Screensaver size and file type for Kindle3??

[OakIris]

I wanted to download some screensavers for my Kindle. I did so and loaded them onto my Kindle. Of course, I thought they were already optimized for the Kindle, since they were labeled as "Kindle screensavers," so I didn't check them out or rescale them.... Needless to say, the files are tiny and are stuck in the middle of the screen, taking up about 1/2" by 1" on the screen.

I tried to rescale them (using Gimp - I don't have Photoshop or any other more sophisticated (and expensive) program) to 600X800 and then to 400X600, but the pictures (on my computer) just look bigger and blurrier. I haven't downloaded them to my Kindle - I don't imagine they will look any better there!

What am I doing wrong, or is the source file just too small to scale correctly? Also, they were .png files; do they need to be a different format, such as .jpg, instead?

Holly

[NiLuJe]

600x800, grayscale PNG are usually the best (for a non-DX device, 824x1200 for the DX). (I usually manually dither down to 16 shades of grey before switching back to greyscale, though).

[OakIris]

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

600x800, grayscale PNG are usually the best (for a non-DX device, 824x1200 for the DX). (I usually manually dither down to 16 shades of grey before switching back to greyscale, though).

Thank you NiLuJe - and thank you for your jailbreak hack! I wasn't really planning to jailbreak my Kindle until I read that I might not be able to after the 3.0.3 firmware update. You know, as sung by Joni Mitchel, "you don't know what you've got until it's gone." Of course, I am sure you'll figure out how to hack the new firmware, too, but I didn't want to take the chance.

So both the size and file type I was trying to use are correct. Why doesn't it look right when I rescale it? Guess I need to experiment some more.

Holly

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by OakIris

Thank you NiLuJe - and thank you for your jailbreak hack! I wasn't really planning to jailbreak my Kindle until I read that I might not be able to after the 3.0.3 firmware update. You know, as sung by Joni Mitchel, "you don't know what you've got until it's gone." Of course, I am sure you'll figure out how to hack the new firmware, too, but I didn't want to take the chance.

So both the size and file type I was trying to use are correct. Why doesn't it look right when I rescale it? Guess I need to experiment some more.

Holly

Where did you get the images? They sound like they are too small. It's better to scale down than up to get a good looking image..

[NiLuJe]

If the source is really small, upscaling it will probably make it look blurry/pixellated. (Check the scaling algorithm used by the GIMP, it should be Sinc (Lanczos3), like on my snapshot).

[OakIris]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Where did you get the images? They sound like they are too small. It's better to scale down than up to get a good looking image..

I thought the problem was that the source files were too small, but was hoping that maybe I was doing something wrong. I know next to nothing about editing pictures, after all.

I got the image files from Photobucket from someone on Kindleboards who posted them there. Here is the link: http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/b...0Screensavers/

I really like quite a few of the images, but they seem to be all 120×160, which is why they don't scale up nicely. Guess I'll have to look elsewhere.

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

If the source is really small, upscaling it will probably make it look blurry/pixellated. (Check the scaling algorithm used by the GIMP, it should be Sinc (Lanczos3), like on my snapshot).

Yup, the source files are apparently too small. I didn't change the algorithm; checked out a rescaled picture using your recommended Sinc algorithm - it didn't make any difference that I could see, but then, the source file is too small, so....

So, I am off to find some larger images that, hopefully, can be scaled down.

Holly

[NiLuJe]

I'm not that familiar with photobucket, but there should be a link to download the full size image somewhere when displaying a specific image, I think that's the issue here, you're using the thumbnails, not the full image .

[daffy4u]

Looking at the link you supplied, I'm wondering if you've been working with the thumbnails of the images instead of the actual images themselves because they seem big enough to me. Click on the thumbnail to be taken to the larger image.

BTW, thanks for the link, some are really cool!

Edit: I see NiLuJe and I were on the same track!

[OakIris]

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

I'm not that familiar with photobucket, but there should be a link to download the full size image somewhere when displaying a specific image, I think that's the issue here, you're using the thumbnails, not the full image .

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Looking at the link you supplied, I'm wondering if you've been working with the thumbnails of the images instead of the actual images themselves because they seem big enough to me. Click on the thumbnail to be taken to the larger image.

BTW, thanks for the link, some are really cool!

Oh my god, I am an absolute idiot!! Of course you need to click on them to get the "real" image of a proper size. I just blithely went through downloading the thumbnails.

It must be time to drink some beer so I can do this right.

Thank you so much, both of you. And daffy4u, glad you like some of the pictures; I certainly did.

Holly

[FF2]

While I just asked this elsewhere - are screensavers shown in alpha-numeric order by filename? I saw in the screensaver hack thread that you could do something to make them display randomly but otherwise are they shown in alpha-numeric order? I've placed my photos in there with names of place or image.

[NiLuJe]

They are. (And they still are with the hack, the random feature just randomize said filenames at boot).