Marine Aquarium 2.01 settings Question

[surfer]

I think the Marine Aquarium 2.01 is just fantastic. One of the settings does have me a little confused though .

In the settings tab there is a "Anamorphic Factor" (Desktop) option and further down under Select Monitor, there is another setting for "Anamorphic Factor". I set this one to 0.9500 and the Aquarium looks great.

Why are there two seperate Anamorphic Factor settings? Should the first setting always be the same as the second setting?

Thanks for any information,

Surfer

[skypx]

Originally posted by surfer
I think the Marine Aquarium 2.01 is just fantastic. One of the settings does have me a little confused though .

In the settings tab there is a "Anamorphic Factor" (Desktop) option and further down under Select Monitor, there is another setting for "Anamorphic Factor". I set this one to 0.9500 and the Aquarium looks great.

Why are there two seperate Anamorphic Factor settings? Should the first setting always be the same as the second setting?

Thanks for any information,

Surfer

Same here. I'm been trying to figure out how to get it to fill out a 1920x1200 widescreen monitor.

[feldon34]

skypx,

If you click "Widescreen", the Aquarium should almost completely fill that screen. 1920x1200 is not a standard 16:9 ratio, so you will have very thin black bars at the top and bottom. I'm thinking that to fill the whole screen, you might have to increase the anamorphic ratio above 1.0.

[surfer]

Humm, OK I'm still hoping for information about my original question .

I'm using a standard 19" CRT, 4:3 ratio @ 1280x960. If I like the Anamophic Factor for the Monitor set at 0.9500 what should the Anamorphic Factor for the Desktop setting be? Why two different Anamorphic locations/settings? Thanks again.

Surfer

[Edgar]

The desktop monitor settings can be different than the full screen monitor settings. Some people like to adjust their monitors hardware settings to simulate widescreen monitors. This gives them that freedom. So running in window mode will use the desktop settings and keep the aspect ratio correct no matter what resolutions the desktop is set.

[skypx]

Originally posted by feldon28
skypx,

If you click "Widescreen", the Aquarium should almost completely fill that screen. 1920x1200 is not a standard 16:9 ratio, so you will have very thin black bars at the top and bottom. I'm thinking that to fill the whole screen, you might have to increase the anamorphic ratio above 1.0.

Thanks feldon28, I'll try it when I get home and report the results.

[skypx]

Originally posted by surfer
Humm, OK I'm still hoping for information about my original question .

I'm using a standard 19" CRT, 4:3 ratio @ 1280x960. If I like the Anamophic Factor for the Monitor set at 0.9500 what should the Anamorphic Factor for the Desktop setting be? Why two different Anamorphic locations/settings? Thanks again.

Surfer

Sorry for hijacking your thread.

[surfer]

Edgar:
Thank you. Now I understand - one is for "window mode" and the other is for "full screen" mode.

Skypx:
Not a problem. The more information given/received the more we learn .

Surfer

[skypx]

Before


After


The setting I used was .99. It looks a little off though. What do you think?

[surfer]

Skypx:
It looks great, now I want to buy a widescreen monitor!

From the looks of your display your using an older build of MD 2.01. Go to the main download site and download the new version.

There was a few bug fixes, and now you can set the monitor refresh rate MUCH higher, also you can have eight fish instead of seven .

Gerald

[skypx]

Originally posted by surfer
Skypx:
It looks great, now I want to buy a widescreen monitor!

From the looks of your display your using an older build of MD 2.01. Go to the main download site and download the new version.

There was a few bug fixes, and now you can set the monitor refresh rate MUCH higher, also you can have eight fish instead of seven .

Gerald

Gerald, I'm using the latest version. The refresh rate's at 60hz because I'm using an LCD monitor.

[skypx]

Here's a link to an uncompressed screenshot.

[cjmaddy]

If the computer monitor is set up correctly, both Anamorphic factors can be set to the same figure. To avoid any stretching or compressing of the background and fish, I have mine set to 0.815, - on a 4x3 monitor.

[surfer]

Cliff:
I just HATE black bars on my TV or computer screen. So I compromise and use 0.9500 - it gives me a little more width with just thin black bars. The background and fish don't look to be distorted at this setting.

Surfer

[cjmaddy]

Surfer,

I love the black bars, it gives a more fish tank proportions appearance IMO! - and I HATE distortion! - If a DVD movie is 1,85:1, - then that's how I like it to look.

0.9500 WILL distort the image! - but if that's what you like, DO IT! - You have that choice! ... (but it's wrong! )

[surfer]

Cliff:
For a really good DVD movie using a 1:85 ratio I will grin and bear it , but if it's 2:35 you couldn't pay me to watch it on a normal 4:3 ratio TV.

It looks like 16:9 widesceen TV and widesceen computer monitors are the way of the future.

Surfer

[Jim Sachs]

surfer - We've cleverly provided a solution that has neither black bars or distortion when viewed on a 4:3 monitor. It's called the regular version.

[cjmaddy]

Jim, - Nice one!

Surfer, - "..... the way of the future." ?? !!!!!

The last time I went into a TV shop/store, I didn't see a 4x3 TV on display? - It's like trying to find a Low Class Butcher! - 16x9 TVs have been the norm over here, for what seems like years.

Incidentally how do you watch a 2.35:1 ratio? - surely you don't stretch it to fill the screen!

I will never understand the obsession with filling the screen with the picture, regardless of the distortion created!

[feldon34]

Digital terrestrial 16:9 TV has been the norm in the UK for years. The US waited for an HDTV standard and bypassed 16:9 non-high definition programming altogether (except Fox TV -- Rupert Murdoch's outfit -- anyone surprised?).

There is still no over-the-air HDTV in the UK, just 16:9 crisp digital DVD-quality programs.

[drfish]

Wow. I had no idea. Pretty cool.