Tearing/hitching in S resolution modes with vsync

elbkhm · Post by **elbkhm** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 7:33 pm

So, I'm trying to get my new laptop to run Zsnes, and hook the video up to my television. Graphics card in the laptop is an Nvidia 9650M, and the TV is a 1366x768 native LCD. Hooked up through HDMI.

For some reason, when I try and run Zsnes with any of the "S" modes, I get some strange vertical hitching. It kind of looks like a vsync problem, except I already have vsync enabled (tearing becomes VERY noticeable if I disable vsync). The problem exists in both windowed and fullscreen modes (tried a variety of different resolutions, including custom 1366x768), but goes away entirely if I run in any of the R modes.

Any idea what might be causing this, or how I could fix it? It either goes away or becomes a lot less noticble (I can't tell) if I enable scanlines, but they don't look so good to me.

Mark7 · Post by **Mark7** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 11:05 pm

Make sure Vsync is enabled at your videocard driver settings too. If that doesn't work, try disabling your laptop screen so it only shows on your tv.

Also vsync usually doesn't work in windowed mode.

franpa · Post by **franpa** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 11:18 pm

is your TV set as the primary display? iirc the version of DirectX that ZSNES uses only supports certain features on the primary display.

elbkhm · Post by **elbkhm** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:39 am

TV was already set as primary display. And turning on vsync in the video card driver didn't make any difference.

Post by **odditude** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 2:34 am

have you tried forcing zsnes to run in fullscreen at 60Hz? (zsnesw -6 60)

elbkhm · Post by **elbkhm** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 2:53 am

odditude wrote:have you tried forcing zsnes to run in fullscreen at 60Hz? (zsnesw -6 60)

No change.

Squall_Leonhart · Post by **Squall_Leonhart** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 5:11 pm

Vista?

Draw vsync is broken on Vista.

Post by **odditude** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 7:46 pm

Squall_Leonhart wrote:Draw vsync is broken on Vista.

i have no such issues.

elbkhm · Post by **elbkhm** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 9:08 pm

Squall_Leonhart wrote:Vista?

Draw vsync is broken on Vista.

Windows 7 beta. So, basically Vista, yeah.

Vsync in the zsnes menus does work. When I turn it off, I get a much more serious tear that works its way from the top of the screen down to the bottom, and then starts over from the top.

My problem (with vsync on) is a fairly slight tear, that remains in about the same place on the screen, and comes and goes as the screen scrolls vertically. The weird thing is that the display is perfect when I use any of the R (8:7) modes. The problem only shows up when using an S mode (stretched or retain 4:3).

I.S.T. · Post by **I.S.T.** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 9:14 pm

elbkhm wrote:
Squall_Leonhart wrote:Vista?

Draw vsync is broken on Vista.
Windows 7 beta. So, basically Vista, yeah.

Vsync in the zsnes menus does work. When I turn it off, I get a much more serious tear that works its way from the top of the screen down to the bottom, and then starts over from the top.

My problem (with vsync on) is a fairly slight tear, that remains in about the same place on the screen, and comes and goes as the screen scrolls vertically. The weird thing is that the display is perfect when I use any of the R (8:7) modes. The problem only shows up when using an S mode (stretched or retain 4:3).

You do know that's probably your problem, right? You're using a damn beta OS with beta drivers!

kode54 · Post by **kode54** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 9:32 pm

Squall_Leonhart wrote:Vista?

Draw vsync is broken on Vista.

Apparently, GetScanLine works just fine under Vista, as my timer-based vsync code in QuickNES works without any visible tearing.

elbkhm · Post by **elbkhm** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 10:32 pm

I.S.T. wrote:You do know that's probably your problem, right? You're using a damn beta OS with beta drivers!

Windows 7 uses the same drivers as Vista, so I doubt that's the source of the problem. That being said, I'm not particuarly attached to Windows 7 so I'm willing to revert to Vista as a last resort. I'd just hate to go to the hassle, only to have the issue remain.

diminish · Post by **diminish** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 10:54 pm

Try setting 'Multi display/mixed-GPU acceleration' of 'Manage 3D settings' in NVIDIA Control Panel to 'Single display performance mode' and just switch between displays when necessary.

doktor_kris · Post by **doktor_kris** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 12:09 am

Have you tried adjusting your system's display refresh rate? I experienced some serious tearing problems with some emulator once, however, changing the display refresh to 70 Hz did the trick.

snkcube · Post by **snkcube** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 5:33 am

elbkhm wrote:
I.S.T. wrote:You do know that's probably your problem, right? You're using a damn beta OS with beta drivers!
Windows 7 uses the same drivers as Vista, so I doubt that's the source of the problem.

It's still a beta and things can always not work correctly. Even though the Vista drivers will work doesn't mean everything will guarantee to work right.

elbkhm · Post by **elbkhm** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 11:10 pm

diminish wrote:Try setting 'Multi display/mixed-GPU acceleration' of 'Manage 3D settings' in NVIDIA Control Panel to 'Single display performance mode' and just switch between displays when necessary.

Tried it, no good.

doktor_kris wrote: Have you tried adjusting your system's display refresh rate? I experienced some serious tearing problems with some emulator once, however, changing the display refresh to 70 Hz did the trick.

Tried chaning zsnes -6 60 to other values, no change. Tried chaning the refresh rate for the system through the nvidia control panel, but the tv won't accept 70 Hz.

snkcube wrote:It's still a beta and things can always not work correctly. Even though the Vista drivers will work doesn't mean everything will guarantee to work right.

True enough. I still think it's more likely a problem with the video card, maybe some weird aspect of Nvidia's mobile line. I'm probably just going to learn to live with either the scanlines or 8:7 ratio, rather than re-install vista. If do I find some other reason to go back to vista some day, I'll be sure to check then to see if the problem still exists.

Thanks everyone for the help.

Squall_Leonhart · Post by **Squall_Leonhart** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 6:24 pm

odditude wrote:
Squall_Leonhart wrote:Draw vsync is broken on Vista.
i have no such issues.

it was fixed in windows 7, but its definitely broken in Vista.

As was said, there are different forms of vsync, the common most one is the one that does not work properly.

Post by **odditude** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 8:19 pm

Squall_Leonhart wrote:
odditude wrote:
Squall_Leonhart wrote:Draw vsync is broken on Vista.
i have no such issues.
it was fixed in windows 7, but its definitely broken in Vista.

i am using zsnes in vista with vsync, and have no such issues. therefore, it's not "definitely broken in vista."