[no Bug] Windows Aero really needed for proper VSync ?? (1 Viewer)

[alexirion]

Maybe not a bug, but more a question:

On Windows 7 with Aero disabled, vertical synchronisation does not work and a lot of frames are dropped.
I disabled Aero, because otherwise VNC for remote access is terribly slow.

I don't understand why Aero is needed in Media Portal, just for VSync synchronizing?? Or is it possible to have proper synchronization without Aero?

Regards,
--Alex



MediaPortal Version: 1.1.0 RC2
MediaPortal Skin: Blue3Wide
Windows Version: Windows 7 64 Bit
CPU Type: Intel Core2 Duo @ 3GHz
HDD: WD15EVDS 1,5TB
Memory: 4GB DDR2-800
Motherboard: XFX GeForce 9300
Video Card: ATI 5570
Video Card Driver: ATI Catalyst™ 10.4 Suite for Windows 7 (64 bit)
Sound Card:
Sound Card AC3:
Sound Card Driver:
1. TV Card: Mystique SaTiX-S2 Dual
1. TV Card Type: DVB-S
1. TV Card Driver: 1.0.0.2
2. TV Card:
2. TV Card Type:
2. TV Card Driver:
3. TV Card:
3. TV Card Type:
3. TV Card Driver:
4. TV Card:
4. TV Card Type:
4. TV Card Driver:
MPEG2 Video Codec: Microsoft DTV-DVD
MPEG2 Audio Codec: ffdShow(Video & TV)
h.264 Video Codec: ffdShow (Video), CyberLink PDVD 9(TV)
Satelite/CableTV Provider: Astra 19.2
HTPC Case: HFX classic bundle
Cooling: BorgFX Heatpipekühler
Power Supply: Silverstone ST-30NF, 300W
Remote: iMON VFD
TV: Panasonic PT-AE4000
TV - HTPC Connection: HDMI

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

From what I have read regarding Aero, it is necessary to be enabled, just too many things media wise rely on it, tourettes could give you a much more specific list, but the end answer would be the same, leave Aero on

 

[rekenaar]

Same here, reading tourettes posts is all I know about it.

like this one:

Please be aware that disabling AERO under Vista will introduce tearing. MediaPortal's V-sync is managed by the AERO and with AERO disabled it is not possible to "snap" frame presentation to the v-sync (in theory it would be possible, but would require lot of ugly code in dshowhelper.dll).

 

[Dragy]

You can turn AERO off automaticaly when accessing by VNC Try TightVNC or UltraVNC

 

[tourettes]

You can turn AERO off automaticaly when accessing by VNC Try TightVNC or UltraVNC

Good point.

 

[alexirion]

Hi!

I didn't found out how to disable Aero only, when a VNC connection is active, so in the meantime I use a batch script that enables Aero, starts MediaPortal, and after execution stops Aero again. Aero start/stop is done by "net start uxsms" and "net stop uxsms".


The fact, that Aero is required for smooth playback should be mentioned somewhere very clearly, or I would I even appreciate a warning, if it is disabled. Yesterday, I didn't even recognized that Aero was turned off by installing VNC, so it took my sometime to figure out, why Media Portal isn't smooth anymore.

--Alex

 

[alexirion]

I found out another strange thing, regarding smooth playback and Aero:

It depends on the framerate with which Aero is started, if proper synchronization works in MediaPortal!!

I use the dynamic framerate changer and since it can not guess the framerate of my m2ts bluray file, I use the default framerate of 24fps. For tv it detects 50fps and so the automatic switching is fine.

When I'm now in 24fps and start Aero and then MediaPortal and watch tv, it switches right to 50fps, but the offset lines that can be made visible with "Shift+1" are going continously up and down and the average framerate is displayed as 36fps and the image is jerky. When I switch to a bluray with 24fps, the offset lines are flat with a smooth picture. (And yes, the switching really works - my projector shows the framerate of the input signal.)

And now the trick:

When I'm in 50fps mode and I start Aero and switch back to 24fps and start MediaPortal, switching to tv yields in 50fps and this time the offset lines are flat and everything is absolutely smooth like silk. I can toggle between bluray 24fps and 50fps tv and everything keeps working with flat offset lines.


Can anyone explain this behavior? I would like to have more inside behind this 'black magic'. ;-)

--Alex

 

[Scythe42]

Can anyone explain this behavior? I would like to have more inside behind this 'black magic'.

Windows' DWM doesn't really support frame rate changes by an application without switching to the Desktop first. The problem is reproducible with MPC-HC and other media-players as well, when you change the refresh rate in the background.

We have a really crazy workaround in MP1 at the moment to deal with this (open a transparent form and closing it right away), that works for most users who helped to test a ton of solutions to this problem is the past.