ARD Screen Resolution

Question

ARD Screen Resolution

Hi all,
I am wondering how the ARD determines the size of the display you are able to see. Is it a direct function of the maximum output resolution of the vide card installed in the client computer?

I am using ARD to access a client computer which has a much smaller resolution than I can show in the administrator's (my) screen, and as a result I was wondering how I could change that. If I had the computer driving a better video card would those better resolutions be available through ARD, or is it a function of ARD?

Anyone following this know the answer?

Thanks in advance, and so long for now, TOM

Multiple Macs MacPro, iMac Intel, iMac G5 & PowerMac G4, Mac OS X (10.6.2), & 10.5.8, & !0.4.11

Posted on Mar 9, 2010 11:25 AM

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Answer 1

Mar 10, 2010 8:22 AM in response to dandeliondigital

Simply put, ARD will show you exactly the same resolution that the observed computer is displaying on its screen. In the case of a headless system, it uses a default size.

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Answer 2

Mar 10, 2010 6:25 PM in response to Brian Nesse

Hi,
Well thanks for that: Headless=default size. In my headless case, running a G5 Desktop (2Ghz DP model) my screen is so small on the 23” and 30 LCDs, it bothers me enough to ask this question and see if there is any way to make the default screen bigger.

Would you happen to know: Is there any way to increase that default size resolution, and how is that determined? Computer Model? Video Card? ARD?

Thanks, and so long for now, TOM

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Answer 3

Mar 11, 2010 8:30 AM in response to dandeliondigital

The size of the default frame buffer is dependent on the version of the OS. It has changed upwards over the years. The last one I knew for certain was 600X800. Previous to that it was 640X480.

The way to change it is to take control of the client and see what options are available in System Preferences. On some systems a change made in this fashion may not survive a reboot.

Additionally, on some systems you might have to temporarily attach a display to enable the ability to change the resolution.

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Answer 4

Mar 11, 2010 2:01 PM in response to Brian Nesse

Hi Brian,
Well, it appears to me that ARD screen resolutions are not a default setting, but instead hardware dependent, at least when I tried this experiment. I opened windows from the following computers to see what resolutions are working. Here are the results:
PowerMac G5 opens with a 1024x768 Millions resolution (with add'l choices for 1024x768 Millions? & 800x600 Millions)
MacMini Intel window opens1680x1050 Millions resolution (with add'l choices for 1280x1024 Thousands, 1280x1024 Millions)
iMac PowerPC G5 has the same available resolutions as the MacMini
Intel PowerMac with 30" LCD, 2560x1600 resolution gets reduced to display on my 23" LCD and fill up the smaller monitor, but show the entire screen.

My original question was that if I put a better video card in an older Mac can I get higher resolutions to work when I run that machine headless, and view it's video on a larger monitor (even larger than the maximum size available on the headless machine).

So my theory appears to work, but I am still not sure.

Anyone running ARD, have an older PM G5 with upgraded video that might want to try it out for me?

Thanks, and so long for now, TOM

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