U6: How to install User Popcon Characters?

[Timeless]

Hello

First, thanks so much to the abipod people for the site and lebellium for your review of the YP-G50 (for which I was tempted until I realised that I just wanted to play music!) and the YP-U6.

I just purchased an U6, I have downloaded the U5 Popcon pack hoping it would be compatible but it doesn't seem to recognize any user popcon. I also tried putting it in a folder, it just shows the built-in characters. So I guess it uses another format, but which one and how to install it? Or how can I find out?

Any help would be appreciated — the tiny manual doesn't say anything about Popcon — though it's not really urgent ;)

[lebellium]

Bon là je viens de rentrer d'une soirée à Paris un peu bourré donc état moyen pour poster^^

So unfortunately I don't have a U6 in my hands yet but what I can tell you now is that on the Korean Samsung website the Popcons for the U5 and the U6 are not the same.
I'll try to download some U6 Popcons for you tomorrow
Right now I have to sleep^^

[Timeless]

I hope they can still be made with any graphic editor and not with the bundled software, since I'm on Mac OS. I haven't thought about the korean website, I'll take a look too.

Thanks

Bonne nuit !

edit: There's some progress. I created a Popcon from the built-in Popcon editor (very, very basic editor ), it created a directory with my Popcon name with the files inside. The files are still Bitmap (BMP), 40x40 pixels, but now it's 4-bit (16 colors). I converted the U5 Popcon Pack to 4-bit files so I could use them on my U6 (cf. attached zip file - I removed the instructions and pictures because they were for the U5, they're a bit the same though!).


This is strange, they decreased the number of supported colors from the U5 to the U6: from 256 (8-bit) to 16 (4-bit), and even more strange: the U5 supported 256 colours but the display was only black and white (or so I've read)?

This is where are the official Popcons for the U6 (registration needed):
http://kr.samsungmobile.com/service/...eviceCode=YPU6
For now they provide only black and white Popcons, while the device is shipped with coloured ones, I wonder why.

I made a coloured Popcon (cf. attached Popcon.zip) but it shows up as greyscale on my U6.

[lebellium]

Hum it's both interesting and strange^^

So if I well understood all Popcons, even the colored ones (have you tried the gmp3 popcon?), display in greyscale on your U6

And indeed, the Popcons from YEPP are not colored! I don't understand why as the default Popcons on the U6 are colored!

In my gmp3 U5 review I wrote "Ecran OLED 4 lignes 16 nuances de gris (128*64)". I don't remember where the information comes from but it's far from the 256 colors you mention^^
The U6 display is a color CSTN 1" (128*64).

BTW, I put the U6 Popcons from the Samsung Website in attachment
That would be great if you could adapt my read-me file for the U6. Without any instructions people won't know how to put the Popcons on their U6!

[Timeless]

I just tried the gmp3 popcon, it looks like a shade of grey or a faint purple, not as blue as the battery indicator which is more blue/turquoise. I'll try with Popcons displaying several colors, I'll do more tests (it's just boring to do :P )

For the U5 I was only talking about the file format of the Popcon files: the file format is 8 bit, 8 bit images support a palette of 256 colors but, as you said, the display suports less colors (16 shades of grey); so I don't see what's the point for Samsung of using a screen that disallows the user to use all the file format's capabilities
They should have used 4-bit bitmaps instead to save a tiny bit of space, or maybe they changed their mind and it was too late to go back. Or maybe I'm missing something


I'll make the changes on the instructions files

Thanks for the U6 Popcons!

edit: the instructions for the U5 were saying the bitmaps are 24 bits :O I'm confused.

[Timeless]

I might become crazy soon

I made this fine piece of art with Gimp:



I saved it as a 24bit RGP Bitmap picture, and as a RGB picture with 16 colors (4bit).

I converted (but kept the original) the 24bit picture as a 8bit picture.
And just to make sure the problem isn't on Gimp's side, I converted the 4bit image (made with Gimp) to 4bit (with ImageMagick).

All the converted files were still displaying colors on my computer. So I copied to the U6:
The 24bit image made with Gimp
Its 8bit conversoin made with ImageMagick

The 16 colors (8bit) image made with Gimp
Its conversion to 8bit with ImageMagick.

Each of them were displaying on the U6, even the 24bit Bitmap, but still as greyscale.


Now for the crazy part:

I made another piece of art:



I saved it as a 24bit image wih Gimp, same thing as the first image, and it was grey. I opened it with graphic viewer (Preview) and saved it again as a 24bit bmp to make sure Gimp isn't the culprit. My U6 was unable to read it, it kept giving me a built-in Popcon.

Maybe it's a bug, after all!

I'll post the converted pack tonight.

[lebellium]

Your post is killing my brain (would be already hard to follow you in French so in English...)! lol

But from what I understood, it's impossible to display colored Popcons, right?

"the instructions for the U5 were saying the bitmaps are 24 bits :O I'm confused." > I read that in the U5 Guide at the time. Now it has been replaced by the U5/U6 guide but actually there is no difference. The instructions are the same for the U5 and U6.
I put it in attachment. It's in Korean so you won't understand anything but if you check the step 3), you can recognize the words "24" and "RGB".
I translated "24 bits" into Korean with Google translation and I got "24 비트", what is actually written on the PDF so I assume the guide tells us to save the picture in 24 bits RGB mode.


PS: "I made this fine piece of art" ahaha contemporary art?

[Timeless]

Ah I'm sorry! My head explodes too I found the culprit: the tool I was using to analyse the files (to see how many colours they use) gives different (false) informations than another one -- or maybe I don't know how to use it Sorry for misleading you and all the U6 users (if there are any other ) Let's forget about all that file format/display colours


Anyway, yes, coloured Popcons are working but show up as greyscale. Bulit-in Popcons, however, are showing up with colours.


Ok for the 24bit instructions, I'll stick (no pun intended) to make 24bit BMP now, I'll try again and again, maybe I'm missing a step...

I zipped and attached the pack for the U6, I included the official Popcons, the korean guide and brochure.