[APP][ROOT][4.2-4.3JB][10-25-2013] Screen Settings - w/HDMI detection -Ver 1.27

REQUIRED:
Device: Nexus 10 or other devices with a screen larger than 3.5"
OS: 4.2 or 4.3 Jelly Bean
Other: ROOT access with BUSYBOX installed



What does this app do?
It allows to change the resolution and the pixels density of the screen to pre-defined settings according to standard screen aspect ratios

Why is this useful?
- Watching Video on an external monitor/tv using the hdmi output will usually mirror the screen content without correcting for aspect ratio, by setting the correct resolution and pixel density of the screen to match the monitor/tv allows to fill the entire external screen and avoid the side black bars.

- Playing games on an external monitor/tv: normally, the device will render the games to the full resolution available on the device's screen. On the case of the Nexus 10, games will be rendered to its huge resolution of 2560x1600 and then it will be scaled down to the monitor/tv screen resolution wasting GPU prepossessing power and resulting on more heat and power consumption during gaming. By reducing the screen resolution to match the external monitor/tv less processing power is needed to render the game at the lower monitor/tv's resolution, many games will even use the extra processing power available for more effects or more frames per second (depending on the game, no established by this app).

- Simulate other screen resolutions and pixel density for android developers to test their applications on the physical device and observe how their application will look on other devices.

Available options:
-Manual Settings: Allows to manually select the desired resolution and pixel density according to pre-defined standard aspect ratios.

-Auto Detection: Will run in the background and will detect HDMI connections and disconnections. On a HDMI connection detected, a notification will be presented to apply the detected screen resolution and pixel density appropriate for your screen. On a HDMI disconnection, the notification will allow to return to the device's default settings.

Reboot Mode: New Soft Reboot will only reboot the graphical interface not the entire system (Fast). Normal Full Reboot (safest, use if you find interface issues with the Soft Reboot).

Screen Size: Define your screen size (affects dpi calculation). This setting comes pre-defined for the nexus 10, but you should change it to match your screen size on other devices.

HDMI Resolution Preset: Define your preferred output resolution instead of using the Auto-Detection option .

New Default Settings: The default settings will now reset the dpi value to the factory configuration. It appears that the nexus 10 comes from factory with a dpi setup to 320 instead of 300. The new reset feature should also work for other devices.

Auto DPI Selection: No more guessing work, it will select the appropriate dpi value for the selected resolution and the screen size defined on the settings.

Screen OFF feature: Allows you turn your device's screen off while keeping the output to the hdmi to reduce the power usage. To turn the screen back ON just press the power button twice or simply disconnect the hdmi.

Touchless Profile: It applies the profile automatically upon hdmi connection without user interaction.
- The profile can either auto detect the TV resolution or apply the preset resolution
- If selected, it will turn the screen off automatically when the hdmi is in use.
- On hdmi disconnection, the screen settings will automatically return to default.

What is New
New Recovery Feature: Recovers the default screen setting after an user specified number of power/charger connections. Will restore the device if the user applied a configuration not supported by the device.
To trigger the recovery feature, plug and unplug the power/charger to the device allowing ~1s between plug/unplug as many times as defined on the settings menu, default is 3 times.

v1.27:
- New Recovery Feature to restore default setting upon cycling the power connection 3 times at ~1s between connections.
- Fixed interface issues on Nexus 7 2013.
- Support for small screens up to 3.5"
- New first time setup to ensure the user select the appropriate screen size of their devices.
- Added the screen size to the current settings display.

v1.26: Improved the Preset Resolution Input dialog to avoid incorrect inputs.

v1.25: - Improved support for devices that are naturally oriented in portrait mode (i.e. nexus 7, cellphones, etc).
- Added more resolutions, specially to support smaller devices and cellphones.
- Added "Touchless Profile" option.

v1.24: - fixed a crash issue happening on devices that did not have BusyBox installed. if you don't have busybox installed, the app will now prompt you to install it.
- fixed the Auto-Brightness feature that was awakening the screen for some devices on ambient light changes.
- Added Screen Turn OFF request for support on devices where screen turn off is not yet supported.
v1.23:
-Improved screen OFF detection mode to support more devices. Allows you turn your device's screen off while keeping the output to the hdmi to reduce the power usage
v1.22:
-Screen OFF feature.
v1.21:
-Adjusted App's interface for portrait and landscape mode, and smaller screens.
-Back compatibility with JB 4.2
-Added preset button on main application
v1.2:
- Auto DPI Selection.
- Reboot Mode Selection.
- Screen Size Selection.
- HDMI resolution Preset option.
v1.01: Code cleaning
v1.0: Initial Release


Why a reboot is needed to apply the new screen settings?
- For now the safest way to restore the entire Interface with the new resolution and pixel density is to reboot the system. The new Soft Reboot should reduce considerably the time required to reset the interface.


MOD EDIT: Link to Google Play Removed due to XDA advertising paid app/theme policy. OP can check for PM from me.

s1m4an said:

This sounds like an interesting app!

Gonna try it out, but I have a few questions, does the resolution change happen only when connected to a HDMI output? Are there any benefits to having a lower res for say regular daily use of the tablet, say like not hogging the gpu or lowering the gpu temperature?

Also, according to Xda rules you shouldn't advertise paid apps here, you either have to make a free trial or this post will get removed, but I would love to keep the thread alive...

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 4

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

s1m4an,
I did not know about the paid app rules for posting at this forum; however, I am planning to release a trial or beta version specially to bring support to other devices.

You can change the resolution at any moment (without HDMI connected) by opening the app and selecting the desired resolution and pixel density and then apply the changes.

The HDMI detection just allows you to change the settings to match the detected external screen automatically without having to worry about what resolution and density you should select.

Lowering the resolution will definitely reduce the GPU utilization and GPU power consumption (heat generated) especially at graphic intensive apps like games, even at 1080p the GPU needs to render half the amount of pixels than the default resolution. I have tested this with games and I generally gain frames per second or I am able to increase the detail level of the game effects. In normal usage, GPU utilization will also be reduced but I will imagine that non graphic intensive applications will not give you such drastic difference, probably watching movies will.

Another benefit is that it allows you to test how applications will look on other devices, if you are a developer.

Thanks for the comment,

How did you solve the keyboard problem? I was seeing the same thing but could not find a solutuion.

And what screen resolution settings are you using now that will work perfectly with your TV?

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

mrruin,

I have tested few popular keyboards from the market and found the following:
- Google Keyboard: Adjust the best out all I have tested, it consistently adjust with changes of screen resolution.
- SlideIT: Somewhat adjusting to the screen resolution changes, works better than Swype and SwiftKey.
- Swype: do not dynamically adjust to screen changes, some resolutions works but wont adjust to the screen on 1080p.
- SwiftKey: do not dynamically adjust to screen changes, some resolutions works but wont adjust to the screen on 1080p.

I would recommend you use Google Keyboard when changing the resolution of the device, until these keyboards are fixed for resolution changes.