[mythtv-users] Blue-abstract update and applying for the competition

[Michael T. Dean]

On 01/31/2010 01:38 AM, Phill Edwards wrote:
>> Are you using current 0.22-fixes, or are you using the pre-release
>> snapshot that ships with Ubuntu 9.10?  If the latter, update to current
>> 0.22-fixes (not trunk), and it may work fine for you with the Qt
>> painter.  I can't remember if http://svn.mythtv.org/trac/changeset/22440
>> is the changeset that allows the theme's icon's to work with the Qt
>> painter, but if so, it looks like it went into trunk before -fixes was
>> branched.  If nothing else, it should work in 0.23, when released.
>>     
> I'm using the ATrpms repo, stable release. Perhaps it hasn't made it
> through to there yet.
>   

I've since found out that's not the changeset.  It's only in trunk, so
you'll have to wait for 0.23 if you want to use the Qt painter with that
theme.  Until then, you'll have to change one or the other.

>>> Problem for me is that if I use OpenGL
>>> the user interface runs really, really slowly. Would a more grunty
>>> video card fix that, or is it a system CPU bottleneck?
>>>       
>> More likely you need a video card with better drivers (or properly
>> installed/configured drivers).  Only "fake" graphics cards (such as the
>> PVR-350 TV out or maybe some off-brand, super-old (1990's era), or
>> possibly some super-basic, off-brand old integrated graphics) should
>> have hardware issues.  Most everything else comes down to video drivers
>> that don't support OpenGL.  (All that assumes direct rendering--not
>> network display, like X forwarding or VNC or ...)
>>     
> I'm running an nVidia card - Gigabyte GV-N52128DS nVIDIA GeForce
> FX5200 so it should be using pretty stable and up to date drivers from
> ATrpms. It's only 128MB so do you think that could be the problem -
> just too weedy a card? I don't have any other issues with X so I'd be
> surprised if it's an X-server config issue.
>   

The FX5200 should be fine for the OpenGL used in the menus (as it's a
very simple transition effect). I used a 128MB GF4MX440 at
1920x1080 at 60Hz without issue.  The UI was sometimes slow, but not from
the OpenGL (it was equally slow with the Qt painter--I think it was due
more to the 256MB of system (not video) RAM and swapping data to/from
disk).  That said, the Goom visualizer and the MythGallery OpenGL were
too much for the card at that resolution.

If it is the OpenGL that's slowing things down, I'd guess that your
nvidia drivers aren't properly/fully installed/configured (which seems
to happen quite often when installed from packages).  I'd ask some other
people who use your distro for tips/pointers.

Mike