Htc releasing firmware update for 30FPS cap... let's be more proactive!

[zamardii12]

So I ran across this great forum post over at xda developers forum, and they are encouraging us to send HTC emails to tell them to release the firmware update for the phone to fix the 30FPS cap which would be great because then there would be nothing holding developers back from making great apps for the phone, and the phone itself will run better too... According to the last update on the OP's post from June 14th, the update is coming but let's continue to write into HTC so they'll send it out asap!

Source: Evo capping all graphics to 30FPS:The reason why graphics performance sucks right now - xda-developers

And for those who don't want to click, here's the entire first post:

Update 6/14/10: Got a call from Dan Hesse's Office(CEO). Here's what happened:

1. Sprint has reached out to HTC about this issue. They acknowledge the problem and said they are working on a Firmware update that will address this. However, they could not give us an exact time frame.

2. The engineer at HTC encouraged us to go to HTC support and send emails to them about this issue so it gets more attention internally, and hopefully speed things up.

Also, I asked her to relay a message to Dan Hesse, Saying that this might not seem like a big deal at first, but it is in fact a huge one. Customers, especially those coming from an iPhone, expect their phones to "just work", and even if they don't notice it at first, that 30fps cap will get them frustrated at some point, and they will erroneously attribute it to developer, the phone or Sprint, hurting everyone in the process.

She also said Sprint wants this resolved, but they are pretty much at HTC's mercy right now.

Alright boys and girls, it's time to bother HTC!
Visit HTC support here:
HTC Mobile Phones - Customer Service - E-mail Support
and send your Email to them.
At this time I would advise against sending "template" emails because once they start receiving several of the same they can just filter them out. Remember, they are a huge company, they have the tools. Speak with your heart this time.


=====================
Update 6/12/10: Check out the end of this post. Help us contact HTC and Sprint about this issue. Even if you don't own an Evo. HTC got away with it twice already. Let's at least make sure this issue is well known. Like a developer said:

Quote:
This is like buying a brand new corvette and finding out it has a governor on it limiting it to 100 horsepower. If a car manufacturer did this, there would be a class action lawsuit instantaneously. Don't be shy guys, let the world know how you feel!
Update 6/11/10: I got a response from one of Sprint's executive team. He has asked the product team to investigate and will follow up with me afterwards. Will keep you guys posted.

HTC is capping all graphics , 2D AND 3D, at only 30fps max. This is having a negative impact on the responsiveness of the system in general, and for developers that rely on real time game development.

See this:
http://groups.google.com/group/andro...0bd2cccc047ac3

And this:
Issue 8942 - android - Sprint/HTC EVO 4G 30FPS cap on 2D (Canvas) and 3D (GL) - Project Hosting on Google Code Please star the issue on that page so more people, and hopefully htc, will be aware of the problem.

I have also tested this app:
http://www.typhon4android.org/androi...roid2dtest-21/

When I run the app, "Clock FPS" is trying to push 60fps but it is limited by the display at 30hz, only to show 30fps max.

This also explains why the evo 4g is consistently getting terrible graphics benchmark scores. The Nexus One, despite having the same processor and gpu, is not affected by this problem.

Is this ever going to be fixed?

============================================
CONTACT SPRINT AND HTC:

Star this issue at Google Code: http://code.google.com/p/android/iss...ummary%20Stars
---------
HTC
Phone number: 1-866-449-8358 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1-866-449-8358 end_of_the_skype_highlighting 7 days a week 6am - 1am EST
Support: HTC - Support - Customer Service - Support via e-Mail
Twitter: @htc
Facebook: www.facebook.com/htc
----------
Sprint
Dan Hesse's Office (CEO): dan@sprint.com
Sprint Cares: sprintcares@sprint.com
Twitter: @Sprint
@sprincare

 

[MrX8503]

Darn, I thought there was new news. I still feel uneasy about the whole thing. I'd like HTC to make an official statement that they are working on the 30fps issue. From what I've read there was a lot of maybes.

 

[zombdroid]

I see this as a non issue. 30fps does not effect the video quality of this phone. Remember, this is a cell phone, not your home entertainment system.

I would recommend anyone that is having a problem with this to shop another phone and/or carrier. This is a phone, not a high definition video player, DVD or Blu-Ray player, but simply a top end telephone with multi-media capibiities.

 

[zamardii12]

I see this as a non issue. 30fps does not effect the video quality of this phone. Remember, this is a cell phone, not your home entertainment system.

I would recommend anyone that is having a problem with this to shop another phone and/or carrier. This is a phone, not a high definition video player, DVD or Blu-Ray player, but simply a top end telephone with multi-media capibiities.

If you just wanted a cell phone, then you should have just bought a Jitterbug. But we all bought the phone for different reasons, but games being one of the advantages of having a phone like this. I know it's not a DS and it's not a dedicated gaming system, but I came from a 3GS and the games are a lot better performance-wise. If there is a cap on graphics, that affects the entire phone. Look at the Nexus One... same GPU and CPU and it performs waaay better than the EVO because it's not limited by anything. If you use a app, it's limited, if you play a video (yes I know it still looks just fine at 30fps) it's limited, and if you play games then it's still limited which is a big turn-off for developers who want to take advantage of the phone's capabilities.

You may not think it's a big deal because you just use the phone to make calls, but for all the other people who bought this as the highest spec phone in cell phone history, with all kinds of multimedia features like YouTube and even HDMI out... your arguement is moot. It's a multimedia device and is sold as such. If it wasn't, then like I said... it might as well be a Jitterbug if you bought this phone to just makes calls.

 

[MrX8503]

I see this as a non issue. 30fps does not effect the video quality of this phone. Remember, this is a cell phone, not your home entertainment system.

I would recommend anyone that is having a problem with this to shop another phone and/or carrier. This is a phone, not a high definition video player, DVD or Blu-Ray player, but simply a top end telephone with multi-media capibiities.

Or...people can buy any other Android device out there and not have the issue.

The EVO has touch lag issues too, so its not just about videos/games. Also scrolling is not smooth.

 

[AJ_EVO]

Things are starting to sound promising compared to a week ago. However, hopefully HTC realizes they need to get this patch out sooner rather than later. Considering HTC doesn't have a perfect track record, there will be a lot of returns if things don't get fixed in the next couple of weeks. They can promise a fix all they want, but a lot of people won't believe it until they see it - and rightfully so. Considering Verizon is doing the Droid X press release in just a few days, a lot of people may ditch the Evo with these unresolved issues looming.

 

[pwnst*r]

If you just wanted a cell phone, then you should have just bought a Jitterbug. But we all bought the phone for different reasons, but games being one of the advantages of having a phone like this. I know it's not a DS and it's not a dedicated gaming system, but I came from a 3GS and the games are a lot better performance-wise. If there is a cap on graphics, that affects the entire phone. Look at the Nexus One... same GPU and CPU and it performs waaay better than the EVO because it's not limited by anything. If you use a app, it's limited, if you play a video (yes I know it still looks just fine at 30fps) it's limited, and if you play games then it's still limited which is a big turn-off for developers who want to take advantage of the phone's capabilities.

You may not think it's a big deal because you just use the phone to make calls, but for all the other people who bought this as the highest spec phone in cell phone history, with all kinds of multimedia features like YouTube and even HDMI out... your arguement is moot. It's a multimedia device and is sold as such. If it wasn't, then like I said... it might as well be a Jitterbug if you bought this phone to just makes calls.

It's a big deal - for the minority.

That being said, HTC should have laid out those specs before hand. How many of you would have bought the EVO after reading it'd be capped at 30fps?

 

[RoboMonkey]

I see this as a non issue. 30fps does not effect the video quality of this phone. Remember, this is a cell phone, not your home entertainment system.

I would recommend anyone that is having a problem with this to shop another phone and/or carrier. This is a phone, not a high definition video player, DVD or Blu-Ray player, but simply a top end telephone with multi-media capibiities.

-- Yea , I don't notice it with normal use, but (you knew I was going to say that right) I was playing a Air Hockey game on my iTouch and then I played one on the EVO. OMG night and day, the EVO was terrible.

No I'm not a apple fanboy the only reason I have it is because my son got a new iTouch and gave me his old one. + 30 FPS would be nice for games.

 

[zamardii12]

Things are starting to sound promising compared to a week ago. However, hopefully HTC realizes they need to get this patch out sooner rather than later. Considering HTC doesn't have a perfect track record, there will be a lot of returns if things don't get fixed in the next couple of weeks. They can promise a fix all they want, but a lot of people won't believe it until they see it - and rightfully so. Considering Verizon is doing the Droid X press release in just a few days, a lot of people may ditch the Evo with these unresolved issues looming.

They did release the patch for the memory card issues very quickly, and if they're already working on a patch for this then I imagine it'll be out soon. Just write into them a quick message and tell them to fix the problem. The more people do it the better.

 

[MrX8503]

It's a big deal - for the minority.

That being said, HTC should have laid out those specs before hand. How many of you would have bought the EVO after reading it'd be capped at 30fps?

I probably wouldn't of bought my EVO. I'm actually going through the hassle of returning it as we speak because of it.

I just don't think I could be happy with the EVO knowing that the Droid X, Samsung Galaxy S, or even the Incredible are better performers.

 

[YaBoiD]

Same way I'm feeling ^^^^^

 

[rjjr2531]

i did my part

 

[zamardii12]

I just don't think I could be happy with the EVO knowing that the Droid X, Samsung Galaxy S, or even the Incredible are better performers.

That's a bad way to look at it. There will always be something better out already or something better looking out in horizon... it's just the nature of the business.

 

[imlkrsfn]

I took 30 seconds to email them. You should too.

 

[Braaainz]

I'm not a big gamer... the 30fps is of no real interest to me. I am more concerned with getting HID bluetooth support (I know that's a google issue, not HTC)

Also want HDMI out support from more than just "Video" and "Gallery". I want HDMI-out for all screen functions. To me, that takes far more precedence than 30fps +

 

[Crodley]

Well, I'm not concerned about the 30 FPS...BUT they could at least put a toggle on the cap so people who do want to run things faster (and presumably drain the battery faster) would have the option.

Seems like that could be an easy firmware fix?

 

[eric3316]

Wonder if they will fix the multitouch issue as well. Can's see the reason why this would be done on purpose.......

 

[cabbie]

my email:

I recently purchased an HTC EVO for full price because of the excitement surrounding it as the best spec'd phone ever created, and I wasn't even due for a phone upgrade. It's become apparent that the phone is capped at 30 FPS and that its a limitation imposed not by the phones hardware, but by the lack of drivers that HTC neglected to include with the phone. The Nexus One and Incredible have similar specs and do not face this limitation.

I urge you to make this a HIGH priority to release a firmware update that can make my expensive piece of hardware perform as expected, because this is unacceptable. With the impending release of the DroidX and Samsung Galaxy, I may have to reconsider my acquisition if it becomes apparent that HTC is negligent with their product support.

 

[acp]

I see this as a non issue. 30fps does not effect the video quality of this phone.

I've also posted that I don't have any problems due to the 30fps that I can recognize; however, if everyone starts complaining to HTC and somehow convinces them to remove the cap, I will not complain.

 

[ARR22]

I sent my email in as well. I'm not a big time gamer, but I recently viewed a video comparing the Hero and EVO and the Hero scrolling was smooth as butter while the EVO was herky jerky. Can the 30FPS cap cause my EVO to be outperformed by the Hero? Who knows? But if the cap is causing it, then HTC needs to address it fast.

 

[MrX8503]

That's a bad way to look at it. There will always be something better out already or something better looking out in horizon... it's just the nature of the business.

That idea would work in theory, except the Incredible is out NOW. Also the Samsung and Droid X wouldn't be better performers if the EVO didn't have this cap. Besides that the EVO isn't even that old, I expect newer phones to be better, but the EVO hasn't even passed 6months of age yet.

 

[teky]

I've seen numerous posts over at XDA where commenters report that they have since gotten a follow up response from HTC and Sprint saying it is now a hardware cap (because of the HDMI port) and cannot be fixed.

"As for the FPS cap, all he did was confirm that it was a hardware limitation and that they are aware that it has an impact on gaming performance. However, he also stated that they have reports of the FPS rate causing sluggish screen responses (which in all honesty, it doesn't) but they haven't been able to replicate....He did't address as to whether or not any changes would be made or not.."

One commenter reports that in their reply from Sprint they were told that they mention the fps cap in the owners manual (though I haven't found it).

Given these responses, it's a lost cause.

 

[pwnst*r]

I probably wouldn't of bought my EVO. I'm actually going through the hassle of returning it as we speak because of it.

I just don't think I could be happy with the EVO knowing that the Droid X, Samsung Galaxy S, or even the Incredible are better performers.

How do you know the DroidX is a better performer?

 

[JunBringer]

I sent an email.

 

[zamardii12]

I sent my email in as well. I'm not a big time gamer, but I recently viewed a video comparing the Hero and EVO and the Hero scrolling was smooth as butter while the EVO was herky jerky. Can the 30FPS cap cause my EVO to be outperformed by the Hero? Who knows? But if the cap is causing it, then HTC needs to address it fast.

That's what i've been saying... the 30fps cap affects the entire phone... not just games and movies. So just take 30 seconds and click on the link above and tell them you want it removed.