HTC admits the 30fps limit is software because of the HDMI port

[dfine1966]

Don't know if anyone saw this about the 30FPS limit, but Boy Genius and Android Guys reported this.

Here is a quick outline. This is from a high-ranking member of HTC's Media Relations.

They were advised that the frame rate cap is hardware related, although the cap itself is imposed by the EVO's software. The reason for the limitation is directly related to the EVO's HDMI port, which, they were told, requires a sizable portion of the Snapdragon processor's output in order to operate. Subsequently, a limit needs to be placed on the amount of the processor's output that is allocated to the display.

It is speculated that to correct the problem HTC will need to release an update that automatically adjusts the EVO's frame rate when an HDMI cord is inserted into the phone.

Here are the links to the articles:

HTC provides explanation for 30FPS limitation of the HTC EVO 4G ? Boy Genius Report

Official Update on the HTC EVO 4G 30 FPS Issue | AndroidGuys

 

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

That's interesting. I wonder if they will release an update to address the issue? It doesn't really matter to me, but it would be interesting to see what happens.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

I posted a while ago that my response from HTC was that they are "investigating reports that this is a software issue" and that if their investigation proves this then they will make an announcement. I guess this is as close as we'll get.

 

[rem_kujawa]

It would be nice to limit while using the HDMI port, then uncap while not.

 

[Darth Mo]

Is it frightening that the engineering team over at HTC didn't see this as a potential issue?

Did they really expect that many people to be plugging their phone into their TVs?

 

[Kedar]

@iamlilysdad

I got the same response from Htc. I sent them two long emails describing how it affects usage, lol.

 

[quickV]

it seems like a no brainer to make it only 30 when plugging in. i'm sure they could fix this... i hope

 

[milominderbinde]

Great find! Thanks for the links.

 

[Sh3ngLong]

Is it frightening that the engineering team over at HTC didn't see this as a potential issue?

Did they really expect that many people to be plugging their phone into their TVs?

I hear ya. By looking at the results so far from your poll, almost everyone said they'll never use the HDMI port. Hopefully HTC has this capped framerate issue at the top of their priority list.

 

[r-nice]

I wonder how many would use the feature if a cable came with the package.

 

[cliberti]

Basic logic. Should be easy of the controller chip will recognize a simple if or statement.

 

[Darth Mo]

Basic logic. Should be easy of the controller chip will recognize a simple if or statement.

Well, not likely that simple, but they took the easy way out and just capped everything across the board.

 

[digink#AC]

Well, not likely that simple, but they took the easy way out and just capped everything across the board.

Yeah but it also wouldn't be that difficult either. I mean you're only restricting the screen rate, from what we know now, under one scenario.

I hope they have something when they send out Froyo.

 

[Darth Mo]

Yeah but it also wouldn't be that difficult either. I mean you're only restricting the screen rate, from what we know now, under one scenario.

I hope they have something when they send out Froyo.

Yeah, but the same hardware that powers the regular display also drives the HDMI port.

They've said that the display uses a portion of the main CPU, so it will take some work to make sure the display doesn't drag down too much of the CPU which could affect all the processes and services running in the background.

Not sure if you remember back when something seemingly innocuous like a poorly designed animated gif could drag down a system capable of running early 3D games. Runaway code can cripple any hardware.

I doubt it will take a feat of genius software engineering, but it's going to be more than a few if or while statements when you're dealing with an OS that accepts pretty much any software from coders at any skill level.

Perhaps the cap was put there until Froyo is ready to avoid going to the trouble of optimizing the code twice. Maybe with Froyo the processing ability will be there to run free without the cap on either the display or the HDMI out.

 

[docprego]

Seems like such an easy and obvious fix;

Cable is plugged in=HDMI is enabled and the frame rate is therefore capped at 30.
No cable plugged in=HDMI is disabled and the frame rate is uncapped.

What amazes me is that HTC had to think this would go unnoticed. How can any company today think any issue, no matter how minor will be overlooked? Are we to believe that they just didn't see this as an issue?

 

[Brett636]

I would have to agree. Seems a little silly to limit the entire phone's capabilities in order to supplement one feature that amounts to nothing more than a marketing gimmick. The hdmi port on my phone has seen no use whatsoever, and honestly it will probably get very little use over the lifetime of the phone. I have yet to even begin looking into buying the cable for it.

 

[chaosrecords]

You guys also need to keep in mind that we are the minority.

People who go on forums, self-educate, tinker, dabble with things like rooting and customizing probably represent 5% of HTC's Customer Base.

If you took all the people who own HTC handsets then compare them to all the individual registered users of all the major messageboards, here, xda, etc... It would probably be 1-2%

The majority of people are dumb people using smartphones. Its true.
Big companies like HTC know this, it takes a certain number of complaints from the community for one manager to say "hey they are catching on to this we should probably make an announcement"

Remember the other 90% of people that have this phone or any HTC phone are either business people who just use it for email, teens who want to look cool, people who dont even know half the stuff the phone can do, and soccer moms. Most of those people dont know even what FPS is.

This is why we voice our opinions on forums, PR look at these forums, when something gets spread out enough through all the community channels then you will get action.

 

[hodedofome]

Here's a copy of an email I received from HTC:

I Understand you are concerned with your HTC EVO 4G being locked at 30 Frames per Second. We have looked into this issue and it is because the EVO 4G employs a unique HDMI output to deliver video in HD quality to an external display, the hardware graphics driver interface on the HTC EVO 4G uses significant resources for the HDMI output and therefore displays graphics at 30 frames per second on the integrated display. This is hardware, and not a software, limitation. It?s important to keep in mind that content including most movies and television, are created to run at between 24 and 30 frames per second. The 30FPS is a hardware limitation. We have found that some games may be impacted by this limitation. Also, the device has been locked at 30 FPS due to enhance overall performance in the device. By lowering the FPS of the device the CPU works less. This increases the battery life of the device.

To send a reply to this message or let me know I have successfully answered your question log in to our ContactUs site using your email address and your ticket number 10USCW27ENA000859.

Sincerely,

Lisa

HTC

 

[dannydos]

i too sent an email to HTC....i asked about the battery charging problem, the 30fps cap and froyo....

Dear "dannydos"

Hi, I'm Victor, and I will be glad to assist you today. I do apologize that you have issues with your device. You can charge your device the following way to help get your battery at 100%. 1. Connect the phone to the charger and charge the device until the LED turned green with the phone powered ON 2. Disconnect the phone, and power it off. 3. Reconnect the phone to the charger, and charged the device until the LED turns green again. 4. Disconnect the phone, power it on, and then power it off. 5. Reconnect the phone to the charger and charge until the LED turns green again. 6. Power on and use. Since the HTC EVO 4G employs a unique HDMI output to deliver video in HD quality to an external display, the hardware graphics driver interface on the HTC EVO 4G uses significant resources for the HDMI output and therefore displays graphics at 30 frames per second on the integrated display. We are investigating the viability of claims that the limitation of 30fps can be overcome by software changes. As soon as we finish our investigations, HTC will announce its findings. Before releasing a ROM update we have to be sure that the software is going to work properly on your hardware and on your carrier?s network. This testing does take some time but will result in an update that is optimized to work on your device, on your carrier?s network. While we want to release software as soon as we can we will only do so once the software has passed our quality standards. At this time we do not have any information about an update for your device. When the update is released it will be announced on HTC.com. If you?d like we can also take your information and contact you once an update has been released. If you have any other questions feel free to reply. You may also enjoy HTC Community - Join the HTC Mobile Phone Community Online, our customer-based forum, which has a plethora of information on HTC devices. I would also like to invite you to participate in a customer satisfaction survey located at HTC Online Survey. I hope you have a great day!

To send a reply to this message or let me know I have successfully answered your question log in to our ContactUs site using your email address and your ticket number .

Sincerely,

Victor

HTC

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[Floridadomer]

Can I ask what I am sure is a stupid question. I just got my HDMI cable and when hooked up to my TV, everything looks like when I used to have a 2mg pixel camera then tried to blow up the picture. Is this due to the 30 frames per second issue? at this point, having the cable seems pretty useless.