# Netflix Alpha 3 Quality Issue?



## EricErK (Jun 8, 2011)

Netflix on Alpha 3 is much more grainy, is there a fix, cuz a2 was beautiful hd for me...


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## audinutt (Jul 1, 2011)

I havent seen fix yet and mx player is the same, i reverted back to a2 which i wish i didnt have to.
I did make a cwm backup of a3 in case a fix is released soon.


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## 12paq (Aug 10, 2011)

Are you guys sure it not something on your end? I'm on Alpha 3 and video playback is just fine. I have tested Netflix, Hulu and most recently improved, was the stock browser streaming full screen Amazon Prime video and it was beautiful.


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## zunairryk (Oct 13, 2011)

I have noticed samething on Netflix.


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## audinutt (Jul 1, 2011)

12paq said:


> Are you guys sure it not something on your end? I'm on Alpha 3 and video playback is just fine. I have tested Netflix, Hulu and most recently improved, was the stock browser streaming full screen Amazon Prime video and it was beautiful.


I will attempt a fresh install and report back.


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## EricErK (Jun 8, 2011)

12paq said:


> Are you guys sure it not something on your end? I'm on Alpha 3 and video playback is just fine. I have tested Netflix, Hulu and most recently improved, was the stock browser streaming full screen Amazon Prime video and it was beautiful.


i mean right now its just super pixelated so its kinda disappointing, i mean it bearable


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## Brawlking (Aug 28, 2011)

HBOGO is the same.


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## Watergunz (Oct 29, 2011)

I'm not experiencing any of the above mentioned statements, my Netflix is fine on A3.


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## audinutt (Jul 1, 2011)

I attempted a fresh install, wiped cache, dalvik, factory reset, then flashed alpha 3.....
Result is continued pixelation on Netflix









So I know of nothing else to try.... this happens on both of my 16gb touchpads


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## EricErK (Jun 8, 2011)

Here is the example


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## thomas1097 (Oct 15, 2011)

Are you using a mobile hotspot or have a weak wireless connection when viewing? You bandwith will affect video quality is why I am asking. 4G hotspots are great but not that great for video streaming. Also, weak wireless connection will give you the same results. Try standing close to your router and see for yourself.


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## audinutt (Jul 1, 2011)

thomas1097 said:


> Are you using a mobile hotspot or have a weak wireless connection when viewing? You bandwith will affect video quality is why I am asking. 4G hotspots are great but not that great for video streaming. Also, weak wireless connection will give you the same results. Try standing close to your router and see for yourself.


I am using fios with 30mb/s download and have a great signal less than 10 feet from my router, reverted to alpha 2 and the issues does not exist, it is not a router issue, mx player exhibits pixelation as well on video files that I have on my device.

I wish someone that claims to not have pixelation would do a nandroid backup and upload it somewhere to test..

Its really just grainy quality...


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## EricErK (Jun 8, 2011)

i also have good internet connection, yet pixilation


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## pakkman12 (Oct 13, 2011)

ALso have the same. Its not as clear as it was on A1 or A2. I aslo have the 16GB version


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## zunairryk (Oct 13, 2011)

Reverted back to 2.1 and quality is much better now. So definitely some issue with A3.


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## EricErK (Jun 8, 2011)

I'm on a 32 gb


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## stenhunter (Nov 23, 2011)

I get the same thing with A3. A2.1 was much clearer. It is viewable for sure, just not the best.


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## Martino416 (Oct 19, 2011)

Also have issues with netflix in A3.


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## cyberprashant (Nov 26, 2011)

someone try "where's my water" - it worked great with alpha2. With alpha3 it turns super pixelated and affects all video and graphics in cm7 once it occurs. Reboot fixes it. I think a clean install may have fixed the issue (earlier was alpha2--->alpha3).


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## U-2 (Aug 29, 2011)

I installed A3 via CWM recovery on top of A2.1 and I had the same issue with Netflix quality. I had to go back to A2.1 because of that. Did anybody do a ACME install?


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## I Am Marino (Jul 14, 2011)

Every now and then, the video will be grainy but will improve to perfect quality within 30 seconds.
I'm talking about 1/5 videos.

Overall very pleased.


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## EricErK (Jun 8, 2011)

I Am Marino said:


> Every now and then, the video will be grainy but will improve to perfect quality within 30 seconds.
> I'm talking about 1/5 videos.
> 
> Overall very pleased.


staying grainy for me, The Whole time


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## audinutt (Jul 1, 2011)

Me as well, grainy video issue is still present on netflix and when using mx player


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## EricErK (Jun 8, 2011)

Damn... We need to find a fix, soon


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## 12paq (Aug 10, 2011)

EricErK said:


> Damn... We need to find a fix, soon


Just checking but, you always clear your caches in CWM when upgrading right? When running an Alpha build it's also the first thing I do when I have a bug I can't fix or even just a reboot is enough. Sorry if you already know this.
'hope ur problems clear up soon!


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## biscuits_n_gravy (Nov 28, 2011)

I did a fresh install of Alpha 3. First time for me to try out Android on the Touchpad.

Netflix is extremely pixelated. It almost seems as if it is rendering the video for a lower resolution screen. Like it does not realize the current resolution. You can notice the same pixelation when opening Netflix, the logo looks terrible.

Also, I am on a 12Mbps connection. Netflix on the 55" LCD in the living room is perfect.


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## audinutt (Jul 1, 2011)

12paq said:


> Just checking but, you always clear your caches in CWM when upgrading right? When running an Alpha build it's also the first thing I do when I have a bug I can't fix or even just a reboot is enough. Sorry if you already know this.
> 'hope ur problems clear up soon!


I cleared cache, dalvik, and did a factory reset. Same issue...
Can anyone provide a nandroid backup of their non pixelated cm7 a3 SETUP?


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## audinutt (Jul 1, 2011)

Quick question for those not experiencing pixelation. Did you install alpha 3 via acme installer or clockworkmod recovery?

Trying to figure out why some are not experiencing the pixelation...

Thanks!


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## 12paq (Aug 10, 2011)

audinutt said:


> Quick question for those not experiencing pixelation. Did you install alpha 3 via acme installer or clockworkmod recovery?
> 
> Trying to figure out why some are not experiencing the pixelation...
> 
> Thanks!


After the first install with ACME, its not really needed IMO. I have used CMW for all subsequent upgrades including A3.

.


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## pakkman12 (Oct 13, 2011)

Used ACME to install a1.
Then unistalled and reinstalled a2 with ACME
then CWR a3


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## twiddler (Aug 22, 2011)

Netflix plays perfect for me. I wonder if it's a network issue? I disabled Wireless N in my router and using just BG and that has improved my Touchpad's wireless connection.


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## audinutt (Jul 1, 2011)

it is NOT a network issue, it exhibits this behavior when playing AVI files with MX player....

I wish we had a solution other than more people claiming not to have the issue.

To date, I tried it on 2 seperate TPs both had Alpha 2 on them.
I did apply the SOD fix on both of these... wondering if anyone else not experiencing grainy quality had alpha 2 with SODbegone installed.

I did a factory reset on the one touchpad after experiencing grainy quality, wiped dalvik and cache.

same results.

I installed all updates with clockwordmod recovery...

I don't know what else to try maybe reflash it tonight after a factory reset and will post back..

-rich


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## audinutt (Jul 1, 2011)

Ok, i booted into clockword mod, wipedata, cache, dalvik, reflashed alpha 3, wiped data, cache dalvik again for good measures. then reflashed a second time just to make sure...

Still getting grainy video, it's not horrible but it was SHARP and still is on Alpha 2. Alpha 3's video is tolerable for most, but i'm an audio/video phile so stuff like this makes me nuts









-Richard


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## twiddler (Aug 22, 2011)

I'm not having this problem with Netflix, it looks great on my TP. I'm using Orientation Control, but not sure if that makes a difference.


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## EricErK (Jun 8, 2011)

i tried to "@" Dalingrin, With no luck... May be fixed in a4 or a3.1-9


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## nedav (Oct 13, 2011)

I have tried 2 different HPTPs running A3 with same results. It is not Netflix. It is video on A3.


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## thomas1097 (Oct 15, 2011)

I actually tried it out on my Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket and my wife's EVO and the picture is still pixelated....interesting...sounds like a network issue to me.


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## I Am Marino (Jul 14, 2011)

So what would make some people have issues and others absolutely none, assuming we're all running the same A3?


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## nedav (Oct 13, 2011)

thomas1097 said:


> I actually tried it out on my Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket and my wife's EVO and the picture is still pixelated....interesting...sounds like a network issue to me.


My download speed was 71Mbps and upload was 68Mbps... doubt it is the connection.


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## biscuits_n_gravy (Nov 28, 2011)

Watching HD netflix on my 55" and PS3 right now, crystal clear.

I can stop the PS3 and move to the TP, looks terrible.

Tried at our network lab at work, 100Mbps down and up, looks terrible. Then tested on a desktop with a 24" monitor, looked great. Definitely a TP issue.

Also tried a slew of settings with our access points and controller, QoS and so forth. No change. The network is not an issue.

Could be issue with my installation.


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## zoink (Nov 4, 2011)

I have noticied it too after my recent upgrade from A2.1 to A3. I will double check the network, but at the time I was playing video there was no network activity. (802.11g)


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## twiddler (Aug 22, 2011)

If your Touchpad is connecting to Wireless N you may see high latencies which can cause problems with Streaming Video. Switch to Wireless G only in your router and see if that helps.


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## thomas1097 (Oct 15, 2011)

twiddler said:


> If your Touchpad is connecting to Wireless N you may see high latencies which can cause problems with Streaming Video. Switch to Wireless G only in your router and see if that helps.


Nope


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## sidm2k11 (Oct 31, 2011)

Video is screwed up in A3, plain and simple. Look at the main thread: people who have upgraded via CWM or done a fresh install via ACME are having this problem. Some people reported luck in using the hw decoder with dice player to work for some mkv files (not avis) but seems to work on and off. This is the biggest single drawback of A3: poor video.


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## knicksfan6 (Oct 29, 2011)

Same with Mobo player, I was going to make a thread, but looks like someone already did.


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## HankB (Aug 24, 2011)

twiddler said:


> If your Touchpad is connecting to Wireless N you may see high latencies which can cause problems with Streaming Video. Switch to Wireless G only in your router and see if that helps.


I could not even log in to Netflix until I switched from G to N. Using N, Netflix looks a bit pixelated. I can't say how this compares to A2 because I did not have Netflix working on A3. It certainly looks more pixelated than what I see on a 55" plasma screen.

As an aside, is there any way to get the TP to only use G rather than degrade everything on my LAN to G?

thanks,
hank


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## nedav (Oct 13, 2011)

HankB said:


> I could not even log in to Netflix until I switched from G to N. Using N, Netflix looks a bit pixelated. I can't say how this compares to A2 because I did not have Netflix working on A3. It certainly looks more pixelated than what I see on a 55" plasma screen.
> 
> As an aside, is there any way to get the TP to only use G rather than degrade everything on my LAN to G?
> 
> ...


The pixelation is on the HPTP... The problem exists whether the router is G or N.

Cleared cache, restored to last backup of A2, cleared cache, pixelation gone. Cleared cache, restored to A3, cleared cache, pixelation back.


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## bigwavealex (Oct 21, 2011)

Are those of you having pixelation troubles with mx using hardware or software decoding? If hardware try changing to software and see if that helps.

MX Player->Preferences->Decoder->SW Decoding

I also have "Fast" set.

I'm wondering if netflix is now (a3) using hardware decoding when previously (a2, a1) it was using software? I don't see any way of choosing in netflix.

MX looks fine on my tp, netflix looks a little pixelated but it's still plenty watchable as attested by my 2 year old who just ripped the tp from my hands to watch Dora ('It's mine!!' LOL).


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## sidm2k11 (Oct 31, 2011)

It happens regardless of soft, soft (fast) or hardware, we need a fix for this at the OS level. Hoping that the great dev team can spare some time to fix this issue soon.


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## audinutt (Jul 1, 2011)

I tried the xron rom based on alpha 3..... same pixelation with mx player and netflix.


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## EricErK (Jun 8, 2011)

How could we retry the software decoding


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## audinutt (Jul 1, 2011)

I believe I have found a way to fix pixelation. I am using alpha 3.5 and commented out debug.sf.hw=1 in build.prop

and added the following line ro.build.charateristics=tablet

Now netflix looks good and avi's play fine on mx player using SW decoding.


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## EricErK (Jun 8, 2011)

audinutt said:


> I believe I have found a way to fix pixelation. I am using alpha 3.5 and commented out debug.sf.hw=1 in build.prop
> 
> and added the following line ro.build.charateristics=tablet
> 
> Now netflix looks good and avi's play fine on mx player using SW decoding.


could i have the direct line?


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## biscuits_n_gravy (Nov 28, 2011)

Sounds reasonable. It seemed like the TP was trying to play video meant for a phone. Also, were do you modify this? I'm new to the Android scene.









Sent from my Touchpad using Tapatalk


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## kmartshopper (Sep 10, 2011)

audinutt said:


> I believe I have found a way to fix pixelation. I am using alpha 3.5 and commented out debug.sf.hw=1 in build.prop
> 
> and added the following line ro.build.charateristics=tablet
> 
> Now netflix looks good and avi's play fine on mx player using SW decoding.


Thank you - this has been bothering me for so long. I can't believe a simple build.prop edit is all that was needed.


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## audinutt (Jul 1, 2011)

I agree, I have been on alpha 2 until today...
This pixelation was driving me nuts


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## biscuits_n_gravy (Nov 28, 2011)

audinutt said:


> I agree, I have been on alpha 2 until today...
> This pixelation was driving me nuts


Could you kindly tell me were to edit this? I would like to fix this problem, it is really the only issue I have.









Thanks!


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## thomas1097 (Oct 15, 2011)

audinutt said:


> I believe I have found a way to fix pixelation. I am using alpha 3.5 and commented out debug.sf.hw=1 in build.prop
> 
> and added the following line ro.build.charateristics=tablet
> 
> Now netflix looks good and avi's play fine on mx player using SW decoding.


Can you give instructions on how you managed this? I tried adding the "tablet" line but it still didn't work. Is there a specific place to add the line? Please advise.

Also, what you you mean when you say you commented out debug.sf.hw=1?

EDIT: I think I got it. I added the "tablet" line and I deleted the debug.sf.hw=1 line and now it seems that the pixelation has gone away in netflix. Thanks bro!

Sent from my Touchpad using Tapatalk


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## audinutt (Jul 1, 2011)

biscuits_n_gravy said:


> Could you kindly tell me were to edit this? I would like to fix this problem, it is really the only issue I have.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You use root explorer and navigate to /system
Edit the file build.prop

To comment out a line add put the # symbol at the beginning of the line.

I then added the line after the commented out line.


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## thomas1097 (Oct 15, 2011)

audinutt said:


> You use root explorer and navigate to /system
> Edit the file build.prop
> 
> To comment out a line add put the # symbol at the beginning of the line.
> ...


Please forgive my ignorance but I am still not understanding what you mean by "comment" out the line.

Are you doing it this way:

#debug.sf.hw=1
Ro.build.characteristics=tablet

???


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## travisross69 (Dec 3, 2011)

Me too. Would you be able towtite the instructions as steps? Such as:
1. Open root explore
2. Find file XYZ
3. Find line and so forth.

Thanks thus would be a great help!


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## hashish.k (Oct 30, 2011)

thanks works perfectly now.


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## hashish.k (Oct 30, 2011)

Okay! check this link on how to modify build.prop





then open it and replace the "debug.sf.hw=1" line in the file with "ro.build.charateristics=tablet". save a back up and make a nandroid backup before you attempt this.
save the new edited file and restart!
that's all


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## thomas1097 (Oct 15, 2011)

hashish.k said:


> Okay! check this link on how to modify build.prop
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks for the link. I know how to edit the build.prop already. What I am confused about is what he meant by commenting the debug.sf.hw=1 line.

What was explained was to put a # at the beginning of the debug.sf.hw=1 line and then add ro.build.characteristics=tablet underneath that. Is this correct?


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## jkabaseball (Oct 6, 2011)

Correct


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## segadc (Oct 16, 2011)

Looks much better thanks!


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## travisross69 (Dec 3, 2011)

Thianks looks good!


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## biscuits_n_gravy (Nov 28, 2011)

audinutt said:


> I believe I have found a way to fix pixelation. I am using alpha 3.5 and commented out debug.sf.hw=1 in build.prop
> 
> and added the following line ro.build.charateristics=tablet
> 
> Now netflix looks good and avi's play fine on mx player using SW decoding.


Awesome.

I had to do a little work to get CM Recovery installed. There was an issue that the WebOS installation was causing.

Did a backup, then made the changes you pointed out. Way better.

Thanks!


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## audinutt (Jul 1, 2011)

thomas1097 said:


> Please forgive my ignorance but I am still not understanding what you mean by "comment" out the line.
> 
> Are you doing it this way:
> 
> ...


Exactly, then reboot!


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## tribestros (Oct 24, 2011)

I did this and mine is still pixelated...


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## audinutt (Jul 1, 2011)

tribestros said:


> I did this and mine is still pixelated...


Are you runnin alpha 3.5?


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## a_gert (Dec 12, 2011)

I'm assuming the changelog for Alpha 3 indicating a slight 2D/3D performance boost probably relates to that line. debug.sf.hw enables GPU hardware acceleration as best I can tell, possibly for UI specifically. I imagine games breaking/being fixed between Alpha 2 and Alpha 3 might also be related to that line. Not sure if disabling it might affect performance elsewhere on the Touchpad by adding back load to the CPU that was shifted to the GPU.


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## nedav (Oct 13, 2011)

audinutt said:


> I believe I have found a way to fix pixelation. I am using alpha 3.5 and commented out debug.sf.hw=1 in build.prop
> 
> and added the following line ro.build.charateristics=tablet
> 
> Now netflix looks good and avi's play fine on mx player using SW decoding.


Thanks for solving this issue!


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## audinutt (Jul 1, 2011)

nedav said:


> Thanks for solving this issue!


It is more of a workaround but I am glad it is helping others


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## tribestros (Oct 24, 2011)

I'm assuming I did this correctly? On 3.5 and it is still pixelated.


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## segadc (Oct 16, 2011)

Your missing #debug.sf.hw1 which should be between debug.fb.rgb565 = 0 and ro.build.characteristics=tablet


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## cwbarrick1 (Nov 3, 2011)

I am running XRON build B2.2 - do I need to do this? I can not find the referenced line to comment out... so just curious.
Thanks in advance for answering.


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## pakkman12 (Oct 13, 2011)

This worked for me but it broke YouTube. Any one else see this?


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## segadc (Oct 16, 2011)

Nope still works for me. Perhaps you should reinstall youtube.


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