Tearing in Flash based video

[skyeclad]

Problem: Experiencing significant video tearing in web-based video like Flash/Hulu, Quicktime, etc BUT no tearing in PDVD or SageTV(Full Screen Exclusive).


After a weekend of googling forum posts, I have come up with the conclusion that the Flash videos tear on many PC?s but not all of them. Unfortunately, I can?t seem to pinpoint a controllable cause.

My configuration is as follows:

A64 X2 5200+ - Should be enough CPU to handle the non-accelerated video
2GB RAM
Palit ATI 3650/Catalyst 9.4
Connected via HDMI: Samsung 62? DLP
Resolution set at 1080P with 60hz
Win XP SP2

I?ve played with many settings in different combinations including:

Change De-interlace Method
Force 30hz
Wait for Refresh
VSYNC ON
Drop Resolution to 720P
GPU Scaling

I?m convinced that this is not a hardware issue and is software related. I just don?t know if this is something that I can control. I believe the issue may lie with XP?s renderer, Flash or ATI?s drivers. What makes this harder to diagnose is that I don?t see a common denominator as the cause and those who have fixed it do so in different ways.

Has anyone with similar hardware fixed this problem?

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

XP doesn't enforce vsync on the desktop, Vista does with Aero. Fullscreen Flash under XP should be free of tearing if hardware acceleration is enabled, but outside that tearing in XP is the norm.

 

[skyeclad]

So the fact that Flash doesn't seem to be using hardware acceleration except for scaling is the reason why Hulu and the like tear constantly? So, in your opinion, the only solution is to move to Vista if I can't get the video in a program that will actually use DXVA?

My main reason for wanting this fixed is Hulu Desktop but they didn't program this to allow Full Screen Exclusive mode or something like this which I believe could have helped reduce tearing.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

I don't get any tearing with Hulu Desktop on my XP/Nvidia machine.
Maybe there is a bug with ATI in XP. How does fullscreen Hulu do in a browser? Have you updated since the initial desktop release? I assume that's you in this thread?
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1150889
I can say ATI in Vista also has no tearing for me.

 

[skyeclad]

Yeah, that's me too. When I run Hulu in a browser with full screen, tearing is improved but not eliminated. For example, in Hulu Desktop, I see tearing in multiple places during fast pans. In Firefox, tearing is located only about 1/4 down from the top. I've seen this kind of tearing in Sagetv when not in Full Screen Exclusive mode. I have updated both Hulu D and Flash tonight so and I'm on Catalyst 9.4 which is second to the latest version. 9.5 doesn't seem to address anything worthwhile.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Well I don't know what else to say. Maybe something will get updated in the near future that will fix this for you. Vista Aero should definitely fix it, plus you'd get VMC and EVR, but I don't know if that's worth it for you. Or try the Win7 RC if you're feeling adventurous.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Well after the last update Hulu Desktop is now tearing for me on my XP/Nvidia rig. Bah.