the other option which works better for my machine(could be specific to my i5 processor) is using openbox as a WM without any compositing
if i do that then i get tear free videos without adding any extra conf file
also in comparison i found the video playback to be smoother in openbox
again could be specific to my machine
great tip nevertheless, should help other users
]]>Start by opening Konsole and getting administrator access with "sudo su" and type your user's password. Then "cd /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d" and then "nano 20-intel.conf" which opens the nano text editor in the terminal. Then paste the following:
Section "Device"
Identifier "Intel Graphics"
Driver "intel"
Option "TearFree" "true"
EndSection
Then "Ctrl+O" to save and "Ctrl+X" to exit. Close Konsole, log out your user, and then click the menu button and choose "Restart X Server". That should apply the setting but if not just restart the whole PC. And that's it. All screen tearing should be gone. This worked for me on a GMA 4500 iGPU
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