LAV Filters - DirectShow Media Splitter and Decoders

[Mercury_22]

Working fine here. So if it happens with all files/streams, the problem is at your end.

If problem only happens with certain files/stream, you need to give a link to an example.

It seems that is only happening after pausing or / and seeking and only with mp4 (H.264/AVC) and mp4-av1 (AV01) but not with webM (vp9 profile 0)

Sample https://youtu.be/jhyY5e5grzE

[clsid]

Playing the AAC track of that video directly in the browser gives silence after the netflix logo sound. Same for the OPUS track. I see no issues or difference with LAV decoding. Same with BE as well.

[supercoolman]

the latest LAV 0.77.1 is unable to decode BINK2 video despite ffmpeg seemed to have added (https://github.com/richardpl/FFmpeg/commit/7ab92509994dac1dc181cc5f99c45e3e80cd13bf) the support early last year. is it possible to port that support to LAV?

for example, using MPC-BE + LAV to play the BK2 files from Steam version of STEINS;GATE 0 for Windows doesn't output any video (KB2j) while audio plays without issue

[richardpl]

Because you linked fork branch, and not real main branch of FFmpeg, thanks for telling me to remove that branch on github from existence.

[clsid]

It is sad that such patches are not getting reviewed/approved by other FFmpeg devs. Maybe Hendrik is willing to do a review once he gets some time for it. Same of your AC4 patch.

[LigH]

And VVC is another "hot topic"...

[ryrynz]

I have a file with multiple audio streams in English and Japanese, when I switch to Japanese I get the AC3 192kb/s track rather than the Japanese 24bit PCM track, I have "prefer audio stream with the highest quality selected" both Japanese tracks are in Stereo (two channels) so based on that the PCM track should be favored correct?'
I'm using LAV 71.1.1 with MPC-BE (latest dev)

[nevcairiel]

LAVs stream selection parameters are only for the initial stream selection. If you swap afterwards during playback, you or your player are in full control.

[ryrynz]

Thanks. Would you be open to a switch or option for this selection to continue after inital stream selection? Or is this something that I aim at the player devs?

[nevcairiel]

There is really no interface to do anything like that on LAVs side. The only interface there is lets you pick the exact stream you want - if your player abstracts that away into a language choice, then thats on them to handle.

[max79]

AFAIR the "syntax" of that command is incorrect, or rather, incomplete;
try this one instead:

protocol://username:password@SiteName.domain/directory/filename.MP3

Hello,

may be you, or anybody else, know, why:confused: "LAV Splitter Source" (and VLC player also) can't playback URLs that contains Cyrillic symbols in its path?:

ftp://music:music@home.dimonius.ru/Music/Russian/Misc/Я_не_поняла.mp3

Any feedback would be appreciated.

[Sunspark]

I don't think it's the Cyrillic. It doesn't work on MPC-BE with its own decoders and the developers of that are Russian.

Speculating here, the problem might be with FTP chosen as the protocol.

[max79]

I don't think it's the Cyrillic.

I think you are wrong, because if you rename(these files are not hosted on the server, I renamed just for example) the file name like this:
ftp://music:music@home.dimonius.ru/Music/Russian/Misc/1234.mp3

or like this:
ftp://music:music@home.dimonius.ru/Music/Russian/Misc/file.mp3

it plays!

[Sunspark]

The renamed files just says "Failed to render the file". Try putting it on a http server instead as a test.

[max79]

The renamed files just says "Failed to render the file". Try putting it on a http server instead as a test.

http server is not my point. I got issues(only with files named using Cyrillic symbols) with FTP server. I told you, i'm renamed URLs just for example:cool:. This one plays fine:
ftp://music:music@home.dimonius.ru/Music/Russian/Misc/Irina_epifanova.mp3

[LigH]

Just a guess: Many FTP servers deliver unknown file types in ASCII mode by default. It may have to be configured to know that MP3 files must be delivered in binary mode.

[filler56789]

I had to use Waterfox for downloading one of the Cyrillic-filenamed MP3s...

MPC-BE plus LAV Splitter always returns "Failed to render the file".

F.W.I.W.....
the Cyrillic filenames are always converted to the STUPID "percent-encoded" strings :-/

[Sunspark]

This one plays fine:
ftp://music:music@home.dimonius.ru/Music/Russian/Misc/Irina_epifanova.mp3

This one does play. The ones named 1234.mp3 and file.mp3 did not render, but Irina does play. So this is enough to establish that FTP works for latin playback.

I was curious enough to dig further into it, and Cyrillic does work.. with https anyway.. copy and paste the below and see for yourself.

https://archive.org/download/ChicaBomb/ИРИНА ДУБЦОВА И ЛЮБОВЬ.mp3

So maybe unicode is supported for https, but not for ftp?

[nevcairiel]

This should be fixed in the next nightly, the server was requiring an additional call before it accepts the option to enable UTF8 (which is technically out of spec).
Do keep in mind that you need to pass in the "raw" UTF-8 string, and not a URL-encoded string (eg. not using the percent signs). URL encoding is not used for FTP, and LAV does not process the URLs, they are straight passed to the FTP server as-is.

[max79]

Cyrillic does work.. with https anyway..
Why:confused: are you misleading people by mixing discussions of two different protocols?:mad: I repeat, "LAV Splitter Source" has problems with ftp://-protocol with files named using Cyrillic symbols!

[max79]

This should be fixed in the next nightly, the server was requiring an additional call before it accepts the option to enable UTF8 (which is technically out of spec).
Do keep in mind that you need to pass in the "raw" UTF-8 string, and not a URL-encoded string (eg. not using the percent signs). URL encoding is not used for FTP, and LAV does not process the URLs, they are straight passed to the FTP server as-is.
Indeed good news:thanks: It's a pleasure to deal with a professional! I'm appreciate it :) I will be waiting final release.

[Sunspark]

Why:confused: are you misleading people by mixing discussions of two different protocols?:mad: I repeat, "LAV Splitter Source" has problems with ftp://-protocol with files named using Cyrillic symbols!

I am not misleading anyone. I am helping you. It's part of a process of troubleshooting elimination. It was necessary to prove that ftp works at all because the first two links you shared didn't work, only the 3rd link which came later worked. Then it was necessary to determine whether unicode worked with any other protocols. If it did, it made it possible to narrow down specifically that the issue is with FTP. If it didn't work then the issue wasn't specific to a protocol.

Saying that FTP doesn't work with unicode and leaving it at that won't get any attention paid to it. You need to help others help you by doing some of the work to rule out other things.

[andybkma]

Hi guys, just got a simple advice question... I noticed when playing/seeking a .ts file with has AVC & AAC inside using LAV for both splitter & audio/video decoding it is slow to play after seeking. MediaInfo says they are MPEG-TS files. If I "remux" the same file to a different container such as mp4 or mkv it plays great. Since I use Zoom Player I was easily able to change the splitter to use Haali instead of LAV under MPEG-TS but it's still slow. Any advice besides remuxing all the files? Just wondering why they are slow to play after seeking since normally everything else I use LAV for is so butter smooth :-)

[nevcairiel]

MPEG-TS is a broadcast/streaming format, its not designed for local file playback - as such it lacks information where to find the audio/video of the time you requested, so it will do the best it can to find it manually, but that can result in the delay you are seeing, depending on some factors.

If you want to keep those files for a longer time, remuxing them might be the best option.

[andybkma]

If you want to keep those files for a longer time, remuxing them might be the best option.

Thanks much, I knew there was a simple explanation :-)

[ryrynz]

Hi Nev, there are times I'd like to show English subtitles when English audio is playing usually to clarify something that was said.
Sometimes these files have multiple languages, I'm only ever interested in maybe or or two languages.

I'm not sure if there would be a better way, but I think that hiding all subtitles that I'm not interested in would be a nice feature and one way to solve it.
Alternatively is there a way to be able to select English subs as a default selection for English audio but not have it enabled?
That way whenever I want to enable subs I can get English first and don't have to scroll through a dozen or so languages or have to use the mouse which takes longer / breaks out of HDR.
Thanks

[hubblec4]

It seems to me more and more people ask for a Linking-System to link audio with subs.
Here is feature request for Matroska (https://github.com/ietf-wg-cellar/matroska-specification/issues/717)

I also like such a Link-System and I have used it for a long time with the Haali-Splitter which supports such a Link-System in a PERFECT way.

I don't know if nevcairiel are interested in to implement this fearture...

[Sunspark]

@ryrynz Setting default languages in the splitter is easy, but having subs on/off as a default setting surprisingly seems to be a feature that was overlooked in the player. There is a hotkey you can press to turn subs on and off, W, but you would have to do that every time if you don't want subs on every time.

[SirMaster]

Can anyone think of a way I can play a media file with MPC-HC or MPC-BE and be able to send the audio track out an HDMI bitstream while simultaneously decoding it to 8 channel PCM?

A player like MPC-BE has a dual audio output option, but it seems to only work if both outputs are bit-streaming or both are decoding.

Is there any software that can sort of masquerade as a sort of virtual output device that can accept bitstream audio and then itself decode it into 8 channel PCM?

Any ideas would be appreciated.

It seems like this should be technically possible, but I am not sure the software needed to make it happen even exists in a way that can be connected together.

[Sunspark]

I have never used it, but maybe something like OBS Studio that the streamers use for displaying gameplay while also broadcasting themselves in the same stream might have something.

[Grimsdyke]

Hi Nev, I do have a feature request/suggestion !

Please see this thread for reference.
https://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=183390

Basically the problem is that if m2ts' with different audio formats (TrueHD, DTS, AC3, etc.) are parsed into one "program" according to the disc's mpls it is causing problems during playback.

I have tested MPC-BE/HC with both internal and external LAV-filters, MPV based players and also KODI.

Only VLC can switch between audio tracks without any issues !!

Suggestion:
Add a function to LAV so that the user can prevent that the m2ts' are parsed that way, by, maybe, removing content like label jingles, mpaa rating trailers from the mpls ?

If necessary we can continue via PM. I could also send you a disc to test, etc.

[Sunspark]

ffmpeg 6.0 has been released. Does LAV track master for ffmpeg or releases?

[jkauff]

ffmpeg 6.0 has been released. Does LAV track master for ffmpeg or releases?
Nev is one of the primary ffmpeg contributors. He certainly knows what's in the new release.

[nevcairiel]

LAV generally tracks git master, not releases. I update when i think it makes sense.

[Cutterkin]

Are the changes made to LAV Nightly Builds documented anywhere? I haven't been able to find a changelog.

I know the source code itself is available on Github but I am not capable of understanding the changes by looking at that. I'd guess many others aren't either.

Thanks!

[VBB]

You can see every change (commit) here: https://github.com/Nevcairiel/LAVFilters/commits/master

Oh, and Nev, I recently got back into WoW. Never realized how involved you were, or still are LOL. Thanks for the addons!

[kedautinh12]

How to got nightly build??

[huhn]

https://files.1f0.de/lavf/nightly/

[kedautinh12]

Thanks

[guest]

Thanks

Careful !! :D :D

[kedautinh12]

Don't worry, R***D*** still off :D

[nevcairiel]

LAV Filters 0.77.2

LAV Splitter
- NEW: Added identification for spatial/immersive audio extensions (Atmos, DTS:X)
- Changed: More reasonable rounding for odd aspect ratios, avoiding issues with some video pipelines
- Fixed: Improved compatibility with some FTP servers

LAV Audio
- Fixed: Restored the default channel layouts for 5.1 and 7.1 to the correct layout (accidentally changed in 0.77, causing some playback issues)
- Fixed: Some TrueHD files would not decode correctly
- Fixed: Clipping protection did not engage when using Integer output


Download: Installer (both x86/x64) (https://files.1f0.de/lavf/LAVFilters-0.77.2.exe) -- Zips: 32-bit (https://files.1f0.de/lavf/LAVFilters-0.77.2.zip) & 64-bit (https://files.1f0.de/lavf/LAVFilters-0.77.2-x64.zip)

This version resolves a regression caused by accidentally changing the default channel layouts for 5.1 and 7.1 in a refactor in 0.77, which caused playback issues with some audio devices - in particular when bitstreaming on Intel iGPUs.

Additionally, LAV Splitter is now capable of identifying spatial audio extensions, in particular Atmos in both EAC3 and TrueHD, as well as DTS:X.

A bigger update will be coming down in a few months, as I aim to at least do one big update per year, also to keep up with FFmpeg improvements, and bugfixes as needed.

[filler56789]

LAV Filters 0.77.2

LAV Splitter
- NEW: Added identification for spatial/immersive audio extensions (Atmos, DTS:X)
- Changed: More reasonable rounding for odd aspect ratios, avoiding issues with some video pipelines
- Fixed: Improved compatibility with some FTP servers

LAV Audio
- Fixed: Restored the default channel layouts for 5.1 and 7.1 to the correct layout (accidentally changed in 0.77, causing some playback issues)
- Fixed: Some TrueHD files would not decode correctly
- Fixed: Clipping protection did not engage when using Integer output


Many :thanks: for the endless😇 improvements and fixes. :)

[jmone]

Great work! Especially the ability to detect Atmos and DTS:X.

[SamuriHL]

The ability to detect Atmos and DTX:X is pretty awesome!

[Manni]

Thanks a lot for all your work, as always! :)

[flossy_cake]

Regarding LAV Audio, I was wondering if it might be possible in theory to implement something equivalent to Avisynth's Normalize (http://avisynth.nl/index.php/Normalize) filter?

Basically it works by scanning the entire audio track prior to playback (takes about 5 seconds for a 30 minute track) in order to find the frame with the loudest peak volume, before raising the volume til that peak touches maximum (0dB) , aka "peak normalization". This isn't compression and doesn't distort the audio in any way, it just sets the volume to its loudest position without clipping.

It's a bit of a messy solution, but I find the result is so pleasing, I'm no longer having to constantly reach for the volume control. It's something that I could see myself applying as a global setting to everything that I play.

The key to it working well is that it scans the entire audio track before playback, whereas "normalization" found in the your HDMI/audio device driver is a realtime normalization that constantly adjusts volume in real time and you can get "pumping" artefacts for example explosions or loud instruments can sound unusually quiet as you hear the normalizer kicking in, then gets louder again for quiet dialogue etc. I tried this and did not like it myself, even after tweaking those attack & decay parameters as best I could.

imo an ideal implementation would have these features:


Use multithreading when scanning the audio track(s) to decrease the scanning time


Store the peak level value in an external file to retrieve the next time that file is played, to avoid having to scan the file again.


Offer an option to immediately begin playing the audio while a background thread scans the audio track(s). When that thread is complete, then apply the normalization gradually over a number of seconds to make it less noticeable. Saves the user having to wait, although this may be a non-issue if multithreading optimisations can speed up the process. Alternatively, display some status text on screen: "Normalizing audio (10 seconds remaining)..." but that would probably need to be done through LAV Video and the two would have to talk to each other - not sure if that's possible.

[Sunspark]

I would love this feature because I currently use Realtek's Loudness Equalization and while it's not perfect it's better than nothing, but it's silly because I basically have 2 video players set up.. one is set up to use exclusive mode and I use that one for stereo streaming, and the other one is set up in shared mode and I use that one for 5.1 files. I use a different video renderer with each too. Works well.

You need to consider however the use case of streaming.. radio streams, youtube (especially if live), etc. none of that will be possible to pre-scan.

So then, what is the proposal? A toggle button in the player? We already know mpc-hc won't add it. mpc-be, maybe, maybe not. So basically, you'd have to do my two-player solution, where one of the players has lav in pre-scan mode and the other doesn't.

I think it's worth doing, but player support is going to be sub-optimal and will require setting up multiple configurations to avoid having to go into the settings every time to check or uncheck the option.

Also need to consider, would this equalization scanning take place before or after down-mixing 5.1 to stereo? I could see either scenario producing different output results.

[jmone]

Isn't this a Player Feature not a decoder, splitter, render thing? I'm pretty sure JRiver MC does this.

[nevcairiel]

This is not something I plan on doing. Pre-scanning the entire file does not fit into any of the concepts of LAV. If you are dealing with an entire video file, this takes far longer then a few seconds, especially if you are on a slow HDD.