DVobSub and YUY2 overlay surface

[Amerzone]

All out of the blue, when I launch in Zoom a DivX file which has subtitles in srt format (same filename with that of the avi file), I get a black picture with this message:

No YUY2 overlay surface is available. Possible reasons: using GDI old video card, bugus driver, bad luck. Things to try: check latest drivers, reinstall DirectX 8.1, install AGP for mobo.

I'm using WinME + DirectX 8.1, have a GeForce2 MX400 card with the latest nVidia drivers v28.32, DVobSub is v2.13. Same problem happens with RadLight 3.03 R5.2a. If the avi has no subtitles, no problem at all, it plays fine. The funny thing is that BSPlayer v0.85 build 484 can show the subtitles OK; in fact it shows the subtitles twice, once via DVobSub and the other via its internal mechanism.

What's going on here? It used to work perfectly, the only thing I did yesterday was to uninstall WinDVD 3.1 DTS and re-install it again, coz it was freezing. Could this be the reason?

[gabest]

I had already thrown this URL into another topic, but may be you could try this version too :)

http://vobsub.edensrising.com/get.php/test.exe (it is a dvobsub-only build)

[Acaila]

Heh, I've ALWAYS had that message with DVobSub when I go from windowed to full-screen mode (I think since version 2.06, I never tried earlier versions). It only gives that black screen for a few secs though. I thought it was 'normal'. :D

[Amerzone]

Originally posted by gabest
I had already thrown this URL into another topic, but may be you could try this version too :)

http://vobsub.edensrising.com/get.php/test.exe (it is a dvobsub-only build)

Thanx, gabest, this one works :) I also noticed the new colors tab you've added in the filter properties. There are two issues with this though:

1. The characters are too faint, although I've set them to arial, bold, 16pt, extend to 4:3, advanced renderer ON. The filter uses RGB32 by itself.
2. BSPlayer now is screwed up... :mad: Black screen, just the subtitles appear (it's those from your filter, since I've suspended the BS internal mechanism). In your filter properties accessed from BS, I can see it has chosen YUY2 now. Even if I change to RGB32, the problem is there.

Almost desperate, I started a cycle of uninstall-reboot-install of the various versions (back to 2.08). What the hell, I always get this stupid YUY2 message! :confused: How come, it used to work perfectly in the past, the only thing I did was to uninstall-reinstall WinDVD and this error stubbornly insists now. I really don't have any idea why this happens...

[gabest]

Originally posted by Amerzone
1. The characters are too faintReally??? :), although I've set them to arial, bold, 16pt, extend to 4:3, advanced renderer ON.If you turn this OFF do the colors get back to normal?The filter uses RGB32 by itself.Is the sign of the height negative? That would mean your card doesn't want to use any YUV format, which is quite bad. Access the renderer's settings (the old renderer, not XP's) and check if the YUV/RGB boxes are all checked.2. BSPlayer now is screwed up... :mad:Have you tried both the overlay modes?Black screen, just the subtitles appear (it's those from your filter, since I've suspended the BS internal mechanism). In your filter properties accessed from BS, I can see it has chosen YUY2 now. Even if I change to RGB32, the problem is there.When bsplayer is using the overlay mixer, you won't be able to connect it in any RGB modes.Almost desperate, I started a cycle of uninstall-reboot-install of the various versions (back to 2.08). What the hell, I always get this stupid YUY2 message! :confused: How come, it used to work perfectly in the past, the only thing I did was to uninstall-reinstall WinDVD and this error stubbornly insists now. I really don't have any idea why this happens... Try to reinstall DX81, may be it can fix your system.

[Amerzone]

Originally posted by gabest
If you turn this OFF do the colors get back to normal?

No, they do not get back to normal. To give you an idea what I mean, the characters appear with glitches on the edges, they are not like it used to be.

Is the sign of the height negative? That would mean your card doesn't want to use any YUV format, which is quite bad. Access the renderer's settings (the old renderer, not XP's) and check if the YUV/RGB boxes are all checked.

Sorry, I don't understand what you mean by the "negative sign of the height". Where should I look at? :confused: I am using WinME, should I have the advanced rendered on or off? I have the impression that the advanced is meant only for XP. I turned it off, I checked the renderer's settings and all YUV/RGB boxes are ticked.

Have you tried both the overlay modes?

Oh, I have to learn so much... It was in mode 1 (as it used always to be, I've never played with it in the past), I switched to mode 2 and BS is now back live and kicking! :)

Coming back to Zoom, now. I noticed that if I play a XviD avi, the subtitles are strongly bold, perhaps more than they should be. Any idea why with DivX they look different?

And finally, something I just noticed. If I change my desktop settings to 16-bit color, all players show the videos very badly, only BS manages them fine. I have to switch to 32-bit color to have them all giving the same result (and even with this, I have the slight impression that there are still artifacts with Zoom and WiMP, for instance the faces appear somehow with little edges, BS plays them perfectly). And guess what, with 32-bit color ZP gives an error with divx.ax and quits. Go figure...

Thanx in any case for the answer, perhaps you could help further.

[gabest]

Originally posted by Amerzone
No, they do not get back to normal. To give you an idea what I mean, the characters appear with glitches on the edges, they are not like it used to be.Can you make a screenshot somehow?Sorry, I don't understand what you mean by the "negative sign of the height". Where should I look at? :confused:When you turn on the stats, the picture size should be in the first line.I am using WinME, should I have the advanced rendered on or off? I have the impression that the advanced is meant only for XP.No, it is just the way how the fonts are being drawn.Coming back to Zoom, now. I noticed that if I play a XviD avi, the subtitles are strongly bold, perhaps more than they should be. Any idea why with DivX they look different?Was really dvobsub subtitling in bsplayer? Or may be you are comparing the normal and the advanced renderer?And finally, something I just noticed. If I change my desktop settings to 16-bit color, all players show the videos very badly, only BS manages them fine. I have to switch to 32-bit color to have them all giving the same result (and even with this, I have the slight impression that there are still artifacts with Zoom and WiMP, for instance the faces appear somehow with little edges, BS plays them perfectly). And guess what, with 32-bit color ZP gives an error with divx.ax and quits. Go figure...I'm sure that you are looking at the rgb output of the renderer filter in zoom and mp, which can be ugly under a 16bpp desktop... Bsplayer differs to those players by using the overlay mixer to play in yuy2 all the time, avoiding most of the rgb problems. If the renderer filter weren't unable to switch into yuy2 (if this is the case), then you would see the same output in every player.

[Amerzone]

Originally posted by gabest
I'm sure that you are looking at the rgb output of the renderer filter in zoom and mp, which can be ugly under a 16bpp desktop... Bsplayer differs to those players by using the overlay mixer to play in yuy2 all the time, avoiding most of the rgb problems. If the renderer filter weren't unable to switch into yuy2 (if this is the case), then you would see the same output in every player.
gabest, thanx once more for yr answer. Sorry to skip the rest of your questions, but for the time being I think I have to solve first this overlay trouble I've suddenly got. Just to make sure that DVobSub does not interfere somehow, I uninstalled it now.

The problem is that I have the impression that I lost the capability for overlay. In 16-bit color, everything looks ugly in rgb. When I switch to 32-bit color, 1024x768 resolution (17" SONY monitor), 85Hz refresh rate, then the videos look ok in WiMP and Zoom, but still not as sharp as they used to be (this is evident when I look at the actors' faces, there are tiny edges on them, bitrate is no problem - this is a 2cd DivX, width and height are ok). But even in 32-bit color, I have the feeling that overlay is not used, coz if I try with MicroDVD Player which checks in the beginning if overlay is enabled, the little dot on the player faceplate never turns white, starts as a blinking yellow and ends in red. I cannot see the subtitles on the video, nor can I have OSD anymore with MDVDP. I checked the excellent MDVDP documentation, tried to tweak the settings as stated there, still the same problem.

I'm really desperate and confused now :confused: How come I lost overlay? Could I do something with the Windows video renderer settings? Should I start uninstalling / installing different versions of the Detonator drivers? If you or someone else could further help, I'd really appreciate it...

[gabest]

Yes, reinstalling the video card's drivers or directx would be a good start :D

Do you have WMP 7 or 8 on? I've seen some checkboxes in its settings about overlay somewhere.

[Amerzone]

I have WinME, so WMP7. There are a couple of buttons for HW acceleration in the options, but they don't help.

I leave the exercise with the Detonator drivers for some other day. Right now my head is spinning and I feel too dizzy for this. I searched at Google for "nvidia overlay" and got a lot of pages with faq, forum posts, tricks, etc. It seems there might be occasional problems with GeForce2-3-4 and overlay, perhaps the Detonator 4 are an overkill for MX400, and I'd better revert to the old v12.40 drivers that I used to have long time ago.

Nevertheless, now I have the latest 28.32 drivers using them in 32-bit color. As I said above, video quality is now ok with all players, alas there are some but...

1. BSPlayer is the absolute winner!! No prob at all, even in 16-bit color it works in overlay mode. Actors' faces and letters in opening credits are perfect, they look sharp and have no edges. BS also supports subtitles by itself, so I could also avoid additional filters (sorry for that, gabest... :( ) The only drawback: I tried to make it the default player, but if I double-click an avi in Windows Commander (same with Windows Explorer), it says there is a missing file, however the avi is loaded fine in BS. Strange, isn't it?

2. Zoom needs a trick to use overlay: you have to apply from the player options an svcd filter to make it work with media files (not necessary in DVD's). And the XviD videos that they were not playing before in 32-bit color, now they are ok (I had to upgrade to the latest nic's DS filter though...) I just need a filter for the subtitles, I'll try again with DVobSub, perhaps even with DivXG400 (once more sorry for that, gabest...)

3. MDVDP plays the videos fine, but it still can not detect the overlay. I have subtitles in fullscreen only, but no OSD any more :mad: And since it does not detect overlay, the video quality is not so nice. More than acceptable of course, but less sharp and you can see the difference on details.

4. For WiMP I cannot care less...

What I can not still understand is how come this f***ing overlay prob kicked in! All I did was to uninstall/re-install WinDVD...

PS: I have the feeling this thread should in fact be in the players section now, isn't it?