Need smoother video

R

Richard Rodriguez

Guest
I am using Ubuntu 14.04 LTS 32-bit

when I watch Netflix it is kinda choppy

what is this cause and what would be the fix?

better video card?

here are my specs


Ubuntu 14.04 LTS

Memory : 8 GiG
Processor : AMD Athalon(tm) II X4 630 Processor x 4
Graphics : Gallium 0.4 on AMD RV770
OS type 32-bit
Disk 2.0 TB

video card is a 4850 X2 (2 GiG)
 


Have you tried booting another live distro to see whether it is a Ubuntu video driver issue.
 
First step is to check your Xorg.0.log to see if graphics are accelerated. You may need an updated video driver.
 
Can this be tested on Windows just for comparison? Maybe make sure it's not network related?
 
AMD proprietary drivers are like hell and open source drivers doesn't allow hardware video decoding(especially HD videos) which result in choppy playback.. Try to get a Nvidia . They got good proprietary drivers.
 
Actually, from my experience, AMD proprietary drivers can be problematic on some rolling distributions (only when kernel is upgraded, even though there's catalyst-hook to prevent breakage in this case), but they work ok on non-rolling. Last catalyst updates seemed to make their drivers really stable. Besides, FOSS drivers do have hardware accelerated rendering, not as optimized as proprietary; regardless, I have been running FOSS video drivers on one of my laptops for months and I watch high bitrate 1080p videos without issues.

Changing hardware is not the best advice. I'd change drivers and distros first :)

Since the OP was using FOSS when he created the thread, he could try picking AMD drivers on Ubuntu update center. That distribution makes video driver management easy, generally.
 
Yesyesloud said:
Actually, from my experience, AMD proprietary drivers can be problematic on some rolling distributions (only when kernel is upgraded, even though there's catalyst-hook to prevent breakage in this case), but they work ok on non-rolling. Last catalyst updates seemed to make their drivers really stable. Besides, FOSS drivers do have hardware accelerated rendering, not as optimized as proprietary; regardless, I have been running FOSS video drivers on one of my laptops for months and I watch high bitrate 1080p videos without issues.

Changing hardware is not the best advice. I'd change drivers and distros first :)

Since the OP was using FOSS when he created the thread, he could try picking AMD drivers on Ubuntu update center. That distribution makes video driver management easy, generally.
Click to expand...
+1. All graphics drivers/cards have problems. Nvidia is known for having better proprietary but terrible FOSS. AMD vice-versa. BUT that does not mean AMD proprietary drivers are terrible.

Anyway, I have fixed a similar problem on my HTPC using Compton desktop compositing. It may help here. perhaps something like this:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2144468
 
well I think I may try Nvidia, I already have ATI and it blows, it wont let me run proprietary drivers
 
Richard Rodriguez said:
well I think I may try Nvidia, I already have ATI and it blows, it wont let me run proprietary drivers
Click to expand...
I have a GT 520 I got for $50. Works great on my HTPC. 340 nvidia drivers rock. Depending on what you use the PC for a cheap card can be awesome.
 
All my state-of-the-art video devices are AMD and I'm really fine :)
Although I use Slackware and Arch, I had no problems installing proprietary drivers when I ran Ubuntu, its driver management gui is pretty straightforward.

P.S.: @Richard Rodriguez, is there any particular reason why you are using a 32-bit OS?
 
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I ordered the video card suggested by RYANVADE and installed the Nvidia drivers
from the website, it still has the exact same issue...lol
I guess it may be the TV I am using for the monitor
 
it works perfectly in Window$ 7 but the only thing I can think of is Linux doesn't like my TV
 
Richard Rodriguez said:
I am using Ubuntu 14.04 LTS 32-bit
Click to expand...
Richard Rodriguez said:
Processor : AMD Athalon(tm) II X4 630 Processor x 4
Click to expand...
Richard Rodriguez said:
it works perfectly in Window$ 7 but the only thing I can think of is Linux doesn't like my TV
Click to expand...

First of all, you should use a 64-bit operating system. Second, load proprietary video drivers. If it doesn't work, extra configuration is needed.

I have had worse problems, having configured all tweakable video settings on Linux... I truly doubt it doesn't like your tv.

You could also try Manjaro. It will let you install proprietary drivers on setup (I guess it will let you test those drivers on a live cd, too) and its kernel is always more up-to-date than ubuntu's.
 
I am running the proprietary driver...lol
that was my point
it still wont run well

2cpfif9.jpg
 
Alright... There's a major point we forgot: Netflix doesn't always run great on Linux.

Do video files and/or youtube play more smooth?
 
ok I have installed 64 bit Ubuntu and have that card installed and am using the updated Nvidia drivers, but still glitches

Memory : 8 GiG
Processor : AMD Athalon(tm) II X4 630 Processor x 4
Graphics : GeForce GT 430/PCIe/SSE2
OS type 64-bit
Disk 2.0 TB
 
What are you using to stream netflix, linux native software or wine? For better performance, you may want to use Pipelight, which's patched wine+ms silverlight. That's all I can think of for now.
 
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