slight blur on some images 1

[keithinoz]

I have just noticed that I am getting a slight blur on some of my texts and images. In the pdf I have attached I have indicated the blur. As can be seen most of the text and images are crisp.
The top image is from Thunderbird email and the second is Microsoft's Freecell game.
Any suggestions?

 

[strongm]

Quick question, have you ever modified the DPI settings?

 

[apstef]

Are you using a CRT or an LCD monitor?

Is ClearTYpe enabled?

Looks like anti-aliasing, as far as the text is concerned.

 

[keithinoz]

LCD and Cleartype is enabled

 

[zelgar]

Since you're using a LCD monitor, are you using the monitor's native resolution?

 

[keithinoz]

I am using the native resolution. I am pretty sure that the problem lies inside Windows. I think it's to do with where a program gets its information on who to display itself on the screen.That's why most menus etc are good because they are set by Cleartype but the contents of the email I showed in my original attachment and the Freecell image are being governed by something else.

 

[Nelviticus]

Have a look under Settings/System/Display, check what the scaling slider is set to. It's usually set to 100% unless you have a very high-DPI display, in which case you'll need to scale things for readability but some apps can look a little blurry when you do this.

Nelviticus

 

[strongm]

Hence my earlier question

 

[dilettante]

Non-native resolution would tend to blur or color-fringe everything. Since this only happens for some programs it does sound likely to be a High DPI issue.

Programs that are not DPI-aware will have DPI Virtualization applied to them, resulting in blurring. Those that are can still run into problems, but usually other problems like text not fitting into controls or icons being pixelated. Some work great up until somebody choses a fractional twips per pixel setting (e.g. 200% = 7.5 TPP).

Windows 10 can get a ittle frustrating because display scaling is set in two places that can interact or pre-empt each other.

 

[keithinoz]

I think we are getting down to the real problem. If I set the slider to 100% the blur goes but then all my desktop icons are very small and changing the icon size to medium dmakes the icons too large. At 125% my icons and texts including menus such as Word are fine but I get the blur.
I guess I'll just have to live with it.

 

[strongm]

Each application also has a compatibility setting for scaling on 'high DPI' systems (which stops Windows 10 from trying to be clever with applications that are not DPI-aware): "Disable display scaling on high DPI settings"

It is also vaguely possible that you are using a graphics driver that doesn't properly understand Windows 10 scaling, but I feel that is unlikely a year after W10 release.

When W10 was released, and this problem was first noted, there was a tool <fx: tappety tappety google ...> ah yes, xpexplorer, that a number of people had success with (not used it myself, so can't provide a direct endorsement as to its current effectiveness)

 

[keithinoz]

Thanks for the thought however I have a new Nvidea graphics card and I am bombarded each week with a driver upgrade so I doubt that the card is the problem. Also until my grandchildren got into my machine I had none of this problem.

 

[strongm]

Well, as I said, I felt it was unlikely to be the root of the problem in this case

 

[dilettante]

There is a fix that works every time: a monitor that doesn't have gratuitously high resolution. That keeps Windows from automatically choosing a high DPI setting for you because text and graphics aren't shrunken down to nothing.

Sadly, to keep prices high and generate upsell purchases monitor manufacturers don't even make normal resolution monitors much anymore. This was so bad a few years back the AARP was even looking at moving ahead with a class-action suit (aging vision forces older folks to high DPI sooner than young bucks). Of course the entire thing was mysteriously dropped all at once, so goes the power of Wall Street lobbyists.

 

[Nelviticus]

Keep prices high, are you kidding? Monitor prices have crashed ridiculously in recent years and the trend is still downwards. They still make lower-resolution panels too, it's just that almost nobody wants to buy them so many retailers don't stock them. As someone who prefers non-standard monitors (16:10 rather than the ubiquitous 16:9) I share your frustration, but it's not a conspiracy.

Nelviticus