Topic: DVD Playback. (Read 3380 times)

phatanhappy · « **on:** March 03, 2003, 12:30:22 pm »

Will either media jukebox or media center support DVD playback. I have installed several versions 3 ways to sunday and cannot get it to play a DVD. Thanks in advance.

Carl · « **Reply #1 on:** March 03, 2003, 12:40:48 pm »

It should work assuming you have the proper codecs installed on your system. Do you have any other DVD software installed? Posting your system information may enable others to help you out.

Carl

phatanhappy · « **Reply #2 on:** March 03, 2003, 12:48:28 pm »

I do not have any DVD software installed. the computer was build exclusivly for Media Jukebox - so it doesnt even have a word processor. It is running W2k, 2.2 ghz processor, 1gb ram, 320gb hard disk, Toshiba IDE DVD and a plextor SCSI CD burner. I am running a pair or DAL card deluxe sound cards with their drivers.

Is there a utility that would provide more info I could run?
Is there a specific codec that I need to load?

Carl · « **Reply #3 on:** March 03, 2003, 12:55:29 pm »

You need to have a software DVD player installled and MC will use it's codecs. I would suggest WinDVD or PowerDVD. The DVD that was installed in your system may have had some software with it. If so install it and see what happens.

Carl

phatanhappy · « **Reply #4 on:** March 03, 2003, 12:58:23 pm »

Sooooooooo - to summarize - media center supports playback - providing I pay someone else $40 to $80 for a player (codec).....

Carl · « **Reply #5 on:** March 03, 2003, 01:10:50 pm »

I guess in most cases there is a cost for the software DVD players. Most DVD drives come with the software. Sometimes OEM drives don't. There are other options that are much cheaper than the $40 - $80. There are players that integrate into Windows Media Player that cost around $15. I know these work for WMP8 and 9 in WinXP but I'm not sure about Win2K as I no longer run 2k. But yes MC supports DVD playback as long as a codec is installed.

Hope this helps,
Carl

phatanhappy · « **Reply #6 on:** March 03, 2003, 01:14:51 pm »

ok now for the kicker - when it comes to quality, performance, and features - which is the best? What software do you recommend?

Carl · « **Reply #7 on:** March 03, 2003, 01:24:20 pm »

In my opinion I see very little difference between WinDVD and PowerDVD. Both are feature rich, have excellent playback quality and performance is fine, especially on a system like yours. I currently use WinDVD because the PowerDVD codecs seem to have a problem working with one of my video creation programs. Maybe others reading this will offer opinions of their preferred player..

Carl

PhatPhreddy · « **Reply #8 on:** March 03, 2003, 10:53:41 pm »

Define best... If you mean image quality Sonic 1.5 is my fave with NVDVD close behind... For sonic quality WinDVD is probably the best analogue decode but for SPDIF they are all so close I cannot tell (should be identical but many claim they are not)...

Sonic 1.5 filters are availble for $15.

NoCodeUK · « **Reply #9 on:** March 04, 2003, 01:13:48 am »

Phreddy-> My DVD playback is still poor in MC. Any help in how I can change what filters MC is using?? I downloaded Grphedit but couldn't find an option to change the defaults... All help gratefully apreciated

This is one of the only things left that I cannot use MC for cos the DVD playback is jittery, both audio and video.

JeffB · « **Reply #10 on:** March 04, 2003, 10:44:59 pm »

Playback can be jittery if the DVD drive isn't in DMA mode.

NoCodeUK · « **Reply #11 on:** March 05, 2003, 01:39:22 am »

DVD Drive is in DMA mode and plays back fine using Power DVD...however MC is trying to use the cionemaster filters which dont work. If I could change this so that it used the Power DVD fiters playback would be fine I think...

Adam

PhatPhreddy · « **Reply #12 on:** March 05, 2003, 03:56:57 am »

To be honest I do almost all my filter work with zoom player... I know that there ar eload priorities in the regsitry that are associated with the filters and this is how they are controlled...

I did intend to fire up graphedit to work this out for you but we got news in the night that another of my ladies famaily has just died (3rd in 10 days !!) that brings it to 3 funerals and a wedding !!!!

Once I get time I will sus this but it may not be in the next couple of days... Do you use the cinemaster filters ? if not remove tham and it will default to the next highest load priority...

NoCodeUK · « **Reply #13 on:** March 05, 2003, 02:36:33 pm »

Thanks Phreddy... Sorry to hear about your bad news. I can always wait

I will try and remove the cinemaster filters if I can... cheers

Adam

PhatPhreddy · « **Reply #14 on:** March 07, 2003, 10:04:55 pm »

Well the story so far is tough... I have been unable to achieve changing the load priority so far... I spent a couple of hours this morning (all I could spare) on my main box and put PowerDVD then Cinemaster (pre Sonic) filters on... The Cenmaster filters are then used... It tried obvious things like reinstalling PowerDVD to see if it is based on most recent install but it is not...

I will follow up withy some more registry hunting when I have time but thats all for now... I would remove the conemaster filter from the machine if yo are not using it but have to say that PowerDVD showed some UGLY artifacts while I was looking...

PhatPhreddy · « **Reply #15 on:** March 08, 2003, 01:22:03 am »

OK... Well I hate an unsolved puzzle and thanks to the AVS HTPC borg collective I was given the answers...

This is controlled by a registry setting... 2 ways to alter this.. one was easy and the other I looked at but did not do...

For the direct regedit way... This is the intructions according to AVS member Jamoka

Quote

First, find the filter label you want to adjust. Open Graphedit, click "insert filters", "directshow filters", then click the little + sign next to the filter to be edited. Note the string of numbers and letters following "displayname@device etc. There are 2 long bracketed values there, separated by a "\". I'll call those - filter number part 1 and filter number part 2. Note also the Merit Value listed below it.

The parameter to be adjusted is this "Merit Value". Higher values load first, lower values load last. The highest number loads as default.

The Merit Value is located in the registry (in my pc) at

HKey_Classes_Root

_ ____CLSID

_ ________ _Filter Number (part 1)

_ _______________Instance

_______________________Filter Number (part 2)

Double click "filterData" then edit the highlighted numbers to your liking.( See picture) they are backwards so the lower digits are to the left.

Reboot for the changes to take effect.

Joe

Picture....

Not too tough but I followed lead number 2... I had been playing with ZP and not finding a way to do this and the reason was that Blight has only slipped this one in recently.. as I wanted to update to the v3 beta5 anyway I DLed that from the ZP beta page and this has the ability...

First insert DVD and look at filter properties... I will assume it says Cinemaster / Sonic 1.5 / etc (depends on what you have installed be it ATI player / CP4 / Sonic / Etc) in here... You can have a play in Options -> DVD -> DVD Setup (tab) to not use the defualt graph... Setting a manual graph and running it to test is a very good idea... Once you have ZP working with a manual graph with Cyberlink PowerDVD Filters (under Filter Properties) you can undertake the next step which is to make them the defaults.

By using the Options -> Manual Filters -> Registered Filter Manager (button) you now have access to large lists of filters... If you demote the Ravisent Filters (Software Cinemaster DVD (TM) / Sonic 1.5 / Etc as above) down and promote the Cyberlink Video Decoder in the current merit value (hex apparently) space under the filter list, it will change your defaults.

One thing to note... As this is a reg setting not a program setting a reboot is required to take effect... I forgot this and was cursing for half an hour and changing lots of stuff (that may have best been left alone) so that I demoted Cinemaster filters to MERIT_DO_NOT_USE and PDVD to MERIT_PREFFERED... In retrospect this would be better being a MERIT_NORMAL and MERIT_UNLIKELY as that would retain the ability to use them in other situations...

Anyway even on this test box they wont stay long as PDVD is even uglier than I remembered it... Perhaps it was confused about the deinterlace settings but it was bouncing up and down more than a Caribean 'bubbling' compo... What version of Ravisent filters do you have that are acting up... My vote (in XP with Radeon Catalyst 3 and DX9.. It all makes a difference) is...
Sonic 1.5
NVDVD
WinDVD
PowerDVD
...for video

Lastly thanks... I like a puzzle and you learn something new everyday....

NoCodeUK · « **Reply #16 on:** March 08, 2003, 04:06:44 am »

I installed SOnic 1.5 but it was still jumping around like anything when using MC. I will have a look again and see if I can come up with anything using your suggestions...

Thanks a lot for all your help

Adam

NoCodeUK · « **Reply #17 on:** March 08, 2003, 04:32:01 am »

Okay I changed to the Power DVD filter and although the picture quality is not as good it does no longer jitter like it did with the Ravisent...What filter do you recommend as the best in terms of non jitter and good quality??

Adam

NoCodeUK · « **Reply #18 on:** March 08, 2003, 04:51:48 am »

Okay... I found out it is not the video that is causing the problem it is the audio. The audio is still jerky as hell and I dont seem to be able to change the audio codec (I have the properties option in MC greyed out) The playback is now fine in Zoom Player but still awful in MC...Ideas?? Cheers

Adam

PhatPhreddy · « **Reply #19 on:** March 08, 2003, 07:25:45 pm »

Well this will now be into the bounds of the mysteries of souncard drivers and possibly how much stuff is installed...

DVD playback stresses a machine quite heavily and as they get more and more filled or different things added and taken off this can often create stutters etc...

What soundcard are you using ?? What drivers ??

Does ZP play it back smoothly ?

PhatPhreddy · « **Reply #20 on:** March 08, 2003, 07:35:54 pm »

Also have you tried linking the Sonic Video up to the PDVD audio (very nice combo IMHO either the best or second best out there) with ZP ??

Also read up about 'reclock' on the AVS forum... Thats more for microstutters that are involved in maintaing the sync of the two filters.

NoCodeUK · « **Reply #21 on:** March 09, 2003, 01:59:25 pm »

Seems to work fine in ZP. The problem is only in MC and ZP is using more resources than MC so I don't think it is a resource problem... I am using an SB Live with the kX porject drivers but it was the same with Creatives drivers too. I think I may have to resort to only using ZP to play DVD and not MC

Adam

JimH · « **Reply #22 on:** March 09, 2003, 02:38:07 pm »

Quote

Okay... I found out it is not the video that is causing the problem it is the audio.
Adam

Adam,
Try changing some of the playback options. Direct Sound vs. Wave Out, for example. Or "More skip resistant" <==> "More responsive".

Check to see if there are other programs trying to manage the audio.

NoCodeUK · « **Reply #23 on:** March 10, 2003, 01:19:51 am »

I tried ASIO, Wave Out and Direct Sound and they all wierd. I haven't tried changing the skip response so I will try that but not sure... I really want to get this to work but at the moment I can seem to make any headway at all...

Adam

JustinChase · « **Reply #24 on:** December 07, 2003, 09:19:45 am »

Adam,

Did you ever get this resolved, if so, how?

xen-uno · « **Reply #25 on:** December 07, 2003, 10:49:33 am »

You may want to go with WinDVD for MC playback. So far I've yet to read a post where W-DVD has failed under MC. I have NEVER had DVD playback working under MC with PowerDVD (v4.x), though playback is fine under P-DVD alone. MC either crashes or complains about video modes. It is no big deal...I like P-DVD's playback.

R_x

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Author Topic: DVD Playback. (Read 3380 times)