Tearing during video playback solved

[nwpsys]

Just installed Mint 4.0 on my new Dell M1330 laptop, and I only have one issue left outstanding.

I experience tearing ( horizontal bands of picture move at different speeds ) during video playback when the picture pans from side to side.

My Mint is fully updated and I used Envy to install NVidia drivers ( this laptop has an 128MB 8400M GS video card ).

The problem occurs with both an x264 video in an MKV container, and an XviD video in an avi container, and occurs in all the media players I have tried so far i.e. Totem, MPlayer ( and SMPlayer ) and VLC. The material is at a 23.976 framerate, in case that is relevant.

Interestingly I get no tearing at all during desktop manipulation - I can throw windows around and it is all perfectly smooth.

I am still quite new to this game, so I haven't been able to find where I can tweak my Nvidia drivers. The only thing I have seen so far with my setup which looks kind of "wrong" is the fact that the only refresh rate offered for my laptop screen in the dropdown is 50HZ, but in Windows, my other machine offers 60 and 75HZ as well.

Any help gratefully received.

Cheers,

nwpsys

[Husse]

Do you use dual monitors?
If not I have a solution for the refresh rate that might fix the tearing as well.
I remember someone else with a nvida card had this problem and I think we fixed it...
This involves editing xorg.conf, but that's not hard

Code: Select all

gksudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf

or if you use KDE

Code: Select all

kdesu kate /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Then find section "Device". It should look something like this

Section "Device"
Identifier "Generic Video Card"
Driver "nvidia"
Busid "PCI:1:0:0"
Option "AddARGBVisuals" "True"
Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "True"
Option "NoLogo" "True"
Option "DynamicTwinView" "False"
EndSection

The two "AddARGB...." are there for compiz
You don't have Option "DynamicTwinView" "False"
Add it and you can get both 60 and 75 Hz. The default for (most? all?) LCD/TFT monitors is 60 Hz
With 60 Hz I think tearing disappeares

[nwpsys]

Thanks, Husse. A combination of spending more time on it, and your advice has got me a little bit further along.

I eventually found the proper NVidia control panel, and 60HZ was an option there, so I selected and saved it. The screen related applets within the Mint Control centre still both say 50HZ ( even after a reboot ) but the Nvidia control panel shows 60HZ, so I have to rely on that being correct ! Unfortunately, I was still getting tearing at 60HZ.

After some more research I found some advice about making sure SyncVBlank was set. Sadly making these changes also gave no improvement.

However, I did manage to find out that when I turn off all desktops effects ( i.e. compiz is not running ) the tearing goes away. This makes me think that is it something within the compiz settings that I need to adjust, but at least I have a workaround to getting watchable videos.

A task for the weekend, I think, but any other advice that others can give in this area would be appreciated

nwpsys

[Husse]

Here is an example of your problem solved
http://linuxmint.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=6909

[nwpsys]

Thanks again, Husse.

I had actually read that thread right at the beginning of my problem, but for some reason neglected to take it into account !

Once I installed Compiz Settings Manager, set display rate to 60HZ ( to match the NVidia settings ) and ticked Sync VBlank, then my tearing problem has gone away for video playback

Cheers,

nwpsys