No Sound When Using nVidia PureVideo as Decoder for Videos

[Falcon124]

Hello,

I've just completed 2 projects in my quest to enhance my family's enjoyment of home theater. I recently built a raid 5 storage array in a Win2K3 server to house my 4TB+ movie collection which previously had been stored on multiple 500GB external hard drives scattered around the house. This past weekend I completed my HTPC build and before I get to the issues I'm having, I'd just like to tip my hat to everyone involved in developing the Media Portal application. I've been looking around for sometime for just the right media center application that has both an intuitive interface and robust features and I've found it in Media Portal. Installing and configuring the application to work with the iMon OEM VFD and remote that came with my enclosure couldn't have been easier thanks to your well put together documentation, available plug-ins, contributions from folks like pappabear72 and of course a solidly built executable.

Now onto my issue. As indicated below in my system spec, I have two MPEG2 decoders available to handle my movies that are stored in VOB format. All of my movies were ripped using either DVD Shrink or CloneDVD. They are stored uncompressed with all menus, extras, subtitles, etc... intact. Currently I have a 3.1 desktop speaker system hooked up to the HTPC via the analog line out on the back of the motherboard. If I select the nVidia PureVideo decoder for decoding video and/or audio, I lose sound when I play a movie. If I change the decoder to Intervideo, sound works. I'm selecting my onboard sound device via direct sound for output (DirectSound: SoundMax HD Audio) Even if I select Intervideo as the audio decoder and nVida as the video decoder, I don't get sound. It seems like as soon as the nVidia Icon displays in the toolbar indicating that the video decoder is active, it takes over both roles regardless of what I have selected for audio decoding. I've attached my MediaPortal.log which is the only log I could see that contained anything that would assist in troubleshooting this issue. In reading these forums, I've noticed postings where people mention their preference towards the nVidia PureVideo DVD Encoder so I'm hoping there's some folks who have experienced this issue already and wouldn't mind sharing their solution with me. I have to admit, the nVidia DVD decoder does seem to a better job at rendering than the Intervideo encoder and I definitely noticed less CPU activity as well. Thanks in advance for any help and I'm open to suggestions.

Andy


TV-Server Version: N/A
MediaPortal Version: v0.2.3.0
MediaPortal Skin: N/A
Windows Version: Windows XP SP2
CPU Type: AMD Athlon 64 5200+ Dual Core
HDD: WD 74GB Raptor (Boot) / Seagate 250GB SataII
Memory: 2GB Corsair DDR2-800 (4-4-4-12) Dual Channel
Motherboard: ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe
Motherboard Chipset: nForce 570 SLI
Motherboard Bios: Award 1302
Video Card: ASUS EN8600GT SILENT/HTDP/512M
Video Card Driver: GeForce 169.21 WHQL
Sound Card: Onboard (SoundMax AD1988B)
Sound Card AC3: N/A
Sound Card Driver: Latest from ASUS
1. TV Card: N/A
1. TV Card Type: N/A
1. TV Card Driver: N/A
2. TV Card: N/A
2. TV Card Type: N/A
2. TV Card Driver: N/A
3. TV Card: N/A
3. TV Card Type: N/A
3. TV Card Driver: N/A
4. TV Card: N/A
4. TV Card Type: N/A
4. TV Card Driver: N/A
MPEG2 Video Codec: nVidia PureVideo DVD Decoder / Intervideo WinDVD MPEG2 Decoder
MPEG2 Audio Codec: nVidia PureVideo Audio Decoder / Intervideo WinDVD Audio Decoder
Satelite/CableTV Provider: Time Warner
HTPC Case: Silverstone LC16B
Cooling: 3 Panaflo UltraQuiet 80MM Fans, Thermaltake TMG A2 CL-P0373 CPU Cooler
Power Supply: Enermax ELT400AWT Liberty 400W PS
Remote: Soundgraph iMon IR Remote
TV: Sony KDF60XBR950 60" Rear Projection LCD
TV - HTPC Connection: DVI

[Spragleknas]

Hi, and welcome
Not solving anything here, but other "thread-visitors" might find this interesting and perhaps solve it for you

2008-01-04 02:01:46.984375 [Info.][MPMain]: ----------------TryConnect-------------
2008-01-04 02:01:46.984375 [Info.][MPMain]: Testing filter: SoundMAX HD Audio
2008-01-04 02:01:46.984375 [Info.][MPMain]: Trying to connect to Audio Input pin (rendered)
2008-01-04 02:01:46.984375 [Info.][MPMain]: Connection failed: 80040207
2008-01-04 02:01:46.984375 [Info.][MPMain]: Dead end. Could not successfully connect pin ~Subpicture Output to filter SoundMAX HD Audio!
2008-01-04 02:01:46.984375 [Info.][MPMain]: Testing filter: NVIDIA Audio Decoder
2008-01-04 02:01:46.984375 [Info.][MPMain]: Trying to connect to Audio Input
2008-01-04 02:01:46.984375 [Info.][MPMain]: Connection failed: 80040207
2008-01-04 02:01:46.984375 [Info.][MPMain]: Dead end. Could not successfully connect pin ~Subpicture Output to filter NVIDIA Audio Decoder!
2008-01-04 02:01:46.984375 [Info.][MPMain]: Testing filter: Video Mixing Renderer 9
2008-01-04 02:01:46.984375 [Info.][MPMain]: Trying to connect to VMR Input1
2008-01-04 02:01:46.984375 [Info.][MPMain]: Connection failed: 80040207
2008-01-04 02:01:46.984375 [Info.][MPMain]: Trying to connect to VMR Input2
2008-01-04 02:01:46.984375 [Info.][MPMain]: Connection failed: 80040207
2008-01-04 02:01:46.984375 [Info.][MPMain]: Trying to connect to VMR Input3
2008-01-04 02:01:46.984375 [Info.][MPMain]: Connection failed: 80040207
2008-01-04 02:01:46.984375 [Info.][MPMain]: Dead end. Could not successfully connect pin ~Subpicture Output to filter Video Mixing Renderer 9!
2008-01-04 02:01:46.984375 [Info.][MPMain]: Testing filter: DVD Navigator
2008-01-04 02:01:46.984375 [Info.][MPMain]: Dead end. Could not successfully connect pin ~Subpicture Output to filter DVD Navigator!
2008-01-04 02:01:46.984375 [Info.][MPMain]: No preloaded filter could be connected. Trying to load new one from registry

[jburnette]

It seems like you've got a whole lot of directshow filters loading. Did you specify extra filters to load in Movies > Movie Post Processing?

[SiLenTYL]

if ur not getting sound u may need to set the nvidia audio decoder settings in the sound setup of the MP config app


u could also try using a mixture of nvidia video and different audio codec if ur not happy with the nVidia one

[Falcon124]

Originally Posted by jburnette

It seems like you've got a whole lot of directshow filters loading. Did you specify extra filters to load in Movies > Movie Post Processing?

No I have not specified any filters in the movie or dvd post processing. I have made some progress though. I first uninstalled both Nvidia and Intervideo DVD decoders. Then I only reinstalled the Nvidia decoders. Still no sound. Then I downloaded and installed AC3Filter, a free AC3 audio decoder and processor filter. The combination of that and the Nvidia video decoder seem to work, I now have sound. The only thing is, just like you mentioned about all the directshow filters being loaded before. Since installing AC3Filter and designating it my DVD and Movie audio encoder in Media Portal, my MediaPortal.log seems to have even more entries concerning attempting to use various filters and decoders to render the audio and video streams. Not sure why it's going through all that when I'm only designating 1 video encoder, 1 audio encoder and no filters in post processing.

Andy

[Paranoid Delusion]

Welcome to codec Hell.

[Falcon124]

Originally Posted by Paranoid Delusion

Welcome to codec Hell.

Tell me about it. On my first build of Windows XP with this HTPC, I tried to take a codec shortcut by downloading a few codec packs from freecodecs.com and a few other codec clearinghouses out on the 'net. And don't get me wrong, the folks who contribute to these sites for the most part, are doing a great service for newbies like me who don't really want to delve too deeply into the world of codecs, filters, splitters, demuxers....yadda yadda yadda. We just want to install some stuff, leave everything at the default settings and play every friggin' video and audio format under the sun. But like buying a car, you kinda need to know what you're looking for. I learned quickly that too many codec packs spoil not only the stew but each other. I create my own slipstreamed XP installations anyway, so in the end rather that try to unscrew the codec mess I created I just re-installed XP and only loaded the codecs I knew I'd want to use. So actually you might say I've been to codec hell and back. Of course it looks like Microsoft incorporates all kinds of codec overhead into an XP install after SP1A, SP2 and all the post-SP2 service packs have been slipstreamed into it. Not that I'm surprised.

Andy

[SiLenTYL]

ok..firstly..u must understand..

the merits of filters change when they are installed..if u have 2 codecs that do the same thing ..ie cyberlink PowerDVD and Nvidia purevideo decoder in playing DVD's....u play a dvd in WMP for example..it will pick one..the same one every time..the merits decide what gets preference

something like radlight filter manager is a tool that shows u what the current merits are and u can register/unregister filters in the registry directly from this app...unfortunetly unless u know exactly what ur doing(ie. uve killed ur pc before) u shouldnt use it...LOL

MP does not use merits..in the config app u can select video/audio codecs ..this will make MP ignore merits and pick what u pick..

if what u pick doesnt work..it will use merits to pick the next in line..which may work or not work or crash MP

the idea behind the filter settings is that u use them!