The VideoLAN Forums

Hello dear users,

I have VLC Media player 1.0.3 Goldeneye and I am lately getting a strange video flickering problem.
MY PC specifications are as follow:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X3 720 (tri core)
RAM: 4GB Ram DDR3 1600MHz
OS: Windows XP Professional with SP 3
GRAPGHIC CARD: ATI Radeon HD 4890 - 1GB GDD5, with latest drivers installed
SCREEN RESOLUTION: Widescreen - 1360x768x32 bits.

The problem I would like to report is that when playing videos (DVDs or AVIs), the screen flickers a lot. I mean, it seems that the screen display speed is not enough to make images go as smooth as they should be. It is nothing related with framerates, it something related with the display speed. I've tried anything I could - change the OUTPUT to DirectX, YUV, etc... and nothing. Nothing solves this. I don't think my graphic card or cpu does not have enough speed. I play LEFT 4 DEAD 2 with every specifications at MAXIMUM and it doesn't even FLICKER a bit.

Anyone had this problem too? If so, could anyone solve it? Any ideas on how to solve this?
THANKS A LOT in advance.

PS: VLC media player is an AWSOME program!! Congratulations!!

Does Tools -> Messages... (set Verbosity to 2) complain something when you playback video?

Does Tools -> Messages... (set Verbosity to 2) complain something when you playback video?

I Have set VERBOSITY to 2, but it is still the same. No changes on the video flickering, unfortunately.
I have also run the video on the PC monitor to see if there were changes, instead of originally play in to my SAMSUNG wide screen. No changes. The flickering doesn't go away!
ANY HELP!?

THANKS.

You remember any recent changes (driver, software, hardware) that might be related to this?

Hello again,

I have lately updated my drivers of ATI RADEON 4890, dated 17/11/2009. However, I don't think this is the problem.
Just to add some more infos, I have installed BS PLAYER - another free player and, after installation, it recommends me to download 6 codecs that are missing / not installed in my computer. I accepted it and I tryied to play the same flickering videos (on VLC) and... surprise, surprise... THEY ARE OK!! 1360x768x32 bit resolution without a FLICKER!!

Summary: I think that this is an issue related with the VIDEO codec that VLC is using as default. I have tried every OUTPUT video in VLC and NOTHING! No success.
I have also checked out for the X11 (which i don't know what it is but which was recommended by some people out there in forums) and... it doesn't exist.

Is there any way to activate the VERTICAL syncronization or change the actual video decoder? I think the problem is here. BS player is probably using the correct codec and also making use of the VSYNC.
HELP!!

X11 is for Unixes, not for Windows. And VLC doesn't use any video codec by default, I am guessing you mean video output module. And you can enable Vertical sync from ATI's display panel, but with that it would mean you are suffering from tearing, not from flickering.

I have the same Problem. I have collected a few facts about that problem (tearing?):

- it only occurs with VLC v.1.03, v.1.02 is OK!
- it doesn't seem to be OS related; it happens on Win XP SP3 and Win 7 64-bit.
- it hasn't to do with VSync!
- both, ATI and NVIDIA GFX produces same tearing!
- for me, only DirectX is buggy. DirectX 3D works fine!
- the slower the PC system, the better it can be seen!
- the faster the video scenes, the better it can be seen! (for example on scenes with waterfall or water that flows)
- i have photographed a buggy scene; it looks like 2 pictures with a big grey line in the middle of it! But it isn't only in the middle of the scene; sometimes it flits from uppermost part of the scene to the bottommost.
- it seems that not only VLC Player has problems with that tearing!! We have build a Media PC consisting of a HD TV-Card and MediaPortal Software (http://www.team-mediaportal.com). Same tearing problems occured... After we reinstalled Windows 7 32-bit, it was fixed!! I think it has to do with new Directx libraries of August 2009! Because after we reinstalled Windows we haven't installed DirectX Redistributale Package again. Tearing then dissapeared!

Hello again,

I don't know what you all mean with TEARING (sorry, i'm from PORTUGAL and I'm not used to your terminologies).
Maybe it's TEARING, but what best describes this problem is the "lack of speed" while the movie is being displayed/played. The images seem like "flickering", errr... like if parts of the image were not in total sync, as if they were somehow dealyed to be displayed. It's not a very SLOW thing to notice, but when playing a movie, it is obvious that it isn't being displayed properly at the "display speed" it should.

When using BS PLAYER this problem does not happen, I didn't figured out why. This means that the problem is not my cpu, graphic card, drivers or whatever.
If I use my external DVD player, this same problem is not happening too, so.. I REALLY thing this problem is related with the WAY VLC media player "decodes" the movies and the WAY it displays it on screen. It can't be anything else. However, I also agree that it may be an "incompatibility programming issue" while using DIRECTX libraries, I don't know. If BS Player plays the movie correctly, then it's VLC's problem now. I can't help you more than this. I tried to capture an image of this "tearing/flickering" and it simply does not get captured.

PLUS, the version 1.0.2, in my specific case, does not solve the problem, neither anyone older than this. I have tried them all to the 0.9.8a-win32.

If anyone finds out a solution, please tell me.
THANKS!

http://i.afterdawn.com/storage/pictures ... xample.jpg
tearing looks like that (so you can see multiple frames of video in screen same time).

THAT'S it!! PERFECT image that represents EXACTLY what I MEAN!

That is tearing, alright!
That is precisely the problem with VCL media player!
That is exactly what DOES NOT happen with BS PLAYER.

I have tried lots of solutions, DIRECT X output, DIRECT X 3D, YUV, etc etc... NOTHING! Nothing solves the "tearing" effect on the videos (AVIs or DVDs).
I'll keep trying to find out a solution. If soneone have already found it, please share it.

THANKS

HYE GUYSSS!
mates im avin this prob is vlc 1.0.3 goldeneye is tat i cant move the flicker when i play vdo'z,dvd'z cant fwd it....
plz help me out...i can when im listening any mp3 song...plz help me out

Hey, buddy.

I didn't understand a word you said. is that ANCIENT english or is it bad english? ahhaha
By the way, I think you misunderstood this topic. It has nothing to do with what you say. Sorry. Can't help you.

I registered just for this problem. I'm also noticing tearing on 1.0.3 Goldeneye and never saw it on other VLC's.
It's very noticeable because my output device is a 53" Panasonic projection TV through the DVI port on my GeForce 9800 GT (drivers are 186.18.) XP Home SP3, DX 9.0c.
The tearing is halfway down the screen which seems to indicate the frame is being refreshed 180 degrees out of sync of where it should be, ie in mid-draw instead of VBlank. Hope it gets fixed and thanks for VLC!

Any news about that issue??

Hi everyone,

I also have the same problem with tearing with 1.0.3. It seems there are no updates on this topic. Does that mean that most people are not having this issue? I am going to go back to 1.0.2 for now, but if anyone has any useful info in addition to what has already been discussed I'd appreciate hearing about it.

Kam

Wake this thread up next week, I will diff 1.0.2 and 1.0.3 source codes and check what has changed.

setOpacity on Fullscreen controller?

setOpacity on Fullscreen controller?

Can you point me to where this setting is configured? I looked quickly under Advanced -> Video but did not spot it.

Thanks.

Kam

Tools -> Preferences... (Show settings: All) Interface -> Main interfaces -> Qt and the option is called Fullscreen controller opacity...

I will diff 1.0.2 and 1.0.3 source codes and check what has changed.

I found no general changes from msw folder. Only bigger changes are in Direct3D output module so I guess the issue lies in somewhere else.

Setting "Fullscreen controller opacity" from 0.80 to 1.00 did the trick for me.
my specs:
win7 64bit
vlc 1.0.3
radeon 1200 series
stock drivers automatically installed by windows

Thank you