Nvidia WHQL 296.10 = 29/59 bug..Again (Workaround FIX!)

[newfiend]

There is a Workaround for the problem though as found here on WEC http://experts.windows.com/frms/windows ... 02998.aspx
The thing is.. I dont think anyone should have to go to this length to fix a Video Card that shoulld Just work! From the looks of things though Ian's workaround fixes the issue. I keep hoping Nvidia will just finally FIX IT!! UGH!
HTH,
newfiend~

Sorry if I post this "elsewhere" as well, but just have some questions on this fix- I have done the debug regedit and the nv_disp.inf fix- I think/hope. My problem is the screen flashes black for a couple of seconds as it resizes itself to "wide" it tells me when I start/stop a tv show recording/blu-ray etc. I fix it by changing "Content type reported to the display" away from autoselect and applying full-screen video. But every time the tv is turned off, auto-select is reapplied. My questions are
1- Is the fix listed above meant to stop this black screen/resize?
2- am I meant to be selecting another option? A DVI option?
3- Having applied the fix- (I think), should I now choose Nvidia settings for everything or allow other devices to control this?
4- I currently have resolution at 1080p & 60hz- should I be changing this?
5- I had my d-value for my reg edit as 2 as my dynamic range was 16-255. The inf. change ends in 1- is that correct- & should I change the range to 0 - 255?

I will get round to listing my specs when I have a moment but I have lastest drivers, Sandybridge i5 and GT540 graphics and a panasonic plasma tv but with the HDMI going through my soundbar amp. Any help much appreciated as very much a novice when it comes to regedit.
I know there is one physical solution- a Geffen device but not about to spend £100 on this.

Hello,
I will try and help you as much as I can.
This fix is for a flicker issue that resides in the current batch of Nvidia Drivers. You can view what the Flicker issue is by watching the YouTube video in my previous posts.
The Flicker issue is present when the content you are watching changes frame rate from 29hz to 59hz durring content playback.
If you have HBO (i am not sure if you do) this channel seems to do it VERY frequently. I also have a recording of Star Wars the Clone Wars that does it. I keep this file to test new Nvidia Driver builds to see if the problem still exists.

I have not done the Regedit fix until tonight. (5/31/12)
After months of crappy driver builds from Nvidia I had finally had enough and decided to try the regedit.
The first thing I did was download and Install Nvidia Driver 301.42 (latest release)
I ran the Installer. During Install I selected Custom > and checked the Box for a Clean Install and continued and finished the Installation.
I then Rebooted the PC.
After reboot I opened Regedit and Ran as Administrator (Right click regedit and select Run as Admin).
I navigated to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE
and created the new keys : Debug & ehPresenter.dll
So I now have this below:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Debug\ehPresenter.dll]
Created and new DWORD String in ehPresenter.dll called NominalRange then right clicked the new string and selected modify and set it to 1 like below
"NominalRange"=dword:1

This will set the Dynamic Range to Full (0-255) This will give you the best color range.
once this is done you can exit Regedit.

Open Nvidia Control Panel
On the Left Under Display Select Adjust Desktop color Settings
On the right Under #2 select Use Nvidia Settings
Under #3 Set Digital Color Format to YCbCr444
Set Content Type Reported to Display to Full Screen Videos.

On the Left Select Adjust Video Color Settings
If you have made any changes here they should be set back to defaults after the new Driver install But you want #2 set to With the Video Player Settings.

You do NOT want to make any adjustments here.. I used to use Nvidia Settings and click advanced and set the Dynamic Range to Full (0-255).. You no longer want to do this as the Registry setting you set up will set the Dynamic Range for Media Center to Full (0-255) for you and give you the best color range for your TV viewing in Media Center.

Save any changes you make in Nvidia Control Panel by selecting Apply in the lower right corner and any pop up boxes that apper to verify changes and then exit Nvidia Control Panel.
Doing this has fixed the Flicker Issue for me completely. I tested with both my test file (clone wars) and HBO while using the Media Center 411 Info screen to verify the frame rate was indeed changing but it did NOT flicker! So the Registry fix did work for me. I did not have to modify the driver files in any way just add the Registry fix by Ian.

To answer your Questions above..
#1 this fix is meant to stop the 59/29 bug or white flickering issue that happens when watching content that constantly switches frame rates durring playback.
Usually setting Content reported to display stops the Black flicker screen resize issue. What Driver version are you currently using? I would try the latest Driver 301.42 and the steps above to see if it fixes your problem, but only if you get white flickering (frame rate changing during playback of content).

#2 No I am using HDMI from HTPC > AVR > TV some of the settings in Ian's driver tweaking are meant to trick your HDMI into thinking its a DVI connection to get better black levels and is not a necessity.

#3 Read My guide above.. Only tweak the settings I mentioned! You do NOT want to mess with Dynamic Range in Nvidia Control Panel, like I said before this is all set up in the Registry and you should let the Video Player Pick the settings for Dynamic Range.

#4 No that is the correct setting. 1080p and 60Hz is correct as long as your Display is a 1080p display.. I just noticed that your from the UK.. I hope I am right that 60hz is correct for the UK ..Maybe someone from the UK can confirm that 60Hz is indeed correct as I live in the U.S.
#5 The Dynamic Range is best set to 1 which is Full (0-255) for the best color range. This is also outlined in the instructions I posted above.

I hope this helps you out. I hope that the latest Driver package stops the Content Type reported to display from reverting back to default settings. If not let me know. What brand of Video Card are you using? I have a EVGA GT430 and I do not have that issue.

Post back and let me know how you get on.
Tons of Thanks goes out to Ian at WEC.. His workaround fixed the 59/29 bug for me on the latest Nvidia Driver Build
Thanks Ian!!
newfiend~

[cjmccarthy72]

Thanks for taking the time to answer this. I have a OEM GT540- comes with my ASRock 3D Vision (Sandybridge). As you mentioned I have the latest drivers (301.42). I have hopefully followed all of the suggestions from the orginial post +yours. The Adjust Video Colour Settings still says Limited 16 - 255 and is greyed out/unchangable with the "with the video player settings" despite the regedit- is it meant to change it or does it change it "under the hood". But I can't get Full-Screen Video to stay as the setting- it defaults back to Auto-select when the TV is turned off!! The only thing I can think of is that running hdmi via my amp is causing this problem perhaps?

[newfiend]

Things I would check.. Does the AVR have the ability to be updated via Ethernet? Some of the newer TV's have this ability as well. Check for the latest updates/firmwares for the TV and AVR. If that is not an option your next best option is going to be a Geffen HDMI detective. I know you don't want to hear this but It would fix the issue. The driver is somehow loosing the monitor/TV and reverting back to defaults. Are there any options on the AVR for Video passthrough.. or something similar.. Thats a strange bug but your not the only one with the problem, from the nvidia forums there are lots with the same issue.
Sorry I coudn't help more on that issue.
What TV and AVR are you using?
newfiend~

[CyberSimian]

I currently have resolution at 1080p & 60hz- should I be changing this?

I just noticed that you are from the UK.. I hope I am right that 60hz is correct for the UK ..Maybe someone from the UK can confirm that 60Hz is indeed correct

See this thread for a discussion about refresh rates in the UK and Europe:

http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... f=5&t=2010

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

[cjmccarthy72]

Thanks to New Friend and CyberSimian for your comments
My plamsa is 2008 Freesat/Freeview version- TH42 or something like that off the top of my head. My soundbar is the YSP2200. I have tried all the settings on both and yes it is almost certainly too many handshake issues that probably only a Geffen device would solve. It is just a shame that the Nvidia software won't stay at Full Screen Video. I can't say the "fix" listed on Windows Expert has made any difference- assuming I have done it all correctly.

As for the 50Hz/60Hz debate, I read that with interest- I have experimented with both for a while- I can't say I have ever noticed a real difference and certainly it does not stop my problem of my screen going black for 1 or 2 seconds as it plays/stops media content. Rather strangely the Nivdia software reports my set for UK Panasonic plasma tv to have a native resolution of 1980p but 30Hz....

It is more just a nuisance than a real problem of course. Besides I am moving from London to Texas in August for at least two years-I am taking my ASRock 3D Vision with me- it is going in my hand luggage! So I will see what issues my US TV causes me over there- be warned I will posting on this site many questions on American set-ups once I am there!

[newfiend]

Thanks for taking the time to answer this. I have a OEM GT540- comes with my ASRock 3D Vision (Sandybridge). As you mentioned I have the latest drivers (301.42). I have hopefully followed all of the suggestions from the orginial post +yours. The Adjust Video Colour Settings still says Limited 16 - 255 and is greyed out/unchangable with the "with the video player settings" despite the regedit- is it meant to change it or does it change it "under the hood". But I can't get Full-Screen Video to stay as the setting- it defaults back to Auto-select when the TV is turned off!! The only thing I can think of is that running hdmi via my amp is causing this problem perhaps?

It's no problem..
Once you select With the video player settings in Nvidia Control Panel The Video player (WMC) will select the best Dynamic Range, This is what the Regedit we applied does.. When you open MC it selects the best Dynamic Range from the registry entry we created and sets it to Full (0-255) because we set the DWORD to 1 which = Full (0-255) Instead of using the Nvidia Settings which seem to be causing the white flicker problem that plagues Nvidia's drivers as of late.

So in a nutshell yes it's changed automatically (under the hood as you put it) by WMC in the registry every time its opened and is set to Full(0-255).
Since you can't get Full Screen Video's to stick.. have you tried a different Video Card? The GT430 (EVGA) is an inexpensive alternative you could pick one up cheap enough and test to see if just swaping out the card would fix your Full Screen Videos issue... The Geffen HDMI detective should fix the problem as well as it retains the TV EDID and your video card should stop trying to detect a new display each time it restarts and retain the Full Screen Videos setting..

As another Test have you tried removing the AVR from the set up and ran HDMI straight to the TV to see if it is indeed the AVR causing the problem?
If you can hook it straight to the TV and it retains the full screen videos settings after shutting down/rebooting etc.. then the AVR would be the problem. At least this way you can start to narrow down the device actually causing the problem.
HTH,
newfiend~

[CyberSimian]

Rather strangely the Nivdia software reports my set for UK Panasonic plasma tv to have a native resolution of 1980p but 30Hz....

Does the Nvidia software allow you to choose a refresh rate higher than 30Hz (e.g. 50Hz or 60Hz)?

With my Toshiba LCD TV, the Nvidia software claims that the native resolution is 1920x1080, but offers refresh rates of only 25Hz and 30Hz. I asked about it in this thread:

http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... =12&t=1718

and Richard1980 explained that it is because my TV is not capable of 1080p at 50Hz. The best that my TV can do is 1080i at 30Hz. In actual fact the resolution of the panel is 1366x768, so I do not know why the Nvidia software claims that the native resolution is 1920x1080. Perhaps it makes that claim based solely on the fact that I am using an HDMI connection. Either way, I actually run the panel at 1280x720 at 50Hz, but cut down to 1228x690 using the Nvidia "Resize Desktop" facility in order to avoid overscan (which I cannot disable on the TV itself).

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

[lurch66]

Newfiend, I cant thank you enough. I applied the reg edit and I finally have no 29/59 flicker running new nvidia drivers on my gt430. Thanks again!!!!

[tfe691]

I ended switching to an AMD card and my problem went away with the flickering.

[superblast]

newfiend, you are my hero. I recently upgraded my AVR from an Onkyo TX-SR706 to a Marantz SR6006 and afterwards noticed the 29/59 bug on certain channels. The whole screen would turn black for a couple of seconds randomly (but sound continued). I had heard of this issue before but never experienced it firsthand. When I connected the HTPC directly to the TV, I didn't get the black screen but would get the flickering effect. So, I updated the driver to the one you mentioned and applied the reg fix and other settings and the flickering went away after restarting the machine. I then routed it back through the AVR expecting the random black screen issue to be gone but it remained. So, I went into the AVR menu and set it to video pass through (select the HTPC input, then go to Video > Video Convert and set it to Off) and it's all good now. Thanks for sharing your settings! My card is a GT430 btw.

[newfiend]

newfiend, you are my hero. I recently upgraded my AVR from an Onkyo TX-SR706 to a Marantz SR6006 and afterwards noticed the 29/59 bug on certain channels. The whole screen would turn black for a couple of seconds randomly (but sound continued). I had heard of this issue before but never experienced it firsthand. When I connected the HTPC directly to the TV, I didn't get the black screen but would get the flickering effect. So, I updated the driver to the one you mentioned and applied the reg fix and other settings and the flickering went away after restarting the machine. I then routed it back through the AVR expecting the random black screen issue to be gone but it remained. So, I went into the AVR menu and set it to video pass through (select the HTPC input, then go to Video > Video Convert and set it to Off) and it's all good now. Thanks for sharing your settings! My card is a GT430 btw.

Glad that it worked out for you.
I have done some more testing since these posts on later driver builds and will post my knowlege about these below
Nvidia has released two drivers versions:
304.79 BETA which doesn't exhibit the 29/59 bug (as tested with my clone wars 29/59 recording) I actually ran this driver for quite some time w/o issue. It's not perfect by any means but was relatively solid. (tested on GT 430 and GT 640)

Just released 306.02 BETA (Aug 27th, 2012) This driver is also not exibiting the 29/59 bug either (as tested again with my clone wars file with known 29/59 content) So far Nvidia has done well with the last two BETA drivers at fixing the 29/59 bug. (NOTE: Only tested on the GT 640)

I recently rebuilt my HTPC and changed Video Cards to a GT640 (EVGA Single Slot) card. If you are using a Nvidia 500 series or 600 Series card and use TMT 5 to bitstream the audio you will want to read this thread here at Arcsoft : http://www.arcsoft.com/forum/forum_post ... eta-hotfix
and implement the hotfix to support the HD Audio on Blu-Ray Disks. My Gt 640 would not output the HD Audio without the hotfix.
I have not tested TMT 5 with the new 306.02 Nvidia Driver to see if this issue was resolved in the latest Nvidia Driver. I will test later and post my results.

Also If anyone is using older Nvidia Hardware you might want to consider updating the older hardware as Nvidia will no longer be supporting it in future driver builds.. More Info below:
Legacy Support Notification: GeForce 6-series and GeForce 7-series GPUs will be moved to legacy support after GeForce R304 drivers. GeForce R310 drivers (the next major family of drivers) will not support these products. (note that is says 6 Series and 7 Series (older hardware) not 600 series (newer hardware).

newfiend~

[Nukemaster]

Thanks newfiend!

I did the registry key trick and no longer have to be stuck with 16-255. This was on a rather weak ATI 4350 card that does not have any options to enable disable that like my previous 5770 had(swapped it out for the passive 4350 I had collecting dust anyway. No noise and all).

I was just about ready to replace the card over this because blacks that are greys just look awful on everything.

[Napalm]

Does anyone have an issue with the 'content reported to display' setting not staying set after you power your TV on/off?
I'm running the latest NVIDIA drivers, with a 560 Ti. The flickering is gone as soon as I reset it back to 'Full Screen Videos', but unfortunately the setting reverts to default everytime I turn my AVR or TV off then back on. The 'digital color' setting also reverts back to 'RGB' at the same time.

[newfiend]

Does anyone have an issue with the 'content reported to display' setting not staying set after you power your TV on/off?
I'm running the latest NVIDIA drivers, with a 560 Ti. The flickering is gone as soon as I reset it back to 'Full Screen Videos', but unfortunately the setting reverts to default everytime I turn my AVR or TV off then back on. The 'digital color' setting also reverts back to 'RGB' at the same time.

I have seen others report this as well.. After making the changes in Nvidia Control Panel you are clicking Apply in the lower right corner and confirming the changes correct?

If so and it is still not sticking .. Are you hooked up to an AVR or straight to the TV?.. Checked for firmware updates for the AVR/TV?
Does you motherboard have onboard Video? Is it disabled in the Bios if so? If it does try disabling the onboard video.
Motherboard Bios up to date? Latest drivers installed for your board?

Install all the updates for DirectX 9.0c as well here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download ... aspx?id=35

If you have tried all this and it hasn't fixed the problem I would look into a Gefen HDMI Detective http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=8005

newfiend~

[Napalm]

Yes, I am clicking apply, then I close out the NVIDIA settings window and everything is fine. If I reopen the NVIDIA Control Panel, the settings are saved until I turn off the TV. As soon as I turn off the TV, the settings revert back to default. I tested this on my laptop with different drivers and different video card (9800 GTSm) and it does the same thing.
Yes, I am connected through a Yamaha RX-V1800. I have not checked for firmware updates in quite some time, but I will do that.
No, there is no onboard video on my mobo, the drivers and BIOS for this should be up to date - but ill check that again as well.

I installed the NVIDIA 310.xx beta drivers last night and now it seems to be saving the settings, even after turning the TV OFF/ON. I'll report back once i've tested it out some more.

[Napalm]

Ok guys, so it wasn't the beta drivers that made any difference. For my setup anyway, it's dependent upon the sequence of powering the components on, and powering them off.

For powering up, the TV needs to be ON first. It needs to be passed it's 'boot-up' process, waiting to accept a signal, before I turn the AVR ON - Then the settings stay put in NVIDIA control panel, and I do not have any flickering.
For power down, the AVR needs to be shut off first, followed by the TV - then the settings stay put.

This is fine for me, however, teaching the wife to pay it this much attention is going to be a task.

[crawfish]

Ok guys, so it wasn't the beta drivers that made any difference. For my setup anyway, it's dependent upon the sequence of powering the components on, and powering them off.

For powering up, the TV needs to be ON first. It needs to be passed it's 'boot-up' process, waiting to accept a signal, before I turn the AVR ON - Then the settings stay put in NVIDIA control panel, and I do not have any flickering.
For power down, the AVR needs to be shut off first, followed by the TV - then the settings stay put.

This is fine for me, however, teaching the wife to pay it this much attention is going to be a task.

A solution to that should be the Gefen HDMI Detective mentioned previously. Another possible solution would be to connect the PC to the TV directly with HDMI for video and connect the PC to the AVR with optical for audio. You'll get 2 channel lossless and lossy 5 channel DD and DTS that way. You will sacrifice the lossless DD and DTS codecs and 5 channel PCM, however, which may or may not be a big deal for you. This is how I've always connected my PC to my Sony TVs, and it's always worked great. Just for laughs, I recently connected my PC to my AVR directly for the first time ever, and when I turned the AVR off, the TV disappeared from Windows, along with my desktop, which I guess stupid Windows put on the now non-existent monitor. (I run a dual monitor system.) I did get a good laugh out of that and immediately went back to what I've always done, which has always just worked without regard to the order in which things are powered on and off, inputs are switched, etc.

[Moderator note: Comments about Logitech remotes have been split to http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... f=7&t=3572]

[CyberSimian]

For powering up, the TV needs to be ON first. It needs to be passed it's 'boot-up' process, waiting to accept a signal, before I turn the AVR ON - Then the settings stay put in NVIDIA control panel, and I do not have any flickering.

The problem with this arrangement is unattended recordings. When you or a member of your household wants to start watching something in the middle of an unattended recording, the HTPC will be on, but the TV and AVR will be off, and so the Nvidia driver may have lost the setting again.

I have a similar problem, whereby the Nvidia driver sometimes loses the screen resolution if the HTPC wakes up when the TV is switched off (for reasons I won't explain here, I use a customised screen resolution of 1228x690). But my case is amenable to a simple solution -- I define the screen resolution as 1228x690 in Media Center, and then MC always sets that resolution when it starts (I usually wake to the desktop). I don't think that your problem can be solved that way.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

[newfiend]

^ that's a good point.. I would still suggest the Gefen for a more permanent fix.

Sent from my Lumia 920 using Board Express

[chubbyarse]

Hi, just thought I'd add my thanks for this fix.

I've used it to relieve the white flashing on HD content recorded using WMC running on a Acer Revo 3610 Nvidia (ION) using WHQL 306.97 drivers.

The issue was present on 306.97 until I applied the fix.

Cheers