[Merged] Power Saver feature

Sano

Hi guys,
From what I'm seeing, there have been quite a few topics the last few weeks about increased CPU usage, heat problems and even lag on ES.
A lot of features have been implemented recently, with a probable impact on resources.

AFAIK it's a frequent milestone in software dev : the base code works great, then a bunch of features are added, sometimes introducing bugs or performance impacts.
Not that the new features are badly coded, but they put the emphasis on a function of the base code that was not intented/coded to work with the new features, hence very non optimal in this new context... The solution would be to modify the base code.

Anyway, from my user point of view, it's not about power saving, but general optimization.
I run @Hex ES version for a few weeks now, and I'm very happy with it.
Thanks again for your work on this.

TL;DR : I'm seeing PS as a natural code optimization rather than a feature to save battery life. Therefore I vote for it to be default, and allowing to disable it in case of the behaviour induced doesn't match the user needs.

jdrassa

@hex said in Testers needed :: Power Saver features :: PR #172:

@jdrassa said in Testers needed :: Power Saver features :: PR #172:

If so, I have a suggestion.

PowerSaver mode is always on. There are no menu options to enable or configure it.

Auto scroll doesnt work in that case

When I suggested it is always on, I meant that there wouldn't be a 'None' option. It would still function as it does not, hence the suggestion of a default (and configurable) delay.

The default delay before enabling PowerSaver mode is the users configured Screen Saver delay.

Screensaver delay is at minimum 1m so switching timeout goes from 12 secs to 1m which is not good. Also if video screensaver is enabled PS will never be triggered (generally)

This was just a suggestion, that would ensure that no existing functionality is effected.

If a user wants to change the delay to achieve more power savings, they can modify es_settings.cfg directly to specify a different value. This process can be documented on the RetroPie wiki. This is how the hide splashscreen option works.

The user base inerested in PS will be more than hide splashscreen guys. Not many users look at the documentation for latest features.

While I agree that many users will be interested in PS in some form, I'd argue that it is a much smaller number that will be interested in changing the settings. For those that are, they are likely to only ever change it once.

@hex said in Testers needed :: Power Saver features :: PR #172:

Timeouts

MAX -> 20-40 cycles (Needs testing to reduce range)

Full -> 100-200 cycles

Min -> 10-12 secs ~ 1000-1200 cycles

None -> Not needed

When you say cycles, I assume this means iterations of the animation loop based on reading the code. This really should be time based. Otherwise, the timing is going to vary based on the power of the users hardware.

Hex

@jdrassa Currently PS is tracked using cycles/iterations. This is being shifted to timeout based system. When PS was thought of and developed, I had no need for description to scroll and never noticed it as I never read it. Hence a cycle based approach was easiest to implement. Now setting a timer based would be better so shifting to timer based.

Hex

Changelog :

PS is moved from Cycles based to Timer based control
4 PS modes added: Disabled/Default/Enhanced/Instant
Moved PS to Core module.
Moved PS handling to VLC playback from VideoGameList

Testers: Since I squashed commits before refactoring git pull will not work. Kindly Delete directory and start over from clone.

Thank you to all those who have helped to test, provided valuable feedback and make this possible.

Feature is now quite stable. Works well with Video screensaver and previews.

Binaries :

Pi 2/3 : https://www.dropbox.com/s/m8csxt5txyu60dr
Pi 1/Z : https://www.dropbox.com/s/uiqkbbalbhf0qyr

cyperghost

@hex I'll test :)

Hex

Pi Zero binary is also available now. Latest ES + PS

meleu

@hex said in Testers needed :: Power Saver features :: PR #172:

Pi Zero binary is also available now. Latest ES + PS

Yeah! Now I'm able to join! :-)

This pi zero version works for pi1 as well, right?

Hex

@meleu Yes PiZ/1 binary works for both. Pi2/3 has a different binary

EDIT : As it so happens PiZ/1 binary works on Pi3 too.

cyperghost

@hex Thanks for the binaries, I will upload them to my github ES binary archive :)

Small report: I've registered no breaks during ES run but to be true my ES settings are only small footprint (No game description, no Videos, just a bit background music). I tested the mostly the "instant" set.

Number of games per emu system never occours in instant mode only (I think that is intended to be ... in instant mode)
If we start a rom the display resolution of the background theme will be instantly zoomed in (cosmetic effect) and it is not matter of theme itself

All in all the timers are working:

Default timer ~ 10 to 12sec and ES falls back to 2-3% CPU usage
Enhanced timer ~ 5 to 6sec and ES falls back to 2-3% CPU usage
Instant "timer" ~ <1second ES falls back to 2-3% CPU usage

What is conspicuous if ES is frehsly started the CPU usage can be downed to 0,3% after a ROM was started it never goes back less then 2-3%. Do you have any suggestions for this behaviour?

Thank you for creating this

EDIT:

Energy saving aspect

PS disabled

Voltage: 5,25
Amps: 0,48-0,53

PS enabeld (instant)

Voltage: 5,25
Amps: 0,38-0,42

Hex

This feature is ready and I have squashed commits. I have provided binaries to test. I will be asking BuZz to merge this asap, provided no bugs are found in a day or two.

Testers : List of things to test

Video previews work with all combinations of VLC/OMX an 4 PS Modes
All screensavers work with all combinations of VLC?OMX and 4 PS modes
Default Mode behaviour is acceptable
Instant changes Transition style to instant and disables the carousel transitions
ES never crashes while normal testing.

Note : Binaries have PS debug code so if you want to see when PS is triggered, launch my binaries using ssh so you can see the stdout. There is a small animation in the terminal to determine when PS kicks in. It cycles over these 4 characters / - \ |

pjft

@cyperghost Thanks.

At the time you had detected a crash with PS and collections - in particular adding and removing favorites, I believe?

If this build does have both, could you check whether you can still replicate it or if it has been erased?

Best.

cyperghost

@pjft I removed all favourites (20) I added the whole bunch in two times
Nothing happened - means everything went good.
So I think the error accourd by merging two branched.

Hex

I would like to thank all those who helped test, find bugs and suggest changes. PS has reached milestone for Merge and will be when @BuZz gets time.

The Instant mode has received workarounds to make it snappier. Those who would like are welcome to test it before merge. The source is up to date.

@cyperghost @dankcushions @jdrassa @meleu @pjft @Sano @TMNTturtlguy @Zigurana

cyperghost

@hex Thank you - sorry I lost a bit focus on PS while testing custom collections now.

Hex

PS has been merged :)