A quick question about desktop-image rendering on XFCE4

[Brian J. Tarricone]

i haven't seen this problem before, though i think i recall someone 
talking abuit it quite some time ago.

first of all, are you using xfce 4.0.x, or CVS?  desktop handling has 
changed somewhat since 4.0.x, so the problem may have disappeared.  
second, are you using a non-standard X visual, or perhaps a low bit-depth?

you can find the visual by running 'xdpyinfo'.  look for a line that 
reads "default visual id", then find a "visual" section that matches the 
id number.  the "class" and "depth" fields in that section are the ones 
in which i'm interested.

as for the handling itself, xfdesktop CVS resizes and composites using 
bicubic interpolation, so i wouldn't expect there to be any odd 
dithering effects.  i don't recall offhand what 4.0.x does, but i can't 
imagine that it's much different.

    -brian

Peter N. Spotts wrote:

>Folks,
>
>I've noticed that with some computer-generated art, XFCE4 renders as
>subtle but discreet bands of color portions of images that KDE or Gnome
>show as smooth changes from light to dark. Often this happens in skies,
>clouds, or other objects where contrast changes quite a bit over a
>fairly short stretch of screen. This even happens with some photos,
>where colors in clouds or sunsets look a bit like patchwork rather than
>blending smoothly from one tone to another. 
>
>Is this a "dithering" issue (not that I could explain what "dithering"
>is)? Or just a difference in the way XFCE4 renders images v. KDE or
>Gnome? I'm using SuSE 9.1 on a Toshiba satellite laptop, if that's of
>any help. Obviously, this is not a showstopper, but inquiring minds want
>to know...
>
>With best regards,
>
>Pete
>
>
>  
>