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Old 11-29-2020, 11:52 AM   #1
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Default Reaper 6.16 either to small or is fuzzy on new computer

I just installed Reaper 6.16 on my new 15.6" laptop. Initially everything was scaled way to small including the plugins and in order to get the scaling to a readable/workable size I had to go to 150 percent (125 is recommended in Windows) in Windows 10. The problem now is that Reaper is fuzzy and somewhat out of focus.

I researched this issue all night and found that this problem is apparently common after 5.99. I've tried everything suggested in preferences/General/advanced UI system tweaks and nothing fixes the issue.

This is a pretty big problem and was hoping that someone may have an answer other that what I've tried.

15.6" laptop (1920X1080), Windows 10, Reaper 6.16
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Old 11-29-2020, 01:37 PM   #2
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Further investigation... I can get a somewhat readable text in Reaper when going to preferences/advanced gui tweaks/multi monitor experimental, but in that setting the plugins are way to small to be usable.

I can go to the same path in preferences, but instead of multi monitoring experimental tick "unaware" and the plugin is sized normally. The problem with that is Reaper becomes very blurry.

It's as if Reaper can't handle the resolution or scaling of the new laptop, which as I mentioned seems to be a somewhat common problem.

Any help is much appreciated.
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Old 11-29-2020, 01:59 PM   #3
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I've said this before in a few threads, but I had to set Windows OS-wide scaling to something that was acceptable for my plugins. REAPER is a touch blurry, but I got used to it. It's not that bad actually...however I'm on a 55" 4k flatscreen and I sit a good distance away from it, so that might help.
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Old 11-29-2020, 02:11 PM   #4
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I've said this before in a few threads, but I had to set Windows OS-wide scaling to something that was acceptable for my plugins. REAPER is a touch blurry, but I got used to it. It's not that bad actually...however I'm on a 55" 4k flatscreen and I sit a good distance away from it, so that might help.
That's not going to work for me considering my screen size.

I find it hard to believe that Reaper can't rectify this problem. The screen on this laptop is spectacular and sharp as a razor on everything I try it on except Reaper.

I find it hard to believe that Jason and his engineers don't have a fix for this.
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Old 11-29-2020, 02:23 PM   #5
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I've read and tried every workaround I could find on the Internet, and none of them worked well enough for me.

I don't know enough about how graphics are drawn to understand why REAPER has this problem and why it hasn't been fixed, but it isn't a new complaint.

If you do figure that out, please let us know.
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Old 11-29-2020, 02:43 PM   #6
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Has Jason ever chimed in on this obvious issue? I find it hard to believe that it hasn't been addressed.

I love Reaper, but I'm not going to be able to work with this in it's current state. My old laptop looks perfect with Reaper. My new and far superior laptop looks like crap.
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Old 11-29-2020, 03:18 PM   #7
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That I don't know. I started using REAPER after version 6 was released, so this is the only way I ever knew it.
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Old 11-29-2020, 04:31 PM   #8
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1920x1080p is likely the most common resolution out there right now for people. That's the resolution you're using, according to your first post. If your laptop supports up to 1920x1080, then be sure that's what the display settings are set for too.. or whatever the optimal resolution is for that laptop.

I am still on Reaper 6.14, so unless 6.15 or later introduced some fuzziness, it might be something going on with your new PC, especially if you just installed Reaper on it for the first time.

And when I say "something going on", I just mean, something fixable, such as not having the latest display driver, for example. Double check your drivers are all up to date. Also, where you set the resolution and also the text size, you can try going into the advanced scaling settings and ensure "Let Windows try to fix apps so they're not blurry" is on (or perhaps even try toggling it off to see if it helps).

The other thing too, if it's just text issues.. Windows has a tool built in for adjusting text clarity. Go in settings, and search up "ClearType". You can turn that on, and follow through the calibration thing.
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Old 11-29-2020, 05:00 PM   #9
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1920x1080p is likely the most common resolution out there right now for people. That's the resolution you're using, according to your first post. If your laptop supports up to 1920x1080, then be sure that's what the display settings are set for too.. or whatever the optimal resolution is for that laptop.

I am still on Reaper 6.14, so unless 6.15 or later introduced some fuzziness, it might be something going on with your new PC, especially if you just installed Reaper on it for the first time.

And when I say "something going on", I just mean, something fixable, such as not having the latest display driver, for example. Double check your drivers are all up to date. Also, where you set the resolution and also the text size, you can try going into the advanced scaling settings and ensure "Let Windows try to fix apps so they're not blurry" is on (or perhaps even try toggling it off to see if it helps).

The other thing too, if it's just text issues.. Windows has a tool built in for adjusting text clarity. Go in settings, and search up "ClearType". You can turn that on, and follow through the calibration thing.
Thanks Nait, but I've done all of that, and am positive it's not the computer... Again, this is apparently a pretty common issue based on a general search. Unfortunately I still haven't found the answer.
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Old 11-29-2020, 05:51 PM   #10
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you haven't mentioned if you tried loading the default 4 or 5 version themes. If so, are they fuzzy on your monitor.

Version 6 did irritate me. The direction for the gui seems to be more style less functionality. Earlier themes did not blend background and controls. I like dark themes but I like to have my attention drawn to the important stuff.

I now do use the V6 theme after tweeking a bunch of colors in Theme Developement/Tweeker. to break up the monotone.
I am still looking for a way to make the numbers on the meters legible.

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Old 11-29-2020, 06:17 PM   #11
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you haven't mentioned if you tried loading the default 4 or 5 version themes. If so, are they fuzzy on your monitor.



Don
I haven't... In fact I just created a thread in how to do the revert to 5.83 on my new laptop. My old laptop has this version and it works perfectly. Having said that, I installed Reaper 6.16 on my new laptop yesterday (which never had 5.83). I wasn't sure how to revert to that version since I've never done it before.
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Old 11-29-2020, 06:20 PM   #12
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I'm talking about Option>Themes in reaper 6.
On my install I have Default_4.0 and Default_5.0 available.
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Old 11-29-2020, 06:30 PM   #13
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Unfortunately, I don't have those options with the new 6.16 download. They are both available on my 5.83.
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Old 11-29-2020, 06:54 PM   #14
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https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...yV?usp=sharing

I uploaded to google drive default 4 and 5
Maybe they are not available if an older version was never install on the computer

Download and put them in your AppData\Roaming\REAPER\ColorThemes
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Old 11-29-2020, 07:00 PM   #15
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Unfortunately, I don't have those options with the new 6.16 download. They are both available on my 5.83.
If you mean they are on your old computer, just copy them to the new computer.
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Old 11-30-2020, 03:00 PM   #16
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Unfortunately, I don't have those options with the new 6.16 download. They are both available on my 5.83.
I misunderstood you here when I replied yesterday. Yes I've gone to various themes all with the same result.
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Old 12-01-2020, 01:25 AM   #17
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Adding your voice about this to the 'Bug Reports' forum might be worth doing.

https://forum.cockos.com/forumdisplay.php?f=22
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Old 12-01-2020, 03:45 AM   #18
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I've a 15.6" Thinkpad running Reaper x64 v6.17 at 1920 x 1080 and not getting this problem. In Windows Display settings I've got 125% scaling turned on and nothing else enabled. Have you got any compatibility settings enabled (ie Override high DPI scaling) on your Reaper shortcut?
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Old 12-01-2020, 05:34 PM   #19
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I've a 15.6" Thinkpad running Reaper x64 v6.17 at 1920 x 1080 and not getting this problem. In Windows Display settings I've got 125% scaling turned on and nothing else enabled. Have you got any compatibility settings enabled (ie Override high DPI scaling) on your Reaper shortcut?
Not sure I understand the Reaper shortcut question. I've tried every display setting I have in 6.16 to no avail via Preferences, but didn't know there was an option on my Reaper shortcut.

Could you explain?
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Old 12-01-2020, 08:05 PM   #20
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Old 12-01-2020, 08:10 PM   #21
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Before you get your hopes up though I've tried every combination of high dpi settings that Windows offers through this, in conjunction with changing all the REAPER settings for high dpi per plugin etc...nothing worked (this was about a year ago though)

Only thing that worked was increasing OS scaling which I've already mentioned.
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Old 12-02-2020, 01:45 AM   #22
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Could you explain?
Check the post from valey above.
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Old 12-02-2020, 02:17 AM   #23
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That's not going to work for me considering my screen size.

I find it hard to believe that Reaper can't rectify this problem. The screen on this laptop is spectacular and sharp as a razor on everything I try it on except Reaper.

I find it hard to believe that Jason and his engineers don't have a fix for this.
I don’t know who Jason is.
However, Justin is an amazing and great guy.
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Old 12-02-2020, 02:55 PM   #24
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Thanks Valy... Unfortunately it didn't work for me. It's kinda crazy as I tried my old laptop which has a lower resolution, yet looks way better than the new and better one.
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Old 12-02-2020, 03:02 PM   #25
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I don’t know who Jason is.
However, Justin is an amazing and great guy.
I meant Justin, my apologies. However, I never said a thing about his character or whether or not he was a great guy so I'm not sure what you mean... I appreciate all he has done to bring a great DAW to the public. I am simply asking why (or wondering) why this issue hasn't been addressed. I understand that the Reaper team has a lot on it's plate, but it seems like this is something that is pretty vital.
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Old 12-02-2020, 03:04 PM   #26
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Thanks Valy... Unfortunately it didn't work for me. It's kinda crazy as I tried my old laptop which has a lower resolution, yet looks way better than the new and better one.
It didn't work for me either, like I said below that.

Unlike you though, this is the only way I ever knew REAPER...so I guess ignorance is bliss in my case. Still sucks though. I wish REAPER was a little more sharp and clear, but I have to be able to see my plugins.
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Old 12-02-2020, 03:22 PM   #27
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It didn't work for me either, like I said below that.

Unlike you though, this is the only way I ever knew REAPER...so I guess ignorance is bliss in my case. Still sucks though. I wish REAPER was a little more sharp and clear, but I have to be able to see my plugins.
Same here. I have to increase the scaling to see my plugins as well and it looks like crap.

Just really disappointed at the moment.
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Old 12-02-2020, 03:24 PM   #28
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As a caveat My 6.16 Reaper looks blurry even when it's scaled down.
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Old 12-02-2020, 03:58 PM   #29
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Same here. I have to increase the scaling to see my plugins as well and it looks like crap.

Just really disappointed at the moment.
Bit of a puzzle why some of us with equivalent equipment are not experiencing these issues.

What laptop do you have?
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Old 12-02-2020, 04:33 PM   #30
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I'm puzzled as well, but I do know that others are having the same issue.

It's an "Omen" gaming laptop (15.6 monitor/1920 X 1080)) with Windows 10, AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, Radeon Adrenalin graphics, 16 gb of memory and 1000gb SSD.

Not that it probably matters, but I'm not using the laptop for gaming. I bought it to Run Reaper/plugins exclusively.
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Old 12-02-2020, 07:25 PM   #31
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15" monitor at 1080p is honestly really small. REAPER uses bitmaps for graphics (it's an ancient system, but makes skinning easier when you don't have to start doing vector graphics when skinning and doesn't require complex GUI graphics system from devs) and thus any scaling has to be done in integer multiples (1x 2x 3x 4x) or there needs to be interpolation that causes the graphics to be "fuzzy". I mean ,there's no such thing as "half a pixel"

I wouldn't personally use anything smaller than 18" on 1080p unless I had almost perfect vision (I don't).

On desktop I've settled on 27" 1080p being good pixel density from 40cm away with my vision. Or 34" 21:9 1440p is also acceptable.

I don't know how REAPER deals with plugins that are "truly scalable" meaning their GUI's are made with vectors, so they scale perfectly. But those plugins are still rare.
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Old 12-02-2020, 08:21 PM   #32
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15" monitor at 1080p is honestly really small. REAPER uses bitmaps for graphics (it's an ancient system, but makes skinning easier when you don't have to start doing vector graphics when skinning and doesn't require complex GUI graphics system from devs) and thus any scaling has to be done in integer multiples (1x 2x 3x 4x) or there needs to be interpolation that causes the graphics to be "fuzzy". I mean ,there's no such thing as "half a pixel"

I wouldn't personally use anything smaller than 18" on 1080p unless I had almost perfect vision (I don't).

On desktop I've settled on 27" 1080p being good pixel density from 40cm away with my vision. Or 34" 21:9 1440p is also acceptable.

I don't know how REAPER deals with plugins that are "truly scalable" meaning their GUI's are made with vectors, so they scale perfectly. But those plugins are still rare.
I mean, I had the same problem on 55" at 4k resolution. Which is about the proper screen size and resolution for the distance I am from it.
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Old 12-03-2020, 02:03 AM   #33
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I don't know how REAPER deals with plugins that are "truly scalable" meaning their GUI's are made with vectors, so they scale perfectly. But those plugins are still rare.
Having recently setup Reaper on a new laptop I've found some of the plugins I had (ie LFO Tool) were not scalable hence had tiny UIs. They've been replaced by equivalent plugins which do scale properly, bit of a pain as it's taken time to find them but there are plenty available.
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Old 12-03-2020, 04:49 AM   #34
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My old laptop has this version and it works perfectly.
You, quite reasonably, have the expectation that everything on your new computer will be better. Would that it were so simple. Windows 10 allows marginal display scaling, which is a good thing in theory compared to OSX's 1x or 2x and nothing in between like it or lump it, but in practice things are far from ideal. Small laptops with relatively low resolution screens set for 125%/133% are common at the affordable end of the market, which is troublesome for non vector-based software/plugins, and win10's HiDPI implementation is, being charitable, a bit of a ...er... work in progress.

When doing the Reaper 6 default theme I did three sizes : 100%, 150% and 200%. At 125% you fall somewhere between the first two, and alas none of this is going to help you with plugins. My suggestion would be to leave Reaper's HiDPI settings in their default on state, and use the Default 6 theme with its 150% layouts.

I'm sorry you're having to deal with this. Who is to blame, is it Microsoft? Yeah, a bit. Is it Reaper? Yeah, a bit. Is it the company that put that screen in your laptop? Yeah, a bit.
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Old 12-03-2020, 05:05 AM   #35
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Who is to blame, is it Microsoft? Yeah, a bit. Is it Reaper? Yeah, a bit. Is it the company that put that screen in your laptop? Yeah, a bit.
Let's not forget the plugin vendors themselves, who should all be designed vector-based GUIs with built-in, user-adjustable resizing features by now.
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Old 12-03-2020, 06:07 PM   #36
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Small laptops with relatively low resolution screens set for 125%/133% are common at the affordable end of the market, which is troublesome for non vector-based software/plugins, and win10's HiDPI implementation is, being charitable, a bit of a ...er... work in progress.

When doing the Reaper 6 default theme I did three sizes : 100%, 150% and 200%. At 125% you fall somewhere between the first two, and alas none of this is going to help you with plugins. My suggestion would be to leave Reaper's HiDPI settings in their default on state, and use the Default 6 theme with its 150% layouts.
Yeah... In a sense having let's say for arguments sake 16k screen in 15" is better for integer scaling than having 1080p screen at 15" because you can scale more gradually. 2x is two times larger... so on 1080p screen, that's huge jump in size, but then 3x is only 50% bigger than 2x... 4x is even less so etc. so it's more gradual and you can use it to your advantage.

So let's say that you made your application for 1080p screen and then scaled it up to 2x for that imaginary 16k screen... it's not nearly big enough yet... and more integers you add to that scaling, more gradual the next step will be in comparison

Obviously, vectors are the future of GUI's... but it'll take time.
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Old 12-05-2020, 05:30 PM   #37
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I'm sorry you're having to deal with this. Who is to blame, is it Microsoft? Yeah, a bit. Is it Reaper? Yeah, a bit. Is it the company that put that screen in your laptop? Yeah, a bit.
Thanks for the input. The thing is that I've got a few days to return this laptop and I absolutely love it. It's rocket fast and every app aside from Reaper looks fantastic... Hate to take it back.

The other thing is that as I look at other laptops in my range ($900-1200) with a good processor, SSD, and 16mb of ram I run into the same 1920 X 1080 resolutions.
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Old 12-06-2020, 03:54 PM   #38
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For what it's worth, I was able to revert to Reaper 5.983 and it made zero difference to the scaling issue.

Seeing that every single app I tried worked perfectly, I've come to the conclusion that Reaper is just not compatible with a 1920X1080 resolution on a 15.6 screen. It's a real bummer.
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Old 12-06-2020, 07:17 PM   #39
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I'm running on a Windows 10 Home system, using Reaper at 1920x1080 150% scaling.
I'm also using 125% scaling in the Advanced UI/System tweaks.
I've chosen the 200% Track and Mixer layouts.

Very clear here. It's also sized right for smallish projects.
It does work.

YMMV

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