Pixel for Pixel HD Video Playback rMBP

[wlossw]

So guys I have searched high and low and have been unable to find a solution to the following...

I want to play full quality videos (1080p, 720p etc) on my Retina Macbook and have them render pixel for pixel without changing the "best for retina" settings.

I have tried both VLC and MplayerX and although both have nice retina friendly UI, I don't think they are rendering video at the native 2880x1800 resolution... they behave as though my screen is 1440x900

Any thoughts or solutions other than to play videos in Final Cut X?

 

[wlossw]

So has anyone found a pixel perfect retina video player or what?

 

[wlossw]

Wow, no one else is interested in playing video in a pixel perfect window with the "best for retina" setting enabled?

To clarify I mean leaving the display at a 1440x900 equilelant, while playing 1920x1080 in a pixel perfect window. (Like 2/3 of the screen).

 

[frimp]

+1

 

[br3nt]

not really useful, but during the keynote of the Retina launch, didn't they show final cut pro X running full hd pixel for pixel?

Other than that i don't have the solution you want - only changing screen res to 2880x1800.. makes the topmenu pretty unusable though

 

[bill-p]

In VLC:

Navigate to menu bar -> Choose Video -> Choose Half Size

Alternatively, press Command + 0 on your keyboard

Same with just about any other video player, really. I use MplayerX whenever I'm not so critical about downsampling DTS and Dolby Surround to stereo.

Extra note: only works for "Best For Retina" resolution.

 

[Ultra AleM]

So if I want to play at native res a 720p on Quicktime I have got to press cmd+0?

 

[jozeppy26]

I've looked into this quite a bit myself and have been left ultimately confused and completely unsure. I did change the resolution to native 2880 x 1800, play a 4k video in VLC at fullscreen and take a screen shot (using the VLC feature, not the OSX screenshot feature), then I repeated but at the 1440 x 900 resolution. I compared both photos in photoshop and preview and noticed no difference (resolution of the frame was the same). Again, this was with a Sony sample 4k video.

 

[bill-p]

So if I want to play at native res a 720p on Quicktime I have got to press cmd+0?

If you're in QuickTime, God helps you...

Use VLC or MPlayerX instead if you want to have native 1:1 videos.

I've looked into this quite a bit myself and have been left ultimately confused and completely unsure. I did change the resolution to native 2880 x 1800, play a 4k video in VLC at fullscreen and take a screen shot (using the VLC feature, not the OSX screenshot feature), then I repeated but at the 1440 x 900 resolution. I compared both photos in photoshop and preview and noticed no difference (resolution of the frame was the same). Again, this was with a Sony sample 4k video.

Use OSX screenshot and then use the Marquee tool in Photoshop. While you're dragging the Marquee tool, it shows the dimensions of the selection, so you can check to see whether the window frame is indeed in its native resolution.

 

[jozeppy26]

The OSX screenshot would show 2880x1800 in both cases, regardless if the video player was retina aware or not.

I just really hope VLC and QuickTime aren't scaling down a video to 1440x900 so the OS can scale it back up again using the new lower resolution scaled video being displayed by the player.

 

[bill-p]

The OSX screenshot would show 2880x1800 in both cases, regardless if the video player was retina aware or not.

I just really hope VLC and QuickTime aren't scaling down a video to 1440x900 so the OS can scale it back up again using the new lower resolution scaled video being displayed by the player.

You can measure the windows of the players inside that 2880x1800 screenshot to see if the dimensions match the native resolution of the video. Unless you're talking about screenshot of a fullscreen video.

And if the player supports Retina, then the output should be 4K.

It's actually more of a performance penalty trying to scale a video to 1440 x 900 and then back up to 2880 x 1800.

And also I have played back a 4K video clip in VLC, MPlayerX, and QuickTime to verify that the output is indeed 4K scaled down to fit the resolution.

Alternative test: take that 4K sample and re-encode it at 1080p. The difference between the original and the new downscaled re-encoded clip should be obviously noticeable. Especially at fullscreen. I tried that as well.

 

[jozeppy26]

You can measure the windows of the players inside that 2880x1800 screenshot to see if the dimensions match the native resolution of the video. Unless you're talking about screenshot of a fullscreen video.

And if the player supports Retina, then the output should be 4K.

It's actually more of a performance penalty trying to scale a video to 1440 x 900 and then back up to 2880 x 1800.

And also I have played back a 4K video clip in VLC, MPlayerX, and QuickTime to verify that the output is indeed 4K scaled down to fit the resolution.

Alternative test: take that 4K sample and re-encode it at 1080p. The difference between the original and the new downscaled re-encoded clip should be obviously noticeable. I tried that as well.

Sweet! Great news then. And as if it wasn't obvious, 4k looks flipping amazing on a rMBP!

 

[ipodlover77]

This is exactly the thread I was looking for.

So to be sure, even if you're running at a scaled resolution on the rMBP, if you play a 4k video (or a 1080p video) on VLC, will it play at the native resolution of that video or will it be scaled to the resolution you're running on the computer.

 

[bill-p]

This is exactly the thread I was looking for.

So to be sure, even if you're running at a scaled resolution on the rMBP, if you play a 4k video (or a 1080p video) on VLC, will it play at the native resolution of that video or will it be scaled to the resolution you're running on the computer.

The video is decoded to its full resolution (1080p or 4K) in hardware, and then the output is scaled to the actual screen resolution in software.

I usually don't say thing in a matter of fact manner, but that's exactly what happens.

And the hardware video decoder is built into the GPU. Intel HD 4000 is fast enough that it can decode and output 4K with relative ease. It doesn't even take a discrete graphics card to do that.

http://youtu.be/_D3iuCsT7zU

So next time someone makes a comment about the Retina MacBooks not having enough GPU horsepower to push the display, you know what to say.