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[avid]

I am starting to set up an Ubuntu server as a possible new HTPC in place of Windows. I have been using MC on Windows for over 20 years, but would prefer to run on Linux, as long as it can be at least as reliable.

MC 31 seems to work, but when I watch some videos - but not all and not all the time - the display view only plays the video in the bottom corner of the screen. See http://www.brianavid.co.uk/IMG_20230806_120616.jpg. And then I can go back to playing the same file and it might work fine. And in Standard view, the small "display" window is sometimes cropped and not scaled - this may be related as a failure of scaling.

This is with a fairly clean Ubuntu 22.04.2 with updated mesa drivers (following https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,135232.msg939257.html#msg939257) and using JRVR.

Any ideas? Anything I can do to characterize when it occurs or (better) stop it occurring!

[JimH]

That sounds like a video driver problem.  Try a Google search.

I believe there was a discussion about it here a few weeks ago.

[avid]

Thanks, but ... I can't find anything similar discussed here on the Linux section. and nothing has come up with Google.

I did think that you had it with the video drivers idea, as I was still running with a vanilla display driver. But after I updated to the latest NVidia ones, the problem persists.

It seems to occur for the first few (4-ish) videos that I play after a reboot, and then eventually becomes less likely as I try different videos. It doesn't go away if I keep playing the same one over again. After a few further videos, the problem disappears until the next reboot.

Very strange ... but not suitable for "production" use at home yet.

[JimH]

Here's the thread I was thinking of.  Not the same problem, but a video driver problem.

https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=136001.0

I don't think the problem is ours.

[avid]

I had already seen that thread, as earlier I had the "white screen" problem. So I updated the mesa drivers as recommended, and the white screen problem went away. But this is a different problem which still occurs with the updated mesa and nvidia drivers.

While it is possible that the problem may not be in MC or JRVR, it seems interesting that:

• The overlay info panels (top or bottom) render just fine - only the video is wrongly scaled
• The problem goes away after a few different videos (until the next reboot)
• The Standard View "mini" display window is also wrongly scaled

I will try to characterize the problem further

[avid]

OK - I have an adequate work-around now, but it is one that still suggests there is a Linux MC problem.

If I select Display View before opening the file (which I can do as it is all going to be controlled through MCWS anyway), then the playing video is full size and works as I want.

However, if I go back to Standard view, then the video display is cropped, not scaled, to fit the small display pane. But this is something that I have no need for in the production HTPC and only see during testing.