LAV Filters - DirectShow Media Splitter and Decoders

[Reino]

uhm...
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1541279#post1541279

LAV Splitter, MPC-HC Video Decoder (DXVA) and FFDShow

[nevcairiel]

uhm...
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1541279#post1541279

That same sample shows problems for you? Plays perfectly for me.
Also, still missing the information which decoder. :p

[Reino]

And not only just that sample, A LOT more MKV-files.
First I thought it was an issue with mkvs created with MKVToolNix 5.0.0 and higher, but an mkv (created with MKVToolNix 4.3.0) had the same issue. Funny thing is, mkvs spat out by MeGui (created with Haali Matroska Writer), don't have this problem.

FWIW;

AMD Athlon XP 3200+ (Barton, 2300Mhz)
ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe (nVidia nForce2 Ultra 400)
Sapphire HD 3850 (512MB GDDR3, AGP, DVI)
Onboard: Realtek ALC650 (nVidia SoundStorm)

Windows XP Pro SP3 (nLited)
MPC - Homecinema 1.5.3.3847.0 (VMR9 renderless)
FFDShow rev.4052

[pirlouy]

The guy said:
Once something is published, it doesn't get changed.
So don't edit your post, he won't see it else ! :D

[robpdotcom]

6.1 DTS-ES (not HD) can even be decoded with just the ffmpeg decoder, works fine for me on eg. the Star Wars discs.

Now I know why it wasn't working for me. The Star Wars are DTS-ES Discrete, while all the files I tested before were DTS-ES Matrixed. I guess there's no decoder that can pull the 6.1 from matrixed DTS-ES, or Dolby EX, for that matter.

BTW, when testing, I noticed that the "Expand 6.1 to 7.1" option doesn't work unless I used the dtsdecoder.dll. No problem for me, but thought I'd pass it along.

[andyvt]

Is saving configuration changes made to LAV Video to the registry after programmatic use intentional? Now that it supports SW DI, I'd like to add support to DTB for use during transcoding. The current implementation means that changes I make for that purpose are forced on other apps.

If possible, I'd prefer that persistence was an explicit choice.

[SamuriHL]

Yikes. Persistence needs to be optional because other programs are going to use the interfaces, as well. That seems bad. :)

[noee]

If possible, I'd prefer that persistence was an explicit choice.

From LAVVideoSettings.h:
// Switch to Runtime Config mode. This will reset all settings to default, and no changes to the settings will be saved
// You can use this to programmatically configure LAV Audio without interfering with the users settings in the registry.
// Subsequent calls to this function will reset all settings back to defaults, even if the mode does not change.
//
// Note that calling this function during playback is not supported and may exhibit undocumented behaviour.
// For smooth operations, it must be called before LAV Audio is connected to other filters.


ILAVVideoSettings::SetRuntimeConfig(bool);

* the comments in the include reference LAVAudio, but it's the same

[andyvt]

From LAVVideoSettings.h:
// Switch to Runtime Config mode. This will reset all settings to default, and no changes to the settings will be saved
// You can use this to programmatically configure LAV Audio without interfering with the users settings in the registry.
// Subsequent calls to this function will reset all settings back to defaults, even if the mode does not change.
//
// Note that calling this function during playback is not supported and may exhibit undocumented behaviour.
// For smooth operations, it must be called before LAV Audio is connected to other filters.


ILAVVideoSettings::SetRuntimeConfig(bool);

* the comments in the include reference LAVAudio, but it's the same

Thanks.

[SamuriHL]

Excellent. Very good.

[mindbomb]

so once libavcodec has interlaced vc-1 decoding support, will vc-1 be enabled by default in lav?

[Andy o]

I thought that didn't work when using WASAPI exclusive but I just used a test file and it indeed works. Silly me :)

What audio device are you using? Exclusive mode should bypass the mixer. What I said implied using DirectSound or shared mode. I don't see a reason to use WASAPI exclusive if you only got stereo, unless you're using HDMI and want your receiver to do the downmixing.

[madshi]

so once libavcodec has interlaced vc-1 decoding support, will vc-1 be enabled by default in lav?
Hopefully only if it finally catches up in performance to the MS VC-1 decoder. Currently it's significantly slower, even with progressive streams. At least on my PC.

[nevcairiel]

It indeed is significantly slower. Once it gets multi-threading, it might be a worthy alternative.
I should build some smart logic so that VC-1 is only disabled in software and not in hardware, otherwise its somewhat confusing right now.

[jmone]

I should build some smart logic so that VC-1 is only disabled in software and not in hardware, otherwise its somewhat confusing right now.

Great Idea

[6233638]

The new MKV splitter is working great. The old one was rather slow with some of my Blu-ray rips, and seeking was poor—it would only jump "blocks" rather than to a specific point I clicked—and now it works just as well as playing the .m2ts file off the disc.


Speaking of playing files off the disc, I watched a couple of films last night (Batman Begins and The Dark Knight) and rather than loading up the m2ts files as I usually do, I tried using the index.bdmv as someone mentioned that it worked now.

It did work, but I had problems with the sound going out of sync, and having to seek through the file to resync it. Pausing and resuming playback actually made the sync worse.

I haven't had this problem playing back m2ts files before, though I will admit I didn't have the time/patience to try with the m2ts files from those specific films.

[nevcairiel]

I've watched many BDs and i never noticed any sync issues.
The BD demuxer really is just a smart way to find out which m2ts to play, so if there is a significant difference between the two, it would be rather weird indeed (Especially if the disc is not seamless branching)
I will test again however, since i didnt play discs for a while, not that something broke..

[nevcairiel]

And not only just that sample, A LOT more MKV-files.
First I thought it was an issue with mkvs created with MKVToolNix 5.0.0 and higher, but an mkv (created with MKVToolNix 4.3.0) had the same issue. Funny thing is, mkvs spat out by MeGui (created with Haali Matroska Writer), don't have this problem.

I found the issue, its actually the audio and not the video as i initially thought - doesn't happen with LAV Audio fwiw. :p

I basically know whats wrong, but i need to dig deeper to find a proper solution that doesn't break anything else.

[mzso]

LAV Filters 0.41
No really "new" features yet, just a new basis for future enhancements. It will usually work much smoother then before, however, and so far no regressions have been reported.


Are you planning to implement matroska editions now?

[nevcairiel]

Are you planning to implement matroska editions now?

Planning, sure. ETA? How is 2012 for you? Its bad for me, so lets say 2013? :)

[Sebastiii]

I found the issue, its actually the audio and not the video as i initially thought - doesn't happen with LAV Audio fwiw. :p

I basically know whats wrong, but i need to dig deeper to find a proper solution that doesn't break anything else.

Cool :) and good luck :)

[mzso]

Planning, sure. ETA? How is 2012 for you? Its bad for me, so lets say 2013? :)

It requires that much work?

[nevcairiel]

It requires that much work?

Could be, no idea.
I just have loads of stuff to do, and that feature is not much fun. :p

[mbordas]

when I play a file with 16 bit ac-3 audio, reclock reports the audio stream is "PCM IEEE float", and not bit exact. It's easy enough to turn off 32 bit float in lav audio, and set reclock to output 32bit or 24 padded, and then it reports bit exact. Is this an ok solution, or is the lav audio output wrong?

[nevcairiel]

AC3 is a lossy format, there is no such thing as "bit exact" for lossy formats.

[mbordas]

good point :) But why is it outputting 32 bit float?

[nevcairiel]

good point :) But why is it outputting 32 bit float?

Because thats the format the decoder works in.

[mbordas]

yet the lossless codecs use 24bit? Interesting. So the answer is, don't worry about it. Thanks.

[nevcairiel]

yet the lossless codecs use 24bit? Interesting. So the answer is, don't worry about it. Thanks.

Thats pretty much the standard.
Most lossy decoders work internally in 32-bit float, and therefor outputting that is the right thing to do.

For lossless formats, they always output what you put in, which is most of the time 16-bit integer or 24-bit integer.

[nevcairiel]

LAV Filters 0.42

LAV Splitter
- Fixed a timestamping bug in the new MKV demuxer
- Futher enhancements to explorer thumbnail generation


Download: Installer (both x86/x64) (http://files.1f0.de/lavf/LAVFilters-0.42.exe) -- Zips: 32-bit (http://files.1f0.de/lavf/LAVFilters-0.42.zip) & 64-bit (http://files.1f0.de/lavf/LAVFilters-0.42-x64.zip)

Just some small fixes, the first one seemed somewhat important, although it only affects those people using ffdshow for audio decoding..... :)

[DragonQ]

What happens if "Use stream aspect ratio" is unticked? Does it use the aspect ratio specified in the container instead? Might be useful for me since I have a few MPEG2 files that are correctly specified as 16:9 in the MKV container but the stream says they're something like 2.35:1 for some reason.

[nevcairiel]

What happens if "Use stream aspect ratio" is unticked? Does it use the aspect ratio specified in the container instead? Might be useful for me since I have a few MPEG2 files that are correctly specified as 16:9 in the MKV container but the stream says they're something like 2.35:1 for some reason.

It then uses whatever value the source filter sends, most likely a container value if set.

[Reino]

- Fixed a timestamping bug in the new MKV demuxerPerfect! Playback is all smooth now. Thanks a lot for the 2 small fixes.

Perhaps "only those people using ffdshow for audio decoding" are a majority for all we know. I can understand you'd like people to use all 3 of your filters, but let's say if you'd only allow the LAV Splitter to connect to the LAV Audio/Video Decoder, I don't think it would've been such a success as it is now.

[DragonQ]

Yeah ffdshow has so many options that it'll be hard to beat to be honest. LAV is fantastic for me due to CUVID support and great hardware de-interlacing but I like the custom channel mapping that ffdshow offers me in the audio department, for now at least.

[Metasyntactic]

Hi all,

First off, i want to thank any of you who work on LAV filters (esp. Nevcariel) for the exceptional work done. LAV has worked amazingly for me and has given me a single install that allows me to watch high def content hardware accelerated on my ION2 from apps like Media Player and Media Center.

That said, there's still a remaining issue that i'm looking for help with.

Right now i can use LAV for nearly all content, except for content with subtitles. for that i use Media Player Classic. While MPC works fine for me, it does mean i can't always use something like Media Center for all my media.

The problem i've run into is that when i try to use LAV along with something to render the subtitles, it seems to suddenly make CPU usage jump to a point where i can't watch 1080p smoothly. My guess is that the subtitles cause things to no longer be hardware accelerated, and then my CPU can't handle it.

I was wondering if people knew of a way to use LAV along with some subtitle renderer that would allow me to still use hardware acceleration and handle 1080p content. I don't need anything fancy as most of my subtitles will be just SRT text form. Also, my subtitles are always embedded, not external.

Any help would be appreciated here.

Thanks much!

[CruNcher]

LAV Filters 0.42

LAV Splitter
- Fixed a timestamping bug in the new MKV demuxer
- Futher enhancements to explorer thumbnail generation


Download: Installer (both x86/x64) (http://files.1f0.de/lavf/LAVFilters-0.42.exe) -- Zips: 32-bit (http://files.1f0.de/lavf/LAVFilters-0.42.zip) & 64-bit (http://files.1f0.de/lavf/LAVFilters-0.42-x64.zip)

Just some small fixes, the first one seemed somewhat important, although it only affects those people using ffdshow for audio decoding..... :)

Both major issues are still resident:

MP4/MOV parser certain H.264 bitstream freezes while playing back (directly exported from FinalCut) (some official edited Apple quicktime trailers, studio files)

MPC-HC hang situation with Mainconcepts Mpeg-2 SDK9 Decoder on certain Player actions (file close,drag and drop new file for playback)

both issues doesn't show up with the Internal MPC-HC TS/PS MP4/MOV parser (state is fully reproducible)

[nevcairiel]

Both major issues are still resident:


Those are not major issues, they are rather minor - and since they only bother you, i might even call them features. :D

You're welcome to provide something helpful, like a patch to fix the "issues", though!
Last i checked, the Mainconcept codec is not free, either. I'm not going to pay for it, you can donate a license if you want fixes. :)

[kalston]

What audio device are you using? Exclusive mode should bypass the mixer. What I said implied using DirectSound or shared mode. I don't see a reason to use WASAPI exclusive if you only got stereo, unless you're using HDMI and want your receiver to do the downmixing.

Asus Xonar DS. I believe it is the Xonar drivers that are doing the downmixing rather than Windows.
WASAPI exclusive clearly does not bypass the Xonar mixer like ASIO does since changing the sampling rate or the number of channels in the Asus control panel actually works. With ASIO, I can't do anything to the audio, be it in the Windows settings or the Asus CP.

I don't like Directsound as I don't trust it. I prefer to bypass all the Windows things when possible. I believe I can tell a difference in sound quality (with lossless music) between DS and ASIO/WASAPI and I don't really care whether that's placebo or not. WASAPI exclusive and ASIO also have the huge advantage of muting all the other sounds, which is great for the peace of mind (just like the "fullscreen exclusive mode" in madvr if you see what I mean).

[Midzuki]

...

MPC-HC hang situation with Mainconcepts Mpeg-2 SDK9 Decoder on certain Player actions (file close,drag and drop new file for playback)

Unless things have changed a lot very-recently, the MPEG decoder from MainConcept is designed to work "best" :p with their own media splitters :mad: Not to mention it's also somewhat slooooowww ;)

OTOH :) , their "outdated" and 8 y-o :eek: PS splitter still works very-well with PDVD9's MPEG decoder :cool: :cool: :cool:

[Andy o]

Asus Xonar DS. I believe it is the Xonar drivers that are doing the downmixing rather than Windows.

I suspected it was an Asus card. I think you're right. I have a DX.

I don't like Directsound as I don't trust it. I prefer to bypass all the Windows things when possible. I believe I can tell a difference in sound quality (with lossless music) between DS and ASIO/WASAPI and I don't really care whether that's placebo or not. WASAPI exclusive and ASIO also have the huge advantage of muting all the other sounds, which is great for the peace of mind (just like the "fullscreen exclusive mode" in madvr if you see what I mean).
That's OK if you're happy with it, but if it's placebo, while it might not be important to you, is to others if you're requesting actual features on the basis of that belief.

I don't understand why some people don't care to know if it's placebo though, when having that knowledge will either make the "issue" go away, and have it simpler, or it could prove to be an actual issue and may make it easier to resolve it.

[SamuriHL]

Let's not take this too far offtopic, but, it should be noted that because the ASUS was one of the first cards to support PAP, they went overboard in "protecting" the driver. So, it takes control of the ENTIRE audio path. That's great and all, but, not....in a lot of ways.

[Andy o]

Actually it's not PAP, it's the way Asus cards have worked always. For instance my DX is older than the HDAV cards.

[SamuriHL]

Seriously? I always assumed it was PAP. That's just sad then. :) I wish the Xonar cards would play Houdini and disappear. :D

[Andy o]

Dunno, for me it's a nice side effect cause I use it for headphones and can apply Dolby Headphone without having to switch ReClock out of WASAPI mode :)

[SamuriHL]

I suppose :)

[gendouhydeist]

just one quick question guys, does the mkv thumbnail generation relies on divx mkv media foundation? cause it ain't generating thumbnails for me. Only on known file extension e.g. .mp4 .avi

[nevcairiel]

just one quick question guys, does the mkv thumbnail generation relies on divx mkv media foundation? cause it ain't generating thumbnails for me. Only on known file extension e.g. .mp4 .avi

My filters by themself do not generate thumbnails, I only provide the option to use the filters in a thumbnail generator.

[gendouhydeist]

@nevcairiel
where can I see that option? also is there anyway to generate thumbnails by the current filters? like ffdshow.

[kalston]

That's OK if you're happy with it, but if it's placebo, while it might not be important to you, is to others if you're requesting actual features on the basis of that belief.

I don't understand why some people don't care to know if it's placebo though, when having that knowledge will either make the "issue" go away, and have it simpler, or it could prove to be an actual issue and may make it easier to resolve it.

I didn't really mean it like that, I could still use a downmixing feature on my XP laptop with an USB soundcard (there I really DO need to downmix, even with DS). And I'm sure there are people who would like to down/up mix as well before sending the signal to their soundcard or a receiver (obviously not everyone has a Xonar like card), and nev did say himself that he would implement it anyway (I was only asking for an ETA, not asking for any additional features).

Proving that there is or isn't a difference between DS/ASIO etc will be hard in most cases I think and thus I'm not even gonna bother trying to do it.
Even if you have a receiver that tells you whether you're outputting bit perfect or not I wouldn't be surprised if telling the difference between bit perfect and not bit perfect were to be impossible for most people - if not everyone. But because I'm an audiophile I do all I can to get the purest possible sound, it's as simple as that. Hence why I use ASIO, WASAPI exclusive and pay attention to the sampling rate settings, digital volume sliders etc.

[bjd]

The CMedia 8788 based Xonar Cards have their strengths and weaknesses. The strength is the high quality PCM output. I have both a Xonar D2 and an Auzentech Meridian. The Auzentech has had the op-amps swapped out for Burr Brown OPA627s (2 per socket/8 in all) and acts as a high quality 7.1 pre-amp feeding four separate power amps. The weakness though is the handling of SPDIF input/output as it is always passed through the DSP unless using ASIO drivers, so for two channel bit exact WASAPI/KS output another solution is needed in my case the onboard Realtek AL888 which has pretty poor PCM output by comparison but does not mess with the SPDIF providing the DSP/Mixer inputs are disabled. The only downside is the manual SPDIF sample rate selection, but at least I can pass a disguised DTS wave through it.

As for Direct Sound, as the mixer in Vista/Windows 7 always converts and works in 32bit float regardless of the source, it is best to bypass expecially if you have gone to the trouble of installing LAV audio for proper 24 bit audio support ;).