I’m outputting a SNES game from my laptop to my 1080p TV via an HDMI cable, but there is noticeable skipping or stuttering on the TV screen that I don’t see on the computer screen. I think it has something to do with the refresh rate of the TV vs. whatever it is on the computer. It’s a fairly subtle effect but it renders games like Super Mario World which require precision nearly unplayable. Any ideas for settings I can fool around with? I’m using the 64 bit windows executable version of RetroArch, downloaded yesterday. Runs like a dream on the laptop but I’d like to have it run that smoothly on the bigger screen.
And I should add I’m using the snes9x core. I’ve messed around with v sync, frame throttling and audio lag as I had read that suggestion but none of them caused any change I could see.
Did you set your tv to game mode? I mean it makes sense that PC and Retroarch settings dont influence that, if your tv uses some frame interpolation or other tricks to improve image and this stuttering is a tv side issue.
Tv doesn’t have a game mode.
Try making the TV your primary display. It should make your GPU prioritize it for vsync etc.
Yeah, I also tried that to no effect unfortunately.
Try to select your TV as the only available screen in your GPU control panel. No dual-screen.
Not entirely sure what you mean- which options would I set to do that?
I think he meant for you to press Windows Key + P and choose to project only the second screen (your tv).
Check the framerate and tell us what it’s displaying in game.
I’ve uploaded a video here that shows what I’m seeing (sorry for the weird angle, was trying to prop it up on something while using the controller). It’s a subtle effect and a little tough to see but there’s definitely some skipping/stuttering, maybe easiest to see when Mario is coming down from jumps or as the screen scrolls to the right.
Here are the settings I’m using in case that helps. TV does not have a game mode; I’ve tried turning Vsync and hard GPU sync on and off but neither seems to have much effect. The TV is set as my primary display.
The framerate counter in Mario is saying something like 58.8, but in the menu your refresh rate is set to 60.0001. It’s skipping frames, possibly because your CPU isn’t keeping up. Try running it fullscreen (“Use Fullscreen Mode On” and “Windowed Fullscreen Mode Off”) and disable things like shaders and filters like that 2xbr filter you have enabled. See if that makes a difference first.
Tried that, with display set to TV as primary, framerate turned down, filters off. Looks the same, here is the updated result: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w4quwoWpa8 I think it’s a little easier to see the stuttering in this one as you can watch the screen move from left to right. I still can’t see any stuttering whatsoever on the computer screen alone so I think it’s something related to how the signal is getting from the computer to the TV via the HDMI. I tried two different TVs and HDMI cables and didn’t see any difference. Here are my settings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbTKRMYfTyY I’ve turned VSync and GPU sync on and off but neither has any effect.
Sorry to make this such a puzzle guys…
Have you tried any other snes core for testing? And try to use the regular snes9x emulator and not the core from retroarch just to see if it is a retroarch issue.
Also, in case its your tv applies some image enhancement options, even though you dont have game mode, you can create a new profile and disable all image interpolation, smoothing, dynamic adjustment within it. I know some tv’s apply automatically game mode when you name HDMI input you using as PC instead of HDMI1, HDMI2…
[QUOTE=CaptainKoloth;50883]Tried that, with display set to TV as primary, framerate turned down, filters off. Looks the same, here is the updated result: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w4quwoWpa8 I think it’s a little easier to see the stuttering in this one as you can watch the screen move from left to right. I still can’t see any stuttering whatsoever on the computer screen alone so I think it’s something related to how the signal is getting from the computer to the TV via the HDMI. I tried two different TVs and HDMI cables and didn’t see any difference. Here are my settings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbTKRMYfTyY I’ve turned VSync and GPU sync on and off but neither has any effect.
Sorry to make this such a puzzle guys…[/QUOTE]
In that second video, your refresh rate is set to 58.451 but your monitor is running at about 60. Highlight “Estimate Monitor Framerate” and press A, that will set the Refresh Rate correctly so your games are running at the same speed as your monitor.