Video problems with Nvidia card

Hi everybody,

I have been playing around with some NES emulators (fceu, nestopia and nnnesterj) and the the games are blurry (in full screen) and "glitchy" (for lack of a better word...for example when I'm playing Mario 3, and I'm running, the there are some lines that flash like there is a problem with the refresh or something). Here is my setup:

AMD Athlon 64 FX-60
2GB PC3200 RAM
EVGA Geforce 8800 GTS
Acer p241w LCD
WinXP Pro SP2

I used to have a CRT with Radeon video card, and I never had these problems. I have tried adjusting the resolution in windows and in the emulator, messing around with the settings in the nvidia control panel, changing the settings in the emulator itself (disabling hardware acceleration in fceu did clear the blurry problem in windowed mode, but I still have problems in full screen with blurand the "glitchy" problem is still there). Stretching the image instead of having the black areas on the sides helped a *little*. I've spent many hours looking online for a solution, and have found other posts that mention issues with nvidia cards...I have not tried looking for an updated driver (currently 6.14.11.6921 from December 2007 is installed). I can play MAME perfectly in full screen with no video problems.

I think the problem may be with my LCD display or my video card settings...ultimately I would like to be able to play in full screen (either stretched or not) or close to full screen without any video problems (I know emulation will never be perfect, but I'm sure it can be better with my setup). I would really appreciate any and all help anyone would be able to give me.

Thanks!

Mike

The blur is normal. It's a filter applied by your video card and/or LCD screen. Anyway, you could try checking the video configuration of your emulator. And the flashing line it's completely normal too. The real NES also show those lines.

Thanks very much for your help. Do you have an idea what setting I could change in fceu to get rid of the blur?

Also, do these problems exist on CRT monitors? I do not recall seeing them a while ago when using emulators.

Ok, I just played Mega Man, and the "flashing" I guess can be described more as choppy video. I have both Mega Man and SMB 3 for NES, and neither have this problem on the real system. I will upload a video as soon as I figure out how to capture my desktop. Any other ideas?

Thanks!

No other suggestions? I am still trying to figure out how to capture some video, I believe I will need to download some 3rd party software

Hi everybody,

Sorry I keep responding to myself. I installed the newest driver for my video card, downloaded the new fceux, and set my desktop to a plain background. I got it to the point to where I only get blurry line all the way across the screen that goes from teh bottom to the top when I'm running...

Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do to get rid of it?

Thanks very much!

Mike

Its difficult to understand what its doing from that description. Could be a refresh rate issue especially if you are using an LCD panel.

You could try using Fraps to capture some video or alternatively use the PrntScrn key to capture some screen shots if it will show the effect in a static screenshot.

Without pics or vid its going to be very hard to identify your problem from your description.

Sounds like a resolution problem (bunching the "full" scaled image upon the screen). Have you tried different video resolutions (modes), either same as desktop or of a smaller...?

Hi guys,

Thank you very much for your suggestions. I have tried changing the resolution on both video and in the emu (ie. emulator went from 320(default) to 800x600, 1024x768...and I have tried lowering the resolution on my video card (from default 1920x1200).

Yes, it is an LCD ( 24"), i have a feeling that may have something to do with it.

I took a video, but unfortunately when I watched it a few times, the lines appeared at different times, so I'm afraid nobody else will see them Please tell me what you think:

http://www.filefactory.com/file/bd2a6a/n/mario_ripple_video_zip

thanks very much again

The problem is probably that your LCD will be running at around a 60hz refresh rate and the emulator is probably set up to run at something different. This will cause issues with tearing and scrolling. Couldn't see anything described as Blurring unless you are referring to jerky scrolling which again if it isn't just the way the original NES game behaved would point to a refresh rate mismatch.

As a final point, the download you've provided includes a copy of the game rom. I would suggest removing that PDQ as it breaches the sites rules.

I'm very sorry about that..I'm trying to take the link down now.

It could very well have to do with the refresh rate difference, my LCD only supports 60hz. Any idea how to lower the refresh rate in fceu?

Thank you

Remember, emulation isn't perfect, nor never will or gone to be. Lets look at it this way, your taking something that was designed to run at a certain speed onto another environment of unrecognizable speeds, causing jerks, pulls, pauses, etc. For example, lets take a plant. It's use to an environment that's 80 degrees and some sunlight, while moving it in another that's either 100 degrees very bright or 60 degrees very dark, it's going to behave in a strange way - hence changing color, withering, while struggling to adapt to survive in a unrecognizable environment (possible causing it to die - though not relating to a electric here...). Look at emulation in the same way, it's unstable, therefore there's nothing you can do about it - There will be expected issues...

Now this is like comparing apples to oranges here, but this does the same on Super Metroid on ZSNES, unexpected glitches jumping at the sides or tops of the screen while moving onto the next area (Being pretty much my point on the subject)...

Desert Drifter said:

Remember, emulation isn't perfect, nor never will or gone to be. Lets look at it this way, your taking something that was designed to run at a certain speed onto another environment of unrecognizable speeds, causing jerks, pulls, pauses, etc. For example, lets take a plant. It's use to an environment that's 80 degrees and some sunlight, while moving it in another that's either 100 degrees very bright or 60 degrees very dark, it's going to behave in a strange way - hence changing color, withering, while struggling to adapt to survive in a unrecognizable environment (possible causing it to die - though not relating to a electric here...). Look at emulation in the same way, it's unstable, therefore there's nothing you can do about it - There will be expected issues...

Now this is like comparing apples to oranges here, but this does the same on Super Metroid on ZSNES, unexpected glitches jumping at the sides or tops of the screen while moving onto the next area (Being pretty much my point on the subject)...

Click to expand...

Hi,

Thanks for your input. That does make sense, and I know issues should be expected, but I do not recall having this issue with my old setup (which I no longer have) running a 22" CRT and ATI video card. It almost makes playing unenjoyable (which I never felt before).

If you were to play Mario Bros. 1 on FCEU, for example, run across the screen. Do you see a blurry line (almost like a ripple) across the screen, that starts at the bottom of the screen, then works its way up to the top of the screen? This is what I am trying to resolve.

I know my hardware is more than fast enough to handle an NES emu. At this point I'm leaning toward the problem being my monitor, but unfortunately I have no way to prove it at this point. I will be going to my parents house next month sometime to image an older PC for my sisters, and there is a CRT over there. I'll bring my computer and see if the CRT causes a problem. My ultimate resolution may be to buy a CRT and setup a dual monitor setup on my vid card and use that for emus (if I find that my monitor is the problem).

It looks like we have done all we can do at this point. I appreciate everyone's help on this...I guess I just have to wait until I can test with a CRT

Thanks,

Mike

Ok, I tried the newest version of JNes, and the blurry line does not scroll through games. The only problem is the color is a little off and a little more blurry than FCEU; however, it is much less annoying that what I was experiencing before. If anyone has an Nvidia card with an LCD and is experiencing the same problem as me, try JNes.