Tesla TV apps (Netflix etc) frame rate = bad.

[WilliamG]

Serious question:

How does anyone watch anything in any serious manner in their Tesla? For example, the frame-rate is so poor/uneven it's maddening. For something advertised as the best place to watch movies etc, I'm amazed there's been zero improvement for this over the years. It was bad in the Model 3, and it's still bad in the new Model S. For those sensitive to frame times and frame-rates, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Stutter stutter stutter. It's really easy to see, especially in scrolling tickers in e.g. Fox Sports 1.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

[shamoo]

You may be in the minority here, as I've never had a problem. Nobody I personally know has problems either. This is also the first post I've personally seen about this issue.

Some questions/comments:
- Are you sitting on your driveway on your home wifi? Maybe the signal isn't that strong and the car is going in between wifi and LTE.
- Is this issue happening everywhere? Sometimes cell signal is just bad in certain areas and that's just life.
- Have you asked Tesla Service to look at it? Maybe there is a legitimate problem with yours.

 

[WilliamG]

You may be in the minority here, as I've never had a problem. Nobody I personally know has problems either. This is also the first post I've personally seen about this issue.

Some questions/comments:
- Are you sitting on your driveway on your home wifi? Maybe the signal isn't that strong and the car is going in between wifi and LTE.
- Is this issue happening everywhere? Sometimes cell signal is just bad in certain areas and that's just life.
- Have you asked Tesla Service to look at it? Maybe there is a legitimate problem with yours.

I'm not in the minority. Every Tesla I've tested in has the same issue, including my 2019 Model 3 Performance, my 2021 Model S Plaid, and my 2022 Model S Plaid. It's nothing to do with cell signal or bad WiFi or anything like that. I'm very sensitive to uneven frame pacing, so it just doesn't bother most, I'd wager. If you're obsessive about clean frame rates, proper 23.976hz playback of 24p content etc, Tesla's entertainment playback will bother the living heck out of you, mark my words.

 

[father_of_6]

I've never tried watching any of the streaming services, but some of the games (Skyforce Reloaded) performed *much* worse after the v11 update. I suspect that streaming video was also smoother beforehand.

They started shipping the MCU3 (Ryzen) hardware in cars, then pushed a major update that caused a lot of jank for the older cars. Seems like a really crappy thing to do to people.

 

[Hayseed_MS]

No issues here.

 

[WilliamG]

No issues here.

I'll grab a video of... the video in my car, and I'd wager 99.99999% of people will say there's no issue, either. As mentioned, you're either sensitive to crap frame-rates or you're not. Again, a scrolling ticker in Fox Sports 1 will demonstrate it perfectly, so I'll try and get some videos of it on e.g. my Mac vs the Tesla.

 

[shamoo]

I'm not in the minority. Every Tesla I've tested in has the same issue, including my 2019 Model 3 Performance, my 2021 Model S Plaid, and my 2022 Model S Plaid. It's nothing to do with cell signal or bad WiFi or anything like that. I'm very sensitive to uneven frame pacing, so it just doesn't bother most, I'd wager. If you're obsessive about clean frame rates, proper 23.976hz playback of 24p content etc, Tesla's entertainment playback will bother the living heck out of you, mark my words.

Okay, well let me rephrase. I'm an audiophile and into home theater as well. Does the Tesla screen rival a very good TV designed for home theater? It certainly does not.

Can I tell the difference between a good TV and my Tesla screen when streaming Netflix or higher quality YouTube? A little, yes.

But it doesn't bother me enough since I only use the Tesla screen to watch things very rarely (waiting in the car for some reason) and it is for maybe 10 minutes or less.

So maybe I'm not a valid test subject

 

[WilliamG]

Okay, well let me rephrase. I'm an audiophile and into home theater as well. Does the Tesla screen rival a very good TV designed for home theater? It certainly does not.

Can I tell the difference between a good TV and my Tesla screen when streaming Netflix or higher quality YouTube? A little, yes.

But it doesn't bother me enough since I only use the Tesla screen to watch things very rarely (waiting in the car for some reason) and it is for maybe 10 minutes or less.

So maybe I'm not a valid test subject

Fair enough, and yes it’s certainly good enough for a very casual watch. I’ll get some videos anyway to demonstrate the issue…!

 

[WilliamG]

And here we go. Some videos for you. This was an easy one for frame rate, since there's a 60fps video test on YouTube. It judders in the car, and is silky smooth on e.g. my computer. Furthermore, if you slow these down to 0.25 in YouTube, you can see the Tesla's frame-rate presentation is really, really uneven, for reasons unknown.

Here it is in the car, via YouTube/YouTube TV:

And here's the same feed on my Mac at home:

Here's another video of the YouTube 60fps test, original video here:

Here it is in the Tesla:

And here it is on my Mac, silky smooth:

Hopefully that demonstrates the level of fluidity (or lack thereof) in all Tesla video apps.

@jebinc @Muzzman1 @Hayseed_MS

 

[Muzzman1]

Yeah, I see it, does it bother me. Not so much since I might not spend more than 1 hour a yr watching on that screen.

 

[WilliamG]

Yeah, I see it, does it bother me. Not so much since I might not spend more than 1 hour a yr watching on that screen.

But but but.., Elon said this was the best place to watch! ELON SAID IT!

 

[Hayseed_MS]

No issues here.

 

[snorp]

The sample videos look fine to me, but I’m watching on an iPhone so maybe that has something to do with it.

Also, I’m guessing I’m not sensitive to that sort of thing. I’ve never heard of that before. Sounds like you have a superpower.

 

[WilliamG]

The sample videos look fine to me, but I’m watching on an iPhone so maybe that has something to do with it.

Also, I’m guessing I’m not sensitive to that sort of thing. I’ve never heard of that before. Sounds like you have a superpower.

I can tell easily on an iPhone, too. I guess if you can’t see it, I can’t tell you that you do.

 

[beatle]

I can see the differences in the videos. It's important to make sure your display will show at least 60fps and that YouTube is actually showing a 60p feed. I wouldn't say the car looks terrible while watching sports, but it's noticeable.

The framerate checker tells a measured story. I stepped through the recording and counted 11 dropped frames in one of the rotations of the dial. Didn't really feel like doing it more than once.

I wonder what framerate the screen is supposed to be running?

 

[WilliamG]

I can see the differences in the videos. It's important to make sure your display will show at least 60fps and that YouTube is actually showing a 60p feed. I wouldn't say the car looks terrible while watching sports, but it's noticeable.

The framerate checker tells a measured story. I stepped through the recording and counted 11 dropped frames in one of the rotations of the dial. Didn't really feel like doing it more than once.

I wonder what framerate the screen is supposed to be running?

Thank you for the measurement. 11 dropped frames in one rotation is insanity. What does your 2019 Model S Performance do in these videos, out of interest?

 

[snorp]

I’ve watched the test videos at least a dozen times and don’t see a difference. I’ll look at it again on my Mac tomorrow.

I believe you that there is a problem, but I find it interesting that I can’t perceive it.

 

[WilliamG]

I’ve watched the test videos at least a dozen times and don’t see a difference. I’ll look at it again on my Mac tomorrow.

I believe you that there is a problem, but I find it interesting that I can’t perceive it.

Sure thing. It does prove the point, though, that some people are just not going to notice it or not be bothered enough about it even if they do.

 

[vcor]

...Furthermore, if you slow these down to 0.25 in YouTube, you can see the Tesla's frame-rate presentation is really, really uneven, for reasons unknown....

Are your other laptop tests done over WiFi in the car or were they done closer to your router with a far stronger signal? If both devices are not in the same location it could explain the differences you are seeing. Wifi performance can drop off quickly with distance.

It would seem Tesla offers the best video - as I'm unaware of any other car that offers these features. Perhaps in the future, some other competitor will offer it, but right now, it seems Tesla is the only game in town. Maybe Lucid offers in-car video? Don't have one handy to test.

 

[WilliamG]

Are your other laptop tests done over WiFi in the car or were they done closer to your router with a far stronger signal? If both devices are not in the same location it could explain the differences you are seeing. Wifi performance can drop off quickly with distance.

It would seem Tesla offers the best video - as I'm unaware of any other car that offers these features. Perhaps in the future, some other competitor will offer it, but right now, it seems Tesla is the only game in town. Maybe Lucid offers in-car video? Don't have one handy to test.

Tests were done over WiFi in the car. Doesn't make a difference. Does it over LTE or WiFi. The issue is not with the connection.