KDEmod and video wierdness

foxbunny · 2007-11-25 23:51:05

EDIT: This is KDEmod, not stock KDE.

So, I'm totally puzzled. The video playback and everything video-related becomes choppy after I change something in KDE, but it completely eludes me. It is back to normal once I remove the .kde folder from my home directory, but I'd really like to pinpoint the error.

I have the backup of my KDE settings, so if anyone can maybe guess what the problem config file might be, I'd be able to restore it and try playing the video again. Can anyone think of anything that may be video related? Maybe someone who knows KDE in-depth?

Last edited by foxbunny (2007-11-26 12:04:03)

foxbunny · 2007-11-26 00:42:58

Okay, got this figured out on my own...

One thing: this always happens after updating KDEmod (still don't know which component is causing it, but read on).

Solution: run apply_kdemod_theme script (as regular user), and the problem is gone... I don't know how I missed this, but I did.

EDIT: Damnit, I was wrong. The video problem is NOT fixed. It's just harder to notice. 3D performance is back to normal, but it still chops from time to time. HDD activity during the very short chop is normal or non-existent. Also, the text 'chops' while typing stopping briefly and continuing after a short break. So I guess this is KDE-wide and not just video-related. The only thing I've noticed that works as expected is the sound.

Last edited by foxbunny (2007-11-26 01:16:03)

Cogar · 2007-11-26 02:06:58

I may be missing something, but I did not think KDEmod was the same as KDE. FWIW, running straight KDE, I have not noticed any issues.

foxbunny · 2007-11-26 12:02:58

It's just KDE with tons of patches. But yeah, this issue is probably specific to KDEmod.

EDIT: There, I've changed the topic title.

Last edited by foxbunny (2007-11-26 12:03:31)

funkyou · 2007-11-26 13:06:05

foxbunny wrote:

So, I'm totally puzzled. The video playback and everything video-related becomes choppy after I change something in KDE

More details please Which apps etc? Are you running [testing]? Do you use our accellerated ksplash?

Also check if some app is eating up your CPU cycles...

This is probably more related to a freaky app or or video driver/Xorg than to KDEmod...

Last edited by funkyou (2007-11-26 13:06:55)

foxbunny · 2007-11-27 02:05:43

Well, my new hardware just arrived, so I had to reinstall Arch. I'll try to remember what software I'm usually running, though.

I usually have a whole bunch of apps in the system tray. Namely, kget, kwallet, klipper, knotes, korganizer reminder, kmail, akregator, kmix, amarok, and a few more maybe. None of them are scheduled to do anything until I manually invoke them, though. They are just sitting there for my convenience.

Driver has no effect whatsoever on this. I've tried different versions of both open-source (ATI) and proprietary drivers and the issue is the same.

I don't use the accelerated ksplash.

This video thing usually happens after KDEmod update, but I can't be sure there weren't other things involved because I have never managed to play a video right after the update. I just notice it after a few days or so. I can only claim one thing at this point with any certainty: deleting ~/.kde folder solves the issue.

dkite · 2007-11-27 03:12:53

I'm having the same issue, or similar. I'm not sure what is happening, but here are some details.

I have an ati video, and up till the 1.4 xorg update was running the radeon drivers. When xorg updated, there was a problem with it showing a small box on the screen, so I ran the fglrx and ati drivers, and that problem went away, though bringing instability.

Last night I watched a dvd with mplayer, paused to do something, then on restart it was not working. Restarted the video, and it would run a couple of frames then stall. Top showed my X session at 90+% cpu, and ksplash at 30+%. Killed ksplash, didn't make a difference. Logged out, restarted X didn't make a difference. Rebooted, watched the video and all was fine. Then I started the run,debug,edit,compile cycle on something I'm working on that uses QGraphicsScene, nothing complicated, just display an image and draw rectangles on it, and same symptoms. Reboot and it's fine for a while.

I use kdemod, it's using kdemod-fancy as splash.

I'm going to try setting up radeon again, and I'll let you know what happens.

Derek

foxbunny · 2007-11-27 11:41:36

I don't think this is the same issue. My video would stall in regular intervals (like every 15 secs, or every 1 minute). The intervals are random, but always regular. Also, they don't conincide with any timed task on my system (like mail is checked every 30 minutes). And yeah, it didn't happen after X update, but KDEmod update (I think it was before 3.5.8 was released, but I'm not sure now).

funkyou · 2007-11-27 12:15:30

foxbunny wrote:

I can only claim one thing at this point with any certainty: deleting ~/.kde folder solves the issue.

When you delete ~/.kde, all of the configs will be resetted to "KDEmod factory defaults". If it runs this way, its not our fault but a config issue on your side...

About ksplash: Read this posting on our forums. The openGL accellerated ksplash seems to be problematic for people with ATI cards, but it is not the default. The default is the non-accellerated version of it...

So, just for completeness about the splash (even if you dont use it):

KDEmod-Fancy = non-accellerated ksplash (this is the default splash screen)
KDEmod-Fancy-OpenGL = openGL accellerated ksplash (could cause problems, thats why it is not the default)

Have you tried my suggestion and checked for a cpu-hogging app with top or so? Just try to stress it and when the problem appears, check if one of your apps is causing this..

Also, check out ~./.xsession-errors if there are any suspicious messages...

EDIT: Ah, i forget the usual suspects: Also check if DMA is enabled correctly for your drives etc..

Last edited by funkyou (2007-11-27 12:20:33)

foxbunny · 2007-11-27 12:45:13

funkyou, I'm not saying it's KDEmod's fault. I'm just saying this issue is closely tied to KDEmod updates and config files. As you said, it's probably a config issue, and I was merely asking if anyone knew which config file or option might have triggered this.

Anyway, I'll check the CPU usage of different apps, but I don't think there will be anything significant... I'll also check for the ~./.xsessions-errors. But for now, it all works with a fresh install. Do you know of any KDE or QT config files that affect display and/or video on a global level?

OpenGL splash doesn't work for me at all, but i don't use it anyway. The vanilla Fancy one is pretty damn nice as it is.

Arch Linux

#1 2007-11-25 23:51:05

KDEmod and video wierdness

#2 2007-11-26 00:42:58

Re: KDEmod and video wierdness

#3 2007-11-26 02:06:58

Re: KDEmod and video wierdness

#4 2007-11-26 12:02:58

Re: KDEmod and video wierdness

#5 2007-11-26 13:06:05

Re: KDEmod and video wierdness

#6 2007-11-27 02:05:43

Re: KDEmod and video wierdness

#7 2007-11-27 03:12:53

Re: KDEmod and video wierdness

#8 2007-11-27 11:41:36

Re: KDEmod and video wierdness

#9 2007-11-27 12:15:30

Re: KDEmod and video wierdness

#10 2007-11-27 12:45:13

Re: KDEmod and video wierdness

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