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I want to RDP to Windows 2003 servers, but if I use the default RDP client under Linux, I have only 16 or 256 colors, instead of the 16-bit colors. The display is also very slow.

What are the good RDP clients I can install on my server? This is a server on which I cannot install anything like VNC, or other remote access solutions. I have to stick to RDP.

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  • It might be more accurate to leave the question at, "Is there a good RDP client under Linux?" Apr 25, 2012 at 0:28

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rdesktop and TSclient both support higher color depths.

By default, server-side settings limit the color depth to 256 colors on Windows Server running Remote Desktop Services (formerly Terminal Services). In order to use higher color depths, you will need to change a setting and/or policy on your Windows Servers.

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  • Fine. However, it seems that when using the RDP client from Windows XP I have a better display quality than the one that comes with, say, Ubuntu. Is there something in those clients that is not properly detected by the Terminal Server/Remote Desktop Service ?
    – jfmessier
    Mar 30, 2010 at 12:06
  • You're right. In the Windows Remote Desktop client, you can adjust the quality via the Display and Experience tabs. In TSclient, you can change many of the same options via the Display and Performance tabs; but some of Microsoft's options, such as Desktop Composition, are not available in TSclient. If you check the box for "Hide window manager's decorations," this should reduce the variety of colors needed and improve the quality of dithering. linux.softpedia.com/progScreenshots/…
    – rob
    Mar 30, 2010 at 18:20
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I just stumbled on to Remmina and have found it to be a breath of fresh (RDP) air.

For the RDP color options it offers are; 256, 16 bit, 24 bit and (my favorite because it looks as good 16 bit, at fraction of the bandwidth) 15 bit.

For better performance on slow connections; I use 15 bit color (256 is painful), disable everything except local caching (the Quality setting set to Poor in Remmina) and will also set the resolution (window size) smaller if the connection is still slow.

If you are using Unity, you may want to create a custom resolution for your particular monitor, to simulate a full screen mode.

Remmina is a remote desktop client written in GTK+, aiming to be useful for system administrators and travellers, who need to work with lots of remote computers in front of either large monitors or tiny netbooks. Remmina supports multiple network protocols in an integrated and consistant user interface. Currently RDP, VNC, NX, XDMCP and SSH are supported. Remmina is released in separated source packages: "remmina", the main GTK+ application "remmina-plugins", a set of plugins Remmina is free and open-source software, released under GNU GPL license. http://remmina.sourceforge.net/

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