[mythtv-users] The 1080i saga

[Jonathan Rogers]

Jurgen Kramer wrote:
> I just took another plunge into the 1080i saga. Unfortunately the result
> is still the same: playing video with either mplayer or myth just hangs
> the machine completely :(
> 
> What special things need to be done to be able to play video @ 1080i?

Mainly, you need correctly working video hardware and driver. Try the
"nv" driver instead of "nvidia" just for comparison. Also, a different
version of the proprietary driver might behave differently. If that
doesn't work, try another video card you have lying around if that's
possible.

I'm currently using a Radeon 8500. It works with either X.org's free
"radeon" driver or ATI's proprietary "fglrx" driver. The proprietary one
uses less CPU time, a commodity that sometimes runs out, but it doesn't
handle Bob deinterlace and zooming correctly. The free driver works
flawlessly as long as the CPU can keep up. I've also tried a Radeon
9000. It works with either driver, but has a big pink rectangle on the
right side of the screen when playing 1080i, which seems to indicate its
overlay can't handle video that big.

The point I'm trying to make is that video hardware and driver
capabilities and performance vary considerably, so you might just have
to experiment. All of the drivers have various options that can affect
performance and functionality, so read the manual too. I'm currently
using ATI hardware, so I can't advise you specifics there.

Jonathan Rogers