[mythtv-users] Got smooth playback? please post your setup & configuration

Joe Votour joevph at yahoo.com
Sun Aug 6 01:01:29 UTC 2006


> (sorry if this was posted twice, didn't know if it sent properly...)
>
> Hi, I am having great trouble getting smooth playback (live tv or
> recorded).
> I've tried everything (that I can think of), and still can't get TV to
> look
> anything like as good as Sky. The ticker tape on BBC news (I'm in the UK)
> is
> really jerky compared to any set-top-box output of the same channel.
>
> Could anyone who's got smooth playback (and I mean as smooth as a
> set-top-box gives out), please post there setup and configuration.
>
> I'm looking for:
> - what kind of tv link are you using (dvi, component etc...)
> - what refresh rate you are using (ie, 50Hz, 60Hz)
> - what settings do you use for playback (Deinterlacer, opengl sync etc..)
>
> I would like to know so that I'm sure I'm not missing something vital.
> Also,
> I'm mostly interested in HDTV capable setups, i.e. people who are using
> resolutions which are capable of HDTV.
>
> I have a pretty powerful Rig (AMD 3500+, 1gig of RAM, 200gb hdd), and am
> using a DVI->DVI connection to my TV (which gives out a correct modeline
> (1360x768), but only for a 75Hz refresh). My graphics card is an
> intergrated
> nvidia 6150. Everything seems to work (except XvMC, don't know why, but
> shoudn't be required with this rig), but when I watch any TV it's real
> jerky.
>
> Not meaning to make this like a survey, just I've been trying since Easter
> to get this thing to work (was an Easter project), and I'm beginning to
> give
> up.
>
> Thanks in advance, James Buckley
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users at mythtv.org
> http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>


I don't mean to discourage you, but having actually worked on a set-top
box, I'll say this up front - with MythTV (or any other Windows/Linux
program), it will be very difficult to get set-top box quality.  Set-top
boxes have video output chips that are optimized for MPEG-2 playback, and
they also take into account all the little things that are necessary, such
as perfect vertical sync timing (for page flipping without tearing).  A
general purpose Linux system just can't get *that* good, but it can get
pretty close.  A lot of good discussion can be found here:
http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/engine?do=post_view_flat;post=116194;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;list=mythtv

That said, I get pretty good quality output on my system, especially using
HD.  I only get the odd noticable jitter when I'm watching a ticker on CNN
or ESPN (ESPN has fast tickers, so any artifacting in the display is
really noticable).

Here's what I've got:
- GeForce 5200FX connected to an HDTV monitor running at 720p (1280x720)
via VGA (60Hz)
- Using XvMC because my CPU (an Athlon64 3200+) can barely keep up
- OpenGL Vsync enabled
- Bob deinterlacing enabled

-- Joe


___________________________________________________________
$0 Web Hosting with up to 200MB web space, 1000 MB Transfer
10 Personalized POP and Web E-mail Accounts, and much more.
Signup at www.doteasy.com



More information about the mythtv-users mailing list