[wplug] mpegs /gtv/plaympeg from Loki

[Rich Rosenbaum]

Zach Paine wrote:

> On Thu, 21 Jun 2001 10:30:17 Rich Rosenbaum wrote:
> <snip>
> > Dilema in a nutshell....full-screen (640x480) and double size playback
> > of MPEG's is pixelated.
>
> To me, (and I'm no mpeg expert) this seems to be the nature of the beast.
> The mpeg is recorded a certain resolution.  If you want to make the movie
> appear at a different resolution you cannot create more pixels, therefore
> you have to enlarge the pixels you have.  This makes each pixel appear much
> bigger.  This isn't really a problem you have, just the nature of pretty
> much any video format I believe.
>

Thanks for your reply so fast!!

./plaympeg -2 (or --double) filename >>>>doubles the original resolution of
the mpeg. It seems the other options, -s wxh  (or --scale whx) for example
perform the same way. I was trying to find out (and I did) if the option was a
function of the software, or the library (which in this case it is the latter
- SDL) In essence, you've created 4 pixels from 1. However, the nature of my
original question (now that I know more about it than I did before) was what
performs interpolation, if any. That is the answer I seek.

<snip>

>
> > #3. does a better video card help, which ones, better>worse, and what
> > defines better or worse from a software point of view? Does the software
> > determine if the hardware can accelerates the playback?
>
> Drivers (software) do in part determine how well the hardware performs.  In
> your situation, unless the playback is 'choppy' there is no problem with
> your video card or software.

I'm not sure if I can agree or disageee with this yet. Hardware acceleration
(although an MPEG is 2D, not 3D) may be something that helps with this
interpolation....I found this......

"The 352 x 240 resolution is typically scaled and interpolated. (Scaling
causes a blocky appearance when one pixel - scaled up - becomes four pixels of
the same colour value. Interpolation blends adjacent pixels by interposing
pixels with 'best-guess' colour values.) Most graphics chips can scale the
picture for full-screen playback......."

>
> > a blue/white G3 using Quicktime all the time, full screen etc, and have
> > never seen this problem before.
>
> Perhaps macs change screen resolution to the resolution of the movie
>

Nope, I can tell Quicktime Player to playback the file full screen, and there
is definitely a difference between the Linux box, and the Mac (the Mac being
much much better).

>
> Hope to see you at an upcoming meeting and don't be emberassed to ask
> questions!

I'll be there I hope. Thanks again :-)

Rich