Can ANYONE at all get this to work: Vista+1080i+Mpeg2 decoder (Nvidia hardware acc.)?

[mkanet]

Just an update... I've never found a fix for this problem.

[reggie14]

I have the same problem with a 6600GT and Vista Business. The strange thing is that I think it worked great for a while. However, I don't see how it could be an issue with Sage. HD doesn't play smoothly in any player.

Its really too bad. I couldn't get HD working terribly well under XP so I decided to give Vista a shot Maybe I'll run out and get an ATI card.

Update:
Perhaps I spoke too soon. Using the Cyberlink decoder, HD video playback is a slideshow- literally one frame every second. But, I have pretty good performance with Purevideo. I'm pretty sure its doing hardware acceleration too, but only in Sage. For some strange reason playback is not accelerated in WMP with Purevideo. Further, WinDVD works OK too, so I think in my case I'm just having a problem with PowerDVD.

[reggie14]

So I decided to try installing the nvidia beta drivers that came out today, since the release notes discussed fixing an HD video playback problem with the 6800. It actually solved the problems I was having with the PowerDVD. PureVideo in WMP still isn't accelerated, but I imagine that's a weird Purevideo bug since it hasn't been updated for Vista. WinDVD works, but I noticed it looks pretty awful compared to PowerDVD and Purevideo (with both the new and old drivers).

As a side note, with Vista I can use VMR9 to get hardware accelerated video on both my primary and secondary monitors! I couldn't do that in XP.

[mkanet]

I'm sorry to say this problem still exists after months of complaining. I just installed Vista cleanly, installed the latest Nvidia driver... still... its messed up in SageTV. I dont have this problem with any other software thats directshow based (VMR9). Getting an ATI card isn't a reasonable solution to me.

[Polypro]

Have you tried AC3Filter instead of NVIDIA or Cyberlink audio decoders?

P

[mkanet]

I have tried everything... including that. At first, I did think the problem might be related to audio and not video... I even disabled the embedded audio card on my motherboard (RealTek).. and only used my Creative Labs card... with AC3-filter.

I don't have any of these problems with ZoomPlayer, Windows Media Player, Cyberlink PowerDVD player under Vista. I think its about time SageTV does something about this.

Originally Posted by Polypro

Have you tried AC3Filter instead of NVIDIA or Cyberlink audio decoders?

P

[reggie14]

I've been having pretty good luck with Sage and HD under Vista using a 6600GT. However, the current WHQL drivers, 163.75, caused a lot of problems. Right now I'm using current beta, 169.09, and things have been working pretty well. I think they crashed the other day, but the system recovered automatically without even rebooting.

I'm curious exactly how bad HD playback is on your system. Are you getting a couple frames a second (which is what I was getting with the 163.75 drivers), or is playback stuttering?

This thread is actually causing me to put off buying a new video card. I kind of want to buy an 8600GT, but since there seems to be problems with the 8500 I'm considering getting a HD 2600XT.

[mkanet]

It really doesnt matter what recent driver I use... they all do the same thing. Its completely unwatchable. Playing in all other players is smooth as silk. This is a reproducible problem. My machine isn't some rare frankenstein homemade machine either... thousands of my machines identical to mine... HP Pavillion Media Center which comes with this Nvidia card and Vista. This is reproducible by SageTV engineering as well.... several months ago.

Originally Posted by reggie14

I've been having pretty good luck with Sage and HD under Vista using a 6600GT. However, the current WHQL drivers, 163.75, caused a lot of problems. Right now I'm using current beta, 169.09, and things have been working pretty well. I think they crashed the other day, but the system recovered automatically without even rebooting.

I'm curious exactly how bad HD playback is on your system. Are you getting a couple frames a second (which is what I was getting with the 163.75 drivers), or is playback stuttering?

This thread is actually causing me to put off buying a new video card. I kind of want to buy an 8600GT, but since there seems to be problems with the 8500 I'm considering getting a HD 2600XT.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by mkanet

It really doesnt matter what recent driver I use... they all do the same thing. Its completely unwatchable. Playing in all other players is smooth as silk. This is a reproducible problem. My machine isn't some rare frankenstein homemade machine either... thousands of my machines identical to mine... HP Pavillion Media Center which comes with this Nvidia card and Vista. This is reproducible by SageTV engineering as well.... several months ago.

What is your intentions with this PC? are you planning on using it exclusively with Sage, or is it a general purpose PC. If you are looking to run it dedicated, sounds like just switching to XP would be a worthy switch.

Also, I believe you have mentioned that you get smooth playback with software decoding, at like 50-60% cpu... why not just use that? If all you are doing is watching TV, why struggle to get hardware acelleration working, if software works fine?

[mkanet]

I use this PC exclusively for SageTV AND Blu-ray/HD-DVD. XP doesnt support EVR (which is what I use for high def discs and wouldnt want to downgrade picture quality).

Software decoding just doesnt look as good.. at least not with the kind of processing offered by Purevideo-HD... This is actually, what I'm forced to use.

Anyway, if its not as simple to have a solution for this as it sounds at first, but thanks for at least trying to help.

Sad thing is, all it takes is SageTV to offer EVR support under Vista... and it would not only fix this problem, but offer significantly better picture quality.

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

What is your intentions with this PC? are you planning on using it exclusively with Sage, or is it a general purpose PC. If you are looking to run it dedicated, sounds like just switching to XP would be a worthy switch.

Also, I believe you have mentioned that you get smooth playback with software decoding, at like 50-60% cpu... why not just use that? If all you are doing is watching TV, why struggle to get hardware acelleration working, if software works fine?

[Shield]

Originally Posted by mkanet

I use this PC exclusively for SageTV AND Blu-ray/HD-DVD. XP doesnt support EVR (which is what I use for high def discs and wouldnt want to downgrade picture quality).

Software decoding just doesnt look as good.. at least not with the kind of processing offered by Purevideo-HD... This is actually, what I'm forced to use.

Anyway, if its not as simple to have a solution for this as it sounds at first, but thanks for at least trying to help.

Sad thing is, all it takes is SageTV to offer EVR support under Vista... and it would not only fix this problem, but offer significantly better picture quality.

I switched back to XP - don't know about the features of EVR, but my 1080p content looks mind-blowingly breathtaking within Sage. And I have absolutely no choppiness anywhere. Read my sig for my hardware..

[bialio]

I have 1080i on Vista working perfectly. I too use the box for Sage (TV) and PowerDVD (HD and BD DVD).

I was using 720p until recently. But due to some other equipment that I added to the setup I had to switch to 1080i.

Initially I had stuttering on 1080i - however what fixed it for me was enabling FSE mode. And Vista is a little picky about Full Screen Exclusive - if your FSE app loses focus, once you bring it back in focus it is no longer in FSE mode. So switching between Sage and PowerDVD for me involves exiting the Sage application so that when it launches again it gets FSE.

My current working set up is :

Vista
Aero Disabled
Resolution 1920x1080i
Decoder NVIDIA PureVideo (DVD-BRONZE)
Gigabyte 8500GT
FSE enabled
VMR9

I have the Nvidia Purevideo decoder selected in Sage explicitly - although I think it is also the default decoder in the system also.

btl.

[bialio]

Originally Posted by mkanet

I'm sorry to say this problem still exists after months of complaining. I just installed Vista cleanly, installed the latest Nvidia driver... still... its messed up in SageTV. I dont have this problem with any other software thats directshow based (VMR9). Getting an ATI card isn't a reasonable solution to me.

Other than the message board here, have you complained through official channels? I filed the same bug repeatedly with Sage and finally got a fix for the DVD menu selection bug in Vista. If you really think it's a Sage problem keep filing bugs. File one on the main product, then file one on the beta if it happens there also!

As Opus4 frequently points out, this forum is for user to user communication. Complaining here won't get Sage's attention.

btl.

[mkanet]

SageTV development is well aware of this problem... I just update this thread every once in a while... The best thing I could have done is get a confirmation that they can reproduce this same behavior. It looks like its a combination of various hardware on the same machine, multicore CPU, etc...

Whatever it is, it looks like it will require either getting a next generation Nvidia card Geforce 9500GT, an ATI card with similar features, or wait for SageTV to support Vista's EVR.

[bialio]

Are you running the computer at 1080p or 1080i? Just curious - the title of the thread is a bit ambiguous as to what is 1080i - the program material or the video card resolution....

Not sure that it matters really, but with almost identical specs to yours (less memory (2GB), less video ram(256), fewer processors(dualcore)) I get great results with vista running the computer at both 720p and 1080i, for all source resolutions - 480i (analog cable) up to 1080p (HD DVD / BD).

I've never tried running at 1080p mainly because I've got a video chain that terminates in a 720p projector - it's gonna get scaled at some point down to 720p, so I don't see any benefit to upscaling to 1080p anywhere in the chain. Even for 1080p24 source, that should be coming out "lossless" at 1080i.... Anyway, that's a discussion for another thread.

btl.

[Shield]

I'm running the computer at 1920 x 1080, which is 1080i, but I playback Blu-Ray 1080p content. Or was that question for someone else?

[mkanet]

1080p... what's weird is when I switch to Overlay, everything is fine.. even with hardware acceleration on. What's weirder is I can play these same 1080i media files in Windows Media Player Classic and GraphEdit using VMR9 and VMR7... its just in SageTV and VMR9.

It doesnt help any when I use FSE with VMR9.

Originally Posted by bialio

Are you running the computer at 1080p or 1080i? Just curious - the title of the thread is a bit ambiguous as to what is 1080i - the program material or the video card resolution....

Not sure that it matters really, but with almost identical specs to yours (less memory (2GB), less video ram(256), fewer processors(dualcore)) I get great results with vista running the computer at both 720p and 1080i, for all source resolutions - 480i (analog cable) up to 1080p (HD DVD / BD).

I've never tried running at 1080p mainly because I've got a video chain that terminates in a 720p projector - it's gonna get scaled at some point down to 720p, so I don't see any benefit to upscaling to 1080p anywhere in the chain. Even for 1080p24 source, that should be coming out "lossless" at 1080i.... Anyway, that's a discussion for another thread.

btl.

[bialio]

I bet 1080p is too much for the 8500GT to handle in VMR9 with Sage's graph. For me, it requires FSE just to make 1080i work (FSE isn't required for 720p...)

Have you tried running at 1080i? Chances are you will get just as good a picture, and the burden on the graphics card is cut in half....

btl.

[bialio]

To elaborate a little - 1080i won't loose any resolution for your broadcast HD sources - since they top out at 1080i anyway.

For HD DVD and BluRay, those discs are almost all encoded at 1080p24 - and that source resolution can be converted to 1080i without losing anything. If your TV is up to the task of deinterlacing correctly, you should get the same picture as you would outputting the progressive signal.

btl.

[mangriotis]

Originally Posted by GTwannabe

You want the Aero desktop ON and FSE mode OFF for smooth video playback in Sage.

Actually, to second what Mike says... I had to shut Aero OFF on my system to enable smooth HD playback. It seemed like the hardware just wouldn't keep up (frame drops, jerky playback) while Aero was enabled.

Things are smooth now.