Modify LCD (Pixel) Density

[gadgetrants]

A real point of pride for me in owning the Nook Color is that gorgeous screen. Ironically, the fonts are small enough that some owners complain it can be hard to read! As I've recently learned, there is a software setting (LCD density) that can be modified, that allows the user to expand or contract the display. Lots of owners have done this on their Android phones, to fit more into that "teeny" phone screen!

When I first booted the gTAB, my initial reaction was "OH NO!!! ^#%&%@%@, it looks just like the Samsung Galaxy Tab display... It's just a big a toy!!!!" I was pretty disappointed...everything looked so big and goofy, compared to how I was used to seeing it on the Nook.

The good news is that there's a free app called LCDDensity for Root (https://market.android.com/details?id=lv.n3o.lcddensity) which allows you to increase or decrease the LCD density. Here are some examples, with the native gTAB display on the left, and the right with the modified LCD density set at "135":





In general, I prefer the higher density display, but it's interesting to note that it can mess up: notice the lock screen is missing the clock on the "modified" version. The notification bar is also a little wonky. I'll upload contrasting screenshots of Dolphin HD in the next post.

One feature of LCDDensity for Root is that it does not persist across reboots, so it has to be re-run as needed. The alternative LCD Density Changer costs $1.06 (https://market.android.com/details?id=com.beansoft.lcd_density_changer) and offers a persistent setting.

-Matt

 

[gadgetrants]

And here are two more comparison shots:



-Matt

 

[Fuganater]

Here are the steps to do this on a Gingerbread ROM since the App does not work.

First we have to make the /system r/w
1. Download Android Terminal Emulator.
2. Launch the Terminal Emulator.
3. Type the following commands.
a. su (Superuser will pop up. You will need to hit Allow so you can have SuperUser access)
b. mount -o remount,rw /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
c. chmod 777 /system
4. Now reboot your device.
5. You should now be able to edit the /system directory.

Make the changes to build.prop
1. Open your favorite File Explorer. (Astra, ES, etc)
2. Navigate to /system/build.prop
3. Long press on build.prop and select Open As > Text
4. Edit the line ro.sf.lcd_density=161 to read ro.sf.lcd_density=140 (or smaller or bigger if you want)
5. Hit the back button and Save your changes.
6. Reboot your device to make sure the changes take effect.

 

[Fuganater]

No good!! Now my device just keeps rebooting.

Ya it reboots 3-4 times then reverts back to the default setting.

 

[voyageurs60]

Gadg - what ROM are you running? Stable? Where did the "slide" unlock come from?

I am running the TnT GHarmony 1.2 ROM - very stable for me...

Thanks

 

[gadgetrants]

Gadg - what ROM are you running? Stable? Where did the "slide" unlock come from?

I am running the TnT GHarmony 1.2 ROM - very stable for me...

Thanks

TNT Lite 4.4.0. So far, so good. That's really weird what happened with Fuganater's gTab...

-Matt

 

[Fuganater]

Runing G-Harmony-Gingerbread v2.1

 

[gadgetrants]

Runing G-Harmony-Gingerbread v2.1

Ah, I wonder if Gingerbread is why? Hey, you know you can modify LCD density directy, I think it's in the build.prop file:

Reduce LCD Density Setting in Build.Prop For Higher Res Look - xda-developers

-Matt

 

[Fuganater]

Ah, I wonder if Gingerbread is why? Hey, you know you can modify LCD density directy, I think it's in the build.prop file:

Reduce LCD Density Setting in Build.Prop For Higher Res Look - xda-developers

-Matt

Never saw this before. Gingerbread only?

I'll try when I get home from work.

 

[gadgetrants]

I suspect the build.prop will work...what I think is that maybe the LCDDensity app is not rebooting correctly in Gingerbread. I just did a quick search, but didn't find anything on it though. You might also try the other one, but it's not free.

-Matt

 

[jeffc83]

I suspect the build.prop will work...what I think is that maybe the LCDDensity app is not rebooting correctly in Gingerbread. I just did a quick search, but didn't find anything on it though. You might also try the other one, but it's not free.

-Matt

that will work....have already done it but cant seem to find the perfect setting. matt, what setting are you on

 

[Fuganater]

Ok I fixed it. I'll edit my first post to let people know how to do it.

 

[gadgetrants]

that will work....have already done it but cant seem to find the perfect setting. matt, what setting are you on

Jeff, using LCDDensity I'm on 135. I thought it might temporarily modify build.prop, but when I took a peek I actually couldn't find the ro.sf.lcd_density line! So I'm not sure how I'd do it manually, but I'd assume that 135 in LCDDensity is the same 135 if you edited build.prop by hand. ATM though I'm fine with it as a soft-option.

Sorry for the flaky answer!

-Matt

 

[hunter505]

Just tried this, there is a very noticeable improvement! Screen seems much sharper. No problems with notification bar or lock screen. I am at 140 on the settings. G-Harmony 1.2

 

[gadgetrants]

Just tried this, there is a very noticeable improvement! Screen seems much sharper. No problems with notification bar or lock screen. I am at 140 on the settings. G-Harmony 1.2

Awesome! I ended up dropping LCDDensity, and just directly modifying the build.prop file (oddly, the density line was missing, so I added it). It works on reboot, and looks great. Oh, I was just about to ask what your setting was, but now I see it's 140. Cool. It does look better, doesn't it?

-Matt