CoreAVC? Yay or Nay?

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USMC2Hard4U

Supreme [H]ardness
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Apr 4, 2003
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I recently built a HTPC. Has Quad Core 2.83GHz 65W Version, 4GB DDR2 800, and Gigabyte Mobo w/Nvidia 9400 Chipset.

I only want to install 1 codec pack to get everything to work.... but I really want hardware acceleration for my rips... I dont do anything crazy, just some H.264 mkv and mp4 rips of anime episodes, and .vobs of my ripped DVDs.

Again, Hardware acceleration is a must in windows media center. Want to keep the CPU utilization down as much as possible.

Which 1 codec pack do you recommend? I was thinking CoreAVC because of the Cuda support? But then people have mentioned CCCP.

I have read the sticky and tried a few things, but ended up hosing my box (my fault) so I just formatted and ready to rock again.

Extra Info:
Sony Bravia XBR6 46" 1080p
Hooked up from HTPC to TV via HDMI.
Only using the speakers in TV
No receiver/no plans for a receiver
Blu-Ray Driver and PowerDVD 9 Ultra for BR playback
Have to use WMC cuz its easy for the wife.

Thanks experts. Please own me and call me a nub now :) :p
 
CCCP and CoreAVC. Manually set CoreAVC to do your h264 stuff and let CCCP do the rest of whatever.
 
Avoid Codec packs such as CCCP to avoid any potential codec pack issue.

Not too sure if CoreAVC can be used through WMC. Retry one of the guides in the sticky again and see what happens (Specifically the CoreAVC + CUDA)
 
All you need is the new CoreAVC with CUDA. It will handle h.264 with hardware acceleration, and it works within WMC and VMC without any special tweaks needed.
 
I gotta ask, why build a HTPC with a quad core, then try to avoid using it?

With regards to CoreAVC, you could use MPC-HC's decoder, it will enabled hardware accleration on all DXVA compatible encodes and resort back to a software renderer for not compatible encodes. It wont give Hardware playback on as many rips but is free.
 
Toytown said:
I gotta ask, why build a HTPC with a quad core, then try to avoid using it?

With regards to CoreAVC, you could use MPC-HC's decoder, it will enabled hardware accleration on all DXVA compatible encodes and resort back to a software renderer for not compatible encodes. It wont give Hardware playback on as many rips but is free.
Click to expand...

Quad core because I wanted something powerful enough for encoding too when I want to do that.
 
You could still just rely on software decoders, all it would mean is in the cases where you would be watching and encoding a movie, that the encode would be running at a slower speed, but would return to normal as soon as the movie finishes. My guess is that you would see a 25-35% decrease whilst watching 720p material and a 25-50% decrease whilst watching 1080p.

I would still give MPC-HC a try first, i hate paying for things no matter how small they cost, when there is a free alternative. If if fails to meet your expectations then give CoreAVC a blast.
 
If you really must have hardware acceleration for playback of H.264 content, then the newest CoreAVC is the way to go.

I have to tell you, though, it's not necessary. I have a quad core as well (Q9550) and I can encode videos using all 4 threads with AviSynth + x264 and still play high bitrate H.264 videos just fine, with priority on the encoding set to low.
 
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Hmmm its hard to say. It depends on how you'll want to handle videos in the future too. I heard that Windows Media software won't work with 3rd party software in Windows 7, so if you plan on upgrading the OS, youll probably have to use a 3rd party player to use it. Otherwise, WMP and probably the Media Center will use its built-in decoder (which isn't terrible but not really excellent for high resolution/bitrate video).

Keep in mind that CoreAVC is used only to decode H.264 videos, but playing back DVDs with stock software should be a non-issue at this point. I use CoreAVC with MPC-HC and it plays Blu-ray H.264 videos (ripped from the disc intact with no transcoding) without a hitch. This is using the CPU too.
 
Toytown said:
I gotta ask, why build a HTPC with a quad core, then try to avoid using it?

With regards to CoreAVC, you could use MPC-HC's decoder, it will enabled hardware accleration on all DXVA compatible encodes and resort back to a software renderer for not compatible encodes. It wont give Hardware playback on as many rips but is free.
Click to expand...
CoreAVC w/ CUDA > MPC-HC's DXVA decoder. More profiles supported. But of course you can't beat free.
 
how exactly is CoreAVC+CUDA > MPC DXVA? I wanna know, building HTPC in a couple of weeks getting everything ready now.
 
You just install and use it, there's no configuring registry edits, or registering dlls, no configuring direct show priority, etc. CUDA supports h.264 @ L5.1 up to 16 reference frames as well. Technically, it supports more than 16 reference frames, but Nvidia needs to fix their video driver in relation with direct3d to enable it to support more. I'd expect it to happen in the near future.
 
CoreAVC w/ CUDA > MPC-HC's DXVA decoder. More profiles supported
Click to expand...

I havent played with it as i dont have a Nvidia card and only read threads on here and doom9 when it first came out. But i thought that it only accelerated videos that MPC-HC did anyway and dropped back to software like MPC-HC does if its not compatible. The reason behind this was that it simply accessed the VP on the GPU through CUDA rather than DXVA and not the stream processors (hence why hardware acceleration didnt work on any 8 series GPU without the VP2 chip).

Like i said its been some time since i read about it and not having a Nvidia card cant test.
 
Personally I'd rather not pay for anything.

I just register the MPC-HC video decoder manually, and use it.
 
I alright bought a HTPC, bought PowerDVD9 Ultra, Bought AnyDVD HD, etc...

SO I dont mind paying 15$ or whatever it is for good hardware playback.

As long as it works as it should.... seems like coreAVC ftw
 
lowteckh said:
CCCP and CoreAVC. Manually set CoreAVC to do your h264 stuff and let CCCP do the rest of whatever.
Click to expand...

++ Highly suggest, what I use. :)

MS doesn't have a built in codec for H264 (in Vista) so that isn't an issue. In 7 if you set Core to "preferred" it takes over instead of the built in MS one.
 
CrimandEvil said:
++ Highly suggest, what I use. :)

MS doesn't have a built in codec for H264 (in Vista) so that isn't an issue. In 7 if you set Core to "preferred" it takes over instead of the built in MS one.
Click to expand...

Now I currently have 7 RC 64 bit on my box.... will it still use CoreAVC if I tell it to?

CoreAVC is currently only 32 Bit.

I dont mind reformatting and putting Vista 32 on there but I would like to keep 7 if possible.
 
USMC2Hard4U said:
Now I currently have 7 RC 64 bit on my box.... will it still use CoreAVC if I tell it to?

CoreAVC is currently only 32 Bit.

I dont mind reformatting and putting Vista 32 on there but I would like to keep 7 if possible.
Click to expand...

I'm running the same setup with mine and it works perfectly. :)
 
CrimandEvil said:
I'm running the same setup with mine and it works perfectly. :)
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks brother. I hate installing stuff to find it doesnt work and then have to unistall... THen I fell like i have a "Dirty" install of windows. I dunno i have OCD.

Thanks, will install CoreAVC on my Win 7 64 Bit when I get home and rock it up.

Will report back.
 
USMC2Hard4U said:
Ok, thanks brother. I hate installing stuff to find it doesnt work and then have to unistall... THen I fell like i have a "Dirty" install of windows. I dunno i have OCD.

Thanks, will install CoreAVC on my Win 7 64 Bit when I get home and rock it up.

Will report back.
Click to expand...

Totally understand, feel the same way. :)
 
Yeah id go with CoreAVC, i've been using it for my h.264 decoding since it came out and have had no problems. Its actually such a good codec, that it could decode a full 1080p rip on a laptop with a 1.5 ghz AMD processor and just a gig of ram without any hassles or dropped frames :D

And if you're looking for a player, id try out ZoomPlayer for the playback of HD rips.
 
Thanks, will install CoreAVC on my Win 7 64 Bit when I get home and rock it up
Click to expand...

Just in case you haven't bought it yet, then perhaps you should use a free alternative and wait a month or so until they release CoreAVC 2.0 as this upgrade should come with 64bit codecs and some other improvements, but will not be a free of charge upgrade to existing 1.x users....from what i understand.
 
Toytown said:
Just in case you haven't bought it yet, then perhaps you should use a free alternative and wait a month or so until they release CoreAVC 2.0 as this upgrade should come with 64bit codecs and some other improvements, but will not be a free of charge upgrade to existing 1.x users....from what i understand.
Click to expand...

I see. That is unfortunate....

Always a dilemma.
 
USMC2Hard4U said:
Now I currently have 7 RC 64 bit on my box.... will it still use CoreAVC if I tell it to?

CoreAVC is currently only 32 Bit.

I dont mind reformatting and putting Vista 32 on there but I would like to keep 7 if possible.
Click to expand...

There's a big debate in the doom9 forums (here) about how MS is blocking 3rd party software from WMP and MC for Windows 7. When I playback H.264 videos in WMP, the CoreAVC tray doesn't appear on the taskbar. This leads me to assume that it's using a built-in decoder (new in Windows 7). However, with MPC-HC the CoreAVC tray pops up as usual. 32-bit CoreAVC works fine with 32-bit software.

But anyway, keep in mind that you won't be able to use any 3rd party decoder with the MS players in Windows 7.
 
Yoshiyuki Blade said:
There's a big debate in the doom9 forums (here) about how MS is blocking 3rd party software from WMP and MC for Windows 7. When I playback H.264 videos in WMP, the CoreAVC tray doesn't appear on the taskbar. This leads me to assume that it's using a built-in decoder (new in Windows 7). However, with MPC-HC the CoreAVC tray pops up as usual. 32-bit CoreAVC works fine with 32-bit software.

But anyway, keep in mind that you won't be able to use any 3rd party decoder with the MS players in Windows 7.
Click to expand...
I'm using MPC-HD's decoder just fine in W7 with Media Portal, about to try Media Center + Media Browser.
 
w1retap said:
Nothing is blocked.. they just don't know what they're doing. :p
Click to expand...

I highly doubt BetaBoy and Sharktooth don't know what they're doing.

I'm thinking WMP is prioritizing Media Foundation filters over DirectShow. CoreAVC is still on DS, right?
 
tgxiii said:
I highly doubt BetaBoy and Sharktooth don't know what they're doing.

I'm thinking WMP is prioritizing Media Foundation filters over DirectShow. CoreAVC is still on DS, right?
Click to expand...

Probably. I think somewhere in the thread, a poster showed a way to disable the priority in the registry.
 
shiznit said:
I'm using MPC-HD's decoder just fine in W7 with Media Portal, about to try Media Center + Media Browser.
Click to expand...

Yeah, 3rd party decoders work fine with 3rd party players. But the 3rd party decoders won't work with Windows Media Player or Media Center apparently. It uses a built-in decoder.

I'm on W7 64-bit with 32-bit MPC-HC + CoreAVC, no problems here. It's a concern for users who wanted 3rd party software for WMP though.
 
I don't understand why there is all this talk of codec packs?

Install MPC-HC + Haali's and you will be able to play ANYTHING out there, even some stuff with DXVA if you want. Want CUDA? Add CoreAVC. Want tons of control over the picture? Add ffdshow.

Playback is just so damn simple if you just stick to MPC-HC its baffling why threads crop up like this with so much confusion.
 
criccio said:
I don't understand why there is all this talk of codec packs?

Install MPC-HC + Haali's and you will be able to play ANYTHING out there, even some stuff with DXVA if you want. Want CUDA? Add CoreAVC. Want tons of control over the picture? Add ffdshow.

Playback is just so damn simple if you just stick to MPC-HC its baffling why threads crop up like this with so much confusion.
Click to expand...

If you'd notice it's all in context of media center, what codecs do I need to get playback in media center? That's why these threads exist.
 
CoreAVC is good on slower systems, i think its a bit pointless on high end systems though

A tip, turn the tray icon on in coreavc to make sure its working, and you need to add it to the filters in MPC to make it work with it if you use that
 
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