LATM AAC problems (Freeview HD on DVB-T2) (1 Viewer)

[DragonQ]

MediaPortal Version: 1.2.1
MediaPortal Skin: StreamedMP
Windows Version: Windows 7 x64 SP1
CPU Type: Intel Celeron G530 (2.4 GHz)
HDD: Intel 320 Series SSD (40 GB)
Memory: Kingston 1066 MHz (4 GiB)
Motherboard: MSI H67MA-E35 (B3)
Video Card: nVidia GT 430 (fanless)
Video Card Driver: Latest
Sound Card: On-board GPU
Sound Card AC3: None
Sound Card Driver: Latest
1. TV Card: BlackGold BGT-3630
1. TV Card Type: DVB-T2 & DVB-S2
1. TV Card Driver: 8.1.1.2
2. TV Card:
2. TV Card Type:
2. TV Card Driver:
3. TV Card:
3. TV Card Type:
3. TV Card Driver:
4. TV Card:
4. TV Card Type:
4. TV Card Driver:
MPEG2 Video Codec: LAV Video Decoder (CUVID)
MPEG2 Audio Codec: ffdshow tryouts
h.264 Video Codec: LAV Video Decoder (CUVID)
Satelite/CableTV Provider: Freesat (28.2° & 28.5° East)
HTPC Case: SilverStone Grandia GD04B
Cooling:
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts EA 380D
Remote: Hama MCE Remote
TV: Bush HDTV
TV - HTPC Connection: HDMI

I have my DVB-S2 card as highest priority so haven't had to use Freeview HD (DVB-T2) a lot. However, I had to use it recently and I had problems with the sound. Firstly, on BBC One HD there was no sound. Then I switched to BBC HD and there was no sound. Then I switched back to BBC One HD and there was sound, so I continued watching the programme. However, my recording of that program has no sound after it switches from the "local news can't be shown on BBC One HD" ident to the weather report at the end of the news. I've extracted the LATM AAC file and it is just silence after the first 35 seconds (when the ident disappears).

My Configuration -> TV -> TV Client -> Audio Settings page is set as follows:

Preferred Languages: English (eng)
Prefer AC3 Sound: Yes (required to stop transcription audio being used by default on HD DVB-S2 channels)
Prefer Audiotype Over Language: No
Enable AudioDualMono Mode Switching: No

My Configuration -> Codecs and Renderer -> TV Codecs page is set as follows:

MPEG-2 Video Decoder: LAV Video Decoder (CUVID)
H.264 Video Decoder: LAV Video Decoder (CUVID)
MPEG / AC3 Audio Decoder: ffdshow Audio Decoder
LATM AAC Audio Decoder: LAV Audio Decoder
DD+ Audio Decoder: ffdshow Audio Decoder
Audio Renderer: Default DirectSound Device

 

[jameson_uk]

LAV does not work with the AAC on freeview HD. I am using the DivX Codec with seems to be the only one to correctly deal with it

 

[DragonQ]

LAV supports LATM AAC though, which is what Freeview HD uses.

I don't want to install DivX because even when just installing the codec, it installs other crap.

 

[Owlsroost]

My experience is the same as jameson_uk - LAV audio decoder doesn't work reliably with FreeviewHD (sound just stops working randomly, or recordings have no sound etc) - switch decoder to DivX AAC and everything is OK.

The DivX Plus installer lets you chose which software to install (so you can have just the codecs if you want) - just read the dialogs carefully and tick/untick the right boxes (otherwise just install it on another PC, copy the codecs to the HTPC and register the filters manually).

Tony

 

[DragonQ]

Hmm, I see. I wonder if the author is aware of the issue? I have no idea how to reproduce it though so it'd be a pain in the arse to debug.

Anyway, I've switched to the DivX AAC codec for LATM AAC and will see if I encounter the issue again in the near future. I did just install the codecs and not any of the other software but it does mean I have a load of other codecs on my system that I don't want. I guess they won't do harm though.

A fairly big issue though is that I can't see any configuration window for the DivX codecs - with LAV and ffdshow I can choose speaker output, normalisation/compression, etc. but I can't do that with the DivX AAC codec as far as I can tell. There is a Start menu entry for "Codec Settings" but it's a broken link.

 

[jameson_uk]

Hmm, I see. I wonder if the author is aware of the issue? I have no idea how to reproduce it though so it'd be a pain in the arse to debug.

I believe it has been discussed with Nev but it is partly the combination of MP and LATM HE AAC. 0002831: Add NALU support for audio streams (aac) in TsReader - MediaPortal Bugtracker would probably help sort this out partly but that is a massive bit of work and so far no dev has come forward to take that on.

I guess they won't do harm though.

I found that the DivX splitter actually broke MKV playback. I unregistered the splitter (and I think a few of the other DivX codecs) just leaving the AAC one

A fairly big issue though is that I can't see any configuration window for the DivX codecs - with LAV and ffdshow I can choose speaker output, normalisation/compression, etc. but I can't do that with the DivX AAC codec as far as I can tell. There is a Start menu entry for "Codec Settings" but it's a broken link.

The DivX codec is just a decoder so there is not really anything to configure; it just decodes. If you want to do anything else with the audio you can feed the output into FFDShow (as a post-processing filter) but that comes with its own issues.... (checkout this test version https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/...work-tv-graphbuilding-cc-post-process-103606/)

I do this to output the 5.1 stuff as DD 5.1 and stereo as DD 2.0 (to trigger the amp into Pro-Logic)

 

[DragonQ]

I found that the DivX splitter actually broke MKV playback. I unregistered the splitter (and I think a few of the other DivX codecs) just leaving the AAC one

Hmm, presumably this is done with regsvr32? How can I get a list of the codecs it's installed and their filenames?

 

[jameson_uk]

I found that the DivX splitter actually broke MKV playback. I unregistered the splitter (and I think a few of the other DivX codecs) just leaving the AAC one

Hmm, presumably this is done with regsvr32? How can I get a list of the codecs it's installed and their filenames?

You can do but easiest way is using a tool like GraphStudio If you open it as admin then go to the graphs menu and choose insert filter you get a list of all filters installed. There is then an unregister button and you can find the DivX codecs

 

[DragonQ]

Thanks, I'll try that.

EDIT: Do any of them besides "DivX AAC Decoder" need to remain registered? Like the "DivX Decoder Filter" maybe?

 

[Owlsroost]

Thanks, I'll try that.

EDIT: Do any of them besides "DivX AAC Decoder" need to remain registered? Like the "DivX Decoder Filter" maybe?

Not as far as I know.

BTW - GraphStudio also gives access to the filter property pages (for adjusting settings, if there are any)

Tony