Wish for better support for virtual machnines with text console

[Petr Slansky]

This is a wish for VirtualBox enhancement. Text console in guest virtual machnine can be too small on monitor with high resolution. For example, I run MS-DOS virtual machine, it has display only 25x80 character and virtual machnine output is too small to read at screen with high resolution. I cannot increse output from virtual machine, as it maps video memory of virtual machine in ratio 1:1. When I switch to full screen, I see a lo of black space and in the middle of the screnn is small arrea with virtual machine screen, in the same size; no real advantage of full screen output.

I think it can be improved, that you can (optionaly) map 1 pixel from VirtualMachine videoram to 1 (1x1), 4 (2x2) or 9 (3x3) pixels in host screen; can be configurable (auto, 1x, 2x, 3x, manual when window is resized). To implement something like magnifier. It is not difficult from my point of view.

More advanced solution will alow to have full smooth screen resizing between ratio 1x to 4x; some interpolation has to be used in this case and it will have impact to performance of VirtualMachine. From my point of view smoth resizing is not necessary.

[Samus_Aran]

You can obtain a fullscreen text mode of 80x25 that looks like an authentic computer running in text mode by using the SDL version of VirtualBox, in fullscreen mode. SDL automatically chooses the closest resolution, then performs stretching if needed.

VBoxSDL

[Technologov]

Basically you are asking for ability to stretch or "zoom in" VM.

-Technologov

[Technologov]

This feature is indeed useful, but not only for text mode, but also for old games.

I opened a new wish more generic description as wish #5875.

Please close this one as duplicate.

-Technologov