I have an XBMCBuntu running on a PC with a nVidia card doing the heavy lifting. However, I don't really think my problem is related to any of that. I think it's XBMC. I've also run on Pivos and get the same result. It really seems more about the TV.
I connect to a Panasonic VT60 plasma. When I run XBMC, everything is very dark. It actually looks fine unless I'm on a dark scene in which nearly all deail is lost (black crush). I've tried matching the colorspace between XBMC and my TV (i.e. both use 0-255 or both use 16-235). I end up with more detail but the resulting picture is washed out.
I ran the same file through the XBMC DLNA sever and my Panasonic's built-in DLNA and it just looks better. The blacks have more detail without being washed out.
Any thoughts?
By the way, this is not an issue when connecting to a monitor.
I'd try with a
nightly build (wiki) and see if the new limited color range setting helps:
XBMC -> Settings -> System -> Video output -> Use limited color range (16-235)
Quote:Use limited color range instead of full color range (0-255). Limited range should be used if your display is a regular HDMI TV, while full color range should be used if your display is a PC monitor.
If you're using Gotham, try setting nvidia to 0-255 and xbmc to 16-235 and software decoding.
http://w6rz.net/ has comprehensive test patterns that you can use to figure out exactly what's happening.
(2013-11-29, 05:39)lmyllari Wrote: [ -> ]If you're using Gotham, try setting nvidia to 0-255 and xbmc to 16-235 and software decoding.
http://w6rz.net/ has comprehensive test patterns that you can use to figure out exactly what's happening.
Yeah I'm using the latest nightly. How do I set nVidia to 0-255?
Well not totally sure if this was the right thing but it certainly did something...
I used:
sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf
and added to the "Monitor" section the following:
Option "ColorSpace" "YCbCr444"
So now I have YCbCr444 by nVidia, limited colorspace output by XBMC, and my Panasonic HDMI input set to receive Standard HDMI (16-235).
The video is super washed out now sigh...detail is there...
Lol. Quite clear.
Set xorg.conf to the Range matching your TV, don't touch xbmc settings and retry.
Scaling shall be done exactly once and not twice.
xbmc procudes by default Full RGB as every OpenGL app does by default.
Note that limited colorspace setting in XBMC only works if driver is set to full range.
Option "ColorSpace" "YCbCr444"
This make so sense for 2 reasons:
1) it implicitly sets color range to limited
""YCbCr444": sets color space to YCbCr 4:4:4. YCbCr supports only limited color range"
2)
OpenGL operates in RGB. Setting output format to YCbCr only causes additional conversions.
How should this black level thing be set in windows 7?
I'm using a sony hw30 projector and want to make sure its set up correctly
Using win 7 and ati graka ( amd a6 3670)
Well crap. I guess this makes some sense though I'm a little bitter. It seems like the problem is my AV Receiver. It doesn't have true video passthrough. as a result, the video I'm passing through is getting distorted by the receiver for some reason. That's causing the black crush I think. I set the nvidia driver to output in RGB and went back to a stable version of XBMC. I connected the XBMC PC directly to the HDTV.
Anyway, everything looks really good now. Blacks not crushed and nothing washed out. The downside is that I have no surround audio LOL.
Oh well, I am upgrading my receiver anyway to a Marantz receiver which has video passthrough. As good as most TVs are at upscaling, I don't see a heck of a lot of benefit to letting the receiver muck around with it ever really. The receiver should really just be a switch that deals with audio.
Either way the TV isn't going to be doing any upscaling, it all gets done in XBMC before it leaves the box.
(2013-11-29, 21:20)FernetMenta Wrote: [ -> ]Note that limited colorspace setting in XBMC only works if driver is set to full range.
Option "ColorSpace" "YCbCr444"
This make so sense for 2 reasons:
1) it implicitly sets color range to limited
""YCbCr444": sets color space to YCbCr 4:4:4. YCbCr supports only limited color range"
2)
OpenGL operates in RGB. Setting output format to YCbCr only causes additional conversions.
Making sense or not, put "ColorRange" "Limited" and "ColorSpace" "YCbCr444" at xorg.conf is
the only way to get "Blacker than Black" at a linux box with NVIDIA GPU sending signal to a TV through HDMI.
It's impossible calibrate the video without these two options. And it should be in Screen section and not Monitor section. Get a calibrating DVD and see what I'm talking about.
You can get more information about "blacker than black" in this link:
http://www.ramelectronics.net/Video-calibration.aspx
Cheers.
Calibrate whatever you want. That won't change the fact, that xbmc uses OpenGL and produces Full RGB Range.
(2013-12-04, 23:47)fritsch Wrote: [ -> ]Calibrate whatever you want. That won't change the fact, that xbmc uses OpenGL and produces Full RGB Range.
You just give the exact reason to limit the signal: xbmc produces full RBG, but the TV will ask for a limited NTSC signal... The source uses one signal, and the screen another. You need to match, limiting the signal, because that is what the TV will need.
Try run any calibrating material like DVE, and you will see it for your self. I'ts much better when we talk with some experience and not based only theories. Nothing is better than talking empirically.
I'm, telling you: the darker bar in the test signal will never appear without limit the signal. You can put the brightness at maximum and still unable to see it. The only way it will work is limiting.
And this is not a XBMC matter, but a computer X tv matter. The same happens every time a computer is sending signal to a TV, becouse the NTSC itself is limited. Also, this happens with PS3:
http://www.avforums.com/threads/ps3-no-b...gb.640942/
With PS3 you need to use the option "Super White". It's a cute name to "limited signal".
Cheers.
This is not completely correct. When setting the driver to limited range it just compresses full rage to limited. head/foot room will be lost at this conversion. This is why XBMC has the limited range option. It only works when TV is set to limited range and driver is set to full range. XBMC converts to limited and head/foot room is preserved. This is the same mechanism PS3 uses.
Hi!
I am visually impaired and I asked myself for years if I had set something up wrong. My Videos always looked wrong. At least not how I remembered them. A friend told me to google for color range settings under linux. Now, after setting colorange limited in my xorg.conf, my videos look exactly as they should.
Maybe XBMC outputs full RGB, and that might be OK for PC monitor users. But why isn't there an option for TV users? On my Philips 42PFL7606 full RGB looks like the picture is too bright. Black is not black and a blue sky isn't really blue. It has something gray in it. Because of my visual impairement I cannot tell exactly whats wrong, only that the picture doesn't look right. I saw the difference immediately after connecting my old Popcorn A110 player and played a movie on it.
Will there be an option to set color range to 16-235 in the next XBMC release?
Regards!