Matroska Splitter

[Jerethi]

I should be able to answer this myself, but for some reason I keep hitting a dead end.

I have ffdshow tryout version 2033 June 27 2008 installed. Am using Media Player Classic Patched Build (latest). I am not using MPC's internal MKV splitter. Do I have to installed Haali's Media Splitter in order to have full support for MKV files? Do I already have it installed because I'm using ffdshow tryout?

[tre31]

Perhaps a little explanation is in order.
mkv (matroska) is a container - not a codec, hence you need a splitter (haali media splitter) too split the video and audio contained within the container into their respective codecs.
mkv files can contain many different codecs, many (if not all, haven't really checked) of those codecs could be decoded using ffdshow.

So yes you would need haali media splitter if you don't use MPC's internal splitter, but depending on what the actual mkv contains in terms of codecs (ie. h.264, mpeg-4 asp or xvid or divx, mp3, ac3, etc) will determine whether ffdshow can decode them, and whether you need other codecs for proper playback.

[Jerethi]

Thanks for the response. When I right click on MPC's video window and navigate to filters, I do see that there is a filter there called "Matroska Splitter." And yet every where I look, I am told that I need Haali's Media Splitter in order to proper split MKV files. I went ahead and installed Haali Media Splitter and see now that it is different than the current splitter I am using. So, I guess my question becomes, am I missing something by not using Haali's Media Splitter to split an MKV file, or am I find continuing to use the Matroska Splitter I apparently already have on my system (and I don't think it's MPC's internal splitter because I have that unchecked).

[tre31]

I'm not entirely sure on this one, but I think that the early versions of haali media splitter were in fact called matroska splitter, so its the same thing, however by using the old version you are using old software (with bugs), use the newer one.

[squid_80]

Haali's Media Splitter is sometimes called matroska splitter, but it's different to Media Player Classic's internal matroska splitter (written by Gabest).

[Jerethi]

So I'm actually a little more confused now, because I have disabled MPC's Matroska splitter (via Options -> Internal Filters -> deselecting Matroska on the left Window), so I'm wondering what splitter I'm actually using! When I right click on the video and go to filters, I see various ffdshow filters displayed and also a "Matroska splitter (low merit)" filter.

[squid_80]

MPC's matroska splitter is also available as an external (stand-alone) filter. You've probably got that installed.

[Jerethi]

Thanks for the reply. Does anyone know specifically what features the gabest Matroska splitter lacks that Haali has? I'm actually quite happy with the gabest splitter, and when I installed the Haali splitter, it causes... funny behavior. Basically, I'm wondering if it's safe to just use MPC's built-in filter, or if there's some killer feature included in the Haali splitter that makes it extremely unwise to use MPC's filter.

[squid_80]

I say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Sure there's things Haali's splitter can do that Gabest's can't. For a start it does .mp4 and .ts (possibly .avi if you let it) as well as .mkv. I'm not sure if Gabest's splitter handles ordered chapters... But if you don't know what they are, you probably don't need to worry about it.

[Mercury_22]

So I'm actually a little more confused now, because I have disabled MPC's Matroska splitter (via Options -> Internal Filters -> deselecting Matroska on the left Window), so I'm wondering what splitter I'm actually using! When I right click on the video and go to filters, I see various ffdshow filters displayed and also a "Matroska splitter (low merit)" filter.

Even when you don't select MPC's internal Matroska splitter MPC it's using it but with a low merit if you don't have other Matroska splitter with higher merit on your system !!! To check if you have other Matroska splitter installed use WMP (not MPC)and if can't play any mkv -> you don't have any Matroska splitter !