2011-09-03, 08:08
It would be nice to have an advanced user setting to force speed-up/slow-down of certain frame rates to render at another fps -- for example, always slow PAL to NTSC rates or vice-versa. There is precedent for allowing this kind of user control, as the "Adjust refresh rate" option does allow user overrides in advancedsettings.xml.
This option would be most useful for allowing users to optimally convert PAL <--> NTSC for their specific hardware setup. For example, my 120Hz TV will only accept 60Hz input at 1080p, and I would like to be able to set XBMC to always slow 25fps PAL to 24fps NTSC for display on it. Not only do I find the regular 3:2 cadence of 24fps @ 60Hz to be less jarring than 25fps @ 60Hz, but I can also turn on motion interpolation on my TV for perfectly smooth playback with 24fps only (it doesn't really work with 25fps content since the cadence isn't as regular). Currently on Dharma 10.1, "Sync playback to display" is successfully speeding-up 23.976fps videos to 24fps, but it doesn't do anything at all with 25fps videos. In most cases the internal logic of the "Sync playback to display" option works great, but in cases like this, playback could be much smoother with an override option to convert to 24fps.
(As an aside, I am aware that this can be achieved in a round-about sort of way for people who have TVs that will accept 24Hz input, by using the advanced settings for "Adjust refresh rate". Adding the ability to control "Sync playback to display" would be more powerful and allow people with TVs that don't accept 24Hz input to do the same thing.)
This option would be most useful for allowing users to optimally convert PAL <--> NTSC for their specific hardware setup. For example, my 120Hz TV will only accept 60Hz input at 1080p, and I would like to be able to set XBMC to always slow 25fps PAL to 24fps NTSC for display on it. Not only do I find the regular 3:2 cadence of 24fps @ 60Hz to be less jarring than 25fps @ 60Hz, but I can also turn on motion interpolation on my TV for perfectly smooth playback with 24fps only (it doesn't really work with 25fps content since the cadence isn't as regular). Currently on Dharma 10.1, "Sync playback to display" is successfully speeding-up 23.976fps videos to 24fps, but it doesn't do anything at all with 25fps videos. In most cases the internal logic of the "Sync playback to display" option works great, but in cases like this, playback could be much smoother with an override option to convert to 24fps.
(As an aside, I am aware that this can be achieved in a round-about sort of way for people who have TVs that will accept 24Hz input, by using the advanced settings for "Adjust refresh rate". Adding the ability to control "Sync playback to display" would be more powerful and allow people with TVs that don't accept 24Hz input to do the same thing.)
