PnS - Retina and/or high-resolution graphics

[ajl1606]

Hi there,
The plugins that I export on Windows look a little fuzzy when I run them on a Mac. On Windows, I use 1:1 scaling and a resolution of 1920x1080. On Mac, the native screen resolution is 2560x1600 and scaling is "Default: 1440x900". I assume it is the Retina scaling that causes the plugin's skin to look fuzzy. I tried redesigning the skin at twice the resolution and using scaling="0.5" in the SKIN tag (KUIML). The skin ends up the same size, but the fuzziness is still there (when compared to the Windows version). Does anybody have any pointers for making plugin skins appear crisp on both platforms?
Many thanks.

[Blue Cat Audio]

You should not use the scaling attribute, it is definitely experimental at this point (and not documented, on purpose).

Do all parts of the GUI look fuzzy or only the text? Text on Mac is definitely not the same as on Windows and looks a bit fuzzier. However in your case I guess the issue is that you are not using the screen's native resolution: some extra scaling is happening for sure.

[ajl1606]

Oh, I didn't realise that the scaling attribute was experimental – roger that!

I should mention that I'm using a 2017 MacBook Pro.

The text looks OK and appears to render correctly at any OS scale setting – it's the background image and knob/slider images etc. that look fuzzy. You're absolutely right that the Mac is scaling the plugin up. The issue is that it doesn't appear possible on MacOS to separate resolution from scaling as you can on Windows (apparently, this is simply the way Retina screens work!).
For example, if I change my Mac's resolution to its native 2560x1600, it's basically unusable (everything is too small). So, I have to use some form of OS scaling, and the default is the so-called "1440x900".

I suppose my question would be, is there any way that KUIML can load different assets based on the OS' scaling setting or resolution setting?

Thanks.

[Blue Cat Audio]

Oh, I didn't realise that the scaling attribute was experimental – roger that!

I should mention that I'm using a 2017 MacBook Pro.

The text looks OK and appears to render correctly at any OS scale setting – it's the background image and knob/slider images etc. that look fuzzy. You're absolutely right that the Mac is scaling the plugin up. The issue is that it doesn't appear possible on MacOS to separate resolution from scaling as you can on Windows (apparently, this is simply the way Retina screens work!).
For example, if I change my Mac's resolution to its native 2560x1600, it's basically unusable (everything is too small). So, I have to use some form of OS scaling, and the default is the so-called "1440x900".

I suppose my question would be, is there any way that KUIML can load different assets based on the OS' scaling setting or resolution setting?

Thanks.

For images, the best practice with retina displays is to have a background image with twice the resolution, and load it with the image_scaling attribute set to ".5".

[ajl1606]

Thanks for the reply – I tried using image_scaling as you suggested and, while the image appears at the correct size, it is still fuzzy when compared with the same image loaded in Preview at 50% zoom. Please see the screenshot below (you'll see the difference far more clearly if you right-click the image and open it in a new tab):

Screenshot 2023-11-04 at 02.38.09.png

Thanks.

[ajl1606]

Hello – just following up on this thread.

Here are some screenshots showing each of the resolution settings available on my 2017 MacBook Pro running Ventura 13.6.4 alongside the default window for PnS with its icons and Blue Cat Audio logo looking a bit fuzzy. In all cases, the zoom setting for PnS is set to the default 100%.

This has been the case since I first bought my Mac in 2017, so I don't think it's related to the macOS version. Is anyone else experiencing this?

(Please open the images in a new tab, otherwise you won't see the difference clearly!)
...

[Blue Cat Audio]

Hi,

Sorry for not replying sooner, the thread went out of the radar. I have double checked and there is indeed some extra work to do on our side for images not to be pre-scaled and keep them in native size until render.

[ajl1606]

No worries at all, thanks for the reply! It would be great to have crisp images at any (standard) scaling factor in a future version of PnS

[Blue Cat Audio]

No worries at all, thanks for the reply! It would be great to have crisp images at any (standard) scaling factor in a future version of PnS

Yes that's the plan, definitely!