into wall....must be eye catching!!

ESHIREY · 08-17-2002, 08:45 AM

Cool . feldon23 how an where do you set that up ? I have winblows98 an a GeForce4 mx440 . I have been trying to do just what you did . I must be dumb as a bag full of stones . I guess my mind is just going . I'm not as young as I used to be .......

feldon34 · 08-17-2002, 09:47 AM

If it has 2 VGA ports and you have 2 monitors, you open the Display control panel, click on Advanced, click on nView tab.

I don't remember exactly what I did in this window but I know I had to fiddle with it quite a bit. I think I clicked "Horizontal Span" and then hit the APPLY button at the bottom.

ESHIREY · 08-17-2002, 09:55 AM

I thought that might be it . I have the dual monitors ( dual 21" Nokia's ) But in Nview I don't have any span options . I even sent a e-mail to the company asking for help an never got any . At one site a guy got back to me an said the span options don't work on Winblows98 . But I don't see why it wouldn't .

If anyone could help me that would be great . I even tried different drivers an it still has no span options in Nview .

HeyFishyFishyFishy · 10-24-2002, 02:45 PM

Just add a LetterBox option for reg. monitor users. kind of like the option on DVD movies.

<--WTF is that!?

<center><align="left"><a href="http://www.geocities.com/mydumbnic/fish.txt"><IMG BORDER="0" HEIGHT="75" WIDTH="100" SRC="http://www.geocities.com/mydumbnic/fish.txt"></align><align="right"><a href="http://www.geocities.com/mydumbnic/fish2.txt"><IMG BORDER="0" HEIGHT="75" WIDTH="100" SRC="http://www.geocities.com/mydumbnic/fish2.txt"></a></align></center>

snaps · 10-24-2002, 03:12 PM

Originally posted by WSHIREY
Cool . feldon23 how an where do you set that up ? I have winblows98 an a GeForce4 mx440 . I have been trying to do just what you did . I must be dumb as a bag full of stones . I guess my mind is just going . I'm not as young as I used to be .......

Try going to Display properties, then find the tab for open GL.

Once there you should be able to find an option for enabling both monitors to run openGL. The default is single monitor.

After you set it to run dual monitors, shut down display properties, open SS Aquarium and set it windowed mode, then drag the edges to encompass both screens.

Note that you must also have window spanning enabled and openGL apps will only span so far. You may or may not be able to completely span both screens depending on resolutions, screen size, etc.

Hope that helps.

Snaps

ESHIREY · 10-24-2002, 05:02 PM

Thanks for the info . I did get it to work now . I installed win 2000 .

diverslung · 11-05-2002, 07:03 PM

Hi folks!
I'm really amazed about the widescreen version.
I only have an ordinary 19" Monitor and I just wanted to check out the WSV in order to have some new optical climaxes
during the "dry" times we all are in waiting for some other aquarium news ...

I didn't expected the WSV to run in full screen mode
for it always sounded as if it wouldn't do.
But what hat a surprise!
It works - surely a bit scaled - but it works!
It even increases my framerate despite the eighth fish!

Is this kind of accidental? Or are they working on a Wide Screen Version for narrow Screens???
If they do so, I wished they would force the SS to retain its dimensions and not to fit screen. I prefer black stripes above and below the aquarium to "squeezed" fishes.
Does anyone know more details?

cjmaddy · 11-06-2002, 09:51 AM

diverslung,
I use the Wide version all the time.
I just adjusted the vertical size of the SSA with the monitor settings (in my case to 0).
The black bars top and bottom give a much better Fish Tank look, (in my opinion), and the monitor remembers the size each time the SSA is started.
I have a thing about pictures that are not the correct proportions, I can't stand all the TV that is transmitted in the wrong format. (My 16:9 14:9 4:3 button is nearly worn out!)
My monitor is a Sony 17" Multiscan G200 - BTW.

diverslung · 11-07-2002, 07:09 AM

Hi cjmaddy,
I don't think I understood your explaination.
You wrote:"with the monitor settings (in my case to 0)...".
But which monitor settings do you mean? The options the SSA provides contain no "0". By the way: Any "resolutions"-preference I formerly did is going to be reset to "desktop resolution" the very moment I exit the menu.
And if you meant the general screen settings of the video card - there are no SSA-specific options to adjust vertical size or so.

Please be so kind as to concrete your nice reply.
I'm longing for such panorama

feldon34 · 11-07-2002, 11:10 AM

diverslung,

Run the widescreen and then use the buttons on the front of your monitor to adjust the vertical height of the picture. Since the Aquarium uses a 60 Hz 16-bit color mode, this vertically squashed setting should not affect your other programs unless the monitor is at least 5 years old.

cjmaddy · 11-07-2002, 11:28 AM

Hi diverslung, I've been tied up with a very lengthy reply on the 'Other Screensavers' thread. (Do read it - if you have a sense of humour!) .... It's all go isn't it.
Sorry my explanation was unclear. It's something that doesn't seem to be very well documented anywhere, (at least it was new to me, when I first did it!), but if, whilst the SSA is on full screen, you adjust your monitor (in my case it's a button on the underside, near the front, by the on/off switch), you are presented with an on screen menu. Amongst the many options available in that menu, is one for vertical size. Reduce the vertical size until the proportions are correct, - you then have black bars top and bottom. Now comes the magic bit. Your monitor SHOULD remember the setting each time the SSA is called up, but it should not affect other resolution settings. I understand this may not work on all or older monitors. Perhaps others could comment?

ps, - Morgan already has!

diverslung · 11-07-2002, 03:28 PM

Hi cjmaddy,

As you wrote: it SHOULD work ... well actually it doesn't.
I run my monitor (scott 995 19" - not older than 2 years)
@ a resolution of 1600 x 1200 x 32 bit. The frequency is set to optimum.
Of course I know how to adjust vertical screen setting. That's not the point - I mean: it was the first thing I did when running the Wide Version fullscreen. But in my case this setting affects my normal desktop screen. So I'm steaddy adjusting...

I'm afraid there's no way for me to get it working.
But thanks for your reply anyway

cjmaddy · 11-07-2002, 04:13 PM

diverslung, Very sorry to hear it did not work for you. It surprised me when I first did it, but apparently it is the norm for modern monitors.
I have just looked back at some earlier posts and found one from Socrates, he states .....

" ..... you can easily adjust your monitor to show the wide Aquarium perfectly on a regular monitor. All you have to do is make some adjustments and accept that there will be black bars like in a letterbox film on your TV.
Newer monitors should either have autofit or should have some "resolution memory" so that you can have more than one resolution adjusted to fit perfectly on the screen.
Plus it runs perfectly in a window at the exact right aspect ratio.
Before the Starfish I used the widescreen version exclusively on my normal shaped 19" monitor."

That is just how it works for me.
Lets hope that someone else can come up with a solution, this forum has rarely let me down.
The widescreen version really does look superb when set to the correct proportions.

Tiny Turtle · 11-08-2002, 04:53 AM

diverslung,
How about trying to run the (W-)SSA at a different resolution than your desktop? I know you want to see it att the higest possible resolution, but just try it at 1280x1024 and see if it remembers the adjusted settings. Ideally the monitor should have separate settings for 1600x1200x32bit and 1600x1200x16bit (and perhaps even differentiate between 1600x1200x32bit@85Hz and 1600x1200x32bit@75Hz) but somehow this is a bit messed up on your system. Could you try and set the SSA to run at "1600x1200" instead of "Desktop resolution" and see if it makes any difference.

For further reference – What OS and video card are you using?

/Tiny Resolution

diverslung · 11-09-2002, 05:48 AM

Hi Tiny,

I quote myself: "By the way: Any "resolutions"-preference I formerly did is going to be reset to "desktop resolution" the very moment I exit the menu." There's no way to get the Wide SSA remembering the resolution settings.
I use Win 98 SE and my video card is "ATI Rage Fury Pro/Xpert 2000 Pro"

cjmaddy · 11-09-2002, 11:15 AM

diverslung,
It's now my turn to not understand fully your explanation.
(Perhaps I'm thick, - and they do say that a LITTLE knowledge can be dangerous)

Like you, I also use Win98SE, so I will try to detail my exact settings. (This may help you, it may not!)
Please do not take offence if I state the obvious, I'm just trying to help you get to the bottom of this, and I assume that I may not be writing this in your home tongue.

In Display Properties/Settings I have Screen area set to 1024 by 768 pixels, and Colors to True Color (32bit)
For the 'Normal' SSA, the Resolution in Aquarium Settings is set to Desktop Resolution.
For the 'Widescreen' SSA the Resolution in Aquarium Settings is set to 1280 x 720
(Aquarium Settings is obtained by pressing Spacebar whilst the relevant SSA is running.)

With the Widescreen SSA running I adjust the monitor's vertical size (in the Sony on-screen menu) until the proportions are correct, and there is an equal black area at both the top and bottom of the screen. I 'OK' this by switching off the menu. I then press Esc, to leave SSA. My system is still working at it's normal 1024 x 768 full screen. If I now re-launch the Wide SSA, the monitor has remembered the 'Wide' settings. Likewise if I start the normal SSA, the screen stays at 1024 x 768 full screen.

I currently use a GeForce2 MX400, but in the past I had an ATI Rage Fury. I don't think it would have affected this!

diverslung · 11-09-2002, 08:40 PM

Hi cj,
Thanx again for your bothering...
I did perfectly understand everything even before your diligent reply. I'm not taking offence but maybe my problem is so seldom that everyone thinks he's getting me wrong...

You wrote: "For the 'Widescreen' SSA the Resolution in Aquarium Settings is set to 1280 x 720" - and so ISN'T mine!!! It is set to "Desktop resolution", and all the same what I'm about to adjust - it resets itself the very moment I press the EXIT button of the Aquarium settings. So far for that.

Every Change made in the on-screen menu of the monitor affects every mode - it doesn' t swich between the SSA mode and let's call it "desktop mode" (I almost think my monitor doesn't make more than one mode). When I adjusted the monitor settings to make the Wide SSA look alright and exit the SSA after that, the windows desktop appears in the same proportions as the Wide SSA.

Did I make myself clearer now? Hopefully...

diverslung · 11-09-2002, 08:51 PM

Sorry I called you "cj" - I just visited your homepage and realized that cjmaddy doesn't mean "CJ Maddy" but "C & JM Addy", haha.
don't take it personal ;-)

snaps · 11-10-2002, 06:59 AM

diverslung,

I know I'm late to this thread, but when you're making these adjustments to screen size, are you running SSA in windowed or fullscreen mode?

From some of your replies, it sounds like you're in windowed mode. In that case, adjusting screen size WILL also affect your desktop.

08-17-2002, 02:04 AM	#61
James Principal Engineer as SDET Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Was in Auckland, New Zealand, Now in Taipei, Taiwan Posts: 1,406	ic.... so u mean u just adjust the TwinView setting as horizontal extension? as ur monitor problem I suppose it only happens to CRT monitor while LCD monitor won't interference each other....mmmm.....dreamming two LCD monitor inlaid into wall....must be eye catching!! James C Chen Principal Engineer as SDET, Connected Services HTC Corporation 88 Section 3. Zhongxing Road Xindian District, New Taipei City 231, Taiwan www.htc.com

08-17-2002, 08:45 AM	#62
ESHIREY Smilie Dragon Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Lebanon, PA Posts: 4,725	Cool . feldon23 how an where do you set that up ? I have winblows98 an a GeForce4 mx440 . I have been trying to do just what you did . I must be dumb as a bag full of stones . I guess my mind is just going . I'm not as young as I used to be ....... Thank you for taking the time to read this.

08-17-2002, 09:47 AM	#63
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,939	If it has 2 VGA ports and you have 2 monitors, you open the Display control panel, click on Advanced, click on nView tab. I don't remember exactly what I did in this window but I know I had to fiddle with it quite a bit. I think I clicked "Horizontal Span" and then hit the APPLY button at the bottom. "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman

08-17-2002, 09:55 AM	#64
ESHIREY Smilie Dragon Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Lebanon, PA Posts: 4,725	I thought that might be it . I have the dual monitors ( dual 21" Nokia's ) But in Nview I don't have any span options . I even sent a e-mail to the company asking for help an never got any . At one site a guy got back to me an said the span options don't work on Winblows98 . But I don't see why it wouldn't . If anyone could help me that would be great . I even tried different drivers an it still has no span options in Nview . Thank you for taking the time to read this.

10-24-2002, 02:45 PM	#65
HeyFishyFishyFishy Registered Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Northpole Posts: 2	Duh! Just add a LetterBox option for reg. monitor users. kind of like the option on DVD movies. <--WTF is that!? <center><align="left"><a href="http://www.geocities.com/mydumbnic/fish.txt"><IMG BORDER="0" HEIGHT="75" WIDTH="100" SRC="http://www.geocities.com/mydumbnic/fish.txt"></align><align="right"><a href="http://www.geocities.com/mydumbnic/fish2.txt"><IMG BORDER="0" HEIGHT="75" WIDTH="100" SRC="http://www.geocities.com/mydumbnic/fish2.txt"></a></align></center>

10-24-2002, 03:12 PM	#66
snaps Registered Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5	Spanning two monitors. Originally posted by WSHIREY Cool . feldon23 how an where do you set that up ? I have winblows98 an a GeForce4 mx440 . I have been trying to do just what you did . I must be dumb as a bag full of stones . I guess my mind is just going . I'm not as young as I used to be ....... Try going to Display properties, then find the tab for open GL. Once there you should be able to find an option for enabling both monitors to run openGL. The default is single monitor. After you set it to run dual monitors, shut down display properties, open SS Aquarium and set it windowed mode, then drag the edges to encompass both screens. Note that you must also have window spanning enabled and openGL apps will only span so far. You may or may not be able to completely span both screens depending on resolutions, screen size, etc. Hope that helps. Snaps

10-24-2002, 05:02 PM	#67
ESHIREY Smilie Dragon Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Lebanon, PA Posts: 4,725	Thanks for the info . I did get it to work now . I installed win 2000 . Thank you for taking the time to read this.

11-05-2002, 07:03 PM	#68
diverslung underwater comix Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Germany Posts: 58	Hi folks! I'm really amazed about the widescreen version. I only have an ordinary 19" Monitor and I just wanted to check out the WSV in order to have some new optical climaxes during the "dry" times we all are in waiting for some other aquarium news ... I didn't expected the WSV to run in full screen mode for it always sounded as if it wouldn't do. But what hat a surprise! It works - surely a bit scaled - but it works! It even increases my framerate despite the eighth fish! Is this kind of accidental? Or are they working on a Wide Screen Version for narrow Screens??? If they do so, I wished they would force the SS to retain its dimensions and not to fit screen. I prefer black stripes above and below the aquarium to "squeezed" fishes. Does anyone know more details? www.mykeself.de - myself is mykeself

11-06-2002, 09:51 AM	#69
cjmaddy Registered Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Lancashire, UK Posts: 7,854	diverslung, I use the Wide version all the time. I just adjusted the vertical size of the SSA with the monitor settings (in my case to 0). The black bars top and bottom give a much better Fish Tank look, (in my opinion), and the monitor remembers the size each time the SSA is started. I have a thing about pictures that are not the correct proportions, I can't stand all the TV that is transmitted in the wrong format. (My 16:9 14:9 4:3 button is nearly worn out!) My monitor is a Sony 17" Multiscan G200 - BTW.

11-07-2002, 07:09 AM	#70
diverslung underwater comix Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Germany Posts: 58	Hi cjmaddy, I don't think I understood your explaination. You wrote:"with the monitor settings (in my case to 0)...". But which monitor settings do you mean? The options the SSA provides contain no "0". By the way: Any "resolutions"-preference I formerly did is going to be reset to "desktop resolution" the very moment I exit the menu. And if you meant the general screen settings of the video card - there are no SSA-specific options to adjust vertical size or so. Please be so kind as to concrete your nice reply. I'm longing for such panorama www.mykeself.de - myself is mykeself

11-07-2002, 11:10 AM	#71
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,939	diverslung, Run the widescreen and then use the buttons on the front of your monitor to adjust the vertical height of the picture. Since the Aquarium uses a 60 Hz 16-bit color mode, this vertically squashed setting should not affect your other programs unless the monitor is at least 5 years old. "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman

11-07-2002, 11:28 AM	#72
cjmaddy Registered Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Lancashire, UK Posts: 7,854	Hi diverslung, I've been tied up with a very lengthy reply on the 'Other Screensavers' thread. (Do read it - if you have a sense of humour!) .... It's all go isn't it. Sorry my explanation was unclear. It's something that doesn't seem to be very well documented anywhere, (at least it was new to me, when I first did it!), but if, whilst the SSA is on full screen, you adjust your monitor (in my case it's a button on the underside, near the front, by the on/off switch), you are presented with an on screen menu. Amongst the many options available in that menu, is one for vertical size. Reduce the vertical size until the proportions are correct, - you then have black bars top and bottom. Now comes the magic bit. Your monitor SHOULD remember the setting each time the SSA is called up, but it should not affect other resolution settings. I understand this may not work on all or older monitors. Perhaps others could comment? ps, - Morgan already has!

11-07-2002, 03:28 PM	#73
diverslung underwater comix Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Germany Posts: 58	Hi cjmaddy, As you wrote: it SHOULD work ... well actually it doesn't. I run my monitor (scott 995 19" - not older than 2 years) @ a resolution of 1600 x 1200 x 32 bit. The frequency is set to optimum. Of course I know how to adjust vertical screen setting. That's not the point - I mean: it was the first thing I did when running the Wide Version fullscreen. But in my case this setting affects my normal desktop screen. So I'm steaddy adjusting... I'm afraid there's no way for me to get it working. But thanks for your reply anyway www.mykeself.de - myself is mykeself

11-07-2002, 04:13 PM	#74
cjmaddy Registered Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Lancashire, UK Posts: 7,854	diverslung, Very sorry to hear it did not work for you. It surprised me when I first did it, but apparently it is the norm for modern monitors. I have just looked back at some earlier posts and found one from Socrates, he states ..... " ..... you can easily adjust your monitor to show the wide Aquarium perfectly on a regular monitor. All you have to do is make some adjustments and accept that there will be black bars like in a letterbox film on your TV. Newer monitors should either have autofit or should have some "resolution memory" so that you can have more than one resolution adjusted to fit perfectly on the screen. Plus it runs perfectly in a window at the exact right aspect ratio. Before the Starfish I used the widescreen version exclusively on my normal shaped 19" monitor." That is just how it works for me. Lets hope that someone else can come up with a solution, this forum has rarely let me down. The widescreen version really does look superb when set to the correct proportions.

11-08-2002, 04:53 AM	#75
Tiny Turtle is pleased Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Posts: 7,365	diverslung, How about trying to run the (W-)SSA at a different resolution than your desktop? I know you want to see it att the higest possible resolution, but just try it at 1280x1024 and see if it remembers the adjusted settings. Ideally the monitor should have separate settings for 1600x1200x32bit and 1600x1200x16bit (and perhaps even differentiate between 1600x1200x32bit@85Hz and 1600x1200x32bit@75Hz) but somehow this is a bit messed up on your system. Could you try and set the SSA to run at "1600x1200" instead of "Desktop resolution" and see if it makes any difference. For further reference – What OS and video card are you using? /Tiny Resolution Thanks to Morgan, Tiny Snapshots is up and running again with "Tiny Järvafält" as the latest addition – Go have a look and tell me what you think. "We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that, one way or another." /Robert Oppenheimer on witnessing the first thermonuclear detonation in history.

11-09-2002, 05:48 AM	#76
diverslung underwater comix Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Germany Posts: 58	Hi Tiny, I quote myself: "By the way: Any "resolutions"-preference I formerly did is going to be reset to "desktop resolution" the very moment I exit the menu." There's no way to get the Wide SSA remembering the resolution settings. I use Win 98 SE and my video card is "ATI Rage Fury Pro/Xpert 2000 Pro" www.mykeself.de - myself is mykeself

11-09-2002, 11:15 AM	#77
cjmaddy Registered Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Lancashire, UK Posts: 7,854	diverslung, It's now my turn to not understand fully your explanation. (Perhaps I'm thick, - and they do say that a LITTLE knowledge can be dangerous) Like you, I also use Win98SE, so I will try to detail my exact settings. (This may help you, it may not!) Please do not take offence if I state the obvious, I'm just trying to help you get to the bottom of this, and I assume that I may not be writing this in your home tongue. In Display Properties/Settings I have Screen area set to 1024 by 768 pixels, and Colors to True Color (32bit) For the 'Normal' SSA, the Resolution in Aquarium Settings is set to Desktop Resolution. For the 'Widescreen' SSA the Resolution in Aquarium Settings is set to 1280 x 720 (Aquarium Settings is obtained by pressing Spacebar whilst the relevant SSA is running.) With the Widescreen SSA running I adjust the monitor's vertical size (in the Sony on-screen menu) until the proportions are correct, and there is an equal black area at both the top and bottom of the screen. I 'OK' this by switching off the menu. I then press Esc, to leave SSA. My system is still working at it's normal 1024 x 768 full screen. If I now re-launch the Wide SSA, the monitor has remembered the 'Wide' settings. Likewise if I start the normal SSA, the screen stays at 1024 x 768 full screen. I currently use a GeForce2 MX400, but in the past I had an ATI Rage Fury. I don't think it would have affected this!

11-09-2002, 08:40 PM	#78
diverslung underwater comix Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Germany Posts: 58	Hi cj, Thanx again for your bothering... I did perfectly understand everything even before your diligent reply. I'm not taking offence but maybe my problem is so seldom that everyone thinks he's getting me wrong... You wrote: "For the 'Widescreen' SSA the Resolution in Aquarium Settings is set to 1280 x 720" - and so ISN'T mine!!! It is set to "Desktop resolution", and all the same what I'm about to adjust - it resets itself the very moment I press the EXIT button of the Aquarium settings. So far for that. Every Change made in the on-screen menu of the monitor affects every mode - it doesn' t swich between the SSA mode and let's call it "desktop mode" (I almost think my monitor doesn't make more than one mode). When I adjusted the monitor settings to make the Wide SSA look alright and exit the SSA after that, the windows desktop appears in the same proportions as the Wide SSA. Did I make myself clearer now? Hopefully... www.mykeself.de - myself is mykeself

11-09-2002, 08:51 PM	#79
diverslung underwater comix Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Germany Posts: 58	Sorry I called you "cj" - I just visited your homepage and realized that cjmaddy doesn't mean "CJ Maddy" but "C & JM Addy", haha. don't take it personal ;-) www.mykeself.de - myself is mykeself

11-10-2002, 06:59 AM	#80
snaps Registered Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5	diverslung, I know I'm late to this thread, but when you're making these adjustments to screen size, are you running SSA in windowed or fullscreen mode? From some of your replies, it sounds like you're in windowed mode. In that case, adjusting screen size WILL also affect your desktop.