Gradient fill gets worse with each release

[steve.ledger]

Mark just one thing before I answer your image.
We have many threads at TG that are becoming almost useless due to members posting images linked from a image hosting account which is no longer current. This means the images no longer appear in the threads and the post becomes nonsense.
Here's an example of what I mean:

http://www.talkgraphics.com/showpost...84&postcount=1

It is much preferred to attach your images rather than link to them

To you rquestion.
The amount of banding you end up seeing is relative to the amount of colours the LCD panel can display. Because your video adapter can handle 32bit colour doesn't mean your LCD can (panels range from 10bit to 24bit last time I checked). Not many manufacturers will describe the panel type in the specs for each model but you can be certain that the current cheaper models use 16bit or lower panels. These are fine for every day display and computing, even for showing photos and some design work, but no good for higher end graphics work where you are working with gradients and so on.
CRT's can display a much larger range of colours making the colour transitions in gradients (and beautiful blues skies) much smoother.
Basically LCDs cannot display the maximum colour range that a CRT can and often have less accurate colour replication.

Just google 'LCD color banding' - there's planty of discussion about this.

PS: I have a higher end Dell which shows much less banding than the lower end AOC I have when viewing the same gradient.

[Albacore]

I can't see the point in this thread! So much is dependant on the quality of graphics card or your display. I would have joined in with how bad AI grads are but this was a XPro question. Using XPro every day I have noticed no difference between the way X1 to XPro rendered only with the speed and that might be more to do with the graphics cards that I am now using more than any programming by the developers in Xara.

[steve.ledger]

Agreed Peter - and remember I said as much in posts#8 and #13.

Also worth repeating (and it has been referred to more than once over the last 12 months regarding one of the Xara developers comments. I paraphrase here) that nearly everything seen in the Xtreme window is rendered by Xara's own internal routines into a bitmap and then that bitmap is sent to the screen by the video drivers. That final "blit" to screen is the only major involvement by the video drivers and is so simple that it's very unlikely to go wrong.

Basically your video card and it's driver plays a minor role when using Xara Xtreme.
Yet the 'display' settings and the monitor 'type' plays a major one as it's is the last interface between the render and your eyes.

[Ross Macintosh]

It is also probably important to highlight again Sledger's earlier remark about the new VHQ (Very High Quality) setting. If it isn't set to VHQ you will likely see much more banding than if it is. The quality-related options can be found in the Window menu.

If I recall correctly the default on install is not VHQ so it seems likely the banding that caused JokeArtist concern is related to that. Crank it up, crack open a beer, and enjoy the stunning screen display you are used to. Life is good.

Regards, Ross

[steve.ledger]

Good advise Ross.
Though as JA hasn't logged on since starting the thread he may miss out on that too

[markJ]

We have many threads at TG that are becoming almost useless due to members posting images linked from a image hosting account which is no longer current.
Here's an example of what I mean:

http://www.talkgraphics.com/showpost...84&postcount=1

It is much preferred to attach your images rather than link to them

Thanks for the feedback from the previous post Sledger that make sense now with the CRT`s.. yes I see what you mean about the linking, I thought I was doing the right thing by saving xara bandwidth and it was fast uploading to photobucket..but yes they require you to log in each month to keep it active, I`ll see how long I can do that for!, but meanwhile I`ll upload my newer attachments..