problem with CoreAVC (1 Viewer)

[tmacca]

Not sure what is going on

I have CoreAVC set as my codec for H.264 in the video player settings

Sure enough, I can see in Graphstudio that CoreAVC is kicking in when playing MKV files (AVC encoded)

However, when playing m2ts files (striaght rips from a blu-ray disk) Graphstudio shows that the MPV codec is kicking in (even though these files are also AVC encoded)

I have added the extension (m2ts) into the extension list

I use PowerDVD codec for MPEG-2 content

I use ffdshow for audio, as I can then playback the DTS core from the MA/HD tracks in the M2TS files over SPDIF

sorted...uninstalled SAF...all working as expected now

 

[globaldonkey]

Yes, I've noticed if the MPC splitter (installed with SAF) gets involved in demuxing, it tends to override MediaPortal's codec preferences and follow DirectShow merits for decoder preferences. Get rid of the MPC splitter and all goes back to normal. I've observed that with MP4 containers myself. I'm not sure why that is.

 

[hoborg]

Yes, I've noticed if the MPC splitter (installed with SAF) gets involved in demuxing, it tends to override MediaPortal's codec preferences and follow DirectShow merits for decoder preferences. Get rid of the MPC splitter and all goes back to normal. I've observed that with MP4 containers myself. I'm not sure why that is.

What splitter you are talking about? SAF only install MPEG2 splitter (MpegSplitter.ax) and FLV splitter (FLVSplitter.ax).

No problem here:

Actualy there are one - *.m2ts reporting subtitles even when m2ts doesn't have any = MP throws warning message window and directvob sub is loaded.

 

[globaldonkey]

Hi Hoborg,

Would that (reporting subs) be a Haali problem or a problem with the TS itself?

Yes sorry, I was totally out of order there. SAF does not install the MPC-HC splitter. That was something I was messing around with trying to get MP4 streams to split with online videos. My apologies for the confusion.

So this may not be the answer to tmacca's problem...... unless he does have MPC-HC installed. That part that threw me was the "unistalled SAF" to resolve the problem.

If you do register the MPC-HC splitter, together with the MPC video decoder, and stop using Haali as the splitter, MPC-HC splitter will demux, BUT if you have (say) Coreavc selected as your h.264 codec in Mediaportal, the MPC-HC splitter seems to use DS filter merits to decide which decoder to use (ie it will use the MPC video decoder), rather than following what MP wants to use. If you go back Haali as the splitter, then it will use whatever you have sent in MP as the h.264 codec.

So maybe it was the uninstallation of something else (ie MPC HC or CCCP or something) that fixed the problem.

I guess I don't quite follow how MP builds graphs, and how a splitter can seem to override how MP "wants" to build a graph.

 

[hoborg]

Hi Hoborg,

Would that (reporting subs) be a Haali problem or a problem with the TS itself?

I think it is MP problem, becouse MPC-HC player build graph correctly without any error (even connect halli to directvobsub).
There are some patch to disable warning window in MP.

 

[globaldonkey]

..... and I guess that just about sums it up as why different DS players (MP included) behave differently. It's all about how the graph is built, and how the player interacts with its own preferences vs DS merits.

To get back to the MPC splitter vs Haali behaviour, it must be that MP explicitly connects all the Haali pins, but when MPC splitter is used, MP lets DS merits take over. I guess it is all about what splitters and codecs MP has been coded for.

 

[tmacca]

no, it was definately uninstalling SAF that fixed the problem

I wont pretend I understand most of what you have said here but my setup was as follows:

Haali media splitter
SAF (including latest clvsd.ax from PowerDVD)
CoreAVC
ffdshow (for audio only)

I installled SAF purely for DVD playback so I could use PowerDVD (via CLVsd.ax)and therefore take advantage of DXVA. I then enabled CoreAVC for h.264 content & ffdshow for spdif passthrough (I use the latest tryouts that will extract DTS core from DTS MA streams - it means I can leave my m2ts files pure and not have to re-encode them etc)


I did not use/install DirectVobSub. I did not use the MPC-HC splitter

I use EVR for my renderer, and in order to take advantage of subtitles with DXVA (I used CUDA on CoreAVC), I installed the MPC-HC sub engine from cpp2005.


When playing an MKV, everything worked as expected - Graphstudio shows CoreAVC using CUDA for DXVA

When playing an .m2ts file, Graphstudio showed MPV

In both cases, Haali was the splitter



So, I uninstalled SAF. However, I still wanted to use PowerDVD for DVD playback (because of DXVA and it is better than anything else, IMO), so I simply registered clvsd.ax and everything works as expected

Reinstall SAF - same problem
Uninstall SAF - problem goes away


All fixed now, I just uninstall SAF, use clvsd.ax for DVD, coreAVC for h.264, ffdshow for audio (SPDIF passthrough) and everything functions perfectly - subtitles, audio, DXVA....everyones happy!!!

 

[globaldonkey]

Right, so its not the splitter that causes a different decoder to be used, its MP itself, which is kinda what I was talking about. Sorry for the MPC splitter red herring - it just sounded like the problem I had observed when I was trying to get MP4 streams for online videos working. They probably have the same root cause though. DS filter merits are being used to construct the graph for the m2ts file, rather than what is explicitly set in MP. When the MPC decoder is installed, it is given a much higher than normal merit 0x4000001, as opposed to CoreAVC with 0x0800200.

What would prove the point is if you swapped those merits around while SAF was installed, so that CoreAVC was the higher merit. You can do that with filmerit os DS filter Manager

Filmerit
DirectShow Filter Manager

Just a question, though. I'm not familiar with CUDA, but isn't Nvidia CUDA something different to DXVA? It's still HA, but a different way to doing it than through DirectShow. I thought the CoreAVC guys had a big problem with DXVA.

 

[tmacca]

Yes, you are right, now its me that is misleading you! DXVA and CUDA are different

and you are right, it would be great to be able to swap the DS merits around to prove the point.......but my system is now functioning perfectly, so I would be a fool to deliberately break it just to prove something........


....wish I could get rid of that voice in the back of my head......do it....go on.....try it.....you know you want to.........

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

....wish I could get rid of that voice in the back of my head......do it....go on.....try it.....you know you want to.........

Now that's a true mediaportal nutter