Plea for Help - Video Playback issues

Hi all,
I have installed XBMCbuntu on a gigabyte e350n setup, 60gb flash drive and all is working very well - apart from video playback that is. No problems with HDMI audio but I am getting what looks like picture refresh problems, I'd call them jagged straight lines on action scenes/fast moving frames. It's deeply frustrating as I've a huge collection I'd like to play back, but it can be very distracting.

If we crack this, our media center will be awesome but I've tried the basic stuff, including putting the new ATI catalyst drivers on, twiddling with interlace, post processing etc, to no avail.

Desperate...need help....so many thanks in advance and thank you for reading my post.

B

First port of call is the debug log. See if you can get us one (via http://xbmclogs.com )

Could be many things, but i'll take a guess that it's "tearing".

Do you have more then 1 screen connected? If so, did you extend the desktop or copy it?
Because it could be that if you copied the desktop, the card is trying to keep the two monitors in sync with each other.

I say this because you give the idea this is on all video files (they can't be all bad).
Hardware should be up to it, but maybe a bad HDMI cable on high bitrates. Or heat?
Do the lines move or stay in place?
Or is everything 1080i? Could be interlace problem?
It could be vertical sync settings.
Overlay Video output settings?

And as a long shot:
Do you have both your "computer" and your tv grounded? You can try removing 1 ground to avoid ground loop.

Never tried XBMCbuntu so thats all i can come up with without more info.

Just tried to see if i could reproduce a problem like yours by changing some video settings.
If i turn on both "adjust display refresh rate to match video" and "sync playback to display" i got lines.
Either because they are both trying to adjust to each other.
Or my system is not allowed or able to adjust the tv refresh rate.

vertical blank option turned off/on
vertical sync settings in graphics card
aero theme on or off for XBMC