DIVX/XVID Video playback lagging all of the sudden ? No Idea what's causing it !

[JackTheDVDRipper]

Hi,

Here's the story. I had an Athlon 1333/64MB Asus Geforce 3 Deluxe Original/Gametheatre XP/MSI K266pro M-Board/2x 20GB Hardisks @5200rpm I think one is 7200rpm/512DDR RAM/ Asus 522452 CDRW/ pioneer DVD rom/ ext. 120GB ICE CUBE USB 2/ Ultra DMA 133 IDE

I always had good smooth playback of MPEG-4 files. Until recently, the movies play smooth for around 3 minutes then all of the sudden the video frame freezes for a second or more and then catches up to the audio in fast forward playback. I am sure you have seen it.

Ok, so I didn't bother myself too much about it since I was going to do an upgrade in a week anywhere. So I got my upgrade.

GA-K8N PRO M-BOARD, Athlon 64 3200+, New Case

So I put the m-board and cpu in a new case, and keep the 2 hardisks as well as the old IDE cables since I always find it a pain in the @ss to fiddle around with IDE cables and keep the previous config. 1x Hardisk Master/1x Hardisk Slave - 39 pin cable.
1x CDRW Secondary Master/1x DVD-ROM secondary slave - 40 pin Ultra DMA.

So I re-install windows XP in order to provide the best driver installation of the new cpu and m-board and re-install everything else ie. codecs etc. But the problem still remains with the MPEG-4 playback, only this time the video frame freezes for around a 1/4- 1/2 of second. It got better, but this is still unexceptable with a new system like that and all.

So where do you think the problem lies ?

Is it the Hardisks
because they are very old they now work worse ?

Is it the IDE cables ?

Is it my codec softwere ie. divx 5.1.1 retail/Gordian knot codec pack incl. ffdshow etc. ?

Maybe it's because I was running Diskeeper Auto-defragmentation services with my previous system setup and they always interfered with my application processes ?

I am really clueless, what do you think ?

PS. I now have only 256DDR RAM PC1700, because my other 2x 128 MB PC266 DDRAM DIM modules had some sort of compatibility problem even thought my M-board can take PC266 ram. I am now waiting for 512MB DDR400 PC3200 A-data ram DIM , will get it in a couple of days. Thought I really doubt ram is the problem, my friend has an old P3 with 128 MB and can play divx/movies without a problem.

[JackTheDVDRipper]

OK, I just ran the same XVID encoded file from my USB 2.0 120GB drive and experienced the same problem.

It can't possibly be the new Motherboard and CPU. But how can I explain the ext. USB drive plugged into my new Motherboards USB 2.0 port having the same problem. Unless things like bad IDE cable/ Hardisk can create a system bottle neck even for a direct USB connection ?

[avih]

kill all non-relevant processes, try with different films. see if the problem remains.

also, i don't quite understand the symptoms. does it stop ONCE, and then continues as normal? or is it repeating throughout the film every X secs/mins? what codecs do u use? what file format? (avi/ogm/etc). how many different clips did u try? can u play the same clip on your friend's computer?

all this info is needed such that people can better analyze your situation.

if i understand correctly, the only thing left after you upgraded is the HD and clip, so it must be related one of these, and your system should definately play properly otherwise.

[JackTheDVDRipper]

Originally posted by avih
kill all non-relevant processes, try with different films. see if the problem remains.

also, i don't quite understand the symptoms. does it stop ONCE, and then continues as normal? or is it repeating throughout the film every X secs/mins? what codecs do u use? what file format? (avi/ogm/etc). how many different clips did u try? can u play the same clip on your friend's computer?

all this info is needed such that people can better analyze your situation.

if i understand correctly, the only thing left after you upgraded is the HD and clip, so it must be related one of these, and your system should definately play properly otherwise.

I think I gave all relevant information, I use XVID codec and Divx 5.1.1 codec. I also have the gordian knot codec pack installed. My computer played it fine before, then all of the sudden this started happening, I upgraded and the same problem remained only slightly less severe. So yes every 1-2 minutes the video freezes up then catches up to the audio in a quick burst. These files run perfectly fine on my friends old computer.

I know I need more ram, I'll also replace the IDE cables. If it still remains. I'll buy new hardisks and throw out these 2x 20GB 3 year old once. What else can it be ? but heck playing them off my USB drive doesn't take the problem away. So I am really confused.

[maciek_m]

Do you use ffdshow? Try uninstalling it and using just the XviD decoder. Nimo Codec Pack has also been known for causing a lot of problems with playback. If you have it installed get rid of it and try Tsunami Pack.

[dimzon]

Look at my post on 3ivX forum (in signature)

[theReal]

I have often had a similar problem with Divx files (mostly -or always?- Divx 3.11) and it was most definitely software related (I still don't know what to do against it). I can't say I ever experienced real lagging, but kind of "unround" movement, like if a bad ivtc had been applied (but it's not the files, because when repeated the same scene plays fine)

Sometimes it helps to increase process priority of the player application, sometimes nothing helps (and you got to get up all 5 minutes, pause playback and start again - cos then it is ok for the next five minutes).
Sometimes changing the player helps (try a Software DVD player for instance).

Had this again recently on watching a Divx and it really spoiled the fun of watching - I rather watch a DVD now because that has never caused any problems so far...