Performance degradation on old netbook

ondoho · 2017-08-04 08:46:43

For a couple of years I had archlinux on this netbook, and media playback used to be OK.
I don't use it very often, but keep up with updates.

Recently I found that some things do not perform as well anymore as they used to; this is most notable with video playback.
I just found a movie .mkv that was on this machine for almost 2 years, and that I definitely remember watching with mpv from beginning til end, but now there's many more framedrops than before, making it unwatchable.

Clearly the overall development of linux software, and archlinux, leaves this 7-year-old netbook further and further behind...
what can I do to keep on using it for a little longer?

things i had in mind:

- use an older kernel (maybe linux-lts310? I'm not exactly sure what the point of this package is, but it's beeing maintained for a long time) - but will that break things or not? (working on it now, i guess it will take a few hours to build on this underpowered netbook)
- use an older version of xorg-xserver - again, won't that break things left and right?
- use an older distro altogether (experimenting with debian wheezy right now, but it seems to be throwing up other problems, maybe i went too far back and should try with jessie or even stretch)
- use an older version of mpv, or ffmpeg, that supports an older version of opengl
- tweak the graphic driver to be better at hardware accel (not sure there is anything to tweak though)

according to https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ha … stallation i need not bother with vdpau, because i have intel graphics.
so i followed all the instruction for va-api, but vainfo gives an error, even after configuring vaapi manually and making sure the environement variable is used:

[~/video] pacsearch intel|grep installed
extra/libva-intel-driver 1.8.3-1 [installed]
extra/mesa 17.1.5-1 [installed]
extra/xf86-video-intel 1:2.99.917+777+g6babcf15-1 (xorg-drivers) [installed]
community/libva-utils 1.8.2-1 [installed]
[~/video] vainfo 
libva info: VA-API version 0.40.0
libva info: va_getDriverName() returns 0
libva info: User requested driver 'i965'
libva info: Trying to open /usr/lib/dri/i965_drv_video.so
libva info: Found init function __vaDriverInit_0_40
libva error: /usr/lib/dri/i965_drv_video.so init failed
libva info: va_openDriver() returns -1
vaInitialize failed with error code -1 (unknown libva error),exit

here is some hopefully relevant information about the system and media playback- please note mpv's complaint "At least OpenGL 2.1 or OpenGL ES 2.0 required.
Failed to open VDPAU backend libvdpau_va_gl.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory":

[~] uname -rv
4.9.40-1-lts #1 SMP Fri Jul 28 22:11:27 CEST 2017
[~/video] mpv *mkv
Playing: ltdb.mkv
 (+) Video --vid=1 (*) (h264 1216x720 23.976fps)
 (+) Audio --aid=1 --alang=fre (*) (dts 6ch 48000Hz)
 (+) Subs  --sid=1 --slang=eng (*) (ass)
     Subs  --sid=2 --slang=rum (ass)
[vo/opengl] At least OpenGL 2.1 or OpenGL ES 2.0 required.
Failed to open VDPAU backend libvdpau_va_gl.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
[vo/vdpau] Error when calling vdp_device_create_x11: 1
[vo/xv] Warning: this legacy VO has bad quality and performance, and will in particular result in blurry OSD and subtitles. You should fix your graphics drivers, or not force the xv VO.
VO does not support requested hardware decoder, or loading it failed.
AO: [alsa] 48000Hz stereo 2ch float
VO: [xv] 1216x720 yuv420p
AV: 00:00:03 / 01:20:39 (0%) A-V:  0.395 Dropped: 23

Audio/Video desynchronisation detected! Possible reasons include too slow
hardware, temporary CPU spikes, broken drivers, and broken files. Audio
position will not match to the video (see A-V status field).

AV: 00:01:55 / 01:20:39 (2%) A-V:  0.466 Dropped: 9


Exiting... (Quit)
[~/video] mplayer *mkv
MPlayer SVN-r37916 (C) 2000-2017 MPlayer Team
225 audio & 460 video codecs
do_connect: could not connect to socket
connect: No such file or directory
Failed to open LIRC support. You will not be able to use your remote control.

Playing ltdb.mkv.
libavformat version 57.71.100 (external)
Mismatching header version 57.56.101
libavformat file format detected.
[lavf] stream 0: video (h264), -vid 0
[lavf] stream 1: audio (dca), -aid 0, -alang fre
[lavf] stream 2: subtitle (ssa), -sid 0, -slang eng
[lavf] stream 3: subtitle (ssa), -sid 1, -slang rum
VIDEO:  [H264]  1216x720  0bpp  23.976 fps    0.0 kbps ( 0.0 kbyte/s)
Failed to open VDPAU backend libvdpau_va_gl.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
[vdpau] Error when calling vdp_device_create_x11: 1
==========================================================================
Opening video decoder: [ffmpeg] FFmpeg's libavcodec codec family
libavcodec version 57.89.100 (external)
Mismatching header version 57.64.101
Selected video codec: [ffh264] vfm: ffmpeg (FFmpeg H.264)
==========================================================================
Clip info:
 encoder: libebml v0.7.7 + libmatroska v0.8.1
 creation_time: 2007-11-13T21:47:54.000000Z
Load subtitles in ./
==========================================================================
Opening audio decoder: [ffmpeg] FFmpeg/libavcodec audio decoders
AUDIO: 48000 Hz, 6 ch, floatle, 1536.0 kbit/16.67% (ratio: 192000->1152000)
Selected audio codec: [ffdca] afm: ffmpeg (FFmpeg DTS)
==========================================================================
[AO OSS] audio_setup: Can't open audio device /dev/dsp: No such file or directory
AO: [alsa] 48000Hz 2ch floatle (4 bytes per sample)
Starting playback...
Movie-Aspect is 1.69:1 - prescaling to correct movie aspect.
VO: [xv] 1216x720 => 1216x720 Planar YV12 
[ASPECT] Warning: No suitable new res found!
[ASPECT] Warning: No suitable new res found!
A:  67.4 V:  64.9 A-V:  2.416 ct:  0.108   0/  0 180%  4% 26.1% 50 0 


           ************************************************
           **** Your system is too SLOW to play this!  ****
           ************************************************

Possible reasons, problems, workarounds:
- Most common: broken/buggy _audio_ driver
  - Try -ao sdl or use the OSS emulation of ALSA.
  - Experiment with different values for -autosync, 30 is a good start.
- Slow video output
  - Try a different -vo driver (-vo help for a list) or try -framedrop!
- Slow CPU
  - Don't try to play a big DVD/DivX on a slow CPU! Try some of the lavdopts,
    e.g. -vfm ffmpeg -lavdopts lowres=1:fast:skiploopfilter=all.
- Broken file
  - Try various combinations of -nobps -ni -forceidx -mc 0.
- Slow media (NFS/SMB mounts, DVD, VCD etc)
  - Try -cache 8192.
- Are you using -cache to play a non-interleaved AVI file?
  - Try -nocache.
Read DOCS/HTML/en/video.html for tuning/speedup tips.
If none of this helps you, read DOCS/HTML/en/bugreports.html.

A:  72.9 V:  68.0 A-V:  4.866 ct:  0.109   0/  0 168%  3% 17.5% 123 0 
[ASPECT] Warning: No suitable new res found!
[ASPECT] Warning: No suitable new res found!
A:  74.0 V:  68.6 A-V:  5.355 ct:  0.108   0/  0 167%  3% 17.2% 137 0 

Exiting... (Quit)
[~/video] ffmpeg -version
ffmpeg version 3.3.2 Copyright (c) 2000-2017 the FFmpeg developers
  built with gcc 7.1.1 (GCC) 20170630
  configuration: --prefix=/usr --disable-debug --disable-static --disable-stripping --enable-avisynth --enable-avresample --enable-fontconfig --enable-gmp --enable-gnutls --enable-gpl --enable-ladspa --enable-libass --enable-libbluray --enable-libfreetype --enable-libfribidi --enable-libgsm --enable-libiec61883 --enable-libmodplug --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libopencore_amrnb --enable-libopencore_amrwb --enable-libopenjpeg --enable-libopus --enable-libpulse --enable-libschroedinger --enable-libsoxr --enable-libspeex --enable-libssh --enable-libtheora --enable-libv4l2 --enable-libvidstab --enable-libvorbis --enable-libvpx --enable-libwebp --enable-libx264 --enable-libx265 --enable-libxcb --enable-libxvid --enable-shared --enable-version3
  libavutil      55. 58.100 / 55. 58.100
  libavcodec     57. 89.100 / 57. 89.100
  libavformat    57. 71.100 / 57. 71.100
  libavdevice    57.  6.100 / 57.  6.100
  libavfilter     6. 82.100 /  6. 82.100
  libavresample   3.  5.  0 /  3.  5.  0
  libswscale      4.  6.100 /  4.  6.100
  libswresample   2.  7.100 /  2.  7.100
  libpostproc    54.  5.100 / 54.  5.100
1[~/video] lspci -k
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GSE Express Memory Controller Hub (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device 015b
	Kernel modules: intel_agp
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GSE Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device 015b
	Kernel driver in use: i915
	Kernel modules: i915
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS/GME, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device 015b
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 02)
	Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device 015b
	Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
	Kernel modules: snd_hda_intel
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
	Kernel modules: shpchp
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 2 (rev 02)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
	Kernel modules: shpchp
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 3 (rev 02)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
	Kernel modules: shpchp
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family PCI Express Port 4 (rev 02)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
	Kernel modules: shpchp
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
	Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device 015b
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
	Kernel modules: uhci_hcd
00:1d.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
	Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device 015b
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
	Kernel modules: uhci_hcd
00:1d.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02)
	Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device 015b
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
	Kernel modules: uhci_hcd
00:1d.3 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 02)
	Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device 015b
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd
	Kernel modules: uhci_hcd
00:1d.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 02)
	Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device 015b
	Kernel driver in use: ehci-pci
	Kernel modules: ehci_pci
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev e2)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801GBM (ICH7-M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 02)
	Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device 015b
	Kernel driver in use: lpc_ich
	Kernel modules: intel_rng, lpc_ich, leds_ss4200
00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7-M Family) SATA Controller [IDE mode] (rev 02)
	Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device 015b
	Kernel driver in use: ata_piix
	Kernel modules: ata_piix, pata_acpi, ata_generic
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation NM10/ICH7 Family SMBus Controller (rev 02)
	Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device 015b
	Kernel driver in use: i801_smbus
	Kernel modules: i2c_i801
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8101/2/6E PCI Express Fast/Gigabit Ethernet controller (rev 02)
	Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device 015b
	Kernel driver in use: r8169
	Kernel modules: r8169
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Qualcomm Atheros AR242x / AR542x Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Foxconn International, Inc. Device e008
	Kernel driver in use: ath5k
	Kernel modules: ath5k
04:00.0 System peripheral: JMicron Technology Corp. SD/MMC Host Controller
	Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device 015b
	Kernel driver in use: sdhci-pci
	Kernel modules: sdhci_pci
04:00.2 SD Host controller: JMicron Technology Corp. Standard SD Host Controller
	Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device 015b
	Kernel modules: sdhci_pci
04:00.3 System peripheral: JMicron Technology Corp. MS Host Controller
	Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device 015b
	Kernel driver in use: jmb38x_ms
	Kernel modules: jmb38x_ms
04:00.4 System peripheral: JMicron Technology Corp. xD Host Controller
	Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device 015b

Last edited by ondoho (2017-08-04 08:48:25)

Gusar · 2017-08-04 11:43:50

If you want to use the opengl output with mpv, you need to specify --opengl-es=yes (your GPU doesn't support OpenGL 2.1, but it does support ES 2.0). But this will perform pretty much the same as Xv does, which is what you're using now. Subtitles will look better with opengl though (as mpv informs you, Xv is bad with subtitles, there's no way around that, Xv is just old). VAAPI will not work, there are no hardware decoders on this machine.

Randomly trying old versions of stuff will not help, it's the opposite - the ffmpeg h264 decoder has gotten faster over the years. Randomly trying other distros is also unlikely to have an effect. I have a similar netbook (Acer Aspire One A110L) with basically the same hardware as yours, I run modern Arch on it, with everything (kernel, X, mpv, ...) up-to-date.

Are you using the same DE as you always did? That's the only thing that could possibly make a difference. I run plain Openbox, no compositor. Also, post your X log (it's either /var/log/Xorg.0.log or ~/.local/share/xorg/Xorg.0.log depending on how you start X).

seth · 2017-08-04 14:21:10

try

mpv --hwdec=auto --vo=vaap totallynoporn.mp4

Gusar · 2017-08-04 14:47:32

@seth: There are no hardware decoders on ondoho's machine. Also, a typo in your post, it's --vo=vaapi. Not that it matters in this case, because it won't work on ondoho's machine anyway.

seth · 2017-08-04 15:09:27

Indeed, sorry.
For mplayer, try adding this to ~/.mplayer/config

lavdopts=fast=1:skiploopfilter=all

You can also try to append ":lowres=1" (higher values turn into lower resolutions)

No idea whether the above is still supported by lav, though.

Arch Linux

#1 2017-08-04 08:46:43

Performance degradation on old netbook

#2 2017-08-04 11:43:50

Re: Performance degradation on old netbook

#3 2017-08-04 14:21:10

Re: Performance degradation on old netbook

#4 2017-08-04 14:47:32

Re: Performance degradation on old netbook

#5 2017-08-04 15:09:27

Re: Performance degradation on old netbook

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