Native vs Web Resolution

Every Device reports two resolutions, shown as Native resolution and Web resolution among the details of the Device.

Learn more: Device Details - Overview

What is the difference?

• Native resolution is the resolution of the screen output: the number of physical pixels the player sends to the display.
• Web resolution is the size of the area the Wallboard application renders your Content in. The Content is laid out at this size, then displayed on the screen.

When the two values match, the Content is drawn pixel for pixel. When the web resolution is smaller, the Content is laid out at the smaller size and scaled up to fill the screen.

What happens when the web resolution is smaller?

• Sharpness: on some platforms the rendered picture is upscaled to the native resolution, so text, images and graphics can look soft or pixelated. This is most visible on BrightSign players running a 4K output, see below.
• Layout: the Content has fewer pixels to work with. Depending on how the Content is set to fit the screen, it is either scaled to fit, or its elements take up more of the screen and parts of it may not fit.
• Load: rendering fewer pixels is less work for the player, so a smaller web resolution can help weaker hardware.

Per-platform overview

Platform	Native resolution	Web resolution	Can it be changed from Wallboard?
Android	The resolution of the display reported by Android	The size of the WebView the Content runs in, after the device's display scaling (DPI). If the player cannot read it, the native resolution is reported instead	No general setting. Exception: on the Giada D77, the screen layout can be set with the SCREEN_CONFIGURATION advanced configuration
Windows	The combined area of all connected screens, as arranged in Windows	The size of the application window	Yes, with advanced configuration: the display scaling of the browser engine sets it, and the window mode and screen resolutions also affect it
BrightSign	The video output resolution	The resolution of the graphics plane	Yes, with the SCREEN_CONFIGURATION advanced configuration
Samsung	The display resolution reported by the display	Always 1920×1080, scaled up to the panel, even on a 4K panel	No
LG	The screen resolution reported by the browser	The size of the application window	No
ChromeOS	The screen resolution reported by the browser	The size of the browser window	No Wallboard setting

Windows

Native resolution covers all screens

On Windows, the native resolution is the size of the whole desktop area spanned by all connected screens, not the resolution of one screen.

Example

Two Full HD screens placed side by side report 3840x1080, while the same two screens placed one above the other report 1920x2160.

What decides the web resolution

Two things decide it: the size of the player window and the Windows display scaling (below). The window size depends on the window mode:

• FullScreen covers the primary screen only.
• FullScreenMultiple covers all connected screens.
• Windowed uses the width and height you set.

Windows display scaling

The Scale option in the Windows display settings (100%, 125%, 150%…) makes text and buttons larger by treating every pixel as several physical pixels. The player's browser engine follows this setting too, so above 100% the web resolution becomes smaller than the screen, and the Content is laid out on a smaller canvas and enlarged to fill it. It looks bigger and less sharp.

Example

A Full HD screen at 100% scaling reports a web resolution of 1920x1080, the same as its native resolution. At 150%, the same screen reports a web resolution of 1280x720.

Setting the web resolution on Windows

To make the player ignore the Windows scaling, set deviceScaleFactor in the Chromium Settings advanced configuration. 1.0 makes the player behave as if Windows were at 100%, so the web resolution matches the native resolution, whatever the Windows setting is:

{
  "configuration": [
    {
      "type": "CHROMIUM_SETTINGS",
      "deviceScaleFactor": 1.0
    }
  ]
}

• The value can be between 1.0 and 5.0. For example, 1.5 behaves like 150% scaling.
• Without deviceScaleFactor, the Windows display scaling applies.
• The player restarts automatically to apply the change.

Learn more:

• Set application's window properties
• Configure individual screens
• Chromium Settings

BrightSign

On BrightSign, the native resolution is the video output and the web resolution is the graphics plane, which holds everything except videos played with the Hardware Accelerated Player. Both are set with the videoMode value of the SCREEN_CONFIGURATION advanced configuration.

4K output needs the fullres modifier

In 4K video modes, the graphics plane can stay smaller than the output. The player then upscales it to 4K, which can make text and images look pixelated. To render the graphics plane at the full output resolution, add the :fullres modifier to the video mode, for example 3840x2160x30p:fullres.

Forcing the full resolution can reduce performance with intensive HTML animations.

Learn more:

• Screen configuration on BrightSign
• Hardware Accelerated vs. HTML Video Playback

Android, Samsung, LG and ChromeOS

On these platforms, Wallboard reports both values as the operating system or the browser provides them, and there is no Wallboard setting to change either one. The web resolution can be smaller than the native resolution, for example when the operating system applies display scaling.

On Samsung, the web resolution is always 1920×1080, whatever the panel's resolution. The Wallboard app runs in a Full HD web view, which the panel scales up to its own resolution.

Example

A 4K Samsung panel reports a 4K native resolution and a 1920×1080 web resolution.

Android: display scaling (DPI)

On Android, the web resolution is often smaller than the native resolution because the device firmware applies display scaling (DPI). The WebView then works with fewer, larger pixels, which makes rendering lighter for the player.

Giada firmwares typically use a scale of 1.5. The scale is part of the firmware and cannot be changed from Wallboard. The Wallboard firmware for the Giada DN74 (Android 11) uses a smaller scale of 1.125.

Example

A Giada player with a scale of 1.5, connected to a Full HD screen, reports a native resolution of 1920x1080 and a web resolution of 1280x720. With the DN74 firmware's 1.125, the same screen gets a web resolution of about 1707x960.

Learn more: Wallboard firmware flashing and whitelabeling on Giada devices

On Android, the Giada D77 is the exception: its multi-screen layout and screen resolutions can be set with advanced configuration.

Learn more: Screen configuration on Android