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XBMC, Plex, and Boxee all shift around 5-10 pixels on plasma after HDMI re-sync

post #1 of 6
1/13/11 at 8:10am
Thread Starter 
2010 Mac mini running 10.6.3 and Plex, Boxee, and XBMC, hooked up via HDMI to a Denon AVR which does the HDMI switching. The Mac mini is set to output 720p. The Denon AVR is hooked up to a Pioneer plasma with a native resolution of 1366 x 768p. No underscan is set on the Mac mini, therefore there is a good amount of overscan occurring.

After switching back to the Mac mini after being on another HDMI source such as a DVR, Boxee, Plex and XBMC seem to 'shift' 5 to 10 pixels either right, left, top, or bottom. I started noticing this behavior when I was viewing a movie, and I noticed a thin black line on the right side. I would then redo the Video Calibration in XBMC, Plex, or Boxee. Then after watching the DVR or some other HDMI source, I would switch back over to the Mac mini and would then notice that the clock at the top of the screen was slightly cut off. This caused me to notice this whole 'shifiting' issue going on. When I go back into Video Calibration on XBMC, Boxee, or Plex, the same numerical x-y offsets I previously set appear for the top left corner and the bottom left corner, only the calibration arrows/corners are in a different, offset position, relative to how the screen 'shifted'.

Has anyone else noticed this issue?

I bought this Mac mini strictly as an HTPC. I may have to sell it if there is no solution to this. It's really annoying to have to redo Video Calibration every time I HDMI switch over to the Mac mini. Damn. Such a nice machine.
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post #2 of 6
1/13/11 at 8:26am
Adam, I've come across that behavior reported a bunch of times with different Mac, AVR and TV combinations, so it's not unique to you or your software. You'll have to decide what's most important to you. Most of us here would say send the video directly to your plasma, there's really no reason other than perceived convenience to force it through an AVR first, or you could get a Gefen HDMI Detective, which might remedy the AVR switching sync problem.

Good luck.
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post #3 of 6
1/13/11 at 9:40am
Thread Starter 
Would SwitchResX emulate a HDMI Detective?

Is there an way to make the HDMI 'sync' the same way every time?
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post #4 of 6
1/13/11 at 12:14pm
Quote:


The Mac mini is set to output 720p.

oh, Adam, quick question, why do you have your mini desktop set to 720p (1280 x 720) when the native res of your display is 1366 x 768?
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post #5 of 6
1/13/11 at 12:23pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by chefklc View Post

oh, Adam, quick question, why do you have your mini desktop set to 720p (1280 x 720) when the native res of your display is 1366 x 768?

My plasma is a Pioneer PDP-6070, 60" plasma. I think it is actually 1365 x 768 if that one pixel matters... It takes 720p at 60hz and 1080p at 24hz (not 60hz). I wish it would take 1080p at 60hz, but it doesn't, so the next best thing is 720p @ 60Hz.

My Popcorn Hour A-110 box outputs to the Pioneer PDP-6070 at 720p at 60hz over HDMI and it does just fine. No weird screen shifting or anything like I am experiencing on this mini.

My Sony DHG-HDD500 outputs over HDMI natively so the Pioneer will receive the signal as either 1080i, 720p, or 480i. No problems here either.

It's just the mini that is giving trouble.

What other options do I have to output out of the mini? The Pioneer can only take 1080i, 1080p (24Hz only), 720p, 480p, and 480i. I don't think it can take a custom PC resolution input over HDMI.

**Edit**
From the Pioneer PDP-6070 User manual, this is what it can take over HDMI-
Input signal correlation table
1920x1080i@59.94/60Hz
720x480p@59.94/60Hz
1280x720p@59.94/60Hz
720(1440)x480i@59.94/60Hz
1920x1080p@24Hz
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post #6 of 6
3/15/12 at 12:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by acribb View Post

2010 Mac mini running 10.6.3 and Plex, Boxee, and XBMC, hooked up via HDMI to a Denon AVR which does the HDMI switching. The Mac mini is set to output 720p. The Denon AVR is hooked up to a Pioneer plasma with a native resolution of 1366 x 768p. No underscan is set on the Mac mini, therefore there is a good amount of overscan occurring.

After switching back to the Mac mini after being on another HDMI source such as a DVR, Boxee, Plex and XBMC seem to 'shift' 5 to 10 pixels either right, left, top, or bottom. I started noticing this behavior when I was viewing a movie, and I noticed a thin black line on the right side. I would then redo the Video Calibration in XBMC, Plex, or Boxee. Then after watching the DVR or some other HDMI source, I would switch back over to the Mac mini and would then notice that the clock at the top of the screen was slightly cut off. This caused me to notice this whole 'shifiting' issue going on. When I go back into Video Calibration on XBMC, Boxee, or Plex, the same numerical x-y offsets I previously set appear for the top left corner and the bottom left corner, only the calibration arrows/corners are in a different, offset position, relative to how the screen 'shifted'.

Has anyone else noticed this issue?

I bought this Mac mini strictly as an HTPC. I may have to sell it if there is no solution to this. It's really annoying to have to redo Video Calibration every time I HDMI switch over to the Mac mini. Damn. Such a nice machine.

I know is probably a bit late but I came across this post while looking for something and thought I had to give my 2 cents worth...

I experience the same pixel shifting you describe and I believe you can turn it off in the options menu for the TV. My samsung plasma does the same thing regardless of what input is selected. It's a screen-burn saving feature. Mine is set on 10 minutes. If it doesn't work then perhaps it is XBMC's own code buried deep within to save Plasma TV's that is recognised by the EDID coming from the TV.
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