New NVide driver fixed black level problem on VMR9 for me (1 Viewer)

oldyellow

Portal Member
January 5, 2006
14
1
TV-Server Version: 1.0.0.0
MediaPortal Version: 1.0.0.0
MediaPortal Skin: Blue3wide
Windows Version: XP SP3
CPU Type: Pentium Dual-Core E5200 2.5 GHz
HDD: Western Digital 640 GB
Memory: 2GB DDR2 SDRAM
Motherboard: Gigbyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H
Video Card: On Board NVIDIA GeForce 9400
Video Card Driver:
Sound Card: On Board Realtek ALC889A
Sound Card AC3:
Sound Card Driver:
1. TV Card: HDHomeRun
1. TV Card Type: ATSC
1. TV Card Driver:
MPEG2 Video Codec: MPV Decoder
MPEG2 Audio Codec: MPA Decoder
h.264 Video Codec: ffdshow
Satelite/CableTV Provider: n/a
HTPC Case: hec/COMPUCASE 7K09 RT
Cooling: Stock CPU/Case Fans
Power Supply: 270 Watt (came with case)
Remote: Hauppauge MCE Remote
TV: Toshiba 42AV500U
TV - HTPC Connection: HDMI


I know a lot of people have been having problems with the black levels when viewing videos inside of MP. The problem had to do with the VMR9 renderer and 0-255 vs 16-235 RGB conversion. I tried all of the suggested fixes (registry hack, using ffdshow post processing, etc) but still, whenever I viewed a video with VMR9 as the renderer, the picture was washed out. I tried EVR and the picture was also washed out. Since these were the only two video renderer options with MP, I was reduced to watching videos and recorded TV programs outside of MP.

This morining I installed the lasted version of the NVideo driver (GeForce/ION Driver Release 185), and my black level problems have cleared up. Now the picture is perfect! If any NVidee users still have this problem, try installing the latest driver.

P.S. The latest driver also fixed the infamous unable to resize the desktop problem that NVidea had with HD Televisions.
 

haeeba

New Member
May 12, 2009
4
0
I really wish we could get to the bottom of this problem, i love MP but i currently have to use an external player as i get the washed out render through both VMR9/EVR with an ATI 4850.

When using identical codecs with MPC-HC or Zoom/KM Player i get the perfect color space.

I'm glad for you that this driver is working for you but it seems strange as i always figured it to be a MP and not a driver issue - do any of the MP devs have some input here????
 

Paranoid Delusion

Moderation Manager
  • Premium Supporter
  • June 13, 2005
    13,062
    2,978
    Cheshire
    Home Country
    United Kingdom United Kingdom
    Turn off the application control for colour space etc in catalyst centre, this is what I do with my Nvidia card and then it uses the same colours whichever application I use.
     

    haeeba

    New Member
    May 12, 2009
    4
    0
    There's no application setting for color space in CCC, you can pick 16-235 or 0-255 (Full RGB) for everything.

    Have been messing around again just now, i've been using the mpc-hc dec for everything lately for the DXVA benefits but have been noticing the luma problem (color space) within MP. Been reading a thread on another forum about this problem and so i changed to the ffdshow decoder and forced RGB32 output only + 0-255 color space and i am getting the perfect color space in MP internal player again.

    I am going to try an older Cat driver as i have heard ATI have removed the ability to do the BT601CSC registry hack in 9.2+ so maybe this is the source of the problem after all.
     

    oldyellow

    Portal Member
    January 5, 2006
    14
    1
    I used to thing the problem was with MediaPortal, but now I think it is that certain graphics drivers are not allowing VMR9/EVR renderers to use the proper white/black RGB color range (i.e. 0-255 vs 16-235). I would urge anyone experiencing this problem to perform the following test and report the results back to this thread.

    1. Download and install GraphStudio (it is not very large)
    2. Drag a .ts file recorded with MediaPortal onto the GraphStudio icon to have it render the .ts file.
    3. Check which video renderer is being used (i.e. VMR - Video Renderer or VMR9 Video Renderer 9)
    4. Play the file from GraphStudio by clicking the play control button. Note the picture quality (normal vs. washed-out)
    5. Stop the playback by clicking X on the playback window or clicking the stop play control button.
    6. Highlight the render box by clicking on it, then delete the box (the delete button or right-click -> delete)
    7. Add the video renderer that was not used in step 3. You can use the Graph->Add Filter menu option. Make sure that the filter is either Video Render 9 (VMR9) or Video Render (VMR), which ever was NOT used before.
    8. Connect the filter by clicking on the output pin of which ever decoder is being used and dragging the line to the input pin of the Video Render. Once you release the mouse the software should take over and make the connection.
    9. Play the file again, noting the quality (normal vs. washed-out).

    When I did this, the VMR renderer give a perfect picture, and both the VMR9 and the EVR render gave a washed out picture. I tried all of the suggestions but none of them worked (this makes sense for most of the suggestions because the renderer is the last filter in the line). I tried the NVidea registry hack that can be found on the web, and it also did not work. However, when I installed the newest version of NVidea drivers yesterday, it worked.

    I don't think the problem is directly with MP (and I used to think that). However, since MP forces use of VMR9/EVR it affects MP users. I would be willing to bet money that when you are looking at those crystal-clear videos from your external player, that VMR9/EVR is NOT being used, hence the quality picture.
     

    haeeba

    New Member
    May 12, 2009
    4
    0
    i think you're right oldyellow, since switching back to the 9.1 Cats i longer see the color space switch via the internal MP player.

    the only reason mpc-hc player seemed to play the correct color space with the 9.4 Cats was because it's shader options by default convert from 16-235 -> 0-255, when using the 9.1 Cats with mpc-hc i have to turn those shader options off or it becomes way too dark as these drivers are already in the right color space by default.

    this is how it seems to be working for me under Vista x64 anyway.
     

    djphatic

    Portal Pro
    May 9, 2008
    70
    1
    Home Country
    United Kingdom United Kingdom
    I am having an issue with the wrong black levels with ATI 4850.

    I tried the method detailed in graphstudio and I do not have any problems with Video Renderer (which appears to be default renderer) or Enhanced Video Render.

    As soon as I play something within MediaPortal (with EVR mode selected), I get grey blacks :(

    This is with Cat 9.4 and 9.5. I have tried all the pixel format options and neither of them solve the issue. Any suggestions?
     

    digitalfm

    Portal Pro
    February 4, 2008
    114
    18
    I have my HTPC hooked up via VGA to my Samsung 40' LCD native res 1360 x 768. The VGA picture is superb, better than 1280x720p on HDMI for some reason.

    My question though would be which colour space should I use with this setup. 16-235 or 0-255?

    Thanks
     

    Users who are viewing this thread

    Top Bottom