> > > If you have the cycles to spare, you can get a very smooth picture
> > > from "mplayer" by applying the post-processing filters, e.g. "mplayer
> > > -vop pp -npp de".
> >
> > Hm...interestingly, this particular option causes visible banding in
> > subtly-shaded regions.  (At least on a 16bpp display...maybe it looks
> > better on 24bpp?)
>
> Maybe "-noslices" would help? No doubt, it's hardware dependent. My

I mean color-banding.  E.g., a person leans forward, and you can see a
bright center and sharp boundaries down to the next lower color on his
clothes.

Without the postprocessing, the surface looks smooth.

I assume that the "de" option is for "despeckle" (it doesn't seem to be
documented in the man-page, and I haven't checked the other documentation
for it).  If it smoothes out the colors, then that would explain the
banding that I see on my display.  (The "speckles" would give a
dithering/shading effect.)


> K6-2/Voodoo 3 can only use the postprocessor on small files. (Don't
> have a DVD player on that one.) Sometimes "-vop pp -npp fa" works
> better. What happens when I give the processor too much to do is that
> it degrades into "slide-show-mode"; I've never seen banding.

It's not a performance matter, here.  It's a quality of image matter.  (^&

It might look better in 24bpp, though.


  ``I probably don't know what I'm talking about.'' --rauch@math.rice.edu