Need help playing H264 material

[hoops10]

I play a bunch of .ts files that were encoded with the H264 codec, but I cannot find anything that will play them. I have and installed the CoreAVC Pro pack but still no luck. I have tried Windows Media Player 10, VLC, Theater Tek, ZoomPlayer Pro and PowerDVD. None of them will play it. Please help. Thanks.

[bond]

did you install the haali media splitter?

[hoops10]

Yes, the haali media splitter installed along with the Coreavc pro pack.

[bond]

and you enabled ts support when installing it?

you could also try playing the file in MPC and enabling the internal mpeg splitter

[hoops10]

Yes, I enabled that, too. Do I have to somehow tell Theater Tek or one of the other players I listed above to use the CoreAVC codec?

[Jay Bee]

Zoom Player has a nice filter management system. Here's an old post of mine at CoreAVC forums that describes how to set up ZP for CoreAVC.
http://www.corecodec.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=29&expv=0&topic=2894.msg17297#msg17297

Not really up to date for the newer versions of ZP but you should be able to work it out.

[hoops10]

Jay Bee, those settings helped out. I can now see the video but the audio is messed up. It's filled with static. What should the settings for audio be? Also, the video is very slow and choppy. I had to add 'MPEG2 Transport' under the 'special purpose source filters.' Could that be causing a stuttering problem? I am running an Athlon XP at 2.0 ghz. Is that enough?

[Jay Bee]

Which clips are you trying? BBC's test clips? If so, I think they need something like a 2.6 GHz Dual-Core to play perfectly. A sample of what you're trying to play would help with the sound problem.

[hoops10]

I download Media Player Classic to see if that would work, no luck. Only got audio to work ,but it worked correctly. Anyway, I uninstalled CoreAVC and Haali Media Splitter, and reinstalled according to your directions. Now, ZP pro isn't showing the video but the audio is working correctly now.

The material is a high defintion capture of a movie is .ts files that were encoded with the h264 codec. When playing it in Zp pro now, I get perfect audio but no video, just black screen. What should the video renderer be set to? Am I missing something else?

[bond]

propably your coreavc doesnt support interlaced

[hoops10]

Yeah, but before I uninstalled and reinstalled it, it was playing the video fine but the audio was full of static. Now, it won't play the video but the audio is fine. So the CoreAVC Pro pack that I installed must be able to handle interlaced video if it played it the first time. BTW, the material is 1080i, so it is interlaced.

[bond]

Yeah, but before I uninstalled and reinstalled it, it was playing the video fine but the audio was full of static. Now, it won't play the video but the audio is fine. So the CoreAVC Pro pack that I installed must be able to handle interlaced video if it played it the first time. BTW, the material is 1080i, so it is interlaced.use graphedit to check what filters are really used and tell us which ones. you can find it on the doom9 download section

[hoops10]

I used Grapedit and Rendered the huge .ts file and what it shows was that it was first going thru the CoreAVC codec and then the FFDSHOW mpeg-4 codec and then finally to the video renderer. That doesn't seem right. I would think it should only have to go thru the CoreAVC codec and then straight thru to the video renderer. Sound right? If so, how do I get ffdshow codec out of there? It doesn't show up in ZP pro settings under the Audio/video decoders -> h264.

[Thunderbolt8]

I had a bbc planet earth .ts hdtv test streamfile with ~500mb size for like 30 seconds of film. it could be played with powerdvd 7 deluxe edition. well "play" is maybe a bit too much, i could basically start it with my older p4 3ghz and then it would play for some seconds and then just get stuck due to low cpu performance -.-

[foxyshadis]

ffdshow in this case is attaching because you've enabled "raw" video, which is what the video coming out of coreavc is - raw yv12 or yuy2. It may slow it down a bit but it shouldn't hurt, and might help if you want to use its deinterlacers. Anyway, by disabling raw formats you can remove it.

Are you sure that when you reinstalled coreavc, you didn't reinstall 0.4b or 1.0 by accident? Those don't work with interlaced at all, and will return garbage if it doesn't crash. You have to use 1.1.

[bond]

remove ffdshow as foxy said

also what parser is used? haali? you can see this on the tray icon showing up or by the right clicking on the first filter in the graph

[hoops10]

Where do I disable 'raw' formats at? ffdshow or zp pro?

I am sure that I reinstalled 1.1, its the only ver. i have.

[foxyshadis]

The very bottom of ffdshow's codecs page.

[hoops10]

Ok, disabled raw formats in ffdshow and now I can see the video. But the audio begins to studder after a few secs and then continues to studder. The video also gets real choppy. What should my audio decoder/settings be? Anyway to fix the choppy video. I am running an Athlon XP at 2ghz with a Radeon 9600pro vid card. Could that be my problem?

bond, yes, I am using the haali because I can see it in the system tray as the movie is playing.

BTW, thank you all for all your patience and help.

[Jay Bee]

I am running an Athlon XP at 2ghz with a Radeon 9600pro vid card. Could that be my problem?


Yes, this is very likely. HD AVC eats CPU's for breakfast.

[hoops10]

But I can play regular high defintion .ts files (non-encoded) easily with no stutter at all. Doesn't make sense.

[foxyshadis]

Are the h.264 ts or mpeg 2? If DGIndex can read them, they're mpeg 2.

[arfster]

But I can play regular high defintion .ts files (non-encoded) easily with no stutter at all.

The ending on a file doesn't tell you anything about what's in it, or how difficult it is to play. Files ending in .ts _usually_ contain MPEG2, because of all the American HD captures out there in that format - these are easy to play. However, it's quite possible to have AVC/h264 in there also, which is extremely difficult on hardware at the best of times. The BBC HD clips magnifies this because the bitrate is so huge, and because it uses a particularly challenging form of interlacing.

Basically, to play BBC HD with CoreAVC you need a dual core, perhaps a 3ghz pentiumD , or a 2.2ghz Athlon X2.

[hoops10]

The material I am trying to play is a high defintion capture of Star Wars Ep.3. It is of PAL origin and it is h264 encoded. It says that the bitrate is right around 17.50 mbps. Does that help?

[foxyshadis]

If you don't have an overclocked dual-core and coreavc (or a 7950 and cyberlink's gpu-decoder), you'll never be able to play that without re-encoding.

[hoops10]

Great idea, I never thought about re-encoding it. But since it already has been encoded (using the h264 codec obviously), what format can I encode it into without losing any quality (or minimal quality loss)? Is there anything that can be used to keep the 1080i resolution?

[nm]

You can encode to almost any video format, but I'd recommend XviD or some other MPEG-4 ASP codec. They offer a good balance of encoding efficiency and decoding speed. Bitrate of 10 mbps might be enough, but use more if that is not satisfactory. MPEG-2 is also a good option since most graphics cards can accelerate its decoding. You'll need to increase the bitrate for it though.

[hoops10]

Which codec should I use that will still let me keep the HD resolution and will run smoothly on my system (Athlon XP @ 2ghz, 1 gb ram, Radeon 9600 pro AGP card)?

[Jay Bee]

I would say give XviD a try first. Just do a small sample encode and see if your CPU can do it. If not you'll have to do MPEG-2. BTW what's the name of your CPU? There are different kinds of 2 GHz XP's. If it's a Barton I think you might be OK with XviD but I'm not all that optimistic.

[hoops10]

My CPU is a Barton, its an Athlon XP 2500+. It runs normally at 1.83 Ghz, but I have it slightly overclocked to just over 2Ghz. If I encode to Xvid, can I keep the HD resolution of 1800x1080i?

[Jay Bee]

My CPU is a Barton, its an Athlon XP 2500+. It runs normally at 1.83 Ghz, but I have it slightly overclocked to just over 2Ghz. If I encode to Xvid, can I keep the HD resolution of 1800x1080i?

MPEG-2 is the only decent codec to keep it interlaced, but since your content is film based, deinterlacing before encoding would be wise anyway. The pixel resolution is really a question of filesize and decoding power. You'll just have to do some test encodes, although I'm not sure what the best software combination is for handling AVC in TS files is. I would try VirtualDubMod together with Avisynth's DirectShowSource.

[nm]

If it's PAL like he said, the actual movie content is pretty much progressive already (even if it was encoded as interlaced MBAFF or PAFF). No need to deinterlace that unless combing is clearly visible.

[hoops10]

I am very familiar with encoding dvds using 'The Big 3' method, but I haven't done much Xvid. I would assume it's fairly similiar. Is there anything closely related when encoding to Xvid like 'The Big 3', where a lot of the processes are automated? If not, are there any guides on here I could follow?

[Jay Bee]

I doubt there are any easy all-in-one programs that can handle that type of file. Maybe Nero Recode? If there is a version without significant bugs, that is.

[nm]

Try MeGUI or StaxRip, for example. More here: http://forum.doom9.org/forumdisplay.php?f=78

[tomos]

cant you just use avisynth and directshowsource?

he can then encode in vdub to whatever he likes

that video is deffo not interlaced afaik. same as ep 1 and 2. afaik all sky HD stuff is progressive apart from star wars in 20 mins

[Jay Bee]

cant you just use avisynth and directshowsource?

he can then encode in vdub to whatever he likes


Just tested, works fine. And is a lot simpler to use than MeGui, especially for quick editing etc.

[hoops10]

I like the idea of using just avisynth and directshowsource. Problem is, it's been a while since I have manually created a .avs file.

Jay Bee, what did your avs script look like? Did you test encode to xvid?

[Jay Bee]

I just used the "Open via Avisynth" option in virtualdubmod. I didn't try any encoding but the file seemed to open correctly.

[hoops10]

Can't find that option at all. Will keep looking.

Edit: Nothing, where is that option at? I am using the latest vdubmod from Doom9's site. I can't find "Open via Avisynth" option anywhere.

[Jay Bee]

Strange, it really isn't in the newest version. In 1.5.4.1 it's right under "open video file".

[foxyshadis]

It's on the file select when you open a new file. There's a "use avisynth template" option at the bottom. It was never a part of the vanila virtualdub, just virtualdubmod.

[tomos]

just found it on mine with the latest vdubmod. never noticed that before :)

always made the avs file myself.

[hoops10]

Ahh, I found it. So I use the DirectShowSource option, and just do all the encoding in vdubmod? I have dled the Gordon Knot Codec Pack from Doom9 so I have the Xvid codec installed. I choose it under Compression. Any other settings I need to worry about? Remeber, I am trying to get the same video quality as I am starting with, I don't care about file size.

[tomos]

once you have it showing in vdub then just pretend like you;ve opened an avi or something.

i personally re-encode via megui/x264 so it fits on 1 dvd and will do the same with this capture as well

failing that, encoding the movie with divx/xvid and making it about 8gig should be cool.

[hoops10]

I did a sample encode of about 6000 frames. Using the xvid codec, a couple of problem arose. Video is still choppy for most of the sample and the audio is out of synch (it is ahead of the video.)

tomos, this capture is already in h264 and my current setup can't play it back smoothly, that is why I am encoding to xvid. What settings do you recommend with xvid to get it play back smoothly and the audio to be in synch?

[tomos]

my sys can play it back fine as is so the reason i reencode is to fit on 1 dvd-r thats all.

personally, i prefer divx over xvid (personal preference) and would just go with balanced settings (norm)

i also re-encode the audio to AAC as to me it sounds the same but takes up less space to frees up a little more room for the video.

as for the xvid playback, if you are still getting stuttering, then maybe your pc isnt powerful enough?

run the encoded vid in MPC and check task manager for the CPU usage. it thats 100% then its not powerful enough IMO. you may have to encode it to mpeg-2 to be able to view it properly - but that would take up a 'lot' more space

[tomos]

just checked and found you have a

Athlon XP at 2ghz

i have a 2500+ A XP and some 1080p divx vids play ok, some dont. 720p always plays fine tho. that might be your best bet - downscale it to 720 res

[hoops10]

Yeah you are running the same cpu as I am. You said that you can playback the video fine as is, in other words, encoded with the h264 codec? If we have the same cpu, then mine should work too. What player are you playing it in? Settings? If I did go the mpeg-2 route, would I still use vdubmod or some other encoder? I tried dropping in into CCE, but it said that the max resolution it would take is only 573 res.

[tomos]

ah no, the h264 ones are played back on X2s and Core 2 Duos (my fault - forgot that part)

there isnt a prayer of playing those vids on an athlon XP.

the XP has trouble playing some divx/xvids at 1080p res but is fine with all 720p

i pretty much play everything in media player classic

for mpeg-2, the best afaik is CCE. in your case, i would encode to xvid/divx with vdub but downscale to 1280x720.

the quality from that source should still be good and would fit fine on 1dvdr

[hoops10]

tomos, what about the audio synch problems? You getting any of those with this movie? The audio is ahead of the video. Any way to fix it?

[tomos]

no synch probs here. that may be happening since your cpu isnt powerful enough to playback properly. happened to me when i try to play some clips on my A.XP but alls fine when i play them on my X2s or C2D.

[hoops10]

tomos, how would I resize the video to 720 resolution? I can find any resizing options in vdubmod?

[tomos]

just add a line like:

Lanczos4Resize(1280,720)

in there.

i dont make the scripts myself anymore. even tho i encode in vdub now for the most part, i use meguis avs generator to make the script for me and use that in vdub :)

basically like:

directshowsource("star.wars.episode.three.revenge.of.the.sith.1080i.h264.oar.dd51.ts")
Lanczos4Resize(1280,720)

[Jay Bee]

In vdub it's under video/filters/add/resize.

[hoops10]

Did a test encode of about 4000 frames. I added the filter in but it didn't seem to take it as I checked the 'File Information' and it still said 1800x1080 as the resolution. So I manually put the 'Lanczos4Resize(1280,720)' in myself, and this time it did work. Don't know why I had to manually put it in. Anyway, the audio seems to be behind the video now, noticably. Any idea how to fix this or figure out what the offset should be?

Edit: BTW, here is the avs file that I am using:

"#ASYNTHER DirectShowSource
DirectShowSource("F:\Star Wars Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith HDTV\Copy of star.wars.episode.three.revenge.of.the.sith.1080i.h264.oar.dd51.ts")
Lanczos4Resize(1280,720)"

[tomos]

the file info is for the original info, what you do with your filters wont affect it so just use the vdbub filter or the one in the avs script - not both.

if your encoded video plays ok on your system (without maxing out your cpu) then easy way to fix the offset issue (which didnt happen on mine btw) is to play in media player classic and manually change it till it fits

audio>options>audio time shift (ms)

say it comes to 3550ms or something, just change the delay to that in vdub or whatever you use to mux the audio in with

hope that helps :)

[thecrock]

Please don't flame for my ignorance but...
I thought H264 was a codec used on mac, maybe try quicktime?

[tomos]

i was under the impression that the quicktime implementation of it sucked.

[hoops10]

tomos, isn't the audio on that movie 5.1 DD? Could you possible explain the steps you took to encode this movie to xvid? Thanks.

[tomos]

i encoded with megui to x264. its a while ago now, but i think i used mplayer to get the ac3 file (i encode that to AAC to save space), then use a script like you have already to open it in vdub.

after that its just a case of encoding like anything else really

[hoops10]

Isn't x264 the same as h264? If not, is x264 able to run on an Athlon XP 2500+?

What video settings did you use in vdubmod? I mean, as far as number of psases, etc.

[tomos]

doubt your aXP is powerful enough for h.264 tbh even with coreavc on 1080 material.

as for vdub, then i always use 2 passes.

[hoops10]

tomos, do you think its possible to resize to a resolution in between 1080 and 720? Can the Athlon XP 2500+ handle a higher res than 720? I resized to 720 and I am only using like 40% cpu.

Edit: I am going to try the entire movie now, and I started it. It says that the total file size is only going to be about 1480 mb or 1.48 gbs. Doesn't that seem really small to you? Is that right? Shouldn't it be higher?

[tomos]

think it depends on the movie tbh. my aXP can play the odd divx 1080p encode but not most.

my advice? encode to 720p or overclock/upgrade your system.

apart from WMV vids, an aXP isnt powerful enough IMO (wmv only because you can get your gpu to help decode it)

[hoops10]

tomos, what about that file size? seem right to you? the original is over 17 gigs, and after only resizing, it goes down to 1.5 gigs?

[tomos]

i aim for 4470megs (inc audio) for mine. 1.5 is way too low IMO.

vdub does sometimes misreport it for a while. what bitrate did you give it?

[hoops10]

I didn't give it one, I just used what was there. Also, when doing 2 passes, does it take a really long time? I started it last night at about 9:30 p.m. and the first pass took about 9 hours. It is still encoding the 2nd pass, but it is only at 30%. Sound right?

Where can you set it to maximum quality (as I don't want to lose the look of HD)?

[Jay Bee]

At that bitrate it will probably look quite awful. Again, you should maybe try a few quality settings on small clips to see what you can get away with both quality and CPU power wise. XviD has a built-in bitrate calculator that you can use to make your file a specific size (for DVD: 4 700 000 000 Bytes = 4 589 843 KiB = 4482 MiB = 4.376 GiB). I would also do a 1-pass vs 2-pass test to see if the quality difference is really worth the encoding time.

[tomos]

well, on divx you can choose '1 pass - quality based' but that might end up quite large.

i would do 2 passes. guesstimating the bitrate to be between 4-5m/bits-sec

[arfster]

Isn't x264 the same as h264?

H264 is a video standard, like mpeg2, vc1 or xvid. The X264 program is an encoder that produces h264 videos.

[hoops10]

I did just a 1-pass encoding and moved the slider all the way to the highest quality. It gave me a file size of about 13 gigs, which is cool with me. Like I said, I don't care about file size, but I do care about getting the best quality. Do you think I would get better quality by going with a 2-pass encoding?

[tomos]

nope. thats what the quality settings for. 2 pass would gain you a smaller file thats all.

if you are happy with a large file then you're done mate :)

i would use the calculator in megui and do a 2 pass encoding so it fits on a dvd to archive it, but thats me :0

[Thunderbolt8]

I also have the same or similar files, star wars with 1080i and h264 as .ts files (16,5 gb together). but with my old p4 3ghz I can at least open them (a 4,3gb file) with either vlc (though it crashes after a time), powerdvd7 and media player classic/coreavc. ofc it stutters all the time, so I wont be able to actually "watch" the movie on that PC, but at least I can open the files. so it should somehow also work for you.

btw. with what tool/player can I get a general information about the average kbit rate of the whole .ts file ? file information of all 3 players only can give me the current rate when playing.