Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

If someone will tell me what goes into changing the panoramic wallpaper (i.e. everything that the CAB required to change it does) then I might try to create a utility that will "do it for you".

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

All the info you could want in posts 1 and 2.

You just make a 1536x512 image, break into three 512x512 images, and use cfcgui to place the images in the correct manila files (3 for portrait and 3 for landscape).

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

Okay, I have it creating the correct PNG files from a selected image, and then saving them into the Windows folder with the correct filenames.

But, I tested it on my own device (I have pano wallpaper - I prefer dark earth)... and after running the program, verifying the files were created correctly and all... and after restarting TF3D, the new panoramic wallpaper isn't there... just some default non-pano wallpaper.

What is cfcgui you refer to? Never heard of it.

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

ooohhh... it looks like the Manila files aren't merely PNGs, but PNG files converted to some proprietary format? QTC or CFC or something?

Please shed some light on this... ans maybe point me to where I can learn how to construct these programmatically.

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

This needs to be moved to the general forum ...

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

Clearly someone here lacks any skills at deduction

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

? Please elaborate...

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

While I haven't tackled this myself yet, maybe this link would be of help:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=470798

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

Yeah, thanks. I've been pouring over that article (and the tech spec article associated with it), but everyone at that time was trying to create the QTC files from their desktops... and I need to programmatically create them on my device. NOT easy as I'm slowly learning. :-)

I might have to consider actually constructing the header for a QTC file manually!! :-|

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

I thin kthe cfcgui is a converter of some sort for the image files. Or maybe i lack aforementioned deduction skills as well.

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

I think you take the coefficient of the derivative and the chosen input value describes the best linear approximation of the function near that input value. somehow it may work, it's elementary watson. :)

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

lolwut

but seriously, if this app gets made or i somehow find some free time, i will use all my design and illustration school learnings to churn out some bad-arse panos for all you folks.

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

Lmao. That was pretty funny man.

The cfc gui lets you swap images, etc and overwrite files in the manila files, it lets you open up the images very easily.
CFC stands for ChainFire Compression, it compresses the manila files to make them smaller, and actually speeds it up. This was all created by chainfire. Hence ChainFire Compression

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

Yeah... after digging through xda I found two apps -- cfcgui and manila editor -- both of which will edit existing manila files so you can put in your own images, etc. BUT, they are desktop apps... and won't do what I want to do... which is allow someone to choose a wallpaper on their phone and have it automatically do all that crazy 3-file-512-square creation/cropping whatever. That way people can just find suitable 1536x512 image files and throw them on their device to use as pano wallpaper whenever they want... rather than have to do the kabuki dance or whatever.

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

Incidentally... I have PMs in to ChainFire and sushilange asking them for how they handled the QTC files (or whatever the heck we want to call them).

Basically, here's the only hiccup. The QTC format is a derivative of an AMD-based compression/optimization format... and it's NOT well-documented... or documented AT ALL. Some brave soul at XDA managed to figure out some of the required Hex values in the opening address of the file header... but I'm of the school that if someone came up with the stupid file type in the first place they'd have a DLL with some basic functions to use the file... but apparently that's silly talk. (or my poor powers of deduction) :-)

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

Does anyone know ChainFire personally or have worked with him at all?

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

He is on irc.freenode.net in various rooms.

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

Thanks. I just had a back-and-forth with him last night and it turns out that the method he's using for converting images to the correct format only works in "big" windows... not mobile.

This is a big problem. I have a call in to AMD asking about mobile-friendly library support for their ATI compression format, but I haven't heard anything yet (although I problem wouldn't anyways until tonight when I check my home email).

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

It's a neat idea on what you're trying to do. However, if you're going to crop a picture to 1536x512 pixels, you'll probably be on a PC (how would you even view a 1536x512 pic on a 640x480 screen and see any detail). I'm pretty sure that having a ppc program convert a png to qtc manila file would take a long time. It can take a minute or two depending on the processor in the desktop (times 3 or 6 images), and our phones are a lot slower.

IMO, a better app would be one that would let you preview a sample of a panoramic pic (maybe just read the first qtc on the ppc), select the panoramic image you want, and have your ppc app copy the manila files to /windows and restart manila automatically. You'd still have to have users put the 3/6 png's into the manila files and transfer them to a folder on their phone that is read by your ppc app. This would be easier and quicker than installing/uninstalling cabs to change pictures (and you wouldn't need to create cabs in the first place).

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

Well, to address you first point... the user wouldn't need to do anything to the wide image, the idea is for the APP to do all the heavy lifting, cropping, converting, copying, etc.

But you're right, I think that figuring out how to get the PPC to do it would be too much (and ChainFire agrees). Also, I didn't realize there was such a render time. ANd it's a shame, too, because all of this is because the images are compressed into an AMD format intended to optimize graphics intensive applications... not three 512x512 images that sit there as wallpaper.

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

If you were an expert at C-sharp, C++, and/or Visual Studio 2008. Then you might be able to create an app like this...if you're not, then yeah it's way too much work. If you do find somebody who's an expert at ripping apart apps....the HTC camera application has a built in panorama feature so you can compile one big picture from 3 different ones. Give HTC a call and see if they'll send you that source code so you can do some surgery on it (joke).

Re: Panoramic Wallpaper utility -- I'm up for the challenge
 

The problem is the proprietary format of the graphic files the diamond uses without any supporting library in managed code on the .NET compact framework. I'm pretty confident with C# and VS. :-)