ffdshow upscale settings suggestions! (1 Viewer)

FireAza

Portal Pro
June 30, 2011
50
10
37
Hi guys! I've currently got MediaPortal post processing via ffdshow raw video filter, thanks to the guide in the MediaPortal manual. In it, I've got "resize & aspect" setup to resize any non 1080p videos to 1080p and I've got some sharpening and blur added to smooth out the video. The result looks pretty good! But I have a feeling it could be better. Why? To begin with:
1) I'm only using the "resize & aspect" filter, and any upscale guide I've read calls for more than that. Why? Because I want any videos that are already 1920 x 1080 to be left alone! The only way I was able to this was with the "resize if" setting.
2) I'd like to be able to use a different set of... "upscale profiles" I guess you could call them. I want a more rigorous upscale for SD content, a weaker upscale for HD content and no upscaling for full HD content. My goal here is clarity.

I think both of these issues could be solved with the "profiles/preset" filter. This would allow me to setup a profile that contains a suite of different filters and settings depending on the video's size right? Thing is, I have no idea how to use this setting! I'm also unsure what settings I should use to get a good-looking upscale. Can someone guide me? As I said, I'd like to be able to have ffdshow load up three different profiles: and SD profile (does the most upscaling), a HD profile (does a smaller amount of upscaling) and a full HD profile (does no upscaling). Actually, I think it would be a good idea to have a "almost full HD profile", as I've seen a few blu-ray rips that trimmed off blacks borders, so their resolution is just under 1920 x 1080, for this sort of resolution I feel that only a tiny amount of upscaling would be needed, much less than 720p's profile. Thanks!
 

1gkar

MP Donator
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  • July 1, 2007
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    New Zealand New Zealand
    Only just seen this when searching for something else. As I use upscaling, try the following:

    Firstly, what codec(s) are you using? If SAF*.00, I would recommend upgrading to the latest 6.00, as upscaling is basically set.

    If not, then use my exported registry settings to see if they work. Remember, backup the registry or set system restore point before importing.

    Remove your ffdshow post-processing from MP config: I don't use this. The following are basically what I have set in the attached settings.

    Set your resize, sharpen, etc. filters on the default profile. Set up a new default profile, unchecking filters, to start with. Rename eg. SD Upscale.
    Open Preset Atuoload Conditions. Radio button 'on all conditions match'
    Check 'on movie dimensions match'
    16 <=width<= 1279
    16 <=height<= 719
    Save

    Save another new profile. Rename to HD Upscale.
    Open Preset Atuoload Conditions. Radio button 'on all conditions match'
    Check 'on movie dimensions match'
    1280 <=width<= 2048
    720 <=height<= 2048
    Save

    To test, check OSD. Check:

    CPU Load
    Source File
    Input size & aspect ratio
    Output Size


    Run MP in windowed mode, so you don't have to continually close out. Check if upscaling is working via OSD when running various files. When you have this working correctly, you could remove filters from default profile, & set them, to the preferred settings, inside the profiles.

    Depending on what codecs your media files have been coded with, you could also use 'on fourCC match'

    Try this for a start.
     

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    FireAza

    Portal Pro
    June 30, 2011
    50
    10
    37
    Only just seen this when searching for something else. As I use upscaling, try the following:

    Firstly, what codec(s) are you using? If SAF*.00, I would recommend upgrading to the latest 6.00, as upscaling is basically set.

    If not, then use my exported registry settings to see if they work. Remember, backup the registry or set system restore point before importing.

    Remove your ffdshow post-processing from MP config: I don't use this. The following are basically what I have set in the attached settings.

    Set your resize, sharpen, etc. filters on the default profile. Set up a new default profile, unchecking filters, to start with. Rename eg. SD Upscale.
    Open Preset Atuoload Conditions. Radio button 'on all conditions match'
    Check 'on movie dimensions match'
    16 <=width<= 1279
    16 <=height<= 719
    Save

    Save another new profile. Rename to HD Upscale.
    Open Preset Atuoload Conditions. Radio button 'on all conditions match'
    Check 'on movie dimensions match'
    1280 <=width<= 2048
    720 <=height<= 2048
    Save

    To test, check OSD. Check:

    CPU Load
    Source File
    Input size & aspect ratio
    Output Size


    Run MP in windowed mode, so you don't have to continually close out. Check if upscaling is working via OSD when running various files. When you have this working correctly, you could remove filters from default profile, & set them, to the preferred settings, inside the profiles.

    Depending on what codecs your media files have been coded with, you could also use 'on fourCC match'

    Try this for a start.
    Thanks for responding! It looks like I've been able to get profiles mostly worked out, but could you answer a few questions?
    1) In the "on movie dimensions match" setting, should the button be "and" or "or"?
    2) I'm trying to setup a "no upscaling" profile for 1920x1080 content. Obviously, the two boxes on the left need to say "1920" and "1080" but what about the two boxes on the right? What do they represent, and what should they have in them?
    3) What settings would you suggest for each of these profiles? I've chosen the settings recommended in the Postprocessing guide (Postprocessing Guide - MediaPortal Wiki) and though it seems to be sharper than my previous upscale settings, there's a lot of grain and rainbows around the edges of objects. Also, this means I'm using the same settings for each of the profiles, which is kind pointless :p
    4) Is there a "profile in use" setting for the OSD? I'd like to be able to check if ffdshow is choosing the correct profile for each of the videos.
    5) What does the "process whole image" checkbox do? It seems to cause my SD videos to chug, though not my HD videos for some weird reason.
     

    1gkar

    MP Donator
  • Premium Supporter
  • July 1, 2007
    274
    77
    Home Country
    New Zealand New Zealand
    I'm no expert by any means on ffdshow, but I'll see if I can answer your queries:

    1) I prefer to use the 'and' qualifier, so both width & height are required for an exact match, to set the loading conditions. In theory, using 'or' should be no different.

    2) I would not set a profile for this. Use the existing default profile. Set the 'resize & apsect' filter to 'resize to screen resolution'. The only time this may not work correctly is if your HDTV has overscan, in which case, you should set 'resize if...' to match the custom screen resolution as set within your graphics card control panel.

    3) that can depend on various factors, dependant on your specific HTPC hardware & setup. Check this thread for recommended filter settings.

    4) Not to my knowledge. But if you set input & output sizes in the OSD filter, you can see what each media file is being upscaled to.

    5) Don't use 'process whole image' as it will process the entire image, including any black windowed area. This will increase CPU load, stressing the system, especially if you have set high filter settings in relation to your hardware power.

    nb. check the link in 3), as at the bottom of the first post, is an external link to how to set profiles. Have not seen that before.
     

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