2016-05-29, 16:11
There was a thread here : http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=275260 which covered requests to reinstate some of the functionality removed from the 'Codec Info Overlay' in Krypton. It is the OSD generally brought up pressing 'o' on a keyboard (or 'Guide' on an MCE remote)
Historically this overlay had information on it that was useful (or not useful) for a number of different use cases and situations. Some of the functionality that has currently gone is missed, and there are some requests to improve this.
So can I pose some questions :
A. Can a single overlay satisfy all use cases ? The previous mix of information was daunting for some, and had a mix of very technical, and quite non-technical information on it. Should we have two different overlays - or can we combine the two in a more user-friendly manner for multiple user-groups?
B. What do we need to be displayed and how ?
Suggestions :
1. Audio and Video file codecs currently being played back (possibly also subtitle source and type?). These are unambiguous descriptions of the codecs currently being played - NOT how they are being played - but instantaneously reflect what is being fed into Kodi. Broadly speaking this is "INPUT"
e.g.
Video Codec : H264 8-bit : 1920 x 1080 : 23.976fps or H265 10-bit : 3840x2160 : 50 fps (Also an Interlaced / Progressive flag and flagged aspect ratio could be useful here - and aspect ratios can change on the fly with some SD TV sources) (*)
Audio Codec : AC3 : 5.1 : 48kHz 16 bit or DTS-HD MA : 7.1 : 96kHz 24 bit (This needs to be constantly updated as audio formats can change on the fly) It could also have a Language field e.g. English or Narrative though this could be deemed blurring the line between codec and content information - personally I'd go with codec only - but that's a discussion isn't it?)
(*) If this could also have an Advanced/Expert setting that displayed Level, Profile, Chroma Subsampling (so 4:2:2 was clearly different to 4:2:0), additional info like MBAFF, PAFF and No of Reference frames - that could be really useful, though I realise some of this might be better suited to Media Info. (4:2:2 flagging would be useful though)
2. Audio and Video playback paths - i.e. how these video and audio streams listed above are currently being decoded. Broadly speaking this is "OUTPUT" :
e.g.
Video Playback decoder/path : omx-h264 or omx-mpeg2
Audio Playback decoder/path : ac3 or dca
(These could be merged with the above - and a simple hw vs sw flag used before them to reflect CPU or VPU/GPU decode, a decode or PCM or bitstream or passthrough could be displayed to indicate audio output mode?)
It might also be worth putting an
Output resolution and refresh rate : 1920x1080 : 50Hz or 3840x2160 : 24Hz so that you can see mismatches where output refresh rates don't match input frame rates (i.e. 23.976 is being played at 24, or 23.976 is being played at 59.94?, or to confirm that they do - where 25Hz interlaced content is output at 50Hz etc. and confirm that you are running at the right output resolution, now that both refresh rate rate and resolution can switch dynamically?)
Also useful to display whether deinterlacing is activated and what method is being used Deinterlace ON, VAAPI-MCDI or YADIF 2x (again a hw or sw flag could also be displayed?) These are distinct from the Video settings menu where you select things like AUTO etc. as that doesn't tell you whether they are enabled or not, and doesn't tell you which mode is being used if you leave it on AUTO. (Some platforms use different levels of deinterlacer for different resolutions and frame rate - with HD not getting as good deinterlacing as SD for instance)
3. What bitrate these audio streams are running at (this could be merge with 1. as it is effectively "INPUT" :
e.g.
Audio bitrate : 128kb/s or 640kb/s (this reflects the instantaneous source bitrate, not the bitrate of the decoded audio, and this can also change on the fly with some sources - particularly Live and Recorded TV)
Video bitrate : 3.69 Mb/s or 50 Mb/s (this will reflect the instantaneous source bitrate - as many sources have VBR)
4. CPU load and possibly temperature if that is available?
There are other useful things that I don't use that I'm sure others do - like details about dropped/skipped frames, buffer levels etc. that could be added to this.
I also readily accept that my 'under the hood' understanding as to how Kodi works may mean that some of this information is difficult or impossible to generate.
Historically this overlay had information on it that was useful (or not useful) for a number of different use cases and situations. Some of the functionality that has currently gone is missed, and there are some requests to improve this.
So can I pose some questions :
A. Can a single overlay satisfy all use cases ? The previous mix of information was daunting for some, and had a mix of very technical, and quite non-technical information on it. Should we have two different overlays - or can we combine the two in a more user-friendly manner for multiple user-groups?
B. What do we need to be displayed and how ?
Suggestions :
1. Audio and Video file codecs currently being played back (possibly also subtitle source and type?). These are unambiguous descriptions of the codecs currently being played - NOT how they are being played - but instantaneously reflect what is being fed into Kodi. Broadly speaking this is "INPUT"
e.g.
Video Codec : H264 8-bit : 1920 x 1080 : 23.976fps or H265 10-bit : 3840x2160 : 50 fps (Also an Interlaced / Progressive flag and flagged aspect ratio could be useful here - and aspect ratios can change on the fly with some SD TV sources) (*)
Audio Codec : AC3 : 5.1 : 48kHz 16 bit or DTS-HD MA : 7.1 : 96kHz 24 bit (This needs to be constantly updated as audio formats can change on the fly) It could also have a Language field e.g. English or Narrative though this could be deemed blurring the line between codec and content information - personally I'd go with codec only - but that's a discussion isn't it?)
(*) If this could also have an Advanced/Expert setting that displayed Level, Profile, Chroma Subsampling (so 4:2:2 was clearly different to 4:2:0), additional info like MBAFF, PAFF and No of Reference frames - that could be really useful, though I realise some of this might be better suited to Media Info. (4:2:2 flagging would be useful though)
2. Audio and Video playback paths - i.e. how these video and audio streams listed above are currently being decoded. Broadly speaking this is "OUTPUT" :
e.g.
Video Playback decoder/path : omx-h264 or omx-mpeg2
Audio Playback decoder/path : ac3 or dca
(These could be merged with the above - and a simple hw vs sw flag used before them to reflect CPU or VPU/GPU decode, a decode or PCM or bitstream or passthrough could be displayed to indicate audio output mode?)
It might also be worth putting an
Output resolution and refresh rate : 1920x1080 : 50Hz or 3840x2160 : 24Hz so that you can see mismatches where output refresh rates don't match input frame rates (i.e. 23.976 is being played at 24, or 23.976 is being played at 59.94?, or to confirm that they do - where 25Hz interlaced content is output at 50Hz etc. and confirm that you are running at the right output resolution, now that both refresh rate rate and resolution can switch dynamically?)
Also useful to display whether deinterlacing is activated and what method is being used Deinterlace ON, VAAPI-MCDI or YADIF 2x (again a hw or sw flag could also be displayed?) These are distinct from the Video settings menu where you select things like AUTO etc. as that doesn't tell you whether they are enabled or not, and doesn't tell you which mode is being used if you leave it on AUTO. (Some platforms use different levels of deinterlacer for different resolutions and frame rate - with HD not getting as good deinterlacing as SD for instance)
3. What bitrate these audio streams are running at (this could be merge with 1. as it is effectively "INPUT" :
e.g.
Audio bitrate : 128kb/s or 640kb/s (this reflects the instantaneous source bitrate, not the bitrate of the decoded audio, and this can also change on the fly with some sources - particularly Live and Recorded TV)
Video bitrate : 3.69 Mb/s or 50 Mb/s (this will reflect the instantaneous source bitrate - as many sources have VBR)
4. CPU load and possibly temperature if that is available?
There are other useful things that I don't use that I'm sure others do - like details about dropped/skipped frames, buffer levels etc. that could be added to this.
I also readily accept that my 'under the hood' understanding as to how Kodi works may mean that some of this information is difficult or impossible to generate.
