GFX: Overview of current state (gpu decoding + gpu rendering)

[star-buck]

@davidedmundson :
What drivers are in latest img 20171221 used?
Since things like systemsettings have slowed down again, video is flickering, and we still have all those text-based glitches, can we switch to something thats working without compromising on video and compare any supposedely plasma slowdowns?

[davidedmundson]

There are 3 relevant settings, all interlinked but somewhat separate.

Qt GL backend: opengl | opengles
Kwin: Not compositing | XRender | GL
X: fbturbo | DRM

The Plasma 5.5 images were:
Qt GL: opengl
Kwin: not compositing
X: fbturbo

---

Netrunner 20171221 uses:
Qt GL: opengles
Kwin: GL
X: DRM

---

Latest neon image is using:
Qt GL: opengles
Kwin: xrender
X: DRM

---

Switching Qt (which we 100% want) causes Kwin to think it can use a faster system, which then glitches unless you force it back. Neon does this, but my fix for that for netrunner seems to have been moved.

I shall make sure that's in the next release. It'll fix the text glitches and so on and be exactly on par with Neon.

Hopefully that means we won't need to switch any other drivers, but that's up to you.

[davidedmundson]

@shadeslayer re-fixed forcing kwin to xrender.

[shadeslayer]

We force xrender in the Pinebook images now.

I can however confirm that video playback seems to have gotten worse since the 17.10 images. The entire desktop blacks out for me. Could it be due a upgrade to Plasma 5.11.4?

[star-buck]

yes, video playback has gotten really choppy.
how about you try and experimenting on netrunner with the fbturbo/GL combo

[davidedmundson]

how about you try and experimenting on netrunner with the fbturbo/GL combo,

Changing the Qt GL Backend is something we 100% don't want. It's a change I made because it's correct. Reverting will give the 20+seconds systemsettings startup (plus slow KCMs etc.) that you had back in Berlin.

It is known that video is hardware accelerated when using the fbturbo X driver, but not the DRM driver.

If video acceleration is more important than fast Plasma, then we can do that.
Personally I've not seen the pinebook with this driver as that change was made before my time.

I shall write up instructions on that.

[davidedmundson]

I tried this evening making an image with the disp driver, so we can see the impact with everything else set up.
But it's taken longer than I thought. It requires so much of the stack changing. Will have some time tomorrow, but not too much.