Heavy video pixelation on client screen (1 Viewer)

[mayrog]

I am having a problem setting up a new client. All video played on the client screen is pixelated as shown in attached screenshot.

The problem client equipment is a Shuttle XS35V3 (Atom D2700 + Intel GMA3650 Graphics) driving a 21inch digital TV via HDMI. It is running MP 1.2.3 with LAV Filters on Win7

Problem areas that I have considered are as follows:
1. Shuttle hardware? If I close MP on the Shuttle and navigate to a video clip on the network it plays perfectly in WMP. The same clip when played in MP is pixelated.
2. Shuttle OS? It has clean Win7 installation (reinstalled again after problem encountered). I have not installed any codecs apart from the LAVF.
3. Server problem? Two other clients work perfectly with same OS and codecs.
4. Network problem? Client is connected via an Ethernet-over-Power link. Monitor shows connection speed of around 120mbit/s.

Would be grateful for any help.

 

[RonD]

could you try copying a small video file that shows the problem to a Shuttle local hard drive and play it with MePo. That would get the network out of the question.

 

[mayrog]

Thanks for thought Ron.

However I did just have a flash of inspiration and found the problem!! I had been wondering about the regularity of the pattern and the way it was laid out diagonally across screen - it suggested something was out of sync. I checked the graphic config and found that the refresh rate was set at 59Hz - I changed it to 60Hz and HEY PRESTO!!

Unanswered questions in my mind are (1) why would Intel have set the default rate to 59? (It must have been set by Intel because the same problem occurred after 2 clean installs of the graphic drivers) and (2) why did it not bother WMP (As I'd said earlier it played clips perfectly while refresh rate was 59)

 

[RonD]

I have an Ivybridge I5 with HD2500 graphics. The driver also defaulted to 59Hz but I was not seeing any picture problems. When I switched between 59/60 Hz I did not see any difference.

 

[mayrog]

It does seem that I may have spoken a bit too soon because things are a bit unstable. After re-booting, the pattern returns and I have to change the refresh rate again to get rid of it. Is there perhaps anything I can try in MP Config>General>Dynamic Refresh Rate to ensure that it stays in sync?

 

[andrewNZ]

Just throwing ideas out there...

Have you considered the possibility of an issue with the way the PC is passing video to the TV, or the way the TV handles it?
Are there any helpful settings in the TV setup menu?
Can you test this machine with a different TV?

 

[mayrog]

Can you test this machine with a different TV?

Followed up your suggestion Andrew. Hooked up a 5 y.o. LCD monitor via the Shuttle's dsub.

Results were identical. The Shuttle's Win7 WMP played perfectly a variety of video clips which were on its hard drive or a network drive. When I played the same clips with MP they sometimes were OK but, more often than not, had the diagonal pattern of pixelation.

This seems to exonerate both my original TV and the Shuttle's basic graphic function. Seems to only leaves a question of a particular incompatibility between MP and the Intel GMA3650 chip. Perhaps it is possible to work around it with some configuration tweaks - so far I have only used the MP config defaults.

 

[andrewNZ]

My opinion is its probably codecs, they cause all manner of issues that look like something else. But I wouldn't dare call myself an expert in these matters.

 

[mayrog]

My opinion is its probably codecs, they cause all manner of issues that look like something else. But I wouldn't dare call myself an expert in these matters.[/quote

The Win7 & MP installation was completely "clean". The only codecs are those installed by Win7 and LAVF installed by me.

 

[Vasilich]

try to play same clips in GraphStudio using same codecs as you have set up in MP. You can check how MP graph looks like if you select "connect to remote graph" in GraphStudio http://code.google.com/p/graph-studio-next/