Automatic Aspect Ratio (1 Viewer)

[duck_and_cov]

Hi!

Here's something that's been buggering me. With Media Portal 0.2.3.0 RC3 I never had to bother about Aspect Ratio. Whether the broadcast was in 4:3 or 16:9 it looked great on my (4:3 CRT) TV. After installing MP RC2/RC3 I constantly have to change the Aspect Ratio through the menu whenenver the broadcast changes between 4:3 or 16:9. Is there no way for MP to autodetect what format the broadcast is in and autmatically change the aspect ratio to the correct format? I'm using FFDshow as a codec but I'm not sure if that applies to TV since my settings there didn't seem to do squat. I've also tried to change the Aspect-settings in Media Portal but maybe I'm doing something wrong there.

Thanks in advance,
Mathias.

TV-Server Version: RC3
MediaPortal Version: RC3
MediaPortal Skin: Blue Three
Windows Version: XP SP3
CPU Type: Intel P4 2ghz
HDD: Seagate 1TB
Memory: 768mb
Motherboard: ASUS P4B-LX
Video Card: Nvidia Geforce 6200 256mb
Video Card Driver: Forceware 77.77
Sound Card: Motherboard
Sound Card AC3: AC3 optical
Sound Card Driver:
1. TV Card: Digital Everywhere FloppyDTV
1. TV Card Type: DVB-T
Remote: Logitech Harmony 895
TV: CRT 33" 4:3, Dantax
TV - HTPC Connection: S-Video

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

Aspect ratio's have always been controlled by the codec being used, Cyberlink PowerDVD being one of the best ones for correctly recognising which aspect to switch too.

There has never been a automatic change aspect to suit 4:3 screen option, nearest that it gets to is viewmodeswitcher, but this is primarily for widescreen tv's.

Sure it was not one of the zoom modes that suited your tastes.

Regards

 

[duck_and_cov]

Thanks for the reply PD.

Do I need a codec to watch TV? (I thought TV was uncompressed?). What codec is needed for DVB-T ?

I'm using FFDshow since it supports quite many different codecs... my memory says that PowerDVD doesn't support quite as many codecs as FFDshow? But if PowerDVD is better to the Aspect Ratio I guess I could use that for TV. Do I need to install PowerDVD with player and all or can I download/purchase just the codec?

Thanks,
M.

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/offtopic-57/stand-alone-filters-htpc-44614/

You can install these which will give you access to the PowerDVD mpeg2 codec (DVD\DVB-T is normally mpeg2)

HTH's

 

[duck_and_cov]

Well hello... I'll install them tonight and we'll see if I'm back on track. Thanks again.

 

[duck_and_cov]

I followed the instructions in the link above and now the aspect ratio works perfectly automatic. Wonderful!

On the other hand, TV showed some quarter second lagging on a few occasions as well an episode of a TV-series that I have. (Another one didn't so I'm not sure if it's the episode that's faulty or not.)

Have you (or anyone else) noticed that the PowerDVD codec is heavier on CPU than FFDshow?

Thanks,
Mathias

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

CPU use here is around 5% use watching fullscreen TV, so with your setup would expect betweeen 15-30%, why the old drivers, because one of the updates within newer drivers is related to how hardware acceleration is used for video, which the PowerDVD codec relies upon as it is nvidia purevision based.

 

[duck_and_cov]

I had real problems getting TV-out to work with the newer Nvidia drivers, but it's worth a try again I guess.
Thanks again for the input.

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

I had real problems getting TV-out to work with the newer Nvidia drivers,

I can understand that, supposedly 79.xx broke alot of things for Nvidia users, ATI gets hammered in most forums nowadays, but people forget the Nvidia screwups.

Anyway good luck with getting this sorted.

 

[duck_and_cov]

Turns out I had already upgraded to 174.74 but since I was already in driver-upgrade-mood I installed 178.24.
This time the latest drivers worked! Planet Earth in HD eats about 75% CPU on my P4 2ghz.

I used deinterlacing in FFDshow and I kind of feel that my picture is a bit more interlaced now. Is there any way to achieve or change how deinterlacing works with the PowerDVD-codec?

I found this link, but I'm not sure if that requires the full version of PowerDVD? (Scroll down one screen)
My PowerDVD 6 and NVIDIA Full-Screen Video Settings

Regards,
Mathias