[hoborg]

Deutsche Übersetzung

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• Introduction
  
• Requirements
  
• Installation
  
• Problems / FAQ
  
• Miscellaneous
  
• Changelog
  
• Download SAF
  

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Q: What is SAF?
SAF stands for: Stand Alone Filter. It is a lean compilation of codecs and filters designed to enable you to play any kind of mediafile or source you want to play on your HTPC. With SAF you are able to:
- play DVD's
- play all HD blueray rips and normal SD media files
- watch Live TV, live HDTV and recordings
- watch Online / streaming media files
- setup audio output for DTS (HD) through SPDIF or plain stereo

Q: What is a Codec and why do I need it?
The word CoDec stands for COmpressor/DECompressor. A codec is comparable with the human language. In order to give information to someone, you need to understand the language which is spoken or written. A codec is similar but specially for audio and video files. If your pc doesn't know in what language your movie is COmpressed (written), it is not able to DECompress (read) it. This ofcourse is bad and the movie is not shown.

Q: Why use SAF? There are plenty of other codec pack available.
Yes, that is true. There are a lot of other codec packs and decoders available like K-lite, ACE mega CodecS, XP Codec, CCCP, ffdshow, AC3 filter, Nero, Powerdvd, etc.... You might have a working system with most of these packs. But in general, most of these packs contain more codecs and filters than required. Often it is a bit overkill. As a side issue, you can easilly get trapped in conficts between various codecs (packs) or filters. Some people refer to these issues as 'codec-hell'. Trying to get this sorted means you got to know what you are doing and often involve uninstalling codec packs, cleaning registries, changing merits, reinstalling the codecs. Sometimes even this isn't enough and the only solution to get it working correctly again is to do a full clean installation of windows again.

Q: Then what is the difference between those packs and SAF?
SAF is created to be very lean, but keeping in mind what it is required to do for a HTPC. It should enable you to watch Live TV, DVD, BluRay, all local media files (AVI/MKV/mp4/...) and also online media. It is transparant regarding what splitter, filter and codecs are being installed. The used codecs are selected to be the most efficient available and making use of hardware acceleration as much as possible. It can also be uninstalled without a trace or clutter on your system.

Q: If I install SAF, what is being installed then?

• Haali media splitter
• MPC HC player + filters (MpegSplitter.ax, FLVSplitter.ax, MPCVideoDec.ax, RealMediaSplitter.ax)
• VSFilter.dll
• FFDShow
• MadFlac
• MONOGRAM AAC Decoder
• MONOGRAM GRAPHEDIT (Usefull Tool)
• DXVA Checker (Usefull Tool)
• Filmerit (Usefull Tool)
• DSMux (Usefull Tool)

For all current revesion numbers of the files, see the changelog for more information.


Q: Great! So is there anything SAF is NOT able to do?
Alas there is. At the moment it is not possible to play media files coded with interlaced VC-1. Progressive VC-1 files are no problem. And playing a BluRay disk is not yet possible. This is more a general MediaPortal problem, because this feature has to be developed by the MP developers team as well.

Q: Ok, I'm interessted. Now what?
Good! In that case: Just continue reading.



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The system requirement for SAF is actually very basic. This requirement is only valid for use on a dedicated HTPC.

OS: Windows XP or Widows 7 is recommended

CPU: 3.5Ghz single core or 2.4Ghz dual core is the minimum to be able to use software decoding for 1080p HD video. (Source) If you are going to use of hardware acceleration as much as possible for playback you could do with lower specs like 2.6Ghz single core or 1.5Ghz dual core.

GPU: Graphic cards which can help decoding of video by means of hardware accelerations are:

• ATI - See the overview and information in wikipedia. >>LINK<<
• NVidia - See the overview and information in wikipedia. >>LINK<<

Drivers: proper drivers are required to get the best out of the setup. Old or buggy drivers can cause bad playback.

• ATI - Use ATI drivers version 9.8 or later
  NVidia - xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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Before you start the installation of SAF:

• You need to be logged in as an administrator for installation !
• Uninstall any players & codecs packs like DivX player, Nero, CCCP, any kind of codescpacks, players, etc... It could result in conflicts if they are still present.
• You need to have MediaPortal (1.1 or newer recomended) installed

There are two versions of SAF available. A standard version and an unlocked version. The standard version works perfect for most users. The difference between the two versions are:
- Automatic download function of the correct and best decoders.
- For Live HDTV channels (MPEG2/h.264) added hardware acceleration decoding support.
- Full RealMedia support is available.
- VP7 video decoding support available.
If you do not watch HDTV and RealMedia files, you have no need for the unlocked version.

Q: How do I obtain the unlocked version of SAF?
Send a private message (PM) to me, Hoborg and I will sooner or later give you the instructions.

Installation of SAF

• Install SAF and follow the instructions.
• Configure MediaPortal correctly. See screenshots below.

In the "Codecs and Renderer" section.
Video


DVD


TV


Video Post processing
In the video / dvd section, do not add any post process which is meant to process the video. This will break the video hardware acceleration. See the (bad) example below.



Choosing audio output method: Analogue or SPDIF
If you have an external device connected to your htpc, which is capable of decoding AC3 and DTS streams (like a dts-receiver), you should configure ffdshow to use SPDIF passthrough. To get SPDIF passthrough functioning in mediaportal, you need to add "ffdshow Audio decoder" to the post processing list. Double click on it in the list, and then tick it. You need to do this in the Video, DVD and Television section. Because this is an audio post process, it will not break the hardware acelleration of video. See the (good) example below.





To add support for RealMedia into MP:

• Install Real Media Alternative for Real Media files.

This is not necessairy if you are using the unlocked SAF version.

To add support for QuickTime (MOV) format in to MP:
SAF already supports the modern MOV files with h.264 HD video. But if you want to play older MOV files from cameras, etc, you need to:

• install QuickTime Source DirectShow Filter -no need if SAF is *unlocked*
• install QuickTime alternative (can be "lite" version) Framework
• in MP configurations, Videos -> Video extensions add ".movsd"
• install at last SAF 4.00 beta04
• try to play your MOV file in MP. If you get codecs error or you do not hear audio, rename your file extension from *.MOV to *.MOVSD and hope...

TIP: To rename lot of files from MOV to MOVSD, move them to one folder (C:\video) run CMD, go in to c:\video folder and type

rename *.mov *.movsd

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General information

• If you have problem with video/sound, try to play your file with MPC-HC player. If you will have same problem in MPC-HC player, you possibly hit MPC-HC bug and you should report it directly to MPC-HC team here.
  You can also try to play the file in GraphStudio. GraphStudio is a usefull tool available after installation of SAF. If the file plays fine in Graphstudio, you have probably found a Mediaportal bug.

• If you have integratet GPU (like ATI HD3200), be sure you update your MotherBoard BIOS to latest version and assign at last 256MB shared memory to GPU in BIOS)

• Make sure you enabled vsync in your Graphic card configuration to remove tearing. Under Vista, you need to enable AERO + vSync to fix tearing.

• Before you ask - there are very powerfull button "search this thread" - most of questions was already answered more then twice here!

• If you have a problem playing a certain file and tried everything to get it to work, you can cut a little sample out of that file and post it here. To do this, you can use MKVmerge. This way we have the same file for trying to resolve the issue.

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Problem 1: AC3/DTS passthrough is not working
- Add FFDShow Audio decoder to MP postprocessing. See the image below.



- You must enable Passthrough during the SAF install process to activate this feature
- Correct settings of ffdshow audio setup is given in the image below.



Problem 2: I only see a black screen when playing an HD video!
- Likely caused by bad graphic drivers. You could different (older or newer) drivers for your GPU.
- Try to disable DXVA - start menu - SAF - DXVA Off.

Problem 3: My computer freeze on wakeup!
I had similar problem. It was caused by TV card driver.
There is a solution - you can use MCE standby tool + my addon.

Problem 4: I have a HD video, but DXVA is not working
A lot of HD videos shared on web are not corectly encoded, i.e. with 5.1 profile with too many reference frames in it. This is not ATI DXVA compatible.

You can re-encode them using free Xvid4PSP software.
Run Xvid4PSP, drag&drop your video file and config Xvid4PSP acording this screenshot:
But be aware - this process can take whole night (depending of your CPU power)!






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Deiterlacing
What is deinterlacing? The picture below explains it best I think.


Interlaced video is often from Live TV channels. If you want to use this good deinterlacing method, your GPU must support Vector Adaptive deinterlacing. This might be a problem on Vista/Win7 OS.
If you want to know more about deinterlacing, see this thread on avsforum.


The MKV Container (*.mkv files)
If you have a lot of video files in avi format, you should consider putting them in to the MKV container. This doesn't change quality, it is just a container. The good things about the MKV format are:

• They are very well support by MP and SAF
• You can put multiple audio/subtitiles tracks inside one MKV file
• You can tag your preferred audio/subtitles with language tag, so MP automaticly play tracks in your language
• Faster file opening/data retrieving (much faster in TV Series)
• MKV's are slightly smaller than original AVI, so you will spare some hardisk space
• MKV is standart for many OS, so your video files will be working outiside Windows OS
• MKV support almost all standart video formats, not only HD video
• You can easily split MKV's and send examples to your friends

You can convert your AVI's to MKV's using the free MKVmerge software. Just drag&drop your file, add subtitles/audio tracks, tag with language tag and hit ''Start muxing'' button.


Included in SAF - Tools
DSmux is a tool to convert AVI or MPEG files into MKV files. This can be done to add multiple subtitle track or multiple audio tracks. See screenshot below.



DXVA Checker is a tool you can use to see what the capabillities are of your htpc regarding hardware acceleration (DXVA). In addition you can check what codec can be used with a certain mediafile.

Filmerit can get you out of "codec hell"! If there are conflicts, Filmerit will detect them. You can get rid of the conflicting splitters/filters/codecs with it, and you can also change the merit of codecs, etc. Very usefull!!

Graphstudio is capable of showing you in detail what splitter / filter / codec is being used in MP?[/b]
If you play a media file it can show you what splitter, filter and codec is being used.
Go to: START > SAF > TOOLS > graphstudio.
During playback, select "File" followed by "Connect to remote Graph". It should produce a screen like below.




MPEG-2 decoder comparison:
I created an overview of a lot of decoders based on my experience. With this, you are able to decide if you have a preference in using the one or the other.

Cyberlink "CLVsd.ax"

• + it is free (can be extracted from PDVD)
• + can use DXVA
• + no problems with LiveTV & DVD (WinXP + WMR9)
• - DVD navigation + DXVA doesnot work under Vista and Win7
• - not possible to adjust gama in DXVA mode

FFDShow MPEG-2 video decoder (libavcodec)

• + it is free
• + good for DVD and LiveTV
• + can output to NV12 colorspaces (HW deinterlacing)
• + croping to remove black borders (LiveTV/DVD)
• - blacklisted in MP for LiveTV (should be enabled in MP RC2)

MPC-HC (Gabest) "Mpeg2DecFilter.ax"

• + it is free
• - cannot use DXVA or output in VN12 = no HW deinterlacing = bad picture quiality for LiveTV
• - causing coruptions on end of DVD tracks

DScaler

• + it is free
• + can output in NV12 = hardware deinterlacing
• - when used, my HTPC was restarted randomly without any warning
• - causing similar coruptions on end of DVD tracks like MPC-HC (Gabest) "Mpeg2DecFilter.ax"

Elecard MPEG-2 version 4

• + can use DXVA
• + possible to adjust gama in DXVA mode
• - it is not free
• - broken DVD navigation
• - blocking when jumping thrue video (seek)

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Collapsed text:

SAF 4.0 Final:
- ALL - SAF 4.00 become final!

RC2:
- ALL - fix for broken AVI playback introduced in MP 1.1.0 RC1
- ALL - removed ArcSoft Audio Renderer (unlocked SAF only)

RC1:
- ALL - added ArcSoft Audio Renderer (unlocked SAF only)
- ALL - quartz.dll check updated to 6.5.2600.5908
- ALL - one SAF dll remained after uninstall
- GB-PVR- added "restore config.xml" option durning uninstall

test7:
- ALL - ru-RU Win7 marked as supported
- ALL - FFDshow AAC was not enabled correctly
- ALL - DXVA Checker updated to 2.2.0.1
- ALL - MPC-HC filters/player updated to rev. 1.3.1644

test6:
- ALL - cs-CZ and el-GR Win7 marked as supported
- ALL - added MadFLAC to support FLAC audio files
- ALL - MPC-HC filters/player updated to rev. 1.3.1635
- ALL - FFDShow updated to rev.3255

test5:
- ALL - hu-HU Win7 marked as supported
- ALL - added links to FFDShow and MPC-HC changelogs
- ALL - added DXVA Checker tool
- ALL - MPC-HC filters/player updated to rev. 1.3.1594
- ALL - FFDShow updated to rev.3254

test4:
- ALL - all Win7 OS registry should be correctly unlocked undepended on
used language now.
- ALL - removed unused CLVSD.ax tracks
- ALL - FFDShow updated to rev.3200

test3:
- ALL - fix for x64 OS SAF uninstall
- ALL - fix for x64 OS SAF LOGs export
- ALL - remove *.MOV splitter definition (better compatibility - Win XP
only becouse of missing "QuickTime Movie Parser" filter on Win7)
- ALL - FFDshow NV12 output for MPEG-2 (and DVD) if hardware = ATI or
nVidia and drivers are from 2009 or newer.
- ALL - added PDVD DXVA on for Graphstudio by default
- ALL - removed unused brightnes correction for PDVD
- ALL - some FFDshow video setting tweaks (MPEG-2, deinterlacing,...)
- ALL - FFDshow audio output settings window now popup after SAF
install and passthrough enabled
- ALL - MPC-HC filters/player updated to rev. 1.3.1503
- ALL - FFDShow updated to rev.3195
test2:
- ALL - removed PDVD9 MPEG2 and h.264 filters *unlocked* SAF only
- ALL - added CyberLink Video Decoder (PDVD9) *unlocked* SAF only

test1:
- ALL - added Filmerit tool
- ALL - added /u switch to force uninstall
- ALL - added Danish Win7 language support
- ALL - MPC-HC filters/player updated to rev. 1.3.1453
- ALL - FFDShow updated to rev.3178

v.4.00 beta22: (23.12.09)
- ALL - added saf.exe switches - run safxxx.exe /? to call info
- ALL - added /a switch to disable MPC-HC associations
- ALL - Italian Win7 marked as supported
- ALL - 2nd try - Win7 sv-SE language support
- ALL - "m4a" files support (local)
- ALL - HD audio passthrough support added (need to be enabled manually)
- ALL - Haali updated to rev.1.9.355.21
- ALL - MPC-HC filters/player updated to rev. 1.3.1439
- ALL - FFDShow updated to rev.3167

v.4.00 beta21: (08.12.09)
- ALL - "mpls" files support
- ALL - some SAF install logic changed.
- ALL - added MPC-HC DE translation.
- ALL - changed default MPC-HC subtitles color to Yellow.
- ALL - added correct FFDShow revision number in to registry.
- ALL - "Intel(R) G41 Express Chipset (iEGL0)" will use FFDShow video
decoder to decode h.264/VC-1 (workaround for Intel buggy drivers)
- MP - change merit for Haali Media Splitter (AR) - fix for some Apple
trailers (Online videos pluggin).
- ALL - added restart option after SAF install (recomended)
- ALL - MPC-HC filters/player updated to rev. 1.3.1404
- ALL - FFDShow updated to rev.3151

v.4.00 beta20: (11.11.09)
- ALL - integration of Haali media splitter
- ALL - MPC-HC player is now part of SAF (good to diagnose problems)
- ALL - integrated Real core (*unlocked* SAF only). SAF is now capable
to play RealMedia files (RM,RMVB)
- ALL - one REAL core dll was missing - fixed (*unlocked* SAF only)
- ALL - added support for Win7 "nb-NO" + "fr-FR" + "es-ES" + "nl-NL"
languages
- ALL - SAF will now detects QT alternative Lite too
- ALL - auto disable YV12 output for "iEGL0" (intel G41 Chipset) to fix
green picture in FFDShow (buggy Intel drivers)
- ALL - remowed PDVD8 from blacklist, still uninstall is recommended
- ALL - added definition for *.VOB container splitting
- ALL - MPC-HC filters updated to rev. 1.3.1333
- ALL - FFDshow updated to rev.3130

v.4.00 beta19: (23.10.09)
- ALL - added check for supported Win7 version - warning message popup
if unsupported OS version is detected.
- ALL - CLVsd.ax check updated to 8.4.0.923
- ALL - proppage.dll registration is now "unsilent" to see if it is relly
registered
- ALL - *.MPG & *.M2TS are now splitted by "MPC - Mpeg Splitter (Gabest)"
splitter (faster start of MPG, support for TrueHD in M2TS
- ALL - passthrough is now done by FFDShow filter (FFDShow Audio decoder
needs to be placed in to MP video postprocessing) - this DOESN'T
broke DXVA.
- ALL - removed AC3 filter
- ALL - disabling MS DMO Video decoder for Win7 too (EN+DE only)
- ALL - disabling FFDShow WMV1/2 audio decoder by default (not compatible
with some WMV files)
- ALL - PDVD and Flash detection moved to LOG only

v.4.00 beta18: (13.10.09)
- ALL - Flash check only if MP installed
- ALL - FFDshow MPEG-2 decoder changed to Libavcodec = faster seek
- ALL - FFDshow default merit changed to normal
- ALL - PDVD MPEG-2 default merit changed to prefered (*unlocked* SAF only)
- ALL - START nemu now have SAF + version name
- ALL - autodownload and install QT source Filter (*unlocked* SAF only)
- ALL - added DirectX version check (+LOG entry)
- ALL - auto unregister Vista audio decoder (msmpeg2adec.dll) - re-register
if SAF uninstalled
- ALL - autodisable Nero MP4 Splitter (NeMP4Splitter.ax)
- ALL - re-enabled FFDShow MWA 7/8/9 by deafult (fixed in FFDshow rev.3096)
- ALL - added check for "proppage.dll" (Vista and Win7 only)
- ALL - autodownload and install proppage.dll if not already installed
(*unlocked* SAF only)
- ALL - integration of MONOGRAM GraphStudio (0.3.2.0 - Beta)
- ALL - FFDshow updated to rev.3096
- ALL - MPC-HC filters updated to rev. 1.3.1300

v.4.00 beta17: (30.09.09)
- ALL - MS DMO Video decoder is disabled by default again (on WinXP/Vista)
- added enable/disable MS DMO Decoder option in to SAF start menu
- ALL - disabled FFDShow MWA 7/8/9 by deafult (causing crash on some WMV)

v.4.00 beta16: (29.09.09)
- ALL - added language detection,added support for unlocking DE Win7 version.
- ALL - added MPEG-2 profile to FFDshow. Gama correction (-6) is only enabled
for MPEG video (LiveTV/DVD/MPEG files) as it should.
- ALL - AAC is now decoded by Monogram AAC by default
- ALL - updated AC3 filter settings
- ALL - FFDshow updated to rev.3092
- ALL - MPC-HC filters updated to rev. 1.3.1290

v.4.00 beta15: (25.09.09)
- ALL - Fixed bug in Win7 x86 "unlocking" (was not working)
- ALL - make sure "Default DirectSound Device" is realy default (not tested
on Win7) - AC3 setting problem
- ALL - changed default audio output - depends if passtrough is On/Off
- ALL - enabled FFDshow MPEG-2 decoder + deinterlacing (yadif) + gama corection
to make black = black. Working great for DVDs and LiveTV in GB-PVR but
not in MP (not compatible with MP TS reader). This should fix DVD
navigation becouse this solution is GPU undependent. CPU usage is ~30%
on Intel Athlon. Using FFDshow for DVD is now recomended!
- ALL - removed Gabest MPEG-2 decoder from SAF
- ALL - change merrit for Win7 MS Audio decoder to alow usage of AC3 filter
as DVD audio decoder (reset to default if SAF uninstalled)

v.4.00 beta14: (24.09.09)
- ALL - integration of AC3 filter (SAF will ask user to enable/disable
passtrough)
- ALL - some prefered decoders tweek for Win7
- ALL - FFDShow resize disabled by default (causing troubles on dual display)
- ALL - FFDShow audio setings tweaks to reflect AC3 integration

v.4.00 beta13:
- ALL - added Win7 (x86/x64) prefered decoders *unlocker* (EN version only)
- ALL - SAF no longer disable AVI splitter (better suport for older/
non standart AVI formats)
- ALL - some prefered decoders tweek for Win7
- ALL - Start menu links moved to separate folders
- ALL - added start menu option to completly disable MPC video decoder
- ALL - suport for new MPC-HC executable name (mpc-hc.exe)
- ALL - FFDshow updated to rev.3079
- ALL - MPC-HC filters updated to rev. 1.3.1281

v.4.00 RC1:
- ALL - added DirectVobSub install optional (+ start menu link to configure
DirectVobSub)
- ALL - haali icon is not hiden any longer
- ALL - FFDshow updated to rev.3071
- ALL - MPC-HC filters updated to rev. 1.3.1276

v.4.00 beta12:
- ALL - added check for AnyDVD (log only)
- GB-PVR- FFDShow audio was disabled for GB-PVR - fixed

v.4.00 beta11:
- ALL - MPA audio decoder replaced by FFDshow
*remember, you need to setup your speakers in FFDShow configuration
after SAF install
- ALL - some prefered decoders tweek for Win7
- ALL - MPC-HC filters updated to rev. 1.3.1274

v.4.00 beta10:
- ALL - added system type detection (x86/x64)
- ALL - ?fixed? start menu links on x64 systems
- ALL - removed version check of Cyberlink Muxer and MPEG2 decoder
in *unlocked* SAF
- ALL - revert *.MPG splitting back to Haali, *.MPEG is splitted
by MpegSplitter.ax now
- ALL - MPC-HC filters updated to rev. 1.3.1271
- ALL - Win7/?vista? prefered decoders tweak
- ALL - FFDshow resizing is now ON by default (better looking subtitles - no
DXVA material only
- ALL - added info about what SAF is doing durning install/uninstall process
- ALL - removed cursor position (useless...)
- ALL - removed PDVD MPEG2 DXVA on/off option in SAF setup
- ALL - added PDVD MPEG2 and h.264/AVC DXVA ON/OFF start menu links (unlocked
SAF only)
- ALL - SAF no longer disable WMV DMO video decoder
- GB-PVR- removed autoconfig feature, it doesn't work on x64 OS
- GB-PVR- removed TV type option (useles, FFDShow doo the work)

v.4.00 beta09:
- ALL - MPC-HC filters updated to rev. 1.3.1265
- ALL - FFDshow updated to rev.3065
- ALL - all MPG files splitted by MpegSplitter.ax (fix for files with TrueHD)

v.4.00 beta08:
- GB-PVR- quick fix for FFDshow was disabled for GB-PVR
- GB-PVR- auto settings tweaks

v.4.00 beta06:
- ALL - MPC-HC filters updated to rev. 1.3.1252
- ALL - autodownloader reworked
- ALL - MONOGRAM AAC Decoder now always registered

v.4.00 beta05:
- ALL - start menu links creation revided
- ALL - more loging from autodownloader
- ALL - MONOGRAM AAC Decoder moved from autodownloader to SAF package,
registered only when TV Server is not installed

v.4.00 beta04:
- ALL - added detection if QT alternative and MediaLook QT DS splitter
is present
- ALL - added *.MOVSD file support
- GB-PVR- added MOVSD as supported video format

v.4.00 beta03:
- ALL - flash detection updated
- ALL - FFDShow updated to rev.3054
- ALL - WMV playback fixed
- GB-PVR- subtitles color set to yelow

v.4.00 beta02:
- ALL - Added Enable/Disable DXVA for MPC-HC decoder in to start menu

v.4.00 beta01:
- ALL - PowerDVD9 is now detected too
- ALL - MPC-HC decoders updated to ver. 1.2.1230.0
- ALL - CLVsd.ax version info updated to ver. 8.4.0.615
- ALL - removed QUARTZ.DLL CRC check (useless...)
- ALL - added FFDShow decoder (video only), FFDSHOW is now XVID/DIVX primary
decoder, lot of new video formats suported... (MJPG) MPC-HC now decode
only H.264 + VC-1 (software + DXVA), audio decoder disabled by default.
- ALL - added FFDshow audio/video decoder configurations link in to start menu
- ALL - M2TS files handling fixed (splited directly by haali now)
- ALL - removed "update" process. Old SAF must be uninstalled first
- ALL - added *LOCKED/UNLOCKED* SAF status
- GB-PVR- DirectVobSub updated to ver. 2.39 (24.06.2009)
- GB-PVR- SAF now fully configure Audio/Video decoder settings - config
is restored if SAF is uninstalled

v.3.49 beta24:
- ALL - quartz.dll (VMR9) check updated to 6.5.2600.5822
- ALL - fixed Win7 detection
- ALL - PowerDVD 7.3 compatibility increased, SAF uninstaller no longer
broke PDVD instalation
- ALL - added PDVD 7.3 info in to LOGs (PDVD8 or 9 not detected)
- GB-PVR- new config updater (video renderer, BDAmultiplexer and
DVD navigator right now), more in next SAF version

v.3.49 beta23:
- ALL - re-added MpegSplitter.ax to improve MPG files (old ones) support
- ALL - added support for VPx video format (auto DL only)

v.3.49 beta22:
- ALL - fixed SAF crash when GB-PVR not installed
- ALL - *.ax files registered to regsvr32.exe. Now just double click
will register them
- ALL - Set PDVD9 MPEG2 decoder to be prefered in MPC-HC player

v.3.49 beta21:
- ALL - PDVD9 is now decoder for h.264 (HDTV) liveTV

v.3.49 beta20:
- ALL - autoremove "CyberLink MPEG-4 Splitter (PDVD7)" to fix PDVD7.3+SAF
compatibility
- ALL - MOV files (local) support added (most of non h.264 MOV files
not working, becouse of missing directshow filters)

v.3.49 beta19:
- ALL - Filters updated to 1179 (not MPCVideoDec.ax)
- ALL - another filters cleanup
- ALL - QUARTZ.dll re-registered if SAF is uninstalled
- ALL - SAF.log renamed to SAF-Log.txt (to alow unexperienced users to read this file)
- ALL - SAF now export installed direct show filters info from registry and store them on system root in to "SAF-FiltersExport.reg.txt" file (deleted if SAF uninstalled)
- ALL - SAF now kill regedit.exe, Configuration.exe, Config.exe and graphstudio.exe if running
- GB-PVR- GB-PVR was detected even if uninstalled (some registry entries remain) - fixed
- GB-PVR- MPA decoder no longer available for AAC and HE-AAC (Monogram is used instead)

v.3.49 beta18:
- ALL - autoDL crash when no internet connection available fixed,status added to LOG

v.3.49 beta17:
- ALL - first try to add h.264 (HDTV) Live TV (auto DL only). Cyberlink h.264 decoder MUST BE SET as primary h.264 now instead of MPC-HC
- ALL - Haali auto file assignation (all formats)
- ALL - M2TS files (local) support added
- GB-PVR- DirectVobSub is now installed only if GB-PVR is detected
- GB-PVR- DirectVobSub tv screen selection only available if GB-PVR installed
- MP - At last MP build 23090 (1.1.0.0 ALPHA) is requaired now
- MP - TvServer detection added
- MP - m2ts files - no longer mkx warning message (thanks to integrated MPC-HC engine), DXVA on if available
- MP - if TV server is not installed, AAC decoder is registered (for .TS support - auto DL only).By other words, you will be able to watch local *.TS h.264 recording without TV server installed

v.3.49 beta16:
- ALL - *.M4V (local + streams) support added
- ALL - filters registering/uregistering now running in silent mode
- MP - online videos - possible fix for MP4 *not working*

v.3.49 beta15:
- ALL - Local graph creating changed - added "File Source" as first filter, now MJPEG (for example created by my Nikon camera) in AVI is supported (possible fix for more formats...)
- ALL - *.FLV (local) handling fixed
- GB-PVR- config.xml - renderer selected by OS detection (XP = VMR9 exclusive, VISTA+WIN7 = EVR)
- GB-PVR- config.xml - Cyberlink muxer used if available

v.3.49 beta14:
- ALL - Added warning message about uninstalling all already installed codes packs/player/etc...
- ALL - MpegSplitter.ax removed. MPG is now splitted by Haali.
- ALL - MPG added to local media handling + LOG file
- ALL - SAF.log is now removed by uninstall
- GB-PVR- language.CZE.xml updated
- GB-PVR- config.xml - autoupdate - added "MPC - MPA Decoder Filter" as supported audiodecoder (removed if SAF uninstalled), original config.xml stored in config.xml.bak

v.3.49 beta13:
- ALL - MPC-HC decoder - revert back to ver.1.2.1043.0, becouse of this bug: SourceForge.net: ERROR
- ALL - Fixed: Adobe FlashPlayer (IE) detection
- ALL - Fixed: AutoDL - CLVsd.ax and MpgMux.ax version detecting

v.3.49 beta12:
- ALL - MpgMux only if GB-PVR installed
- ALL - MPC-HC filters updated to 1.2.1156.0. Still, H.264 software decoding can be slower then previous version
- ALL - Re-register Haali splitter.ax to make sure it is really registered
- ALL - Re-create file handling for local media (AVI,FLV,MKV,MP4,WMV) and streams (AVI,FLV,MKV,MOV,MP4,WMV) - result are stored in SAF.log.
- ALL - SAF.exe now kill mplayerc.exe, MediaPortal.exe, pvrx2.exe and wmplayer.exe process if runing.
- ALL - Auto DL enabled...

v.3.49 beta11:
- ALL - it is now possible to select MPC-HC or XVid decoder to decode XVid/DivX
- ALL - SAF now check %SYSROOT% for CLVsd.ax and MpgMux.ax instead of C:\
- ALL - SAF is now able to auto download latest version of CLVsd.ax and MpgMux.ax (disabled becouse of ?illegality?)
- GB-PVR- added checks (version, install dir)
- GB-PVR- possibilty to auto-install Cyberlink MPEG2 muxer (MpgMux.ax) - put MpgMux.ax on system root
- GB-PVR- auto-install my Czech language update (language.CZE.xml)

v.3.49 beta10:
- first try to bring SAF to GB-PVR users
- GB-PVR is now supported by SAF (same function as for MP)

v.3.49 beta8:
- VMW Online streams supported (Using DXVA when available)

v.3.49 beta7:
- FLV/MOV/MP4 Online videos stream supported (Using DXVA when available)
- lots of system check to detect possible problems (CPU, GPU, drivers, rendered, flashplayer, etc)
- SAF.log is created on system root
- filters updated to v. 1137 (expect MPCVideoDec.ax)
- PowerDVD CLVsd_8.4.0.330 supported

v.3.48: (download disabled)

* MPC-HC filters updated to v.1.2.1056.0
* Added VMR9 check (XP only)
* MP check updated

v.3.47:

* MPC-HC filters updated to v.1.2.1043.0
* This version is Media Portal 1.0.1 ready

v.3.46:

* MPC-HC filters updated to v.1.2.1024.0

v.3.45:

* MPC-HC filters updated to v.1.2.1010.0 (DXVA on IntelG45!)
* "Software detection" updated, Catalyst info updated
v.3.44:

* Added support for new PowerDVD 9 MPEG2 decoder
v.3.43:

* MPC-HC filters updated to v.1.2.1004.0
* AC3 filter - changed from critical to warning
* Added "disable_DXVA_(h.264,VC1).reg" and "enable_DXVA_(h.264,VC1).reg" in to ZIP file - if you face black screen on HD, you can try to disable DXVA

v.3.42:

* MPC-HC filters updated to v.1.2.997.0

v.3.41:

* added support for new Cyberlink CLVsd.ax ver.8.2.0.1117
* added gama fix for INTEL GPU's ("Gray.to.black.gama.fix.for.INTEL.reg")

v.3.40: - you need at last SVN 21527 (or newer) to install SAF 3.40+!

* MPC-HC filters updated to v.1.2.985.0
* added "req. software check"
* fix for MP SVN 21527
* no need to have "CLVsd.ax" in C:\ root in "updating" mode
* MediaPortal "MpaDecFilter.ax" and "Mpeg2DecFilter.ax" are registered back when SAF is uninstalled
* added conflict software check for "CyberLink PowerDVD 8" - only this one right now
* added "move cursor to 0.0 after OS boot" option

v.3.30: Get this version if you do not want to install MP SVN!

* MPC-HC filters updated to v.1.2.977.0
* MPC-HC Xvid&DivX decoder replaced by xvid.ax decoder (DIVX,DX50 and mp4v only) = better video quality thanks to postprocessing
* added possibility to choose DXVA when using PowerDVD CLVsd.ax. Note: DXVA mode doesn't working witch Catalyst 8.12 on XP.
* inside "saf330.zip" you can found "Gray.to.black.gama.fix.reg" file. Double click on it and press yes to apply gama fix for PowerDVD MPEG2 decoder (DVD's, LiveTV - not h264). This will change gray to black color. It is working only in software mode.

v.3.20:

* MPC-HC filters updated to v.1.2.969.0
* FLAC audio in MKV is now supported
* in latest MP 1.0 SVN was updated subtitles handling, so it is necessary tu reinstall Haali media splitter and enable AVI support! This will make AVI working perfectly, multiple audio tracks & subtitles.
* removed "AviSplitter.ax", it is no longer needed
* removed subtitles color selection - you need to setup font, color, codepage, etc directly in Media Portal setup now.
* it is now possible to use MKV + external subtitles (but for best compatibility put subtitles inside MKV!) You need MP1.0 + latest SVN for this


v.3.15 - MPC-HC filters updated to v.1.2.934.0

v.3.14 - MPC-HC filters updated to v.1.2.929.0, DirectVobSub updated to v2.39 (29.11.2008)

v.3.13 - MPC-HC filters updated to v.1.2.920.0, DirectVobSub updated to v2.39 (28.10.2008)

v.3.12 - WMV HD video decoding is now handled by MPC-HC decoder = DXVA enabled!

v.3.11 - MPC-HC filters updated to v.1.1.906.0, enabled DXVA for MPEG2/DVD/LiveTV SD when using ''CLVsd.ax''

v.3.10 - Updated MPC-HC filters to v.1.1.901.0, SAF will automaticly remove old PowerDVD stuff instaled by old SAF, added routine to install PowerDVD MPEG2 decoder automaticly (CLVsd.ax) - file is not included in SAF. If you want to use it, place ''CLVsd.ax'' on C:\ root, and reinstall SAF 3.10+. PowerDVD will be used instead of MPC-HC MPEG2 decoder. More info on first page of this thread.

v.3.03 - MPC-HC filters updated to v.1.1.890.0

* FIXED : Crash/black screen with DXVA decoder with some ATI cards.
* The FLV splitter now supports FLV files that contain H.264 video and AAC audio

v.3.02 - MPC-HC filters updated to v.1.1.875.0

v.3.01 - MPC-HC filters updated to v.1.1.866.0

v.3.00 - Removed Cyberlink stuff, added MPEG2 decoder (you can configure it directly inside MP configuration).

v.2.50 - Another big update:
* Replaced MS Avi splitter by AviSplitter.ax - this will allow avi + subtitles in MP (remember to disable AVI support under Haali and subtitles must have same name as *.avi = if you have video123.avi, subtitles must be named as video123.srt, video123.sub,...etc)
* Replaced MS MPEG2 splitter by MpegSplitter.ax - this fix no sound in MPEG2 recodrings - but there seems to be limit around ~10GB/MPEG file
* navigator&MPEG decoder updated
* Subtitles position optimised for 16:9 TVs
* You can now choose Yellow/White subtitles color durning SAF install
* You can now enable/disable MKV subtitles durning SAF install
* Filters updated to latest SVN
* By little trick you can configure audio filter inside MediaPortal now!

v.2.40 - Added FLVSplitter.ax for Adobe Flash *.FLV video format under MP.

v.2.30 - This is big update..
* MpaDecFilter.ax and MPCVideoDec.ax updated to v.1.1.845.0. This is beta versions, but working great!
* VSFilter.dll updated to v1.1.796.0 (2.39)
* Many (!SAFE!) registry cleanups...

v.2.25 - Installer now clean old PowerDVD config in registry for MediaPortal

v.2.24 - DirectVobSub updated (ver.28.08.2008), warning about catalyst updated

v.2.23 - Ability to choose TV type - HD/Full HD for subtitles optimalization

v.2.22 - Resize bug fixed, subtitles font increased, rename to SAF, added warning about Catalyst drivers

v.2.21 - Installer now clean old DirectVobSub config, HD resolution fixed, "update" routine added

v.2.20 - uninstaler added (run executable again to uninstall)

v.2.10 - I found an bug in extraction procedure, it is fixed in ver.2.10!

v.2.00 - Now it automaticly configure filters!

Download:
Latest STABLE version: SAF 4.0 FINAL

There is also a newest experimental version: SAF 5.0 experimental thread

Q: How do I obtain the unlocked version of SAF?
Send a private message (PM) to me, Hoborg and I will sooner or later give you the instructions.

Enjoy!

HOBORG
Thanks to Edterbak for styling