How can I get VLC to output smooth video to my TV?

[blinkie]

Hi

I'd be grateful for any help or suggestions for what settings to alter. I have my nice old MacBook pro - hdmi - big tv. The video is not very smooth. It's not like it's stuttering or choppy, it's more as if there are frame skips. Could this be down to different frame rates between the movie file, the vlc output and my PAL tv? How does one go about determining and, hopefully, correcting?

Thank you in advance for your time,

B

 

[Audit13]

Does the video play smoothly on another device?

Does it play smoothly when not connected to the TV?

How was the file encoded?

 

[Ruggy]

I am assuming it plays properly from VLC when you watch it only on the mac and you are using screen mirroring. You clearly know how it works as you’ve clearly got a picture.
So then the TV should pick up the signal from the HDMI and adjust the resolution to match.
If it is a very old TV or is somehow set up not to automatically do this then it’s possible there’s a mis-match (but they usually do).
In the set up menu for the TV there should be settings for TV resolution and somewhere there will be settings for the HDMI input too.
So from there the easiest thing is to make sure it’s set to auto detect. I can't be more specific because these things vary a bit from TV to TV etc.
I doubt that PAL is the problem but if it’s set to 1080p for example and doesn’t have an automatic detect then something like that could be it. If that’s the case I would try 720p and see if that’s better. If that works then you can try a higher resolution although I doubt the output from the mac will be 1080i or 1080p but really I have no idea on the information given.
You may also want to try changing the interlace settings and if there is a comb filter.
In either case whatever it's on switch it to the other to see if it makes a difference but never do more than one thing at a time, try it and if it doesn't solve the problem put it back the way it was before trying the next thing. Take photos of the screen settings to remind yourself before you change anything.
You may also want to check if the TV is interpolating the input to a higher resolution. If it is turn that off as it might be that too but I doubt it.
It’s also worth trying a different cable. I have had trouble with some cables on the mac. I have had themcut out, on and off but not stutter but I wouldn't be surprised if it was a bad cable. Also try a different TV if possible as that will give you a lot more information.
If it works ok on the mac alone and you've got it to work by screen mirroring, then it's unlikely to be anything on the mac.
That’s how I would go about it and build up more info from there.
Best I can do.

 

[blinkie]

That’s how I would go about it and build up more info from there.
Best I can do.

Ruggy,

That's a terrific help. Thank you very much. I'll work my way through your suggestions.

B