BluRay VC1 Playback

[fas77]

I have all my blurays as iso's on my drive.
Using powerdvd 10 all iso's play fine.

Using sagetv I got h264 iso's playing back fine.
I cannot seem to get vc1 based iso's to play back smooth video

I've tried MPC video decoder, Arcsoft, FFdshow, Windows7 native.
They all have a slight stutter in the video.

I can manually build a graph in graph studio using haali or Mpc source filters
and it plays back fine.

I tried to disable the sage Demultiplexer in the registry put it still uses it.
I tried everything I could find on fixing this, but with no luck.

If I open just the m2ts file from the iso with graphstudio it plays back fine.
When I do this it uses Haali -- WMVideo Decoder DMO -- Video Renderer
and everything is smooth.

I can't seem to get sagetv to use the same filters.

Any help would be great.


Specs:

Windows 7 Pro (Fresh install)
Sagetv 7 (Fresh install)
Nvidia gt430

[joematt]

I wish that SageTV would just get out of the way of FFDSHOW and let it do it's thing without shoving it's crappy splitter on us. CoreAVC works like $#*! with Sage's Demultiplexer.

[Polypro]

If you have an ArcSoft decoder that is exposed to DirectShow (usually the one that comes with TME)...it should work. Are you getting DXVA with ArcSoft? Win 7 will use WMVideo DMO in software...that works too if your CPU is strong enough (my C2D is @ 60%). I'm playing Jonah Hex as I type this, with ArcSoft between 7%-17% CPU, and it looks fine. (ffdshow bit streaming, for audio).

P

[fas77]

My arcsoft filter is viewable as a direct show filter.
I don't think it is a DVXA issue because if I build the
graph manually using graphstudio playback is fine and cpu usage
id 5-10% or less.
Even if I using graphstudio to open the main movie file
(m2ts) it uses the filters I want and plays fine.

When sage opens the movie it is not using the source (splitter)
filter that is currently the default one in windows. It appears to
use what ever video decoder I have chosen.

Looking at the sage logs this appears to be true. It is still
using the built in sage demux.

So to sum this all up:
If I use a player that uses pure directshow filters it plays fine.
If I use sage it will use the video decoder I want but not the
source (demux) filter that is default in windows.

I'm also using ffdshow to bitstream hd audio to my yamaha receiver.
The audio works flawless.


My hardware:
Windows 7 32 bit
Sagetv 7
i7 860
4 GB DDR3
nvidia gt 430
Vizio 55"
Yamaha reciever

[joematt]

I have reported this non directshow behavior as a bug. You should too.

[sflamm]

Did this occur when you moved to SageTV 7? I haven't made the switch quite yet and am very interested in understanding the challenges I will have doing so.

I'm on SageTV 6.6.x running on WinXP/2003R2, use CoreAVC with the Haali splitter for H264, and the Microsoft WVC1DMO for VC-1 successfully.
Will this be a problem moving to SageTV 7?

Have you seen the thread about how to override using SageTVs native demux?

http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52513

The key is to set this registery key:

HKLM\Software\Frey Technologies\Common\DirectShow\EnableSageTVStreamDemux=0

[fas77]

When I was using sage 6.6 I used virtual clone drive to mount
the iso's and powerdvd to play them back.

This works ok, but not as easy for the wife to use.

With sage 7 the bluray iso playback is integrated, that is why
I finally moved to 7.

I did set that reg value that the other posts talk about, but it
seems to have no effect.
I found that reg key in multiple locations and set it to 0.
If I look at the sage log after trying to playback a VC1 iso, it
says it used the sage demux.

A VC1 format iso will playback in Powerdvd, MPC, and Graphstudio
fine.
The video has a noticeable stutter in Sagetv.

[joematt]

Yes you will have this problem using SageTV 7. Sage 6 worked ok. If there wasn't the incompatibility with Win 7 and SageTV 6 audio I would backout from Sage 7.

[joematt]

Just tried the REG fix and it worked. Haali Splitter worked. As an added bonus I can even play my Realmedia (RM) files (don't ask files from 2000-2003). Shouldn't have to edit the registry just to have directshow work like it should filling a bug report on this.

[fas77]

So during playback of an vc1 encoded bluray iso in sage the haali icon showed up in the task bar and the video played back smooth?

[joematt]

YES! After you edited the registry did you restart the client?

[fas77]

I did reboot after making the reg changes.

It just won't use a different demux.

[joematt]

What is in the entry:

Setup>Detailed Setup>Video/Audio>Media player for NonMPEG files

It needs to be "DirectShow"

[fas77]

I have that on Directshow.

h264 Bluray ISO:
Video - OK
Audio PCM - OK
Audio Bitstream HD - Ok

VC1 Bluray ISO:
Video - Stutters
Audio - PCM OK
Audio Bitstream HD - OK

[joematt]

What codec are you using? Never mind I just reviewed your first post. I am at a loss. You should file a bug report and have the developers help.

[Polypro]

SageTV Source File>SageTV MPEG DeMux>ffdshow Audio Decoder>ArcSoft Video Decoder>Enhanced Video Renderer>Default DirectSound Device.

This is my chain, according to ffdshow, when playing VC1 Jonah Hex (from folder). No Halli, and Sage Demux seems to be fine. Movie is using DXVA and smooth.

P

[fas77]

Using graphstudio

If I build:
SageTV Source File - SageTV MPEG DeMux - WMVideo Decoder DMO - Enhanced Video Renderer
I get video that has a stutter to it.

If I build
Haali Media Splitter - WMVideo Decoder DMO - Enhanced Video Renderer
I get smooth video.

These graphs are built with no sound to rule out that as the problem.
These are video only graphs.

[Polypro]

What is your CPU and usage %? We have the the same OS and Graphics. Not that I think it would matter...have you played from a folder? I'm at a loss.

P

[fas77]

My hardware:
Windows 7 32 bit
Sagetv 7
i7 860
4 GB DDR3
nvidia gt 430
Vizio 55"
Yamaha reciever

During this process I have copied the main movie file(m2ts) from the iso to its own folder. The playback results are the same.

During the testing my cpu usage is next to nothing 5-10%.

[panteragstk]

I hate to tell you guys, but this has been an ongoing discussion for quite a while. VC-1 and sagetv just don't get along well. Sage v6 did not natively support the .m2ts container that is why mpc, and haali splitters could be used. V7 does support .m2ts so the sage splitter is the only choice. the enablestreamdemux registry entry is for mkv, mov and other file types like that. You will notice other splitters being used if that is disabled in the registry. I had to put all vc-1 movies in .mkv containers to avoid the problem you guys are having. One thing you may notice too is that certain plugins make vc-1 playback worse. Try installing bare sagetv with no plugins of any kind and I'm willing to bet the arcsoft decoders will work great. They do for me, but as soon a certain plugins are installed playback doesn't work correctly any more. I've been going back and forth with plugin developers as well as the sagetv support team. This issue is getting close to being resolved, but not yet. I have the best luck with minimal plugins. Your video card will also make a huge impact on vc-1 playback. ATI cards seem to be the most compatible (depending on driver version). The newer intel i3 systems with the intel hd graphics are also decent, while nvidia cards work great with h.264, vc-1 dxva isn't supported well by most decoders yet.

Good luck.