INTERACT FORUM

More => Old Versions => Media Center 15 (Development Ended) => Topic started by: raym on November 21, 2010, 10:14:20 pm

Title: Request: Global video zoom option?
Post by: raym on November 21, 2010, 10:14:20 pm
I'm at my wits end with this one  :'( Looking to JRiver to help save me please?....

The problem: Whenever I use video renderers that support h/w acceleration (ATI AVIVO) with MPEG2 material, I get a white line at the bottom of the screen about 1 or 2 pixels high. It affects live and recorded tv (jtv, ts and dvr-ms) and DVD playback. I use a 1:1 pixel mapping between PC and Plasma tv and would rather not have to stretch/scale/crop the entire image (at the video driver level) as a) this crops ALL application windows such as IE etc and b) I don't trust the scaling algorithms employed by this process. Using non-dxva renderers overcomes the problem but for MPEG2 playback, I find the MS DTV/DVD decoder with dxva looks the best. PS - the crop edges feature found under MC's tv and video options doesn't solve the problem. It's not quite enough to hide the corruption.

The solution?: What I'd love is if MC could provide a global zoom or crop feature under its video options. This could be an extension to the existing "crop edges" option but I'd need it to include DVD playback also (currently not available). If I could define an additional 1-2% zoom/crop to ALL video playback, this would solve the problem.

I'm hoping this is not too big a requst as the zoom capability exists already as part of the playback info tag. I just need a way to make this more automatic and to apply to all video playback.

Cheers.
R
Title: Re: Request: Global video zoom option?
Post by: MrHaugen on November 24, 2010, 08:38:37 am
Hmmm. Perhaps this, or that video option, could solve my problem as well? I'll try the option later on. My problem is that I get a few pixels glitch in the top of my screen when playing some types of video content in full screen.  It's like the picture is redused reduced the further you look to the right side. I'm talking about 2-3 pixels in hight. It gives you some nasty white spots and is not so cool when looking at dark scenes.

Almost like this

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Title: Re: Request: Global video zoom option?
Post by: JimH on November 24, 2010, 10:25:08 am
Is this problem similar?
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=60604.msg409155#msg409155
Title: Re: Request: Global video zoom option?
Post by: glynor on November 24, 2010, 12:45:45 pm
That's not quite the same thing, Jim.  Raym IS using 1:1 setting on his display device.

That white/gray line is generally due to some broadcasts including the actual tracking and audio data in the video feed.  NTSC broadcasts often include this at the top of the frame.  HD OTA broadcasts (and DVB) are often broadcast at 1088 pixels high, with the 8 extra pixels at the bottom used for subtitling, tracking, TS alignment, and other data.  Generally, this extra content would be hidden by the overscan of your TV.

Most smart software decoders automatically detect and hide these extra pixels.  Some do not, including AMD's apparently.

It would be nice if the Crop Edges feature was a little smarter or a bit more aggressive instead.
Title: Re: Request: Global video zoom option?
Post by: raym on November 24, 2010, 03:06:39 pm
It would be nice if the Crop Edges feature was a little smarter or a bit more aggressive instead.

Exactly. Thanks for explaining this so well glynor. Good to know this is a real problem and not just me :) 
Title: Re: Request: Global video zoom option?
Post by: MrHaugen on November 26, 2010, 07:41:09 am
Might be some NTSC boardcast data, yes. It's at the top for me at least. Just the ability to cut a few pixels would solve the problem for me I think. Have not tested the video option that exists today though. Been to busy :(
Title: Re: Request: Global video zoom option?
Post by: raym on December 02, 2010, 02:36:12 pm
So, Matt/Yaobing? Any hope for this one day please? Sounds like others would benefit also.

Very simply: a single configurable zoom option for ALL video formats. 

Thanks.
Title: Re: Request: Global video zoom option?
Post by: MrHaugen on December 06, 2010, 07:49:24 am
Looks like my problem is not because of the player or cropping at all. I used the Crop edges function, and the white lines appeared no matter what. It might be problems with some back light on the TV. Though this is rather high end Plasma, so I'm not exactly sure why. I think this also only happen on certain series I'm watching, so it could be because of some specific format as well. I don't know....
Title: Re: Request: Global video zoom option?
Post by: raym on December 06, 2010, 03:22:18 pm
Yeah, but what happens if you ZOOM the image a little? I bet the white line goes away. This is the point of this thread. The crop edges feature is not aggressive enough.

Thanks.
Title: Re: Request: Global video zoom option?
Post by: glynor on December 06, 2010, 03:24:26 pm
There have been "backlight bleed" issues documented with a wide variety of HDTVs, including some "high-end" ones.  Usually if this is an issue, you'll see it to some degree completely surrounding the display, to one degree or another, and not just on one edge.

It is easy to test, though.  Just make the display completely black (no video playing at all) and look for the issue.  An easy way to do this?  In Media Center, stop all playback and then manually go into Display View (Control-3 or use the Menu choice under View).  That'll give you a full-screen black image with only the MC icon in the center.  You could also do it with a screensaver (set it to blank display and hit Preview in the Screen Saver Control Panel in Windows).

Some manufacturers will cover this under Warranty and some will not.
Title: Re: Request: Global video zoom option?
Post by: MrHaugen on December 07, 2010, 04:50:35 am
I don't think the zoom will help, but I'll check that next. The cropping takes away enough pixles to cover the light line or two completely, but it still appears on the top part of the movie that was perfect prior to the cropping. I'll also check for light bleeds on dark backgrounds. I do not think I'll consistently see light lines on dark backgrounds though. It does not look like it happens all the time, or on all types of videos.
Title: Re: Request: Global video zoom option?
Post by: MrHaugen on December 10, 2010, 02:57:32 am
I tried to zoom, and I checked for bleeding while on a black background. Nothing is doing as I would expect! Zooming in like a madman does not prevent the white line effects, and I can NOT reproduce the "bleeds" with a dark background. It's like my TV just gives some strange white inconsistent lines on the top of the screen when certain colors and combinations are presented.

I give up. I'll just have to live with it. It does not bother me that much anyway. It's just noticeable on one or two series I've been watching. No problem on HD movies.