Ho can I change ES menu aspect ratio to 16:9 on a CRT screen?

ss213

Hey retropie forum!

I have my Pi 3 conected to a 4:3 CRT screen with the latest retropie. The problem I have is that some themes are no designed for 4:3, making it hard to read the name of some games. Therefore I though I could fix it by changing the aspect ratio of the ES menu to 16:9 (I know I will have black horizontal borders, but I am ok with it) . However, I can't figure how to change it without changing the aspect ratio for the rest of emulators.
I would also prefer to change it without the need of commands (hopefully the option can by accessed from the retropie config option on ES).

Thanks

mitu

I think the best way is to find and use the themes designed for 4:3 and use your native resolution, without any side effects for ES's display and emulators' resolution.

ss213

@mitu I thought of that as my last option, but the themes I like with the info I prefer are not available for 4:3. Therefore I first want to find out if it is possible to edit ONLY the ES menu aspect ratio.

mitu

If you use 16:9 resolution to accommodate ES theming needs, then use the Runcommand launch menu to configure the resolution for the emulators so you use the native 4:3 screen resolution just for running the games.

ss213

@mitu ok will try that. Where is the correct menu option to change ES to 16:9 so what you say works??
Thanks

mitu

@ss213 I though you already had that configured by changing the TV/Monitor's resolution. ES has a command line parameter to specify the width/height (--resolution). If you use that, then you don't need to use the Runcommand launch menu to specify the resolution since your TV/Monitor would still use the native resolution.
You can test this by exiting Emulationstation, then starting ES from the command line with

emulationstation --resolution <width> <height>

If that looks fine (both for ES and for the emulators), then you can make the change permanent by editing the startup script in /opt/retropie/configs/all/autostart.sh.

ss213

@mitu its a pretty old crt, it doesn't have any aspect ratio options. I will try what you suggest, however I undesrtand that in those values I must put the resolution rather than the aspect ratio... Sadly I am a bit dumb when it comes to resolutions ... is 640 x 360 a correct 16:9 aspect ratio for an old 4:3 ctr monitor?? Can I go avobe that?

ss213

@mitu tried it and it works almost perfectly. Thankss!! With 640 x 360 it displays ES menu perfectly in 16:9 and the games still play in 4:3. The only problem is that the ES menu screen is not centered. It shows at the buttom of the screen. How can I move it up or center it in the middle?? Is it something like "emulation station --resolution 640 360 center" or am I making up commands?? Dont really want to mess up...

mitu

@ss213 said in Ho can I change ES menu aspect ratio to 16:9 on a CRT screen?:

Is it something like "emulation station --resolution 640 360 center" or am I making up commands??

No, there's no such parameter. I can't say anything about the menu not being centered, but as long as it fits on the screen, I think's an acceptable trade-off.

ss213

@mitu jajaja!! Yeah, between a messed up menu and non centered menu I prefer the not centered one that is redeable. Thanks.

I will edit the autostart file and see what happens when I connect it back to an HD screen (so I can prevent any surprises if I ever take the Pi to a friends house)