*My* Response from HTC on 30fps

[jrun]

Here is what HTC said to me in a reply to questions about the the 30fps limitation.

"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. This is a hardware limitation rather than software. It is 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."

 

[Braaainz]

Sounds like the hdmi out is capped but that doesn't explain the cap on the phones screen. I agree with others... they should be able to lift the cap when plugged in.

 

[MannyZ28]

Ok...well, I will never use my HDMI....can't they just turn it off? I mean, you can turn everything else on and off with just software, why can't they just disable this cap when HDMI is not being used, and turn it on when needed? I guess I don't quite understand how driver interface uses all those resources when the HDMI port is not in use? Uuuh??

It's always something....can't they just make a phone without any perceived weaknesses?

 

[Darth Mo]

Ok...well, I will never use my HDMI....can't they just turn it off? I mean, you can turn everything else on and off with just software, why can't they just disable this cap when HDMI is not being used, and turn it on when needed? I guess I don't quite understand how driver interface uses all those resources when the HDMI port is not in use? Uuuh??

It's always something....can't they just make a phone without any perceived weaknesses?

I think what they are saying is that the hardware that drives the HDMI out is the same hardware that drives the screen. So, as a result, the built-in screen gets the same cap.

Seems like a bad idea to compromise performance for other things on the phone for something trivial like HDMI out.

 

[Kedar]

Yeah... the answer seems somewhat legit than the "we're working on a fix" answer I've been seeing around.

Movies run at that fps because of motion blur. Too bad our UI and the games we play don't have that...

 

[MannyZ28]

Sigh....

 

[Brett636]

So according to that answer we are stuck with it? How many of you are returning your EVO because of this?

 

[akarol]

I don't want to, but I might have to. That's just ridiculous. Especially when Froyo is right around the corner.

 

[Robbie317]

So according to that answer we are stuck with it? How many of you are returning your EVO because of this?

30 fps every thing looks great to me.. I don't play high tech 3D games so it's irrelevant to me. I have just a couple of "FREE" games and they are only there if I am sitting in a waiting room trying to pass some time.

As much as they push the iPhone, iPod touch and now the EVO as a gaming platform I just don't see it. Same with Movies.. Yeah I will watch a movie or video if I am stuck on an airplane or sitting in the waiting room at the doctors office or the Auto shop but if given the chance I will play games either on my 23" computer screen or my 55" HD Television....

NO, I won't return my EVO because it's limited to 30 fps.... Plenty...

 

[sniffs]

there's a huge diff in performance from the Droid Incredible to the same spec'd HTC EVO.

The Droid Incredible is much faster, this is totally noticible in just about everything you do. Switching screens, bringing down the notification bar, games, apps.. It does TV out also.. I think their excuse is shenanigans.

 

[Brett636]

30 fps every thing looks great to me.. I don't play high tech 3D games so it's irrelevant to me. I have just a couple of "FREE" games and they are only there if I am sitting in a waiting room trying to pass some time.

As much as they push the iPhone, iPod touch and now the EVO as a gaming platform I just don't see it. Same with Movies.. Yeah I will watch a movie or video if I am stuck on an airplane or sitting in the waiting room at the doctors office or the Auto shop but if given the chance I will play games either on my 23" computer screen or my 55" HD Television....

NO, I won't return my EVO because it's limited to 30 fps.... Plenty...

For a lot of people here that does seem to be a big deal. The phone has been hobbled because of a feature that really amounts to a marketing gimmick than a true benefit. I wouldn't blame some of these people for returning their phones and either waiting for the next great android phone to come to the market or switching to a carrier which already has one.

 

[RayStinkle]

the shame of it is the UI is what brings the most enjoyment to your device. the user interacts with every level of the phone thru the UI, and now its always gonna be in the back of your mind as an annoyance. jsut scrolling lists and switching screens i can see choppy movement compared to a nexus.

 

[Yourdogsdead]

I would gladly give up the HDMI out in order to get better graphics performance. I don't really plan on using that feature that much anyway.

 

[xorbe]

Here is what HTC said to me in a reply to questions about the the 30fps limitation.

"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. This is a hardware limitation rather than software. It is 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."

Sounds like spin to me.

 

[Kedar]

Before you return your Evo, e-mail HTC yourself.

You don't want to return a phone that ends up getting updates to fix those things.

 

[eagle63]

What will be interesting will be to see if the upcoming Droid X (which also has HDMI out) will have this same "hardware limitation." If not, I predict lots of angry emails to HTC...

 

[sniffs]

I bet it has more to do with the screen size and the battery life.

limit the FPS to 30 and your GPU is using less power than 60fps..

Like I entioned eariler, the Incredible has tv out and we arent seeing these limitations and choppyness like we are on the EVO.

It's not even that bad.. but having both devices you notice it. The EVO is still a zippy little device, just that when compared to the Incredible you can tell the difference.

 

[joek1971]

Froyo fixes this and HTC is coming out with a fix for this, I had a Sprint rep call me and she told that Sprint & HTC are aware of this problem and fix is in the works, she called me back cause I emailed Dan Hesse to complain.

 

[eagle63]

Froyo fixes this and HTC is coming out with a fix for this, I had a Sprint rep call me and she told that Sprint & HTC are aware of this problem and fix is in the works, she called me back cause I emailed Dan Hesse to complain.

She probably thought this was the screen-sensitivity issue that HTC has already publicly acknowledged that they are fixing. (http://www.androidcentral.com/htc-said-be-working-another-software-update-evo-4g)

Trust me, she didn't have any inside knowledge.

 

[MannyZ28]

I bet it has more to do with the screen size and the battery life.

limit the FPS to 30 and your GPU is using less power than 60fps..

Like I entioned eariler, the Incredible has tv out and we arent seeing these limitations and choppyness like we are on the EVO.

It's not even that bad.. but having both devices you notice it. The EVO is still a zippy little device, just that when compared to the Incredible you can tell the difference.

The Incredible does NOT have an HDMI port, and neither does the Nexus 1. It's the HDMI port that causes the problem. So, I am looking forward to the Droid X coming out, because it does have an HDMI port, and if it can do 60 fps, then motorola found a way around it that HTC couldn't do, or the whole HDMI thing is just hogwash. If the Droid X does have the same problem, well, then I guess we won't have to be envious of it and it will prove that HTC was right. Now, keep in mind though that the Droid X will have a 1 Ghz TI Omap 3630 CPU with a PowerVR GPU, so, things will be different.