Topic: Video playback artifacts in .avi, .mp4 and .wmv [solved] (Read 15341 times)

rei901 · « **on:** March 20, 2009, 05:55:51 pm »

I have been a MC user since v12. I am running Windows Vista Ultimate.

Upon upgrading to v13 I began seeing artifacts on .wmv and .mp4 playback--usually an intermittent, moving horizontal "line" or lines made by what looks like slight upper and lower section mismatches. None of these artifacts show up in WMP11.

I have uninstalled all codec packs and MC and reinstalled MC. I've installed the latest DirectX update. I reinstalled CCCP and QTlite. I have toggled wmv acceleration on and off, which makes MC fail to play .wmv files and does not fix the artifacts in mp4.

Additionally, after all my reinstalls I notice my .avi files are very grainy (not pixellated--grainy. Wierd.).

I've tried different audio renderers. I've tried different audio outputs.

I've reinstalled my video card drivers.

Ideas?

A few oddities that may or may not be related:

I have a few mp4 thumbnails that will not draw. Also, none of my drm .wmv files will draw thumbnails.

My.mp4 files will not scale in the player--they zoom to full screen and do not offer me the option to scale. My .wmv files will scale, however.

JimH · « **Reply #1 on:** March 20, 2009, 06:03:38 pm »

In the settings for DirectShow, double check what filters you're using. Try different ones. Simplify if possible.

Make sure that mp4 isn't being played by Quicktime. The failure to zoom could be just QT in use. Right click on the video to see what filters are used.

AVI is a container format, so you don't really know what is inside without using a utility to see. Work with a single filetype.

MC can use the Windows Media engine for playback if you can't find a solution.

Kill any other software you can. Virus checkers, etc.

rei901 · « **Reply #2 on:** March 21, 2009, 10:51:33 am »

Perhaps DirectShow is the problem. In MC 12, under options>playback.directshow video options, I got a two-column dialog box with DirectShow filters on the right column. The entire column is missing in my current installation.

JimH · « **Reply #3 on:** March 21, 2009, 11:07:40 am »

In MC13, recent builds, DirectShow playback options are under File Types.

rei901 · « **Reply #4 on:** March 21, 2009, 05:34:31 pm »

Thanks. I was indeed using QT as the engine for .mp4; using JR engine fixed most .mp4 problems.

I have tried the various options and combinations for .wmv--the JR engine works best, with auto source filte, the jriver decoder, and the enhanced video renderer. However, I still get the wierd line artifact in every combination I try. Ideas?

JimH · « **Reply #5 on:** March 21, 2009, 05:48:46 pm »

Try other filters. If you have Vista, use the Microsoft filter for video.

Try the latest build from the top of this board.

If that doesn't work, try copying your filter graph and paste it here. Right click on the video playback screen to start.

rei901 · « **Reply #6 on:** March 21, 2009, 07:10:02 pm »

I've tested a number of the filters. Here is my graph data:

Filter Graph Info:

Filter 'Speakers (High Definition Audio'
CLSID: {E30629D1-27E5-11CE-875D-00608CB78066}
Host: quartz.dll
Input Pin 'Audio Input pin (rendered)'
Connected to pin 'out0' of filter 'WMAudio Decoder DMO'
Major type MEDIATYPE_Audio Sub type MEDIASUBTYPE_PCM, Format type FORMAT_WaveFormatEx

Filter 'Enhanced Video Renderer'
CLSID: {FA10746C-9B63-4B6C-BC49-FC300EA5F256}
Host: C:\Windows\system32\evr.dll
Input Pin 'EVR Input0'
Connected to pin 'out0' of filter 'WMVideo Decoder DMO'
Major type MEDIATYPE_Video Sub type MEDIASUBTYPE_NV12, Format type FORMAT_VideoInfo
Input Pin 'EVR Input1'

Filter 'WMVideo Decoder DMO'
CLSID: {94297043-BD82-4DFD-B0DE-8177739C6D20}
Host: qasf.dll
Input Pin 'in0'
Connected to pin 'Raw Video 1' of filter 'ASF Reader'
Major type MEDIATYPE_Video Sub type Unknown GUID Name: {32564D57-0000-0010-8000-00AA00389B71}, Format type FORMAT_VideoInfo
Output Pin 'out0'
Connected to pin 'EVR Input0' of filter 'Enhanced Video Renderer'
Major type MEDIATYPE_Video Sub type MEDIASUBTYPE_NV12, Format type FORMAT_VideoInfo

Filter 'WMAudio Decoder DMO'
CLSID: {94297043-BD82-4DFD-B0DE-8177739C6D20}
Host: qasf.dll
Input Pin 'in0'
Connected to pin 'Raw Audio 0' of filter 'ASF Reader'
Major type MEDIATYPE_Audio Sub type Unknown GUID Name: {00000161-0000-0010-8000-00AA00389B71}, Format type FORMAT_WaveFormatEx
Output Pin 'out0'
Connected to pin 'Audio Input pin (rendered)' of filter 'Speakers (High Definition Audio'
Major type MEDIATYPE_Audio Sub type MEDIASUBTYPE_PCM, Format type FORMAT_WaveFormatEx

Filter 'ASF Reader'
CLSID: {187463A0-5BB7-11D3-ACBE-0080C75E246E}
Host: qasf.dll
Output Pin 'Raw Audio 0'
Connected to pin 'in0' of filter 'WMAudio Decoder DMO'
Major type MEDIATYPE_Audio Sub type Unknown GUID Name: {00000161-0000-0010-8000-00AA00389B71}, Format type FORMAT_WaveFormatEx
Output Pin 'Raw Video 1'
Connected to pin 'in0' of filter 'WMVideo Decoder DMO'
Major type MEDIATYPE_Video Sub type Unknown GUID Name: {32564D57-0000-0010-8000-00AA00389B71}, Format type FORMAT_VideoInfo

JimH · « **Reply #7 on:** March 21, 2009, 07:43:03 pm »

Did you try switching to the Microsoft filter for video only for the filetype?

rei901 · « **Reply #8 on:** March 21, 2009, 09:59:10 pm »

If you mean the WMP engine for playback method, yes I did. It did not help. Still the same. If you mean something else, then I do not understand.

Yaobing · « **Reply #9 on:** March 23, 2009, 07:01:06 am »

Your DirectShow graph for wmv playback seems to be correct. The only other thing I can think of is to change the display settings during playback. Right-click in video window and selection "Change Display Settings". You may have to stop playback and restart it after the change.

rei901 · « **Reply #10 on:** March 24, 2009, 08:13:41 pm »

Yaobing, Jim, I've done all you've suggested. I also swapped my Geforce 7300 le video card for a new Geforce 9400 gt. Nothing seems to work.

I looked more closely at playback of various file types, including dvd, in WMP. The artifacts are there as well--just not as pronounced as in MC.

Recall that the problem box is Vista Ultimate (yech) with MC 13. I've got an XP laptop with an older installation of JRMC12. I've tried playing the same files on that workstation, with the same video renderers etc, across an external monitor and playback is flawless.

A Vista thing? A MC 13 thing? Bad chemistry between the two?

Perhaps I should roll back JRMC13 to v12. I don't recall this problem on the Vista box before I upgraded to 13.

Thoughts?

JimH · « **Reply #11 on:** March 24, 2009, 08:23:33 pm »

If nothing else works, you can always tell MC to use the Microsoft playback engine when it can.

Try Tools/Options/File types. I think that's where it is now.

rei901 · « **Reply #12 on:** March 24, 2009, 08:30:55 pm »

Thanks, Jim. I have done this. The artifacts remain.

JimH · « **Reply #13 on:** March 24, 2009, 08:50:36 pm »

Quote from: rei901 on March 24, 2009, 08:30:55 pm

Thanks, Jim. I have done this. The artifacts remain.

Now you're in uncharted waters, because that's playing with the same core that WMP uses.

Try just one filetype. WMV would be best. The others are containers so anything could be inside.

rei901 · « **Reply #14 on:** March 25, 2009, 09:51:05 am »

I downgraded to MC 12. Seems to have improved everything.

Yaobing · « **Reply #15 on:** March 25, 2009, 11:18:31 am »

Can you paste the graph info from MC12?

rei901 · « **Reply #16 on:** March 25, 2009, 03:57:35 pm »

Yaobing, I spoke too soon. I now can see the artifacts in MC12. Don't now if they "developed" or if I just overlooked them before.

FYI, I using WMV files as my test bed (per Jim's instructions earlier.)

Still want the graph data from MC 12?

Yaobing · « **Reply #17 on:** March 25, 2009, 04:26:34 pm »

Probably not. I would expect the same graph, and the same behavior.

rei901 · « **Reply #18 on:** March 27, 2009, 05:20:06 pm »

You're not going to believe this, but turning off the Windows Indexing Service resolved the issue. I found a gamer forum that described how multiple-core processors were flummoxed by indexing when playing video. Bizarre.

Thanks.

JimH · « **Reply #19 on:** March 27, 2009, 05:33:51 pm »

I do believe it. Thanks for reporting the solution.

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Author Topic: Video playback artifacts in .avi, .mp4 and .wmv [solved] (Read 15341 times)