[hulkhaugen]

MediaPortal Version: 1.0.0.0 Final
MediaPortal Skin: Streamed MP
Windows Version: Vista Home Premium x64
CPU Type: Intel C2D E8400 3GHz
Memory: Corsair TWIN2X PC8500 4GB
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD3650 512MB
1. TV Card: TerraTec Cinergy S2 PCI HD
Satelite/CableTV Provider: Thor 3/5 0,8°W & Sirius 4 4,8°E
HTPC Case: 3R System Mstation HT-1000
Remote: Logitech Harmony 885
TV: Toshiba REGZA 52Z3030D

Hello!

I've never really got myself into this, but i wouldn't mind upscaling the resolution for better picture quality. So, which codec should i use? I've been googlin' around and found some articles about ffdshow, but they were pretty old. Personally i prefer PowerDVD MPEG-2 codec, since it makes ffdshow look like it's designed by dinosaurs, but that's when i watch in regular SD quality. So what, where and is it even possible to upscale Live TV?

[Paranoid Delusion]

Your wish is my command

Postprocessing - MediaPortal Manual Documentation

[thesystemera]

I love ffdShow's upscale abilities... Only problem I have is that it also applies it self to content that I don't want ffdShow to handle but for the life of me can't find out how to stop it....

For instance, my h.264 content, my tv recordings in the videos section...

It seems that when applied as RAW video it will apply to everything... I love my DVD upscaleing but I need to find a way to stop it doing the same process to everything, any ideas?

[rtv]

Originally Posted by thesystemera

I love ffdShow's upscale abilities... Only problem I have is that it also applies it self to content that I don't want ffdShow to handle but for the life of me can't find out how to stop it....

For instance, my h.264 content, my tv recordings in the videos section...

It seems that when applied as RAW video it will apply to everything... I love my DVD upscaleing but I need to find a way to stop it doing the same process to everything, any ideas?

Use autoloading profiles (AVS forum / Doom9 have guides).
Or don't enable ffdshow raw processing but instead configure MP to use ffdshow.

[hulkhaugen]

I tried this earlier, but in my opinion, the Cyberlink codec did a better job w/o upscaling.

But one thing i never really figured out was the part where you upscale and downscale for a softer look. Because i have a FullHD tv, but i use 1280x720 (Or something close to HD Ready res.). Should i upscale it to much more than FullHD (1920x1080), or just that? What's good without overkill concerning my hardware?

BTW! Got a Intel C2D E8400, 4 GB 1066MHz DDR2 and a ATI Radeon HD3650 GPU.

[brab]

Originally Posted by rtv

Or don't enable ffdshow raw processing but instead configure MP to use ffdshow.

By that do you mean to use ffdshow only for DVDs and other codec for everything else?

[thesystemera]

Thanks for the advice, I will look into this AutoLoading Profiles aspect.... Don't think it is quite what I'm having issues with... If you read the Mediaportal Upscaling guide it does describe using Raw video and disable MGEG-2 DVD decoding.. Basically in my setup Cyberlink does the decoding, ffdShow just applies a post filter.... But to do this you need to use Raw Video, problem is Raw Video applies to everything, even your H.264...

What needs to be done is ffdShow need HA

[hulkhaugen]

What you're saying is that i can use ffdshow to upscale the cyberlink mpeg2-codec? i want to upscale everything but hd material if possible, but using ffdshow with upscaling isn't as good as cyberlink without upscaling imo.

But if ffdshow can upscale cyberlink mpeg2 material, then count me in!!! links?

EDIT: That postprocessing part is new since i tried this out last time.

@thesystemera

I'm not sure, but i guess if you input in the "resize & aspect" menus in the field "resize if..." the values "X<1280 AND Y<1024", it won't resize H.264. But if your input says OR instead of AND, it will resize every movie with a Y<1024, for instance 720p would be upscaled. Even most FullHD will be upscaled because they're often less than 16:9, like 21:9, and then you'll have ex: 1920x823, so also this would be upscaled. But not if you input AND insted of OR.

Wow, i guess my english teacher would kill me if he read this, hehe...

EDIT2: I'm not at home to try this out now, but if what i just said in my edit#1 is correct, then i wonder how much i should upscale to. I have a FullHD, but i use it at 1280x720, so should i upscale it to 1920x1080, or maybe up to 2880x1620? anyone have any experience with this?

[Spragleknas]

Unless you are sending a picture 1:1, you are doing scaling.
IOW, if you are playing SD material on a HD screen, then scaling is done (if it covers >50 % of the screen). Since it makes scales to a bigger resolution, it is upscaling.

Conclusion: You are probably always upscaling (unless playing 1080p material on a "HD-ready" screen - in which case you are downscaling). The question is what the quality of the scaling is, and if it is done by CPU/software or only videocard. For normal STB users, scaling is done by STB or TV, depending in input and TV resolution.

[Owlsroost]

Why are you running at 1280 x 720 when you have a full-HD resolution (1920 x 1080p) TV ? - this will result in SD material being upscaled by the video card to 1280 x 720, then upscaled a second time by the TV to 1920 x 1080 (the LCD panel resolution).

High-quality FFDshow upscaling takes a lot of CPU power (particularly if you need de-interlacing as well), and putting FFDshow in the path will also break DXVA hardware acceleration.

Tony