Trouble with MKV Playback

[starsheep]

Hi guys

I hope I git the right forum for this question.

I have a 1,7GHZ Centrino Notebook and I am having trouble with playback of HighRes content but especially MKV files.
I have installed:

- ffdshow
- CCCP
- CoreAVC (ffdshow has h264 playback disabled)
- quicktime alternative
- real alternative

As Players I have:
- Zoom Player WMV Pro (I bought that one)
- MPC
- VLC

I have some 720p MKV files. The AVI versions and the WMV versions are playable but the MKV doesn't work, at least not with my preferred player, ZoomPlayer.

I would be very greatful if anybody could help me out in configuring my playback a better way cause my laptop is fast enough for it.

Cu
StarSheep

[check]

Sorry, mkv is simply a container, not a video format. For more info on that read here: http://mewiki.project357.com/wiki/Computer_movie_files#The_Container

Assuming by 'mkv', you mean 'h264', the answer is simple: if you are decoding with CoreAVC and cpu usage is still hitting 100%, there's naught you can do but upgrade your CPU or watch less stressful video. CoreAVC is the fastest decoder you'll find for that system, and MPC/zp will both use it for decoding on your system.

[starsheep]

Hi

thanks for the answer.

So how can I make sure CoreAVC is really used?

I disbaled h264 playback in FFDSHOW so CoreAVC is used automatically right?

Altough I doubt my CPU is too slow cause I have another laptop with 1,6 GHZ Centrino CPU that plays it fine.
Any suggestions now, maybe I have a setup problem, video drivers maybe or do they not have any affect on the playback?

Thanks
Cu
StarSheep

[starsheep]

One more funny thing.

Mplayer for windows plays the MKVs fine with no glitches so what is the deal.

As far as I understand it, it is not the PC that is too slow, the setup is the problem.

I really hope someone can help me here

Cu
StarSheep

[KoD]

Or maybe CoreAVC is not used. I know for sure that once you install something like Cyberlink PowerDVD, its h264 decoder will take over anything else, and it's slow like a snail when it runs in software mode. Look in the Filter list while playing a file and make sure CoreAVC is there and not something else.

[starsheep]

Actually PowerDVD is installed on my system for DVD playback.

Any chance you could point me to the right direction where I have to set up CoreAVC as the playback filter, that would be really great.

Thanks
StarSheep

[KoD]

You have to manually unregister CL264dec.ax (or set it to a lower filter merit). There's some info here (http://www.cccp-project.net/wiki/index.php?title=Troubleshooting_Guide#After_installing_PowerDVD_7_H.264_playback_is_broken.21). After that, you'll have to manually disable h264 decoding in ffdshow again.

[joseph5]

You can try RadLight Filter Manager.

[starsheep]

Sorry, but what is that CCCP insurgent?

I have no clue what that is.

Thanks
StarSheep

[starsheep]

Hi

That filter manager sounds great.
Anybody could give me some pointers what I have to do with that program exactly, meaning what filters and where do I need to deregister and what do I need to register.

Any help woould be great, thanks

StarSheep

[KoD]

Since you said you were using CCCP I assumed you knew about the site cccp-project.net

Maybe it's better to come to CCCP's forums then.

[starsheep]

Hi guys

Can anybody help me with the registration of the filters.
That filter manager looks great but I am not familiar with it what I have to do.

Any help would be great.

Thanks
StarSheep

[check]

if you are asking about the CCCP Insurgent, you should ask over on the official forums. (http://cccp-project.net)

[starsheep]

Actually no, I am not asking about the insurgent, I am asking about the program joseph5 told me about.

@Joseph5:

Any chance you could give me some pointers for the program.

Thanks
StarSheep

[KoD]

First make sure that it's indeed Cyberlink's avc decoder that gives you trouble. Open a file with "issues" -> right click on the video surface -> "Filter properties" submenu and see if CoreAVC is listed there or Cyberlink something AVC.

If it's Cyberlink something AVC, then you can use that FilterManager -> DirectShow Filters -> look for that Cyberlink something AVC -> click on it -> set Merit Unlikely -> Set Value. If it still shows up when playing that file, then just unregister it completely by pressing the Unregister button.

[starsheep]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.

That worked. After I unregistered the filter and tried playing the the MKV file again coreavc was active at once and the file played absolutely smooth. Thanks a lot guys you are the best.

One more thing. I also have T2 in 1080p quality as windows media format. What is the best quality way to play those?

Thanks
Cu
StarSheep

[KoD]

As I remember T2 was using Microsoft's wmv-hd format, so you just basicly need to install either Windows Media Player 10 or higher (WMP download page (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/AllDownloads.aspx?displang=en&qstechnology=)) or the Windows Media Format 9.5 SDK or higher (WMF SDK download page (http://msdn.microsoft.com/windowsmedia/downloads/default.aspx)).

[starsheep]

Hi

Thanks for the links.
Does it make any sense to run the WMV HD playback through ffdshow?

Thanks
Cu
StarSheep

[KoD]

No. ffdshow can not decode all types of wmv profiles.

[foxyshadis]

T2 requires a special WMP patch to work with v10 or above: http://player.interactual.com/help/support/articles/0134.asp

[starsheep]

Ok thanks a lot

One more thing. It seems when I playback my files ony the ffdshow Video icon pops up in the tray. Before there also was an audio Icon.

Anybody knows why that is?

Thanks
StarSheep

[check]

either ffdshow is no longer being used to decode the audio, or you have disabled the audio icon from displaying.

[starsheep]

Any chance you can tell me how to check if ffdshow is used or how I can reenable it?

One more thing. Any thoughts on how to setup the ffdshow for better video quality. Cause I just played my weekly dose of Veronica Mars with ZP using ffdshow and with VLC and the VLC image looks better I think, less pixelation.

Any hints?

I know I am a pain in the ass but please be nice :-)

Cu
StarSheep

[check]

Using the CCCP Insurgent, run a test render on the file. If the ffdshow audio decoder shows up in that it is in use.
As for improving quality, other than re-encoding from the source if you still have it, there's little you can do. postprocessing on playback is something that I find blurs more than anything else, but if you prefer blur to mosquito noise it may be preferable to you.

[starsheep]

Sorry to ask again but what is that Insurgent.
I am a native German speaker and I cannot understand that term. Is that simply a program?
And how do I start it?

Thanks
StarSheep

[check]

http://www.cccp-project.net/wiki/index.php?title=CCCP_Insurgent :)

[starsheep]

OK I did the Test Render and this came out:

Test Render of: F:\TV Series\Veronica Mars S3\veronica.mars.307.hdtv.xvid-xor.avi
Filter 0: Default DirectSound Device
Filename: C:\WINDOWS\system32\quartz.dll
Filter CRC: EFF011E9
Date: 2005-08-30 | 04:55:35
Filter 1: Video Renderer
Filename: C:\WINDOWS\system32\quartz.dll
Filter CRC: EFF011E9
Date: 2005-08-30 | 04:55:35
Filter 2: MPEG Layer-3 Decoder
Filename: C:\WINDOWS\system32\l3codecx.ax
Filter CRC: 48856FF5
Date: 2001-08-23 | 13:00:00
Filter 3: ffdshow MPEG-4 Video Decoder
Filename: C:\Programme\ffdshow\ffdshow.ax
Filter CRC: 008F8C24
Date: 2006-10-27 | 16:01:30
Filter 4: AVI Splitter
Filename: C:\WINDOWS\system32\quartz.dll
Filter CRC: EFF011E9
Date: 2005-08-30 | 04:55:35
Filter 5: F:\TV Series\Veronica Mars S3\veronica.mars.307.hdtv.xvid-xor.avi
Filename: C:\WINDOWS\system32\quartz.dll
Filter CRC: EFF011E9
Date: 2005-08-30 | 04:55:35

Note: For File CRC, use CRC Check from the Tools Menu!

What does this mean now?

Thanks
StarSheep

[check]

it means you shoulda read the rules.

[kurt]

check in ffdshows audio configuration the codec settings for mp3

[starsheep]

Hi

It says DISABLED and I can choose from mp3lib and libmad.

Which one do I need?

Thanks
StarSheep

[kurt]

try for yourself wich works for you better. mp3libmad should be fine though.