POV-Ray : Newsgroups : povray.general : Feature request: Various SDL / Command Line Stuff : Re: Feature request: Various SDL / Command Line Stuff Server Time
30 Jul 2024 16:25:02 EDT (-0400)
  Re: Feature request: Various SDL / Command Line Stuff  
From: John VanSickle
Date: 21 Mar 2009 11:43:39
Message: <49c50b2b$1@news.povray.org>
clipka wrote:
> I was thinking about the separation between SDL and command line parameters for
> a few things:
> 
> 
> * Image & Pixel Aspect Ratio:
> 
> There are two common practices to write scenes regarding this:
> (a) write a scene for a fixed image aspect ratio (e.g. 4:3);
> (b) write a scene for a 1:1 pixel aspect ratio.
> 
> I personally favor (b), as it always gives me an undistorted image even if I
> happen to choose the wrong image aspect ratio - or even happen to choose a
> different one later in the process.
> 
> The FAQ argues strongly against (b), obviously favoring (a), claiming that this
> makes the user aware that he chose the wrong aspect ratio because he can see
> that the image is distorted, while in the other case he may get a different
> "viewport" than intended by the scene author, without even noticing.
> 
> I insist that this argument does not hold, because the difference between the
> intended aspect ratio and the one picked for rendering may be ever so subtle,
> and the scene may not contain enough objects that hint at the originally
> intended aspect ratio clear enough. This is especially a problem with 4:3 vs.
> 5:4 aspect ratios.
> 
> I agree, however, that (b) is not an ideal solution either, as a 1:1 pixel
> aspect ratio may not always be desired.

I think that this is an issue on which there is no substitute for the 
user knowing exactly what he/she is doing.

Regards,
John


Post a reply to this message

Copyright 2003-2023 Persistence of Vision Raytracer Pty. Ltd.