[mythtv-users] 50Hz PAL over VGA at 60Hz (again) - how does Windows MCE do it?

[Ben Lancaster]

Hi all,

OK, so a while ago I started a discussion about how video playback  
wasn't as smooth as I'd expected with 50Hz PAL over VGA @ 60Hz (a  
limitation of my TV), and the answer was, as expected, because  
there's interpolation with duplicate frames to compensate for the  
addition 10 frames required. It's most noticeable when you get  
panning shots, or lots of movement, it's by no means a showstopper,  
but it's quite irritating.

So my new question is this: how does Windows MCE do it? A friend of  
mine has the exact same TV (Samsung LE32... something-or-other), but  
he uses Windows MCE to play UK Freeview (i.e. 50Hz PAL) over VGA at  
60Hz, yet video playback on his is silky-smooth. What is MCE doing  
differently? And is there any way to replicate this on Linux?

I also use my PowerBook as a mythfrontend, and have noticed that that  
at 60Hz on a VGA display is also absolutely fine (although this is  
questionable as the display is much smaller, so it's difficult to  
gauge). That leads me to think that this is an ffmpeg/libmpeg2 issue  
on Linux?

Ben