MHEG5: Saorview, no scaling

[mobiwan]

The MHEG5 is great and now I have BBC Interactive and RTE Interactive on ONE box for first time.

 

But the video in window of RTE Interactive Text is not scaled! Instead of a small window with all the video shrunk into it, it's just clipping the full size video.

 

Slightly different effect on RTE1 (SD MPEG4 core AVC codec) and RTE2 (HD MPEG4 core AVC codec).

 

see here for images http://www.techtir.ie/node/1003698

 

(too big to load inline)

 

Nvidia GT210 graphics, VGA 1920 x 1080p 50 Hz selected.

 

Any thoughts?

support.zip

[John D]

I have reported a similar problem in one of my posts under "BBC MHEG Bug - wrong MHEG startup screen". Have a look at that. Is it the same problem?

[mobiwan]

You mean http://www.DVBViewer.tv/forum/topic/45432-bbc-mheg-bug-wrong-mheg-startup-screen/page__view__findpost__p__334747

 

only slightly similar. The RTE Text Application always is meant to have the full picture shrunk to the window to right of text (often adverts under it).

 

The Video is never scaled on RTE1 or RTE2. It's just a "cutout" to the main overlay full size video.

 

On RTE1 (which is MPEG4 SD), the Text app loads as 4:3 on the 16:9 video, so you also see original video at sides. Selecting a menu item causes the Text App window to almost fill the windo, but with small margin either side of video. On exit you are left with a black line on all channels where the 4:3 MHEG window was on the 16:9 frame.

 

On RTE2, which is HD MPEG4 transmission (even though all the content is SD) the MHEG Text App loads "full frame". But the video window is same as on RTE1, a cutout, rather than rescale.

 

I'll try it tomorrow on the HDMI connector instead of VGA. Though the VGA is genuinely at 1920 x 1080p 50Hz (the screen shots look odd as it's a 19" 4:3 monitor with vertical height "underscanning" to give true 1920 x 1080 16:9 display. We actually have a couple of regular Analogue CRT 4:3 TV sets that do this trick on WS signal on SCART or Line 23 WSS flag. The 28" one is very nice on RGB SCART from Satellite or DVD in WS mode.

Here is smaller jpg version showing clearly the issue on RTE1

(see all 3 images here http://www.techtir.ie/node/1003698)

 

I will use a tripod next time and the 42" LCD HDTV screen to get better photos

Edited April 25, 2011 by mobiwan

[dvbrewer]

I will use a tripod next time and the 42" LCD HDTV screen to get better photos

Just press printscreen and paste into any photo/paint app ....

[mobiwan]

It's a Rendering/Overlay issue.

 

on prior version I was using EVR (available on XP if .Net 3.5 or .net 4 installed), which doesn't really work at all now (aspect wrong). So I had switched to VMR9 mixing renderer in Direct X settings.

 

But selecting [ ] Use Custom Renderers option at top of dialog window and then VMR9 Custom Renderer instead fixes the problem

 

Is there advice anywhere on choice of Renderers?

 

 

So Issue "solved". It's totally reproducible by switching between renderers

[mobiwan]

Wrote too soon!

 

If you select anything in the MHEG5 on RTE1, the video switches back to cut out of full size instead of scalled down to window. However the black line and wrong size MHEG5 window issues are solved by choosing

[*] Use Custom Renderers option at top of dialog window and then VMR9 Custom Renderer.

 

 

BBC is the same. Selecting anything (Enter on Keyboard or "OK" on Remote) un-scales the video, so instead of whole frame in window, it's just a cut out actual size, same as RTE.

 

 

Going to BBC Sport Multiscreen in MHEG5 is impressive.

It actually automatic switches to Stream6 (from BBC HD) and shows it. But Application Crash dialog appears, and while video is running (with EPG Now Info overlay), pressing enter exits the DVBViewer/

Edited April 25, 2011 by mobiwan

[mobiwan]

Just press printscreen and paste into any photo/paint app ....

 

That gives the desktop with Black where the video is.

[mobiwan]

That gives the desktop with Black where the video is.

 

Actually the Screen capture does work, sorry... It does give black for video in my older Sat card applications!

[hackbart]

I probably forgot to mention in the changelog, that the Engine only works fine if you use the Direct3D output (Custom Renderer). If you use the other modes it causes problems, especially while using the Overlay renderer. It is technically (almost) impossible to get this working properly without using the Allocator/Presenter methods

 

Christian

[mobiwan]

Thanks.

 

BTW, the RTE2 HD Terrestrial is actually possibly a 1440 x 1088 transmission and the RTE1 Terrestrial is 544 x 576 Anamorphic W.S.

 

 

With the "Custom Renderer" There is no difference now between RTE1 SD MPEG4, RTE2 HD MPEG4, BBC1 SD MPEG2 and BBC1 HD MPEG4, when you go into Text Application, the main video shrinks to top left corner screen, then the MHEG5 screen is shown with the correctly scaled video in the "window" of the Text Application, but when you select any page or Item the video window is then a cropped (from un-scaled "full size") video and not scaled.

 

It is technically (almost) impossible to get this working properly without using the Allocator/Presenter methods

No doubt at any level of performance. Obviously one could ignore all overlay/Renderer/DirectX etc and simply BitBlit to a regular GDI surface. I'd not like to think how poor the frame rate would at 1920 x 1080.

Edited April 26, 2011 by mobiwan

[fat-tony]

Is there any update on the scaling issue? I'm using the custom renderer and the initial display on-screen is correctly scaled, but when I select any of the menu options (to view news items, for example), the picture-in-picture reverts to a cut-out of the full screen.

I have also noticed that the time display on Saorview MHEG and BBC MHEG is UTC+2 hours, which is one hour ahead of local time. The EPG display is correct at UTC+1.

Edited May 20, 2011 by fat-tony

[hackbart]

Yes, has been fixed. Wait for the next release please.

The time offset for mheg is equal to the one inside the epg data.

[mobiwan]

Great Stuff.

 

Nearly ready for "prime time"

[fat-tony]

Yes, has been fixed. Wait for the next release please.

The time offset for mheg is equal to the one inside the epg data.

Thanks hackbart - that's great news about the scaling.

mobiwan - have you any issue with the time display on Saorview MHEG? My EPG time is correct, but not MHEG on either Saorview or BBC sat signal. Maybe it's local to my PC, but everything else looks ok??

[mobiwan]

Yes, the time is correct on EPG and +1 on MHEG5 text (compared to task tray PC clock set to UTC/GMT and [/] DST/Summer time automatic correction.

 

Switching of DST correction and having UTC, displays programs correct in EPG but equivalent UTC instead of summer time. The MHEG5 text still +1, so now local time.

 

 

Selecting +1 (Paris time) without DST (summer time) mysteriously results in EPG and MHEG5 time both being the same, ie. UTC +1 as the PC task tray clock

 

So...

In the wintertime select UTC and in the summertime time CET and don't turn on DST / Summer time adjustment!

 

(I exited the DVBViewer for each Windows time setting change!)

Edited May 20, 2011 by mobiwan

[fat-tony]

It would seem that the MHEG add-on may be assuming the PC clock is based on standard time and is adding a DST offset to a clock time which has already been changed by MS Windows. Maybe it works correctly in a Linux environment?

[mobiwan]

There is a windows API call that tells if the Windows time has automatic DST offset and how much it is.

Set-boxes and TVs using Linux don't change the HW clock time. It's a design flaw that Windows actually changes the clock from UTC rather than letting applications add regional settings offset.

 

You see it also with date and time format (which Windows does do properly). Some programs don't look up regional settings and thus time, date, currency, comma vs period for decimal point all mess up. Windows should have used extra info in Regional settings instead of having Time/Data GUI change the system clock & cmos backup clock)

 

If I use a computer on multiboot (years ago I had WFWG 3.11, Win98, NT4.0 and Linux) I disable the [/]Automatic DST time as in spring or Autumn the HW clock would be otherwise wrong on Linux and advanced / retarded 3 times (once on each version of Windows). My main two computers are now single boot and for convenience I use [/]Automatic DST time. However the one I used till recently for workshop was UTC only, as is workshop clock.

[fat-tony]

Yes I know all that regarding how MS (mis)manages the system clock. I was just suggesting that the MHEG add-on was not handling the DST offset correctly in a Windows environment, but that it might do it properly in a Linux environment where the hardware clock is left on UTC always.

[mobiwan]

I think we can assume that.

[hackbart]

Well lets say i also figured out that the daylight bias is ignored, which means i have to exclude one hour from the algorithm for us, summertime afflicted non-uk aliens

 

Christian

[fat-tony]

Thanks Hackbart. The new version has sorted the scaling and the time issue!