Screen resolution does not look right.

Ian_AW · April 19, 2024, 10:42:17 AM

G'day,

Something does not look quite right with the screen resolution on my IceBox.

No matter what resolution I select, it looks the same. From 640x480 through to 4K, the resolution looks the same.

The video signal goes from the IceBox via HDMI to my LG Smart TV.

My BW T2 feeds to another HDMI port and is crisp.

I have swapped HDMI ports on the TV and no change.

Is there something else that needs to be set as was needed to set pre/post padding?

I am setting the resolution using Settings>System>Display>Resolution.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

IanL-S · April 19, 2024, 11:21:19 AM

Screen resolution should be set to 1920x1080 @ 50 Hz. Other settings can produce suboptimal results. 1920x1080 is the resolution used by HD transmission that use h.264. Most HD transmission use h.264; some regional areas have MPEG2 HD.

Ian_AW · April 19, 2024, 12:54:43 PM

The thing is that I only tried the resolution changes because at 1920x1080 things looked fuzzy around the edges, and not as crisp as on my BW T2, so I changed the resolution from progressive to interlaced, because that is what the T2 reported and was trying to compare apples with apples. Refresh rate is 50 Hz.

It is back at 1920x1080i and 50 Hz, and I have just done a power cycle but no change.

It is not that it is like being pixelated, just that comparing it to another device with the same settings it is noticeably different and changing resolution settings does not seem to have an effect.

As I said, it is not "bad".

I suppose something for when you have some available time ROFL - sorry...could not resist.

IanL-S · April 19, 2024, 01:46:16 PM

On my IceBox I have it set to 1920x1080p - this reflects HD broadcast are not interlaced when using h.264. I think MEPEG2 may be interlaced. MY old Toppys do not support 1080p, max out at 1080i - some ancient Beyonwiz use the same SOC. So, try 1920x1080p.

Ian_AW · April 19, 2024, 03:28:41 PM

Changed to 1920x1080p but no difference.

I have taken two photos. One of my Beyonwiz T2 that shows as 1920x1080i, and one of the Icebox set to 1920x1080p.

Interestingly the IceBox photo is significantly smaller.

Unfortunately I can't attach them to this message because of file size limits, and I do not want to alter the image as that would corrupt the photos.

IanL-S · April 19, 2024, 04:40:20 PM

Another possibility is that (for some reason) the IceBox is decoding the signal using software rather than hardware assistance that is built into the CPU. My recollection is that hardware assistance maxes out at 1080p, one reason reason not to set output at 4K. Recent CPUs may have more advanced hardware assistance.

Try plugging in the HDMI cable to the other port on the IceBox; during beta testing hardware assistance was only working on one of the two ports.

TimC · April 20, 2024, 02:04:19 AM

Quote from: IanL-S on April 19, 2024, 04:40:20 PMTry plugging in the HDMI cable to the other port on the IceBox; during beta testing hardware assistance was only working on one of the two ports.

Is there a way to confirm which of the ports (In relation to the power lead) has the hardware assistance?

MD · April 20, 2024, 09:06:08 AM

The two port's outputs are the same as the IceBox is a miniPC which, in its original state, could support two monitors. It's not commercially possible for us to order specials so one should simply use the most convenient one. A reboot may be necessary if you swap.

My IceBox has a better, sharper, picture than my BWiz V2 but I had to adjust my Sony 65" TV picture settings for its specific HDMI input, as I had also previously done for a different HDMI input for the V2. Have you tried that approach?

IanL-S · April 20, 2024, 09:10:14 AM

Third time lucky? Keep on loosing connection to IceTV forum - just as I am about to click on "post".

No idea about diagnostic; well beyond my expertise.

Could be a BIOS issue, a firmware issue, or just bad luck.

During beta testing, if I recall correctly, using HDMI2 solved the problem. But the unit I was using had slightly different hardware - DIV output as well as 2 HDMI ports.

I assume you have tied different HDMI cables? They can fail or just not get on with the HDMI port on the TV or the IceBox.

TimC · April 20, 2024, 06:19:05 PM

Quote from: MD on April 20, 2024, 09:06:08 AMThe two port's outputs are the same as the IceBox is a miniPC which, in its original state, could support two monitors.

One of the things I noticed when I used UBUNTU to load one of the earlier updates, was that it was possible to "Clone" the outputs to the two ports. This setting didn't hold when I came out of UBUNTU, but it showed it was possible to some degree.

In other words, what is output to the two ports is controllable from software. Whether that sort of control is available in the LibreELEC/Kodi/IceTV software environment is another matter.