Intel® Display Optimizer FAQ

Documentation

Product Information & Documentation

000023510

12/14/2017

Click or the topic for details:

What is this product? And what is a 10-foot UI? The Intel® Display Optimizer tool helps an Intel® NUC or Intel® Compute Stick user adjust their display settings for better readability when used with a large TV or monitor and you are sitting away from the display. This is common for home theater or similar usages and is called a 10-foot user interface because the user is often about 10 feet away from the screen instead of about 2 feet for normal computer use.

The default Windows* display settings are designed for normal computer use and are often not ideal for a living room setting. You can often improve the readability of text and images by adjusting their size.
How does this tool optimize the display? This tool makes recommended changes based on the screen size and current resolution of your display. The tool reads this information from your display. In some cases the display does not report these values. If so, the tool asks you to provide them.

The tool zooms in or zooms out the display by adjusting the display scale factor available in Windows*. As explained below, you can adjust this factor yourself. This tool helps you with a recommended set of display scale factors based on the screen size and current resolution of your display.
 
What’s the difference between small icon and large icon display? The large icon display is Windows® 10 tablet mode. The small icon display is Windows 10 traditional desktop mode. In the large icon display the Windows Start menu is presented as a full screen. The icons in the Start menu are much larger and easier to read and select. In the large icon display all applications appear full screen.

If you want to change between the large icon and small icon displays, you can re-run the Intel® Display Optimizer and change the desired mode. Alternatively you can select the modes from within Windows as follows:

To toggle between Desktop/Small icon and Tablet/Large icon mode:
  1. Click the Notifications icon in the system tray:
    notification icon
  2. Select the Tablet mode icon to toggle it on or off:
    tablet mode
Can I set display settings myself in Windows® 10? Yes. To change the display scaling factor (the zoom factor) in Windows® 10:
 
  1. Open the Settings menu.
    1. If in Desktop/Small icon mode, press the Windows key to display the Start menu and select Settings:
      select settings
    2. If in Tablet/Large icon mode, press the Windows key, and then select the menu icon in the top-left corner of the screen:
      menu icon
  2. Select Settings.
  3. Select System, and then select Display.
  4. Use the slider to change the display scaling (zoom) factor:

    display scaling slider

    While the display may change, Windows will prompt you to sign out, and then sign back in for the changes to become effective.
  5. To toggle between Desktop/Small icon and Tablet/Large icon mode:
    1. Click the Notifications icon in the system tray:
      notifications icon
    2. Select the Tablet mode icon to toggle it on or off:
      tablet mode
How do I measure my screen? The size of a TV or monitor is based on the screen distance measured diagonally excluding any bezel covering the outer rim.

If you are using a projector, measure the diagonal size of the image projected on the wall or projection screen.
 
What is considered a large display? For this tool a display is considered large if it is at least 35 inches measured diagonally.
 
What is screen resolution? A screen image is made up of individual points or pixels. The more pixels the more detailed is the image. Resolution is expressed as the number of pixels in the horizontal and vertical directions. For example, a 1920 x 1080 screen has 1920 pixels in the horizontal direction and 1080 pixels in the vertical direction.
 
Why does the program launch every time I switch to a different user or display? The program allows you to set different settings for different displays and supports different settings for different users as well.

If you want to stop the program from starting automatically, uncheck the “Run application on start up” check box the next time it starts.
 
Why is the program limited to Windows® 10? This program relies on features Microsoft introduced starting with Windows® 10.