SMPlayer, VLCPlayer, BSPlayer - Common Problem

[FortySixand2]

Hi

I'm pretty sure this is a driver problem. I downloaded SMPlayer so I could watch all my media files, but it seems to be having problems displaying the video, particularly with mkvs.

I've found that when trying to play videos while using the gl driver, the video appears as solid white, with sound. If I switch the preferences to play with direct3D, I get no picture whatsoever, but I do get sound. However, if I switch the player to play using the directX driver, I do get picture and sound.

The problem here, though, is that when I enter full screen mode, the picture becomes jagged around the edges. Since I don't really know how to explain it, and can't take snapshots, I did up a quick image in photoshop to help explain:

It displays fine when in windowed mode:
View image: good.jpg

But appears jagged when in fullscreen mode:
View image: bad.jpg

I assume this is due to DirectX not being optimal for resizing. I used gl on Vista with great results, but as I said that doesn't seem to work on 7.

Thinking it might be just a problem with SMPlayer, I also downloaded VLCplayer and BSPlayer. I had the same issues of jagged full screen with both of those programs, so I'm certain it has to do with my computer, and not SMPlayer itself.

Since I'm a poor college kid my laptop is my primary dvd player, so I really need full screen to work.

 

[Tex Zero]

Seems to be a common issue with Windows 7 and some video players. With VLC, try selecting Windows GDI video output from the video settings preferences.

Alternatively, install a codec pack and use Windows Media Player.

 

[FortySixand2]

Nope. Tried both your suggestions and I still get the jagged edges on full screen.

 

[Orbital Shark]

I would recommend using Shark007.net - Windows 7 Codecs and see if that helps solve your issue

 

[mickey megabyte]

...or try kmplayer - you won't need any external codecs for this.

i assume you are using the latest drivers for your card?

 

[FortySixand2]

I finally fixed the problem. Since Tex Zero said it seems to be a common problem, and when I search google for answers all I found was unanswered forum posts like my one, I thought I'd explain how I got it working.

So it definitely wasn't a codec problem. Like I said in my first post, the files themselves played perfectly in windowed mode of all the media players, but when in full screen mode the picture became jagged around the edges. This was unrelated to the player, as the same problem occurred in SMPlayer, VLCPlayer, MPC, Windows Media Player, BSPlayer, etc.

Before posting for help, I had used Device Manager to update my graphics card (Nvidia GeForce 8600M) drivers. I thought this would make everything up to date.

But it didn't. Maybe some of you have already tried Device Manager and discovered it doesn't work well and already know this, or maybe it was just this one instance, I don't know since I'd never used Device Manager before.

I finally tracked down the most up to date driver off of NVIDIA's website, and that fixed my problem right up. If you're experiencing this problem, and have an NVIDIA card, you can get them here: Drivers - Download NVIDIA Drivers

It was such an easy fix that I feel kind of dumb since it took me so long to figure out. Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions you guys gave.