Alternative to FSE to avoid screen tearing

[johnsonx42]

May it be a "quartz.dll" problem? If so try and look for wiki.

I think Microsoft fixed the quartz problem with XP service pack 3 (which I'm on). Also I think the quartz thing was more of a stutter problem than tearing, but I may be wrong.....

Yes, SP3 fixes the quartz.dll problem. Myself, I'm on Vista SP1. Yes also, the quartz.dll problem produced stuttery, hitchy playback, not tearing.

I have my new HD4550 next to me as I type... It wants me to blow off the rest of my work day to go home and install it. It's a naughty, naughty video card.

[johnsonx42]

HD4550 installed. Tearing all gone. Even flash video on Hulu was tearing with the 7600GS.

I don't know if that's a ATI>Nvidia thing, or just new HD4550>older 7600GS thing. The 7600GS certainly should have been up to the task, as my very old ATI 9500pro in my test system certainly had no such problems.

edit: I've also now found that the ATI card's TV-Out is simply better than the NVidia's, and the TV-out adjustments and settings in the catalyst control panel are also superior.

[frankmcg]

I must be incredibly unlucky. I'm now on my 3rd HTPC video card (integrated nvidia 6150, then a 8500GT, now an ATI 4650) and all 3 have had tearing unless I use FSE mode.

[johnsonx42]

After using the HD4550 for a couple of days, I've found it isn't the panacea I thought it was. First, there is still subtle tearing sometimes. It's nowhere near as obvious as it was on the 7600GS, and it comes and goes. Some channels seem all but immune. It almost seems related to interlacing, yet the effect is strictly a tear across just one part of the screen which is no interlacing artifact I'm aware of.

The tearing also occurs on EVR. I really didn't think the 7600GS teared at all on EVR, but if it was subtle like it is with the HD4550 I might not have noticed... I didn't 'discover' tearing until I went to VMR9 Custom, so I wasn't looking for it when I was on EVR with the 7600gs.

Worse, I've now found VMR9 Custom unusable on the HD4550, varies between studdering just a bit to bad stuttering. I could swear after I turned off Aero that the 7600gs was smooth in VMR9 custom (aside from the tearing), maybe the slightest stutter only noticeable on a news ticker.

Outside of GB-PVR, I also found that flash video (hulu) was almost unwatchable until I stumbled into the settings menu and turned off Hardware Acceleration. I'm guessing that's a driver problem.

I'd try other drivers, but there's really only 3 to choose from: the hacked 4.9 on the CD from Sapphire, the Hot-Fix 4.10 from ATI's site, and the 4.11 (which I'm running). The odd thing is if you select the 4550 from the download menu, it takes you to the hot-fixed 4.10. However, if you find your way to the recently released 4.11 driver (select something like the 4670), the release notes say it supports the 4550.

Honestly I'm closing in on giving up on this whole thing. I've got so many problems with different things, and every step I take to fix one problem introduces one or more new problems. There have been moments of 'wonderfulness' but they're getting fewer and fewer...

[stustunz]

what decoder are you using with all this testing and failing

[johnsonx42]

Cyberlink PDVD 8 (from k-lite codec pack standard), NVidia Purevideo (7600GS only), ATI AVIVO (HD4550 only), and ffdshow. Mostly I'm on Cyberlink and switch to one of the others to see if some problem I've seen can be reproduced there.

None of my problems seem to be decoder related, as they're pretty constant across decoders. It's not that I can't GB-PVR to work at all, it's just that I can't get it to work consistently and reliably to the point where I can hand the remote to the family and expect them to use it. I don't want to move this thread off on a tangent though; mostly I posted the last message just to avoid giving false guidance that the HD4550 solved my tearing problem.

[mikeh49]

And that, Arnie, is why people go to the Popcorn Hour. Shows to go you why you shouldn't send a computer to do a job that hardware can do.

It is really sad that with all this CPU and GPU power, we can't reliably show a TV picture.

Good luck!

[tjb]

And that, Arnie, is why people go to the Popcorn Hour. Shows to go you why you shouldn't send a computer to do a job that hardware can do.

It is really sad that with all this CPU and GPU power, we can't reliably show a TV picture.

Good luck!

Amen to that. For the price of a good graphics card, you can get a PCH that has no problems displaying any HD recording you can throw at it. I also went through 3 graphics cards (Nvidia 6600, ATI 3450, and now an Nvidia 9500GT) and was never able to get VMR9 Custom working to my satisfaction. I didn't have the tearing issue, just the stuttering on pan shots as well as sporting events.

[johnsonx42]

I've pondered the idea of a back-end server with a PCH on the actual TV(s), but there are several things I'd really like to do that require a real PC at the main TV. If I have to reduce my feature set, this whole thing may not be worth pursuing.

I can't help but wonder how many people on GB-PVR actually get a tear- and stutter-free picture? I know different people have different acceptance levels for such things; for me the picture has to be 100% perfect, even the slightest stutter or tearing drives me up a wall. I've noticed for years now that many channels on DirecTV seem to drop a frame every few (or maybe it's the individual shows, I'm not sure), apparently to reduce bandwidth requirements... I can barely watch those channels, yet my wife has no idea what I'm talking about.

[athomas]

I'm with you. My picture has to be perfect or it drives me nuts. Its hit and miss with the setups too. I have a 5200 Athlon dual core setup with ATI 2400XT pcie card that has had the odd tearing issue. I have another computer running a 4200 Athlon dual core with ATI 1650XT pcie and has never had a hickup, even on HD content.

One thing I have discovered, is that stutter issues can be helped if you can increase the buffer value, especially on HD content where it gets used up faster.