Annoyances with Intel (Sandy Bridge) video

[Max]

I recently installed Mga1 x86_64 on my laptop.
I noticed a couple of things with the video:
1) Flash video inside Firefox often skips. As in, plays normally for 5-10 seconds, freezes the video for one second while audio continues, then skips the video to where the audio is.
2) Playing any video file (mkv, avi, mpeg, mp4) in fullscreen in any player (Dragon, Gnome frontend for mplayer, smplayer) has the exact same results.

I have turned off compositing and all desktop effects. It does not matter if the laptop is plugged into the power adapter or not.
This leads me to believe that the issue is with the kernel modules, since in Windows it does not have this behavior.
uname:

Code: Select all

Linux localhost.localdomain 2.6.38.8-desktop-9.mga #1 SMP Tue Dec 20 09:45:44 UTC 2011 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux


lshw:

Code: Select all

*-display
             description: VGA compatible controller
             product: Sandy Bridge Integrated Graphics Controller
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 2
             bus info: pci@0000:00:02.0
             version: 09
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: msi pm vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom
             configuration: driver=i915 latency=0
             resources: irq:40 memory:c0000000-c03fffff memory:b0000000-bfffffff ioport:4000(size=64)

Any thoughts?

[David_Batson]

This is what worked for me.
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1423&p=10127

I also have installed vaapi-driver-i965 for accelerated video.

[Max]

Aww nuts.
I hate removing and installing window managers. There is so much opportunity for irreversible breakage...

[David_Batson]

I am using KDE in Mageia 1. Installing compiz was pretty painless for me as far as I recall. I am using KDE with compiz as the window manager instead of kwin.

[Max]

Just installing compiz through through urpmi? What did you need to configure? And does it make a difference for x86 or x86_64?

[doktor5000]

Max, you can easily do it via drak3d, which you can start from MCC -> Hardware -> Configure 3D Desktop effects.
Has been there for some years. And no, why should it make any difference between i586 or x86_64?

[David_Batson]

I installed the following from MCC > Install & Remove Software:
{BTW, I am using 64-bit Mageia 1 KDE}

Code: Select all

lib64compiz0-0.8.6-3.mga1
compiz-fusion-plugins-extra-0.8.6-3.mga1
lib64compizconfig-python-0.8.4-3.mga1
compiz-decorator-kde4-0.8.6-3.mga1
lib64compizconfig0-0.8.4-4.mga1
compiz-fusion-2010.0-3.mga1
compiz-0.8.6-3.mga1
compiz-fusion-plugins-main-0.8.6-3.mga1
compiz-decorator-gtk-0.8.6-3.mga1
compiz-fusion-plugins-unsupported-0.8.4-1.3.mga1
fusion-icon-0.1-2.2.mga1

To autostart, do the following:
Create text file as root /home/~/.kde4/Autostart/fusion-icon.desktop with the following contents.

Code: Select all

[Desktop Entry]
 Comment=
 Comment[en_US]=
 Encoding=UTF-8
 Exec[$e]=fusion-icon
 GenericName=
 GenericName[en_US]=
 Icon=exec
 MimeType=
 Name=fusion-icon
 Name[en_US]=fusion-icon
 Path[$e]=
 StartupNotify=true
 Terminal=false
 TerminalOptions=
 Type=Application
 X-DCOP-ServiceType=
 X-KDE-SubstituteUID=false
 X-KDE-Username=V

Still have a little problem with pager. On reboot it only showed 1 desktop. I
found if I "Add Virtual Desktop" to pager, then 5 desktops appear. Then if I
"Remove Last Virtual Desktop" I am back to 4. Little kludgy, but it seems to
work.

[Max]

Well, I finally got around to trying this.
Compiz installed quickly and efficiently, and all it took from me was a logout.
And it seems to have fixed my problems with the video.
But where do I configure its effects?I don't like the default ones (wobbly windows and no window snapping). The KDE control center configures its own effects, not Compiz. And whenever I try through MCC>Hardware>Configure 3D Deasktop Effects it just shows me that Compiz is selected, and when I click OK it prompts me to logout in order to enable changes. What changes? I can't make any changes!

[David_Batson]

You need to run ccsm (from terminal) or fusion-icon. I run the fusion icon and have it load on boot up. You can right-click on the icon to get to the settings menu.

More info here on a bug report I filed: https://bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=3389

[Max]

ccsm worked, thanks.
After I had installed fusion-icon and tried running it X crashed and did not recover.
I wish I had the time to devote to a bug report and fix attempt, but I really don't.
Let's leave this thread open, and maybe I'll get back to it....

All in all, the x86_64 DVD is a lot buggier than the x86 LiveCD was. I'm not sure whether it's the different hardware (two different laptops) or the lack of non-free kernel modules. Whatever it is, I for one will be more than happy to try out the x86_64 LiveCD for Mga2.
And no, I won't try to run Cauldron. No time to fiddle.

[doktor5000]

@Max: What graphics driver were you using when you tried compiz? nouevau, perhaps? Just check via

Code: Select all

grep -i driver /var/log/Xorg.0.log

[Max]

Graphics driver:

Code: Select all

[    17.749]    X.Org Video Driver: 10.0
[    17.749]    X.Org XInput driver : 12.2
[    17.761] (II) Loading /usr/lib64/xorg/modules/drivers/v4l_drv.so
[    17.772]    ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 10.0
[    17.774] (==) Matched intel as autoconfigured driver 0
[    17.774] (==) Matched vesa as autoconfigured driver 1
[    17.774] (==) Matched fbdev as autoconfigured driver 2
[    17.774] (==) Assigned the driver to the xf86ConfigLayout
[    17.774] (II) Loading /usr/lib64/xorg/modules/drivers/intel_drv.so
[    17.774]    Module class: X.Org Video Driver
[    17.774]    ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 10.0
[    17.775] (II) Loading /usr/lib64/xorg/modules/drivers/vesa_drv.so
[    17.775]    Module class: X.Org Video Driver
[    17.775]    ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 10.0
[    17.775] (II) Loading /usr/lib64/xorg/modules/drivers/fbdev_drv.so
[    17.775]    ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 10.0
[    17.775] (II) v4l driver for Video4Linux
[    17.775] (II) intel: Driver for Intel Integrated Graphics Chipsets: i810,
[    17.775] (II) VESA: driver for VESA chipsets: vesa
[    17.775] (II) FBDEV: driver for framebuffer: fbdev
[    17.859] (II) Loading /usr/lib64/xorg/modules/drivers/intel_drv.so
[    17.859]    ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 10.0
[    17.910] (II) intel(0): [DRI2]   DRI driver: i965
[    17.911] (II) UXA(0): Driver registered support for the following operations:
[    17.968] (II) intel(0): [XvMC] xvmc_vld driver initialized.
[    18.054]    Module class: X.Org XInput Driver
[    18.054]    ABI class: X.Org XInput driver, version 12.2
[    18.054] (II) Using input driver 'evdev' for 'Power Button'
[    18.080] (II) Using input driver 'evdev' for 'Video Bus'
[    18.088] (II) Using input driver 'evdev' for 'Power Button'
[    18.098] (II) No input driver/identifier specified (ignoring)
[    18.102] (II) Using input driver 'evdev' for 'AT Translated Set 2 keyboard'
[    18.110]    Module class: X.Org XInput Driver
[    18.110]    ABI class: X.Org XInput driver, version 12.2
[    18.110] (II) Using input driver 'synaptics' for 'SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad'
[    18.221] (II) Using input driver 'synaptics' for 'SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad'
[    30.152] (II) No input driver/identifier specified (ignoring)
[    30.164] (II) Using input driver 'evdev' for 'Logitech USB Receiver'
[    30.221] (II) Using input driver 'evdev' for 'TOSHIBA Web Camera - MP'


After a suggestion on IRC I tried vaapi with kwin instead of Compiz, and that seems to be working better.

[Max]

Actually no.
The problem is an intermittent one. After hibernating my laptop for most of the day and waking it up, it once again is producing the same problems. Both with Flash and regular video.