Arch Linux

marmistrz

Member

Registered: 2016-01-05

Posts: 110

Using Cinnamon on a TV set as a monitor

I'd like to use a 1080p tv set as a monitor for some time. I'm using HDMI to connect.

The only problem is the size of everything. Basically, the whole UI is tiny, so I have to squint to read anything. I'd like to sit far away from the tv set.

I know I could use the text-scaling factor in the Font settings, but with the factor of 1.8 the whole UI looks cluttered.

Using HiDPI scaling doesn't work as expected - the UI is so large that the Cinnamon menu is cut off.

How can I optimize the Cinnamon DE to look nice on a tv set?

Awebb

Member

Registered: 2010-05-06

Posts: 6,286

Re: Using Cinnamon on a TV set as a monitor

I'm not sure what else to tell you, if finding and setting a fitting DPI failed.

Hydranix

Member

Registered: 2013-02-10

Posts: 55

Re: Using Cinnamon on a TV set as a monitor

I use a Samsung 1080p TV as a monitor and while it works quite good, it doesn't report its DPI properly to Xorg.

All GUI and desktop resolution configuration utilities report that I'm using a 7inch by 4inch screen for whatever reason.

What is the demensions of the monitor you're using? I'll just guess its a 32" 1080p TV as thats most common.

In /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Add this line to Section "Monitor"

Option         "DPI" "69x69"

So you'll have something sort of like this (from my own xorg.conf):

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "Monitor0"
    VendorName     "Samsung"
    ModelName      "Unknown"
    HorizSync       28.0 - 33.0
    VertRefresh     43.0 - 72.0
    Option         "DPMS"
    Option         "DPI" "69x69"
EndSection

marmistrz

Member

Registered: 2016-01-05

Posts: 110

Re: Using Cinnamon on a TV set as a monitor

I use a Samsung 1080p TV as a monitor and while it works quite good, it doesn't report its DPI properly to Xorg.

All GUI and desktop resolution configuration utilities report that I'm using a 7inch by 4inch screen for whatever reason.

What is the demensions of the monitor you're using? I'll just guess its a 32" 1080p TV as thats most common

In my case the dimensions reported are more or less correct. I'd only like to sit quite far away from the screen.

Before I make changes to xorg.conf, I wanted to test the DPI within an X session. I called

[tvuser@arch ~]$ xrandr --verbose --dpi 300/HDMI2
screen 0: 1920x1080 162x91 mm 300.00dpi
[tvuser@arch ~]$ xrandr --verbose --dpi 100/HDMI2
screen 0: 1920x1080 487x274 mm 100.00dpi

But the size of the UI elements stays absolutely the same. Why?

Last edited by marmistrz (2016-07-15 14:52:55)

R00KIE

Forum Fellow

From: Between a computer and a chair

Registered: 2008-09-14

Posts: 4,734

Re: Using Cinnamon on a TV set as a monitor

You could try telling the x server the physical size of the tv and from the resolution it will automatically calculate the correct dpi, but I suppose that things might still look wonky as hidpi support on linux seems to need some work.

/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/90-monitor-size.conf:

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier             "TV"
    DisplaySize            344 194    # Millimeters - Measure and set correct size here
EndSection

---

R00KIE
Tm90aGluZyB0byBzZWUgaGVyZSwgbW92ZSBhbG9uZy4K

marmistrz

Member

Registered: 2016-01-05

Posts: 110

Re: Using Cinnamon on a TV set as a monitor

You could try telling the x server the physical size of the tv and from the resolution it will automatically calculate the correct dpi, but I suppose that things might still look wonky as hidpi support on linux seems to need some work.

/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/90-monitor-size.conf:

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier             "TV"
    DisplaySize            344 194    # Millimeters - Measure and set correct size here
EndSection

Can I do it temporarily with xrandr?

marmistrz

Member

Registered: 2016-01-05

Posts: 110

Re: Using Cinnamon on a TV set as a monitor

You could try telling the x server the physical size of the tv and from the resolution it will automatically calculate the correct dpi, but I suppose that things might still look wonky as hidpi support on linux seems to need some work.

/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/90-monitor-size.conf:

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier             "TV"
    DisplaySize            344 194    # Millimeters - Measure and set correct size here
EndSection

I have another computer running Linux Mint, put such a config file into /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/90-samsung.conf. The config file is read (if I used an invalid keyword, X.org refused to start). Still, after fixing it xrandr still claims the display to be 160x90mm. xdpyinfo claims the screen with is 508mm. I set the dimesions to 817 459.

Tried any identifier, nothing helps.