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DPChallenge Forums >> Hardware and Software >> Photo mystery - help!
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Showing posts 1 - 11 of 11, (reverse)
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 03/04/2008 06:48:58 AM · #1
Hey guys,

Ok, a quick panic post... There's an image I'm meant to be sending off to a client today. I tweaked it to death, made sure it all looked good, burnt it onto a CD... Then checked it on a different computer, and suddenly my 'perfect' image was all pixelated, looking like it's been really badly resampled. Then I ran home to fix it, but on my home computer, the pic still looks fine.

Can anyone tell me what just happened? And quickly, please? I'm meant to send this off in a couple of hours - agh, panic!
 03/04/2008 07:09:40 AM · #2
different monitor resolutions? Different zoom setting on the browser? Crap monitor? Screwed up cd?

I've never heard of this before but it must tbe the hardware, not the cd if it's fine on one computer and not another. Sorry i can't be more help. If you're in any doubt, make another copy onto a new cd and see what happens with that... it might even be the other pc's cd reader playing up. Can you put the pic on a memory stick or whatever then load it through the USB?
 03/04/2008 07:13:38 AM · #3
If your working computer is too dark maybe your image became posturized using curves or something like that, try calibrating your monitor.
 03/04/2008 07:15:04 AM · #4
I guess it must be the monitor - I put a version of the pic online, and when I came back home, the online pic that looked rubbish on one computer looked ok on the other one...

It's very odd, it's never happened before...

I gave the photo another edit, I'm just about to go and send it off. I'll just pray that the guy I'm sending it to has a good screen, I guess!
 03/04/2008 07:16:05 AM · #5
Here's the image:
[thumb]654424[/thumb]
 03/04/2008 07:25:32 AM · #6
The monitor that makes the picture look pixelated is almost certainly an LCD. The other monitor is probably a CRT, but could just be a better quality LCD. Some tips for using LCDs:

1) Start with a good quality LCD
2) Put the LCD at it's native resolution (if it's meant to display 1280x1024, don't go higher or lower, stick to that resolution).
3) If you have sharpening controls on the LCD, turn them down.
4) Use a color calibration tool (there are many). This is good advice whether using LCD or CRT.

If you don't start with #1, then the other tips may help but may never correct the problem. But if you've simply got the resolution or sharpening settings out of whack, then this may help.


03/04/2008 07:28:59 AM · #7
Thanks for that! I'll follow the steps.

The one I usually work on is a good quality LCD, that I think is reasonably calibrated.
The one that makes it look pixelated is a rubbish LCD I got given at work recently, that's almost certainly never been calibrated during its relatively long existence...
 03/04/2008 07:30:19 AM · #8
In addition to what's already been posted, on the computer where you are seeing pixelation, make sure the color depth is set to "32-bit true-color" and not 16-bit color.
 03/04/2008 07:41:52 AM · #9
Ok, I'll go with hoping that it's the monitor rather than the picture...

Thanks very much for the tips :) And the quick response!

*panic over* :)
 03/04/2008 08:54:29 AM · #10
Originally posted by Tez:
Different zoom setting on the browser?


That would be my guess as well. The photo here is 800 pix high, that's kind of tall if it's a small(ish) monitor -taking into consideration all the extra space the browser toolbars, menus, etc take up. Try hitting F11 to view the browser full-screen and get rid of all that extra "stuff" hogging up the screen, that might give you just enough room to view it full-size. Since it's viewed directly from the cd, if the actual browser area is less than 800 pix high, it will resize the photo to fit the screen (rather than offering scroll downs) causing it to look pixelated. I'm on a smallish 19" widescreen monitor here at work using Firefox, and if I do a direct link to your photo, it will resize the photo to fit and become pixelated a bit, but if I hit the F11 key it will fit and look fine. Might not be your case, but worth a shot. Hope that helps.
 03/04/2008 08:58:59 AM · #11
Originally posted by kirbic:
In addition to what's already been posted, on the computer where you are seeing pixelation, make sure the color depth is set to "32-bit true-color" and not 16-bit color.


Yes, I'd go with this explanation. If you are seeing pixelation in the graduated colour, then the problem is with color depth and colour accuracy, not resolution. LCD monitors can also sometimes also have a 'spike' in the brightness curve, and this will show up as a problem in smooth graded colors. If I were you, I wouldn't stress too much about it. For what it's worth, the posted image looks good here.

Message edited by author 2008-03-04 09:00:00.
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