Custom resolution, width & height

Most users don't need this page. If your screen shows content correctly, skip it — standard screens run at 1920×1080 and need no resolution settings. This page is only for unusual screen sizes (stretched bar displays, portrait totems, tiled LED walls, non-standard panels), and the steps involve advanced hardware-unlock settings — so it's normally done by your installer or impressBox during setup, not in day-to-day use. If a screen letterboxes, stretches, or crops content and you think the size is wrong, talk to impressBox before changing these.

Where to set it

Advanced settings → display size

On the device, set display width and display height (in pixels). Two rules apply, the same as for rotation (see Device settings reference):

1. Disable fullscreen before setting a custom width/height — fullscreen overrides them.

2. Unlock the hardware settings (UNLOCK_BALENA) in the same change, or the new dimensions won't take effect.

Once a custom size is set, the device runs in custom-display-size mode and renders content to exactly those dimensions.

Designing content for a custom size

Match your content to the screen's real shape, or it will letterbox or stretch:

• Landscape screens: design at 1920×1080 (16:9).

• Portrait screens: design at 1080×1920 (9:16).

• Custom sizes: design at the exact width×height you set (e.g. a 3840×1080 bar).

If you're unsure which canvas to use, decide the target display first, then design to it. impressBox's outpainting can re-shape images that don't match (see Content doesn't fit the screen? Fix it with AI outpainting), but purpose-built artwork always looks best.

Scaling mode — how content fills the screen

Separately from the screen's pixel size, each device has a scaling mode that decides how a piece of content fits the display:

• Contain (default) — fit the whole content, keeping its proportions (may leave bars).

• Stretch — fill the screen, ignoring proportions (may distort).

• Cover — fill the screen, keeping proportions (may crop edges).

Pick the mode that matches your content and screen so nothing important is cut off or stretched.

Player position on the screen

For unusual installs you can also place/inset the player viewport within the screen (width/height and distance from each edge, using values like 100px or 5%). This is for cases where the player should occupy only part of the panel.

Rotation vs. custom resolution

For portrait installs you have two routes, and you generally use one or the other:

• Rotate a standard screen 90°/270° (keeps 1080×1920 logic), or

• set a custom resolution that already matches the physical panel.

When a custom width/height is set, on-the-fly rotation is usually unnecessary — the output is already produced at the right dimensions.

If content looks wrong after a change

• Re-check that fullscreen was disabled and hardware was unlocked when you set the size.

• Confirm the source content matches the new dimensions (re-export or outpaint if not).

• Take a screenshot of the device to see the actual on-screen result (see Managing devices day-to-day), and reboot if the change didn't apply.