All, after looking around a bit, I haven't found too much info regarding changing the display resolution when connecting an MHL (HDMI) adapter.
I hacked around a bit and found the following thread which seemed to get close:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2090396
What's the goal?
To try to get the output resolution over MHL to be 720p or lower. I started this thread to provide more info and hopefully spark some interest in the topic.
Why should I care if the output resolution is 720p?
The default resolution over MHL (on every HDTV I've tried) is 1920x1080 @30fps. This resolution is fine for playing movies/Youtube/Netflix/etc. However, having the resolution so high causes the Adreno GPU to really struggle when playing games/emulators over MHL. If the resolution was lower (e.g. 720p), games and general 3D would get a nice boost in frame rate, becoming much less choppy.
Info gathered so far:
I use the Monoprice Galaxy S III MHL kit (http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...10419&cs_id=1083314&p_id=10021&seq=1&format=2). The Samsung MHL adapter may behave differently.
Files in /sys/devices/virtual/graphics/fb1/ seem to be related to (and perhaps even control) the MHL HDMI output.
When the MHL adapter is not plugged in, the "connected" file contains a 0. When the MHL adapter is plugged in, the "connected" file contains a 1.
By default, the "video_mode" file has the contents "34".
Looking at EDID codes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_display_identification_data), we can see that 34 corresponds to 1920x1080p @ 29.97/30Hz.
By default, the "virtual_size" file has the contents "1920,1080".
The "modes" file contains a list of resolutions.
"U:640x480p-0
U:1920x1080p-0
U:720x480p-0
U:1280x720p-0
U:1920x1080p-0"
The "video_mode_str" file contains a textual description of the output resolution "1920x1080 p30 16/9"
The "edid_modes" file contains "4,3,32,34,1". These modes correspond to the following EDID codes:
1 DMT0659 4:3 640x480p @ 59.94/60Hz
3 480pH 16:9 720x480p @ 59.94/60Hz
4 720p 16:9 1280x720p @ 59.94/60Hz
32 1080p24 16:9 1920x1080p @ 23.98/24Hz
34 1080p30 16:9 1920x1080p @ 29.97/30Hz
Experimentation:
-running "echo 4 > video_mode" as root (in an attempt to change the resolution to EDID code 4 - 1280x720p @ 59.94/60Hz) shrinks the screen to 720p (resolution and framerate stay at 1080p/30) and aligns it to the upper left corner of the screen. The screen remained this way until I reverted "video_mode" back to 34.
-unplugging MHL and re-inserting resets to "video_mode" to mode 34 (1080p/30)
-changing virtual_size to 1280,720 did nothing (both before or after video_mode was set to 4)
Any ideas/help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm not sure how much time I will have to work on this, so hopefully others become interested as well.
mybook4 said:
Any ideas/help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm not sure how much time I will have to work on this, so hopefully others become interested as well.
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Click to collapse
Have you tried connecting the mhl adapter, setting video_mode_str then disconnecting from the tv then reconnecting? Maybe the tv would adjust to the resolution being output.
I am also looking for a way to get get a lower resolution when using MHL but me, it`s for a Galaxy Nexus. It`s become really laggy when a plug it and i can`t play game at all... i was expecting to play n64 and SNES emulator but it`s to much laggy even SNES. So i would be really interested to just use a lower resolution or even just disable the phone screen and just use the TV screen wich will certainly boost the performence due to the fact that my Nexus will just have one screen to use.
Any solutions to get 720p on MHL?
Nope. Haven't had much time to play lately and I got an ouya. I would try mojojoe's suggestion.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
I came across this thread looking for a solution just wondering if anyone has a work around. Seems like a feature that should be added. I am not having any performance issues but on 3 different TVs now the resolution is not set right for the TVs the out edge is cut off like the resolution is wrong. From my understanding the default is 1080p and all three of these TVs one brand new the other two a bit older the outer edge is cut off and the native rez is 1080p.....
hi folks interesting thread. i want to change the hdmi output on my s4 to 1080p24 with the samsung mhl 2.0 adapter. by default its 1080p60.
i'm rooted and using root explorer have found the relevant files, and sure enough the video_mode files has 16 in it - 1080p60. when i try to change this to 32 (1080p24) using a text editor (its mounted as r/w), the changes don't stick even though it says the file is saved ok. am i doing something wrong here?
with reference to where you said "-running "echo 4 > video_mode" as root (in an attempt to change the resolution to EDID code 4 - 1280x720p @ 59.94/60Hz) shrinks the screen to 720p (resolution and framerate stay at 1080p/30) and aligns it to the upper left corner of the screen. The screen remained this way until I reverted "video_mode" back to 34." - could you explain how you do this please? is this using terminal emulator?
I just purchased the official MHL adapter, plugged into my HDMI switch and it outputted at 24hz. Perfect for movies but choppy for Need for Speed.
Stupidly Samsung haven't given any options to change output format and since the s4 was outputting different hertz to different displays I figured it was just going by EDID.
There's a device called a HDMI doctor that can spoof any EDID information I set the HDMI doctor to setting 4 which is for 720p max output.
The s4 then immediately outputted at 720p/60hz.
The device costs about £50 so it's an expensive solution if you only use it for your phone. I have one because it enables me to output 24hz material to my TV/Projector when my AV amp doesn't support it.
Has there been any update since the last post? Do any new Samsung updates enable changing of output?
Having the same issues on my galaxy note 10.1 2014 edition. This is bull****, hdmi is basically unusable for anything else than video.
FIX!!!!!
I know this post is about 3 years old, but I found this post now while browsing in 2016 so I hope this helps someone out.
To change the resolution and make games and all apps lag free (with the method I found) you MUST be rooted.
If rooted, download a root terminal/cmd and type ru in prompt and hit enter. Then type wm size 720x1280. ***Will stay on indefinitely until reverted back with command ru then wm size 1080x1920***
Now your device will be 720p, but you will notice that your icons are huge. To fix that in CM12.1 go to setting/look and feel/DPI and change from 440 to 320. If you don't have CM12.1 download a DPI changer and change to 320, or find corresponding root cmd to change DPI... I don't know it because CM12.1 has one stock.
Now everything should be lag free and awesome for gaming! I use sixasis and screen standby and have been playing Zelda on the couch the last few evening.
Hope this helps at least one person.
Side note: I'm not sure about the aspect ratio for Samsungs or any other device... But these resolution are 16:9. I know my original note was something weird like 16:10. Most likely all devices now are 16:9, just wanted to make sure everyone was aware of that before changing screen res..... IF for some reason their aspect ratio is different.
ANDREtheG1ANT said:
I know this post is about 3 years old, but I found this post now while browsing in 2016 so I hope this helps someone out.
To change the resolution and make games and all apps lag free (with the method I found) you MUST be rooted.
If rooted, download a root terminal/cmd and type ru in prompt and hit enter. Then type wm size 720x1280. ***Will stay on indefinitely until reverted back with command ru then wm size 1080x1920***
Now your device will be 720p, but you will notice that your icons are huge. To fix that in CM12.1 go to setting/look and feel/DPI and change from 440 to 320. If you don't have CM12.1 download a DPI changer and change to 320, or find corresponding root cmd to change DPI... I don't know it because CM12.1 has one stock.
Now everything should be lag free and awesome for gaming! I use sixasis and screen standby and have been playing Zelda on the couch the last few evening.
Hope this helps at least one person.
Side note: I'm not sure about the aspect ratio for Samsungs or any other device... But these resolution are 16:9. I know my original note was something weird like 16:10. Most likely all devices now are 16:9, just wanted to make sure everyone was aware of that before changing screen res..... IF for some reason their aspect ratio is different.
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Click to collapse
Im trying to do this at present, I'm on a rooted device and when using ru in terminal, I just get 'ru not found,' new to this so further help would be appreciated.
Succulent_Pig said:
Im trying to do this at present, I'm on a rooted device and when using ru in terminal, I just get 'ru not found,' new to this so further help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your phone must be rooted. Use su command in a terminal and then type wm size 720x1280.
I'm looking to develop an android app to be used on a 3840x2160 4K/UHD display using an Android miniPC that supposedly supports "4K resolution."
I have a few different Android miniPCs (all Android 4.4) and they all play 4K videos fine. Also, for all of them, the 3840x2160 resolution was selected in the Display settings in HDMI mode . However, when I display a UHD equivalent image using an image viewer, the image looks to be scaled up from a smaller size. When I download apps from the Google Play store that measures the resolution of the device, they all report that the device is displaying at 1080p.
I believe these 4K Android miniPC can decode 4K video, but the user interface is still being displayed at 1080p despite what is selected in the Display settings. There is an article from cnx-software that blames the type of processor for these types of devices not being able to support UHD resolution. (i would provide links, but unable to include them as a new forum user.)
Is it really the processor limiting the device? I find it hard to believe the processor can display 4K video, but unable to support a 4K user interface. So my question is, can Android support a user interface and an app at 3840x2160 resolution? If so what would it take to support it?
Thank you in advance for any insight you can provide.
I have Beelink R28 box and it has the same behavior. It seems that Android doesn't support UHD resolutions and wonder why there are no any information about this.
Hi,
I bought the k1 and rooted it using your tutorials but as I record gameplay to youtube I get the nasty black sides as the native resolution is 1920x1200 I have tried to change it using some apps on google playstore but without sucess it messes up with the controls and the whole system gets messed up.
So as I new to android devices user (ex-iOS ) user I migrated to android but the screen resolution is bugging me is there a way to chage it to native youtube videos 1920x1080?
Thanks
And if you asked I tried different recording softwares and they all fall into de same problem
Native resolution is the resolution of the screen, then you can't do it....
1920x1200 is 16:10 resolution, then i think you can't use a 16:9 like 1920x1080
Is there a way I can change HDMI resolution on SHIELD Portable? I have a 1366x768 LED monitor wich gets wrong aspect ratio in 1280x720. Can I change HDMI resolution to 1366x768? Thanks in advance.
Unfortunately, this is not possible. Android itself doesn't support changing the HDMI output resolution. Until it does, the SHIELD Portable won't support it either.
Hello everyone,
I was wondering if someone would be kind enough to show me how to adjust the aspect ratio.
Here are the specifics: I have a Samsung T350 tablet(rooted) and it has built in already the screen mirroring feature. Now, I also have an LG webOS UHDTV (48.5in diagonally). Now, if I send a video file directly to my TV from the tablet (using Quick Connect) aspect ratio adjust automatically. When using either my MX Player Pro or the built in player via screen mirroring (for streaming or simply for better navigation controls) the mirrored result on my TV is small and square looking. I'm certain there is a setting that I can avail myself of. Unfortunately, the Aspect Ratio settings on my TV seem to be disabled temporarily when using Screen Mirroring. I know MX Player has the ability to customize aspect ratio, can i utilize that in some way?? I hope I explained this problem correctly. My apologies if I didnt.