mkv, fddshow, and Haali Splitter

[chrishallowell]

Hi all,
Does anyone know what I need to set in SageTV to use ffdshow with mkv files?

ffdshow is used in VOB files
ffdshow is used in LiveTV(Recordings)
ffdshow is NOT used in mkv files

Graphedit:
final.mkv -> CyberLink H.264/AVC Decoder (PDVD7.x) -> ffdshow Video Decoder -> VMR Input0
This mkv uses fddshow in MPC just fine.

Here's what I have in my sagetv.properties file:
videoframe/audio_decoder_filter=Cyberlink Audio Decoder
videoframe/audio_render_filter=CyberLink Audio Renderer (PDVD7.x)
videoframe/dvd_audio_decoder_filter=Cyberlink Audio Decoder
videoframe/dvd_audio_render_filter=CyberLink Audio Renderer (PDVD7.x)
videoframe/dvd_video_decoder_filter=Default
videoframe/dvd_video_postprocessing_filter=ffdshow raw video filter
videoframe/dvd_video_render_filter=Overlay
videoframe/h264_video_decoder_filter=CyberLink H.264/AVC Decoder (PDVD7.x)

I tried adding the following line but that didn't work:
videoframe/h264_video_postprocessing_filter=ffdshow raw video filter

Anyone have any ideas?

[talbot3]

you need to set "always_use_dshow_player=true" in either your sage or sageclient properties file depending on if you run in client mode or not. This is needed because Sage will use Mplayer for mkvs otherwise.

[chrishallowell]

ok, excellent! Thanks for the help. I'll try this when I get home.

[reggie14]

I have a related question: does anyone know how I can get Sage to use Haali for H.264 files in mp4 containers? If it matters, the files are using a m4v extension, but I can certainly change that.

I set "always_use_dshow_player=true" in the properties file, but the logs indicate Sage is using the Nero splitter. But, WMP uses the Haali splitter to play back the same files. I set the merits for my mpeg4 splitters really low, except for the Haali splitter.

I know Sage can see the Haali splitter, since it appears in the log file when it lists the DirectShow filters.

The main reason I care is because some files are playing back pretty choppy (and sometimes playback freezes up completely) in Sage, but they play back great in everything else. I verified from the logs that Sage is using the same H.264 decoder as WMP (CoreAVC), so I'm guessing its a splitter issue.

[chrishallowell]

I added the below line but SageTV still doesn't use ffdshow for mkv files.
always_use_dshow_player=true

Any other things to try?

Thanks,
Chris

[talbot3]

The line should have already been there except it was set to false by default. You do not need to add the whole line just change the existing to true.

[chrishallowell]

ok, I deleted the line I added and found the line already there. I changed it to read: always_use_dshow_player=true

Still no luck.

[talbot3]

Are you shutting sage completely down (including the service if you run it) before you edit the properties file?

With sage set to always use the directshow player, the playback should be identical to the filters shown in graphedit.

[chrishallowell]

Ok, I'll double check all of the properties and make sure graphedit still uses them when I get home tonight.

Thanks,
Chris

[chrishallowell]

Still no luck.

I've attached my sagetv.properties file.

[talbot3]

The properties file looks correct. Are you running SAGETV Service? If you are you need to edit the Sageclient properties file.

[chrishallowell]

No I'm not running the SageTV service and I don't have clients either.
I just double click on the SageTV icon on the desktop and watch TV using the DVI out to a TV.

I changed the video overlay and the DVD overlay to default and it works! (Not sure which one made it work, and I don't care to try and find out. IE: If it works, don't touch it!)

THANKS TALBOT3 FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP! VERY MUCH APPRECIATED
Thanks,
Chris

[Shield]

Originally Posted by talbot3

you need to set "always_use_dshow_player=true" in either your sage or sageclient properties file depending on if you run in client mode or not. This is needed because Sage will use Mplayer for mkvs otherwise.

But if you do this, I cannot playback any Apple Quicktime H264 files, like the HD trailers that come with the MovieTimes plugin.

[horton99]

This appears to have fixed my 1080p mkv stuttering problems

always_use_dshow_player=true

[kamikaze2112]

Originally Posted by talbot3

you need to set "always_use_dshow_player=true" in either your sage or sageclient properties file depending on if you run in client mode or not. This is needed because Sage will use Mplayer for mkvs otherwise.

This fixed my stuttering and weird aspect ratios when playing mkv files.

Thanks