Configure MPC-HC for good playback quality [Archive]

View Full Version : Configure MPC-HC for good playback quality

somy

16th December 2009, 10:57

Please bear with my English, I'm not a native English speaker.
I'm trying to configure my HTPC for good video&audio playback, below is my setup:
HTPC: intel Q9300, ATI HD4850 graphics card, blu-ray drive
Audio: Onkyo 906 + B&W speakers
Video: Panasonic AE3000 projector
The HTPC connects to Onkyo 906 via the ATI dongle and HDMI cable which carries out both video and audio stream, and the video is then forwarded to AE3000 projector via another HDMI cable.
I mainly play MKV files with DTS or AC3 sound track and TS files with trueHD or DTSHD sound track, the video is either H264(x264) or VC1. Below is the path I'm currently using:
MKV -> Halli -> ffshow video -> YV12 to MadVR
-------------> ffshow audio -> dts/ac3 bitstream to AMP
TS -> MPC splitter -> ffshow video -> YV12 to MadVR
-------------------> ffshow audio -> LPCM to AMP
With regards to my configuration, I have some questions which I wish I could get some help from you guys:
1. I understand that I need to expand YV12 to RGB before send it to display, and as far as I understand MadVR provides the best quality in doing the expansion (16bit processing etc.). Recently I noticed that MPC-HC also supports 10bit output if I choose EVR custom renderer, does it provide similar picture quality as MadVR? MadVR is too resource consuming......
2. In my knowledge, ATI dongle always converts RGB to YV12 when it outputs via HDMI, and I assume the convertion by the driver decreases the video quality, so is it possible to bypass the convertion? If ATI does a bad job, then what is the purpose of using MadVR?
3. Can ffdshow decode TrueHD or DTS-HD to LPCM? I'm not sure if ffdshow only decodes real trueHD or just core AC3 part. My graphic card doesn't support truehd bitstream output, is it good then to decode it to LPCM?
4. If my setup optimal in terms of picture quality and sound quality?

Any input is appreciated!

namaiki

16th December 2009, 14:57

MadVR is too resource consuming......

I have a C2D P8600 + GeForce 9600M GT and I can pretty much run MadVR without a hitch..

In terms of picture quality, MadVR is definitely worth the jump over pretty much all other video renderers, especially if you are upscaling video only through the Video renderer(also allows you to offload upscaling to the GPU instead of on the CPU). EVR-CP itself has bilinear(soft) and bicubic(harsh imo) resizers, though I do love EVR-CP's frame handling. You can also upscale video through FFDShow and other ways as well, but.. IMO I find MadVR the most convenient and suitable for my needs(weak CPU, half-decent GPU).

somy

16th December 2009, 15:24

I have a C2D P8600 + GeForce 9600M GT and I can pretty much run MadVR without a hitch..

In terms of picture quality, MadVR is definitely worth the jump over pretty much all other video renderers, especially if you are upscaling video only through the Video renderer(also allows you to offload upscaling to the GPU instead of on the CPU). EVR-CP itself has bilinear(soft) and bicubic(harsh imo) resizers, though I do love EVR-CP's frame handling. You can also upscale video through FFDShow and other ways as well, but.. IMO I find MadVR the most convenient and suitable for my needs(weak CPU, half-decent GPU).

Thanks for your reply. I agree with you that MadVR definately provides the best picture quality. My question is, if my ATI dongle converts RGB to YV12 poorly, would I gain any benefit of using MadVR which only supports RGB output?

Grendel007

13th March 2010, 18:06

Can anyone please help me to enable MadVR renderer.
I installed the latest version of MPC HC (1.3.1249.0 x86) but the MadVr is greyed out.

Also I would like to make sure whether my system is capable of using this renderer.

T4300 2.1GHz Dual Core, Intel 4500 HD integrated 2 GB Ram and windows 7 professional.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

adam777

13th March 2010, 18:31

TinTime

13th March 2010, 20:34

Can anyone please help me to enable MadVR renderer.
I installed the latest version of MPC HC (1.3.1249.0 x86) but the MadVr is greyed out.

You need to install madVR (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=146228).

Grendel007

14th March 2010, 01:21

You need to install madVR (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=146228).

I installed but I did it after installation of MPC HC.
And still nothing.

I installed the 1.3.1249.0 version MPC HC. I read somewhere that there is a beta version which doesn't require installation of madVR. How stable is this version?

will it cause any conflicts if I open this beta version from zip file while having installed the 1.3.1249.0 version?

Is it possible to use two versions interchangibly?

Is madVR compatible with DXVA?

Thanks very much in advance for any answer.

namaiki

14th March 2010, 07:17

4500MHD will not work as 'graphics card only supports power of 2 textures'.

You will also need to get MadVR installed for it to load.

Grendel007

14th March 2010, 13:07

4500MHD will not work as 'graphics card only supports power of 2 textures'.

Does it that I can forget about madVR in MPC HC?

namaiki

14th March 2010, 13:24

If your graphics card is the Intel 4500MHD, ATM it will not even open. However, it is possible that MadVR could be re-written at a later time to support it.

a4840639

19th March 2010, 12:44

ffdshow can only decode TrueHD
for decoding DTS-HD, you can use eac3to(with arcsoft decoder) to pre-decode it into FLAC or use a commercial Blu-ray player(you may lose bit depth and sampling rate）
MPC audio renderer which uses WASAPI is probably much better for optimal LPCM output

SacredCultivator

25th March 2010, 19:49

Just curious... I use MPC-HC grabbed from xvidvideo.ru, and my Graphics Card is an ATI Radeon 4830. The MPC-HC I use is just the standalone 64-bit, as I use CCCP as my Codec Pack.
(Might I need to actually dl + install the MPC-HC installer to have it enabled?)

I dl'ed madVR as instructed, but the option for it is still Disabled.

I am not too sure if it's due to my Video Card or perhaps just some configuration I might have/have not done.

Thanks.

---

EDIT:
Nevermind, found the problem... Just had to use the x86 version and not the x64

dansrfe

26th March 2010, 17:40

Can anyone please explain how to get MPC-HC to display BD Subs in a M2TS container. Setup is MPC-HC w/ CoreAVC, Haali Media Splitter, ffdshow audio decoder, Haali Renderer.