Windows 7 and advanced Codecs with SageTV

[jmv]

Help!

I have migrated to Windows 7 x64. One of the nice things I was looking forward to is native AVCHD (HD camcorder) and native advanced HD codec support for VC1 / H.264 etc...and I seem to have gotten what was promised as wmplayer plays back all my .mts files (HD Cam) and .mkv files (blu-rips) flawlesssly.

However, I can't figure out how to make SageTV use these new features. SageTV gives me an error when I try to play either of these file types on my PC...what settings to I need to configure in Sage so that it uses the correct codecs for these file types.

Below is a screen grab of the current config...

mv

[SWKerr]

Window7 does not seem to share it's HD codecs with other apps. You will need to install something else to get it to playback in Sage. I have been using the K-lite codec pack with mixed success in Window7.

I have found my Arcsoft TME that came with the HD-PVR works the best.

Getting the latest Arcsoft and Cyberlink players does not work either since they also do not seem to share their codecs outside the app.

[jmv]

Hopefully someone will figure out how to use the native codecs in Win7 to display HD in sage...in the mean time, I have older versions of Arcsoft and Nero and PowerDVD...how would I go about using the Arcsoft TME codecs if that is a currently working solution? Can you tell me the specific parameters I need to change in the settings or properties files to make it happen?

thanks,

mv

[fac13]

I'm running Windows 7 x64 too (RTM) and I agree with SWKerr that the native H.264 codecs don't seem to be available to other apps, including Sage.

I am successfully using PowerDVD 8. So successfully in fact that I can now stream HD to my old MVPs.

Once you've installed your preferred codec you need to go into Detailed Setup/Video-Audio and change the H.264 Video Decoder Filter to select it.

If you don't have that parameter then you need to upgrade because it only appeared in more recent releases of Sage.

Good luck.

[Fuzzy]

I'm wondering if it is more a function of the built-in decoders only working with Media Foundation apps, instead of DirectShow. Either way, I would LOVE to see Sage update to fully supporting WMF.

[babgvant]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

I'm wondering if it is more a function of the built-in decoders only working with Media Foundation apps, instead of DirectShow. Either way, I would LOVE to see Sage update to fully supporting WMF.

the new sources are MF only, but there are DS filters for video but they don't work with Sage yet (Sage needs to update their demuxer).

MF would mean no more xp/vista support...

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by babgvant

the new sources are MF only, but there are DS filters for video but they don't work with Sage yet (Sage needs to update their demuxer).

MF would mean no more xp/vista support...

I meant to have it added as an option, just as DirectShow-EVR is an option now, if your system supports it. Though, it would be more in line with a SageTVPlayer/DirectShow/WMF option than the Overlay-VMR9-EVR option.

[babgvant]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

I meant to have it added as an option, just as DirectShow-EVR is an option now, if your system supports it. Though, it would be more in line with a SageTVPlayer/DirectShow/WMF option than the Overlay-VMR9-EVR option.

it doesn't work like that.

MF replaces DS, they would have to rewrite everything.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by babgvant

it doesn't work like that.

MF replaces DS, they would have to rewrite everything.

not how I understood it.. MF replaces DS in function, but you can have DS and MF existing on the same machine. You can choose whether to call DS, or MF.

[babgvant]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

not how I understood it.. MF replaces DS in function, but you can have DS and MF existing on the same machine. You can choose whether to call DS, or MF.

DS and MF are different media rendering frameworks. They can coexist just fine, but you can't intermingle them.

In general you need to duplicate functionality so to support both you need to write a DS filter and a MF Transform (MFT) it is possible to share code b/w the two (I've heard that MS wrote a MFT that can wrap a DS transform filter, but haven't had a chance to look for it yet) to some extent, but essentially you need to duplicate most of the dev and testing effort to support both platforms.

Since both MF and DS can use the same underlying renderer (EVR) there isn't much benefit now to moving to MF, and the downside is that your application will only work properly on 7.

In the long run MF is the way to go because it will support things that are difficult to do with DS now, but a lot of 3rd party work needs to be done before then. It would be a waste of effort for Sage to spend time on MF w/ no tangible benefit for us.

Right now the way that MS uses MF for some file types and DS for others in MediaCenter will only cause more confusion for end users. For e.g. in RC m2ts files with VC-1 would only play audio even though the MS WMV DMO could have decoded the video.

[donkey]

check http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43579
Demuxer is updated for Win7.

Qian

[babgvant]

Thanks Qian!