[WINDOWS] Worse quality on XBMC than PS3? (SShots inside) - new build
#16
(2012-05-27, 23:57)DJ_Izumi Wrote: I wonder if this is a subjective issue, with the PS3 doing some cleanup automatically and unspecified to the end user, and him taking that as it 'looking better' while the XBMC machine isn't touching it and showing video closer to the original.

Just what I was thinking, if you look at the ps3 pics there looks to be heavy image sharpening going on which makes me wonder what other artificial post processing is being done by the ps3 giving what looks to me like poor picture quality as well.

David
HTPC1: Intel Pentium G620, 4GB RAM, AMD HD6570, Samsung 830 SSD, Silverstone GD05 case.
HTPC2: AMD Athlon II X2 255, 4GB RAM, AMD HD5450, Western Digital HDD, Silverstone ML03 case.
HTPC3: AMD E350, 4GB RAM, AMD HD6310, OCZ Agility 3 SSD, Akasa Crypto case.
Media Server: i3-3220, 8gb RAM, WHS 2011, 8tb capacity, Fractal Design ARC Midi R2 case.
Reply
#17
Thanks for the help guys.

Feel like my brain is melting now. For the past 12 hours, I've been watching the same clips 4 different ways, 1. PS3, 2. VLC, 3. WMP, and 4. XBMC

So far all the HTPC methods are far from my PS3. It's basically a lack of sharpness. But my VLC and WMP are eons away from XBMC. XBMC is just way too blurry and fuzzy. Was able to tweak it about by disabling all interlace, turning off post processing, windowed, BiLinear, DVXA enabled.

@MassIV - I tried making it original size and it was very clear and very sharp, but very small. I'm using SD TV files for testing. Does that mean anything? How do i change other options for scaling settings?

@bluray - thanks, I'll try to delete the nvidia drivers and reinstall them. But that's where i got them. The site even tells me that I have the latest driver for my device using its "auto detect GPU" I'll also try to play with those settings you mentioned. With your GT430 setup, did you have to massage the settings? Or did they appear exactly the same as the PS3 on the get go?

One thing I also tried is I tried to use the build in GPU. Same problem, was even worse coz it was choppy and slow.

One other thing I'm going to try tom is to connect my WDTV to the same TV, and try to play the same files from PS3, HTPC and WDTV and see if there is also a big difference.

Hmm,..would it have been better if I went with the AMD A6-3500 setup? Sad How about an external player? Should I consider that? I'd really love not to, so I can use full functionality of XBMC. Sad
Reply
#18
(2012-05-28, 04:27)pandabur Wrote: @bluray - thanks, I'll try to delete the nvidia drivers and reinstall them. But that's where i got them. The site even tells me that I have the latest driver for my device using its "auto detect GPU" I'll also try to play with those settings you mentioned. With your GT430 setup, did you have to massage the settings? Or did they appear exactly the same as the PS3 on the get go?
No massage, and it's default setting from get go. It's comparable to PS3 from the get go!

(2012-05-28, 04:27)pandabur Wrote: Hmm,..would it have been better if I went with the AMD A6-3500 setup? Sad How about an external player? Should I consider that? I'd really love not to, so I can use full functionality of XBMC. Sad
It is not going to make any different, because your discret GT430 is better than HD6530D in A6-3500. If you are having poor video quality using VLC, 7MCE and XBMC, I doubt that PDVD11 or TMT5 is going to make any different......


A. You can try these Windows 7 settings to get the best display settings for an LCD monitor
1. Open Screen Resolution by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, and then, under Appearance and Personalization, clicking Adjust screen resolution.

2. Click the drop-down list next to Resolution. Check for the resolution marked (recommended). This is your LCD monitor's native resolution—usually the highest resolution your monitor can support.

B. Set the color for an LCD monitor
1. Open Screen Resolution by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, and then, under Appearance and Personalization, clicking Adjust screen resolution.

2. Click Advanced settings, and then click the Monitor tab.

3. Under Colors, select True Color (32 bit), and then click OK.

>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
Reply
#19
Have you tried disabling deinterlace in xbmc ?
Reply
#20
Compared to the pics on the PS3 the XBMC shots do look blurry. The shots of the PS3 do look massively over processed with ringing around the photo frames, harsh lines on the women's faces and the red book behind them doesn't look right at all.

What is the content your watching?
If it's 720p .mkv then I would say there is something wrong with your set up. If it's a 360MB .avi then the PS3 is trying to convince you it's something it's not.

EDIT:
Sorry I didn't realize you already stated you are using SD material. I still think the PS3 is processing the image to give 'false' quality.
Reply
#21
(2012-05-28, 04:27)pandabur Wrote: @MassIV - I tried making it original size and it was very clear and very sharp, but very small. I'm using SD TV files for testing. Does that mean anything? How do i change other options for scaling settings?

There's your answer then, XBMC is not doing the same post processing that the PS3 is doing so it's showing you the video as it actually is whereas the PS3 is artificially sharpening the image, the proper way to test is use 1080p content on both, if they are about the same with that then there's probably not a lot you can do.
Get and request your ClearLOGOs / ClearART / TV Thumbs / Season Thumbs / Music ClearLOGOs / cdART / Artist Backgrounds / CD Covers from fanart.tv
Reply
#22
This still speaks volumes about the relative dearth of postprocessing options in XBMC. Anything moving on that front for future releases?
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first (usually it's enough to follow instructions in the second post).
Reply
#23
From what I know, the PS3 is very good at up-converting SD content. That is why you are noticing a big difference. As others have suggested, try some 1080 content and test again.

Also, have you calibrated your system? I suggest calibrating your TV using a calibration disc and a calibration bluray disc. Then once your tv is set you should calibrate XBMC using the same test patterns but this time adjust using the Nvidia color/brightines etc controls.

I used Disney's WOW disc for calibration. There are many other options as well.
How to use Git
| AMD Athlon II X3 Triple Core Processor 2.9 GHz |GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H Mobo 2GB DDR2 Ram | MSI N430GT |
| Logitec Harmony Smart Control Remote| 52" Sharp Aquos LED TV | Denon AVR-X1000 |
| Freenas Server with 18TB ASRock Intel Avoton C2750 |
Reply
#24
In general, If you have the cash and will to buy I strongly recommend a display calibrator (for example i1Display2, Spyder etc).
I have one for photo processing reasons, so I used it on my HTPC. I can only say one thing, wow!
Reply
#25
(2012-05-28, 23:30)phunqe Wrote: In general, If you have the cash and will to buy I strongly recommend a display calibrator (for example i1Display2, Spyder etc).
I have one for photo processing reasons, so I used it on my HTPC. I can only say one thing, wow!

Which ones have you used? Any comments on ease of use?

I'd like to give it a go myself, but am certainly not an expert in video colours etc!
Reply
#26
(2012-05-29, 00:19)jack0w Wrote:
(2012-05-28, 23:30)phunqe Wrote: In general, If you have the cash and will to buy I strongly recommend a display calibrator (for example i1Display2, Spyder etc).
I have one for photo processing reasons, so I used it on my HTPC. I can only say one thing, wow!

Which ones have you used? Any comments on ease of use?

I'd like to give it a go myself, but am certainly not an expert in video colours etc!

I have X-Rite i1Display2, but that is discontinued. I believe the replacement is called i1Display Pro.

You just install their software and it calibrates the monitor/screen on it's own, in easy mode. There are more advanced modes as well.
You can switch betwen before & after modes after calibration and even with easy mode there is a clear and noticeable difference.
Reply
#27
What about your TVs settings...perhaps its using some type of digital noise reduction software or something on your htpc's hdmi input and not on your ps3's input?

I think I speak for everyone here when I say that xbmc is a very capable and can render 1080p very, very well
Reply
#28
I switched from using PS3MediaServer to a dedicated XBMC box hooked up to my 55" Vizio a couple years ago. I don't think there is anything that I could do to make XBMC (or any other Windows program) look as good as the PS3, especially with SD material. The PS3 does a fantastic job at up-sampling. I've never found anything on the PC as close.

As far as HD material, the PS3 still looks slightly better, but for me it wasn't worth the headache involved trying to get PS3 Media Server to work correctly with all my content. Since 90% of what I watch is 720p or higher, the small image quality trade off was worth it. The biggest issue for me was the jitter in 24 fps material, but the refresh switching in XBMC helped drastically.

What is the native resolution of the material you are playing?

Edit: Rereading the entire thread, I do see the problem is with SD material. One thing I forgot to mention is that I had a 47" Vizio prior to the 55" (the smaller one was moved to the bedroom when I upgraded). The SD material on XBMC definitely looks better on the 55" than it did on the 47", so in my case the TV itself had something to do with it. But either way, the PS3 looked a lot better.
Reply
#29
XBMC is the next best thing since sliced bread. I totally understand where op is coming from. I was having same trouble when using XBMC Eden V11 on Windows 7. It was blurry as hell. So what I did, installed XBMC use XBMC Live CD and stopped using XBMC within Windows (as it was blurry as hell), now its sharp the way it should be in first place.
Reply
#30
(2012-06-29, 16:16)horseless Wrote: XBMC is the next best thing since sliced bread. I totally understand where op is coming from. I was having same trouble when using XBMC Eden V11 on Windows 7. It was blurry as hell. So what I did, installed XBMC use XBMC Live CD and stopped using XBMC within Windows (as it was blurry as hell), now its sharp the way it should be in first place.

If all your hardware was the same, then I suspect it has nothing to do with the OS... it has to do with the video drivers and/or the settings.

I use Windows and it is VERY clear and detailed on my 65" 1080p TV. I have used both AMD and NVidia and also different players (on windows), and they are all about the same. Some do more/less processing... I have seen some players (PS3, etc) that seem to do more post processing. To some people ,this may look "better", but in reality it is changing the base image in one or more ways (sharpening, saturation, etc)... I strive for hte most accurate reproduction of the original material. XBMC does a good job, overall.
I'm not an expert but I play one at work.
Reply

Logout Mark Read Team Forum Stats Members Help
[WINDOWS] Worse quality on XBMC than PS3? (SShots inside) - new build0