HD Playback Stutter

T

The Donut

2[H]4U
Joined
Jan 28, 2003
Messages
3,122
Hey,

I've almost completed my setup here and it's not the most powerful thing out there but it works. However it's having problems (occasionally) playing back some of my MKV/Blu-Ray rips.

Some of them play just fine, others have the occasional stutter and some will stutter for 4-5 seconds every 15 seconds or so.

I'm playing them back on Windows 7 Media Center, with K-Lite Mega Pack. I'm not sure if my processor is the culprit though. It's an older Intel Pentium D 920.

Do I need to go out and buy a new processor,or do I need to fiddle with the codecs?
 
Not sure about the pentium D 920, but your video card plays a very big role as well, what video card are you using?


There's a fresh sticky that may help, but yea, K-lite or any mega codec packs are usually a big no no. Try to uninstall it as completely as you can (some may leave residual files).


But once again, it may all depend on what video card you have.
 
Yeah, uninstall the Mega Pack. General advice is to only install the codecs you need since multiple codecs can conflict with each other.

As SJetski71 state, checkout the new sticky about H.264 playback in Win7.
 
The Donut said:
I'm playing them back on Windows 7 Media Center, with K-Lite Mega Pack. I'm not sure if my processor is the culprit though. It's an older Intel Pentium D 920.
Click to expand...
*gouges out eyes*

Reformat and start with the sticky thread I made.
 
In that case, you won't get hardware acceleration and you'll have to rely on your processor for playback. Use the built in MediaFoundation codecs that Windows 7 comes with. All you should need to do is install Haali Media Splitter to get MKV containers recognized. Seeing that you are running a Pentium D, that's pretty weaksauce and you'll probably still see stuttering depending on the bitrate of the video.
 
To chime in, even though the 8800gtx doesnt support HD playback, wiretap does know that my e8400@ 3.6ghz with my old 8800gtx did in fact play movies just fine. But at that point it is your processor doing all the work and your Pentium D probably cant do it.
 
Indeed. But by HD playback I think you mean hardware decoding. Almost any modern graphics card can play back HD movies, it's just up to how fast the processor is if your graphics card can't natively hardware decode it.
 
Please stop recommending bloatware codec packs to people. It's seriously garbage and unnecessary, especially under Windows 7 when you only need one thing.. Haali.
 
w1retap said:
Please stop recommending bloatware codec packs to people. It's seriously garbage and unnecessary, especially under Windows 7 when you only need one thing.. Haali.
Click to expand...

Against my better judgment, I have to jump in here. It's unfair to Shark007 to lump his installer in with the mega codec packs like CCCC and K lite. The mega packs are crap because they just install a boatload of random codecs and leave the user stuck trying to manage them all. That's not what Shark007's installer does at all. His app is just an FFDshow and Haali/Gabest installer customized for use with Vista/Win7 Media Center. Is that the optimal setup for MC now? Not for me or 99% of the people here, but we aren't his target audience. His target is the person who never heard the words codec, filter or profile before today. He doesn't care what they are or want to learn what they do. He just wants to play his .mkv's in MC. For that person, I have no problem recommending Shark007's Vista/Win7 installer.
 
DDR4040 said:
Against my better judgment, I have to jump in here. It's unfair to Shark007 to lump his installer in with the mega codec packs like CCCC and K lite. The mega packs are crap because they just install a boatload of random codecs and leave the user stuck trying to manage them all. That's not what Shark007's installer does at all. His app is just an FFDshow and Haali/Gabest installer customized for use with Vista/Win7 Media Center. Is that the optimal setup for MC now? Not for me or 99% of the people here, but we aren't his target audience. His target is the person who never heard the words codec, filter or profile before today. He doesn't care what they are or want to learn what they do. He just wants to play his .mkv's in MC. For that person, I have no problem recommending Shark007's Vista/Win7 installer.
Click to expand...
No, because what's in the Shark pack is totally unnecessary under Windows 7. Technically all you need for 7 is Haali (and vsfilter if you want subs). Everything else is already built into 7.. DD5.1, DTS, H264, MP4, AVI, MPEG1/2/3/4, AAC, MOV, etc. It's all there with support right out of the box. Shark installs all sorts of registry bullshit, prioritizing your filters wrong.
 
w1retap said:
No, because what's in the Shark pack is totally unnecessary under Windows 7. Technically all you need for 7 is Haali (and vsfilter if you want subs). Everything else is already built into 7.. DD5.1, DTS, H264, MP4, AVI, MPEG1/2/3/4, AAC, MOV, etc.
Click to expand...

Have to call you out on that particular one.
 
Snowknight26 said:
Have to call you out on that particular one.
Click to expand...
Alrighty.

SPDIF_DD-DTS_audio.png


Bit streamed just fine to the receiver from within 7MC.
 
Well yeah.. that's all you need is pass-thru support to your receiver. There's no need to install any other software unless you want software decoding.
 
Snowknight26 said:
Supports passthrough, not decoding.
Click to expand...

For HTPC that is EXACTLY what you want. If you want a POS onboard sound system to handle sending audio out that is your business but for most people that care about audio quality bitstreaming is almost everything.
 
w1retap said:
Well yeah.. that's all you need is pass-thru support to your receiver. There's no need to install any other software unless you want software decoding.
Click to expand...

Right, but what you were pointing out was a list of things that the Windows 7 filters could decode natively, not pass-through.
 
I never said it decoded DTS natively. Out of the box, W7 supports DD5.1 and DTS. It's a true statement. It allows pass-through to your receiver right from within media center. In the sticky guide, I specifically pointed out the differences between the receiver side decoding and using FFDshow to software decode the streams.
 
Snowknight26 said:
It was implied when you mentioned the other formats as well.


I would surely hope so - even Vista did.
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Wonderful? I never implied anything. I was merely pointing it out saying there's no need to install bloatware. I really don't even know why you're arguing anymore..
 
w1retap said:
Wonderful? I never implied anything. I was merely pointing it out saying there's no need to install bloatware. I really don't even know why you're arguing anymore..
Click to expand...

Agreed and its pointless to the thread.

Codec packs suck. I have seen what they have done to media PC and overall it is just not worth it.
 
For some reason, despite supporting DTS and even acknowledging it's getting a DTS signal my receiver plays no audio when I hit "test".

Harmon Kardon AVR-254.
 
Try playing a movie with DTS. Sometimes those test things are too short and the receiver doesn't have time to pick up the signal.
 
I did; for some reason any MKV I have that has DTS gets output to Dolby Digital, at least that is what the receiver say it's getting. Any ideas?
 
The Donut said:
I did; for some reason any MKV I have that has DTS gets output to Dolby Digital, at least that is what the receiver say it's getting. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Many movies that have DTS have it as an option. The "Standard" is Dolby Digital so it defaults to that.

Like on my DVD of "Hunt for Red October" I have to go in and select DTS.
 
He isn't playing a DVD and no encoder in their right mind would put a DD and a DTS track on the same encode.
 
Here is one. When I play it in WMP it simply shows "Dolby Digital" on my receiver.

General
Complete name : K:\Media\Movies\Monsters, Inc. (2001)\Monsters Inc (2001) 1080P.mkv
Format : Matroska
File size : 6.25 GiB
Duration : 1h 32mn
Overall bit rate : 9 704 Kbps
Movie name : Monster Inc
Encoded date : UTC 2009-08-23 06:15:35
Writing application : mkvmerge v2.9.8 ('C'est le bon') built on Aug 13 2009 12:49:06
Writing library : libebml v0.7.7 + libmatroska v0.8.1

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.0
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 3 frames
Muxing mode : Container profile=Unknown@4.0
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 1h 32mn
Bit rate : 8 001 Kbps
Nominal bit rate : 8 192 Kbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Resolution : 24 bits
Colorimetry : 4:2:0
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.161
Stream size : 5.15 GiB (82%)
Writing library : x264 core 68 r1195M 5d75a9b
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=3 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=7 / psy_rd=1.0:0.0 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=3 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=0 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / wpredb=1 / keyint=240 / keyint_min=24 / scenecut=40 / rc=2pass / bitrate=8192 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / vbv_maxrate=20000 / vbv_bufsize=25000 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30 / aq=1:1.00

Audio
ID : 2
Format : DTS
Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
Format profile : ES
Codec ID : A_DTS
Duration : 1h 32mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 510 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Surround: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Resolution : 24 bits
Stream size : 996 MiB (16%)
Language : English
 
Alright, I know I should have done it first and I know you told me to.

After removing K-Lite and installing Haali, my DTS MKVs are now registering as "DTS" on my receiver.
 
I am still having the stuttering issue. It's most prevalent on the following file (slowdowns/stutter)

General
Complete name : Planet.Earth.E09.Shallow.Seas.2006.1080p.BluRay.x264.AC3.mkv
Format : Matroska
File size : 4.37 GiB
Duration : 51mn 13s
Overall bit rate : 12.2 Mbps
Encoded date : UTC 2009-05-11 16:00:08
Writing application : mkvmerge v2.8.0 ('The Tree') built on May 9 2009 18:02:06
Writing library : libebml v0.7.7 + libmatroska v0.8.1

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames
Muxing mode : Container profile=Unknown@4.1
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 51mn 10s
Bit rate : 11.5 Mbps
Nominal bit rate : 11.8 Mbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Resolution : 24 bits
Colorimetry : 4:2:0
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.232
Stream size : 4.12 GiB (94%)
Writing library : x264 core 67 r1129M c109c8e
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=4 / deblock=1:-3:-3 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=esa / subme=9 / psy_rd=1.0:0.0 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=24 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=3 / nr=0 / decimate=0 / mbaff=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=0 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / wpredb=1 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / rc=2pass / bitrate=11772 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30 / aq=1:0.50
Language : English

Audio
ID : 2
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 51mn 13s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 448 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Surround: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Stream size : 164 MiB (4%)
Title : Main
Language : English


Any idea why this would be worse than say, the one above? Both stutter but this one far more frequently.
 
Yeah, like I said, codec packs ruin things. Even though you said you uninstalled it, something is probably still over-riding in the registry due to codec priorities being fucked up. Good luck. That's not a problem I'm going to troubleshoot.
 
Fully formatted. CoreAVC is now decoding as the icon shows up whenever I launch an MKV file in Windows Media Player.

However it's still stuttering. Some files more than most; the ones above (Planet Earth) stutter and slow down considerably. I'm confused as to what it could be.
 
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