Refresh rate calibration

RetroArch General
#1

Hello, I know this might be a problem of the nightly I use 05-Jun version, but I also want to ask a little bit more about this.

On this version I go to settings-video, and let it run for a while, it stabilizes to 64hz, this might not sound bad, but when in game it goes to 80s or 100s value, which should be wrong, in either monitor or TV. To check that, I run other versions, 1.0.0.2 version in RGUI settles at 50Hz (as strange this also might look), and version 15-May does too. Can anyone confirm this Jun version is broken?

I’m also curious as to how to let it run for 4096 frames. Documentation says you let it run for 4000 or so frames but in RGUI the counter stops at 2048. It also says that you need to observe the counter of the title bar, but at the same time recommends run it in fullscreen (?). Another thing, when it stabilizes, you click OK on the refresh rate (overwriting the default retroarch.cfg file) or you note it down and update your system cfg with it?

Thanks for help.

#2

Usually, you shouldn’t need to mess with any of that stuff. Are you getting stutters/crackles?

Anyway, just let it run for awhile until it settles down and then I think it should set it in the cfg for you when you hit ‘OK’.

#3

I get tearing, and probably stutter, not sure about this one. Documentation says you NEED to do this once, the first time you use retroarch.

#4

I’ve never had to do it, but I don’t have any problem with my OS-reported refresh rate. If you’re getting tearing, your vsync isn’t working properly.

Video stutters happen because vblank was missed so the same frame was shown twice, audio crackles happen when the audio buffer empties. The idea behind dynamic rate control is that you just set your vsync to avoid frame stuttering and then you dynamically adjust the audio sampling rate (with tiny variations) to ensure that your audio buffer doesn’t empty.

In contrast, tearing happens when your monitor shows half of one frame and half of the next. This shouldn’t ever happen with vsync (after all, that’s what vsync is designed to fix).

#5

While using RetroArch, the default settings might not be adequate, and you might experience video stuttering and/or audio crackling. For correct synchronization, video_refresh_rate must be configured for your monitor. It cannot be detected accuractely enough by OS-provided APIs (i.e. they tend to blatantly lie)

And I do get tearing on the TV at least. It’s not a question, it’s a fact. VSync is on. So what I need to do is what documentation says.

Sorry if it sounded harsh, it wasn’t my intention.

#6

What is your hardware? I had this with clarkdale graphics and OGL, updating drivers fixed it

#7

I’m using Haswell 4670k CPU, GTX 750 Ti graphics with last drivers. I have a pretty standard and powerful machine, so I discard hardware issues.

#8

Are you running with GL or D3D9? Do you have tearing or judder?

#9

GL, tearing.

#10

Now this seems to work, by means of magic, graphic card magic that is. I hate graphic cards, is the most unstable piece of hardware you can ever find, be it a GTX 650 or a 780 Ti. You never get the same from two consecutive runs, and I haven’t updated drivers if you wonder.

To continue with the thread topic, I really crave for a (WELL) documented process for video refresh sync. There are contradictions in the documentation; “run in fullscreen but watch title bar to count for 4096 frames”. Also every time one enters in video section the counter is measuring the refresh rate, does it have to be like that? And another thing, how the monitor index works? I have 2 screens, is that to store two refresh rates?

#11

Are those 2 screens cloned? Windows tend to discard any vsync settings in video games when cloning from what I saw. Might be the same going on here.

#12

No, it’s 2 different screens, a TV and a PC monitor. If I switch from one to another, clearly one is not going to be synced.

By the way, whenever I enter RetroArch this is what I get:

I don’t think I should be warned about things that are correct, even if the thing is not labeled as a “warn” (it certainly reads as one).