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Author Topic: Going with Red October...  (Read 2418 times)

rick.ca

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Going with Red October...
« on: June 23, 2011, 11:15:24 pm »

...Is there really any choice?

Now that RO has been publicly released, I hope I can revisit some questions without being branded "impatient." Although I may have some specific technical problems to be resolved, my main interest here is in getting a better understanding of exactly what RO is and how it can best be used. Yes, it's main benefit of providing something that "just works" doesn't require anything further. But I would really like to know how to add things to it or make improvements without wasting hours in fruitless trial and error testing.

A little background: Prior to RO, I had a configuration that "just worked" for me. I used Haali splitter, CoreAVC, AC3Filter and DirectVobSub for most file types. With the introduction of RO, the Windows Merit Based system was broken. Reading this...

Windows Merit Based -- the same as the original Windows DirectShow selection.

In addition, Red October uses its own location and settings for all filters, and we "register" them ourselves, so there is no conflict with other players.  Red October also ignores the Windows Merit system (while leaving it in place for other players) and RO has a white list for additional good filters.  The Red October system is completely independent of everything else on the PC.

...I might infer it's back, but statements like this...

Something else I should mention... You are certainly free to use the "not-recommended" Windows Merit system.  And, in theory, it should work properly for people who need to use it.  However, I wouldn't count on a lot of improvements in this area beyond getting it working like it did in MC15.  This is essentially now the "deprecated" method in MC for selecting video filters.  If you have problems here (beyond actual bugs where it doesn't work the same as it did in MC15), you are likely going to have trouble getting help on this.  It is essentially unsupported (again, once we are sure it is back to "normal").

...make me wonder if it's practical to expect it can be used with MC.

I've had no luck whatsoever re-configuring the Merit Based system to anything close to what it was before. Although I don't have an expert understanding of how these things work, I can well imagine my system might get screwed-up in the course of testing RO. But re-installing/registering filters hasn't had any noticeable effect on the outcome—nothing works completely as it did before. It really doesn't seem like the Merit Based system is completely independent of RO. When I do get a file to play, it's graph often includes filters that have nothing to do with the ones I've specified. If the problem is with my system (perhaps from testing RO in early days when it was using system filters), how can I fit it?

It really doesn't seem I have the choice implied. Beyond that, I'm not sure it's even relevant to my needs. The option of "RO with additional filters" sounds much more attractive. But I haven't been able to get anything to work with that either. I realize it can't be as simple as RO "just works" and this is a way to add anything to it and it will still "just work." I understand there's a white list, but I have no idea what's on it. I would expect the program to restrict selection lists to white listed filters, but those lists appear to be the same whether I'm using RO or the Merit Based system.

So, to illustrate the issue...My original configuration included AC3Filter. I originally used this for getting audio to my receiver via SPDIF. This is no longer essential, but I've come to appreciate the ability to make adjustments to the audio. (I don't know whether it's the original soundtrack, how it was encoded when ripped, or my old ears, but I often find dialog difficult to follow without voice boosted. If there's a way to do the same thing with MC, I haven't figured it out.) How do I know how to add something like this? Is it white listed? Can I just add it using "RO with additional filters"? Or is the Merit Based system the only choice?

All the questions apply to CoreAVC. And LAV CUVID (I have an nVidia card.) Fortunately, I probably don't need these things, but I read here they should work. So I can't help myself—I have to try them out. Each case requires at least an hour of blind testing just to conclude it doesn't work for all files. Should it not be more obvious whether or not something can be added to RO? And if it can't, shouldn't a working Merit Based system be available and supported?
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glynor

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Re: Going with Red October...
« Reply #1 on: June 24, 2011, 12:51:53 am »

...I might infer it's back, but statements like this...

...make me wonder if it's practical to expect it can be used with MC.

I have not been testing the Windows Merit System at all.  We've been working on getting Red October set up well, mostly.  I think that is going pretty well now, and attention has shifted back to tidying up the more advanced configurations.

I'm now playing around with Red October HQ (with Additional Filters), and it is working well.

My comments shouldn't really be read quite the way you're reading them. I think that they intend to make the "legacy" system work just as well as it did in MC16 pre-October.  I don't know how far down that path they are.  I don't think a LOT of us in the Betas have been testing it thoroughly, though I know some people have been lately.  However, what I meant was: I do think that once they get it working right again you can expect that system to not be very actively maintained.  It is probably going to sit there unchanged from there on out, and if you have problems, you might be "alone in the wilderness" to a degree.

It should work correctly, like before.  I really don't know where it stands now.  Talk seems to be that it is working better than it was, but I don't have specifics.

If it does not, I think we'd like specifics on what configurations aren't working, for which files, and whatnot.  And then they'll fix it.
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glynor

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Re: Going with Red October...
« Reply #2 on: June 24, 2011, 01:08:27 am »

I just switched my mode to Advanced - Windows Merit and tried it out.  I tried first with MKVs set to "full auto" as the Playback Method (it worked before all this Red October stuff because I have my filters set up nicely by merit).

So, I opened up a MKV and clicked Play.  Playback worked fine, using Haali and FFDSHOW (with my regular settings and tray icons):

Code: [Select]
Filter Graph Info:

    Filter 'JRiver Audio Renderer'
        CLSID: {A4002F8E-510F-442C-8AD3-F9C7B23FB394}
        Host:
        Input Pin 'In'
            Connected to pin 'Out' of filter 'ffdshow Audio Decoder'
            Major type MEDIATYPE_Audio  Sub type MEDIASUBTYPE_IEEE_FLOAT, Format type FORMAT_WaveFormatEx

    Filter 'Enhanced Video Renderer'
        CLSID: {FA10746C-9B63-4B6C-BC49-FC300EA5F256}
        Host: c:\windows\syswow64\evr.dll
        Input Pin 'EVR Input0'
            Connected to pin 'Out' of filter 'ffdshow Video Decoder'
            Major type MEDIATYPE_Video  Sub type MEDIASUBTYPE_YUY2, Format type FORMAT_VideoInfo2
        Input Pin 'EVR Input1'

    Filter 'ffdshow Audio Decoder'
        CLSID: {0F40E1E5-4F79-4988-B1A9-CC98794E6B55}
        Host: C:\Users\glynor\AppData\Roaming\J River\Media Center 16\Plugins\ffdshow\ffdshow.ax
        Output Pin 'Out'
            Connected to pin 'In' of filter 'JRiver Audio Renderer'
            Major type MEDIATYPE_Audio  Sub type MEDIASUBTYPE_IEEE_FLOAT, Format type FORMAT_WaveFormatEx
        Input Pin 'In'
            Connected to pin 'Audio' of filter 'M:\Incoming\CSI.S11E20.720p.HDTV.X264-DIMENSION.mkv'
            Major type MEDIATYPE_Audio  Sub type MEDIASUBTYPE_DOLBY_AC3, Format type FORMAT_WaveFormatEx

    Filter 'ffdshow Video Decoder'
        CLSID: {04FE9017-F873-410E-871E-AB91661A4EF7}
        Host: C:\Users\glynor\AppData\Roaming\J River\Media Center 16\Plugins\ffdshow\ffdshow.ax
        Input Pin 'In'
            Connected to pin 'Video' of filter 'M:\Incoming\CSI.S11E20.720p.HDTV.X264-DIMENSION.mkv'
            Major type MEDIATYPE_Video  Sub type Unknown GUID Name: {31435641-0000-0010-8000-00AA00389B71}, Format type FORMAT_MPEG2_VIDEO
        Output Pin 'Out'
            Connected to pin 'EVR Input0' of filter 'Enhanced Video Renderer'
            Major type MEDIATYPE_Video  Sub type MEDIASUBTYPE_YUY2, Format type FORMAT_VideoInfo2
        Input Pin 'In Text'

    Filter 'M:\Incoming\CSI.S11E20.720p.HDTV.X264-DIMENSION.mkv'
        CLSID: {55DA30FC-F16B-49FC-BAA5-AE59FC65F82D}
        Host: c:\program files (x86)\combined community codec pack\filters\haali\splitter.ax
        Output Pin 'Video'
            Connected to pin 'In' of filter 'ffdshow Video Decoder'
            Major type MEDIATYPE_Video  Sub type Unknown GUID Name: {31435641-0000-0010-8000-00AA00389B71}, Format type FORMAT_MPEG2_VIDEO
        Output Pin 'Audio'
            Connected to pin 'In' of filter 'ffdshow Audio Decoder'
            Major type MEDIATYPE_Audio  Sub type MEDIASUBTYPE_DOLBY_AC3, Format type FORMAT_WaveFormatEx

But, I do have CoreAVC installed, and it didn't load.  I don't know why, the file is an H264 file, and CoreAVC was set as the default decoder before on my system.  So, I tried manually selecting CoreAVC as an Other Filter.  Still didn't load.  Played fine, but no CoreAVC.

But CoreAVC DOES load if I use Red October HQ (with Additional Filters) and keep the same exact settings in the dialog:



Code: [Select]
Filter Graph Info:

    Filter 'JRiver Audio Renderer'
        CLSID: {A4002F8E-510F-442C-8AD3-F9C7B23FB394}
        Host:
        Input Pin 'In'
            Connected to pin 'Output' of filter 'LAV Audio Decoder (auto-configured)'
            Major type MEDIATYPE_Audio  Sub type MEDIASUBTYPE_IEEE_FLOAT, Format type FORMAT_WaveFormatEx

    Filter 'madVR'
        CLSID: {E1A8B82A-32CE-4B0D-BE0D-AA68C772E423}
        Host: C:\Users\glynor\AppData\Roaming\J River\Media Center 16\Plugins\madvr\madvr.ax
        Input Pin 'Input'
            Connected to pin 'Output' of filter 'CoreAVC Video Decoder'
            Major type MEDIATYPE_Video  Sub type MEDIASUBTYPE_YV12, Format type FORMAT_VideoInfo2

    Filter 'CoreAVC Video Decoder'
        CLSID: {09571A4B-F1FE-4C60-9760-DE6D310C7C31}
        Host: c:\program files (x86)\corecodec\coreavc professional edition\coreavcdecoder.ax
        Input Pin 'Input'
            Connected to pin 'Output' of filter 'JRiver Video Monitor'
            Major type MEDIATYPE_Video  Sub type Unknown GUID Name: {31435641-0000-0010-8000-00AA00389B71}, Format type FORMAT_MPEG2_VIDEO
        Output Pin 'Output'
            Connected to pin 'Input' of filter 'madVR'
            Major type MEDIATYPE_Video  Sub type MEDIASUBTYPE_YV12, Format type FORMAT_VideoInfo2

    Filter 'LAV Audio Decoder (auto-configured)'
        CLSID: {E8E73B6B-4CB3-44A4-BE99-4F7BCB96E491}
        Host: C:\Users\glynor\AppData\Roaming\J River\Media Center 16\Plugins\lav\LAVAudio.ax
        Input Pin 'Input'
            Connected to pin 'Output' of filter 'JRiver Audio Monitor'
            Major type MEDIATYPE_Audio  Sub type MEDIASUBTYPE_DOLBY_AC3, Format type FORMAT_WaveFormatEx
        Output Pin 'Output'
            Connected to pin 'In' of filter 'JRiver Audio Renderer'
            Major type MEDIATYPE_Audio  Sub type MEDIASUBTYPE_IEEE_FLOAT, Format type FORMAT_WaveFormatEx

    Filter 'JRiver Video Monitor'
        CLSID: {A4207487-E7D8-406B-9882-B66370DE2492}
        Host:
        Input Pin 'Input'
            Connected to pin 'Video' of filter 'LAV Source Splitter'
            Major type MEDIATYPE_Video  Sub type Unknown GUID Name: {31435641-0000-0010-8000-00AA00389B71}, Format type FORMAT_MPEG2_VIDEO
        Output Pin 'Output'
            Connected to pin 'Input' of filter 'CoreAVC Video Decoder'
            Major type MEDIATYPE_Video  Sub type Unknown GUID Name: {31435641-0000-0010-8000-00AA00389B71}, Format type FORMAT_MPEG2_VIDEO

    Filter 'JRiver Audio Monitor'
        CLSID: {A4207487-E7D8-406B-9882-B66370DE2492}
        Host:
        Input Pin 'Input'
            Connected to pin 'Audio' of filter 'LAV Source Splitter'
            Major type MEDIATYPE_Audio  Sub type MEDIASUBTYPE_DOLBY_AC3, Format type FORMAT_WaveFormatEx
        Output Pin 'Output'
            Connected to pin 'Input' of filter 'LAV Audio Decoder (auto-configured)'
            Major type MEDIATYPE_Audio  Sub type MEDIASUBTYPE_DOLBY_AC3, Format type FORMAT_WaveFormatEx

    Filter 'LAV Source Splitter'
        CLSID: {B98D13E7-55DB-4385-A33D-09FD1BA26338}
        Host: C:\Users\glynor\AppData\Roaming\J River\Media Center 16\Plugins\lav\LAVSplitter.ax
        Output Pin 'Video'
            Connected to pin 'Input' of filter 'JRiver Video Monitor'
            Major type MEDIATYPE_Video  Sub type Unknown GUID Name: {31435641-0000-0010-8000-00AA00389B71}, Format type FORMAT_MPEG2_VIDEO
        Output Pin 'Audio'
            Connected to pin 'Input' of filter 'JRiver Audio Monitor'
            Major type MEDIATYPE_Audio  Sub type MEDIASUBTYPE_DOLBY_AC3, Format type FORMAT_WaveFormatEx

So, it looks like something is broken in the Windows Merit system, for sure...
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rick.ca

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Re: Going with Red October...
« Reply #3 on: June 24, 2011, 01:59:28 am »

Quote
I think that they intend to make the "legacy" system work just as well as it did in MC16 pre-October.

I hope so. And I did otherwise understand the point you were making—after all the effort that's gone into RO, it wouldn't be reasonable to expect the old system to be supported in the same way. But the main point I'm making here is that users need more information about these matters so they don't end up wasting as much time trying to get things working "around the edges" of RO as they did getting anything to work in the old system.

We might have been told something like, "We expect it will take x weeks to finish RO. In the meantime, the old system will not work as it did before. We expect it will be fully restored y weeks after the completion of RO." Instead, we weren't told it would be broken with the release of RO, then it was supposedly restored but wasn't, and now RO has been publicly released and it seems it still doesn't work. I don't care how long these things take to complete. I can, after all, configure MC to play videos with VLC if I choose. I care about wasting time trying out things, only to find there was never any prospect of them working.

And related to this point is the possibility this endeavour is never really "complete," or, more likely, is never something that will satisfy the needs of all users. If so, we need a clear overview of the situation and some guidelines on how to add capabilities we need or want. For example, before resorting to trial and error, I should have enough information to know (or make an informed choice) as to whether I can add AC3Filter to RO, it would require using the legacy system, or I might be better off just living without it.
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Matt

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Re: Going with Red October...
« Reply #4 on: June 24, 2011, 07:52:10 am »

I would recommend working in the other direction.  Start with Red October.  It's working well for most users.

Then, if you want additional filters like AC3Filter, pick "Red October with additional filters".

Windows Merit will work like v15, but it's use-at-your-own-risk.  There's a reason we wrote Red October -- the number of times I ended up in Directshow hell staring at ffdshow settings just to get a video to play is embarrassing.  Red October fixes all of that.
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BartMan01

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Re: Going with Red October...
« Reply #5 on: June 24, 2011, 08:09:52 am »

I think this is similar to the problem I was having with CoreAVC.  Prior to RO, CoreAVC would load for videos it could play and other filters would be used for videos it could not play.  With RO, the only way I could get CoreAVC to load was to explicitly choose it as the filter for MKV.  But since MKV is not a codec type but a package, the system would choke when I tired to open a file that had a video CODEC that CoreAVC couldn't handle since it appeared to be trying to pass them to CoreAVC too.

I think there is really something broken here for those of us who need hardware acceleration and want to use CoreAVC over FFDShow when possible.  Either that or we are missing something in the cofiguration.
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Matt

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Re: Going with Red October...
« Reply #6 on: June 24, 2011, 09:38:29 am »

I think there is really something broken here for those of us who need hardware acceleration and want to use CoreAVC over FFDShow when possible.  Either that or we are missing something in the cofiguration.

Coming soon:
Changed: When using Red October with additional filters, if a selected decoder will not connect, the standard Red October decoder will be used instead (previously playback would just fail).
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Matt Ashland, JRiver Media Center

glynor

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Re: Going with Red October...
« Reply #7 on: June 24, 2011, 10:09:07 am »

Matt, I do think something is still currently wrong with the Windows Merit system, because otherwise CoreAVC should be loading in my test from above.  It does load in MPC-HC on the same system with everything set to auto, and it did work like that on this machine "pre-October".

The video is playing, but CoreAVC is not being used, even if I manually select it.  While if I select it in ROHQ or ROST "with Additional Filters" it works fine.

So, that probably needs a look.

I'm happy to look manually at my merit scores on the system tonight if it would help.
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glynor

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Re: Going with Red October...
« Reply #8 on: June 24, 2011, 10:10:25 am »

I would recommend working in the other direction.  Start with Red October.  It's working well for most users.

Then, if you want additional filters like AC3Filter, pick "Red October with additional filters".

I do agree with this, completely.

The other system should work, but it isn't ideal to use it, and ROST or ROHQ is going to be much better for most users.
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Matt

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Re: Going with Red October...
« Reply #9 on: June 24, 2011, 10:24:05 am »

Matt, I do think something is still currently wrong with the Windows Merit system, because otherwise CoreAVC should be loading in my test from above.  It does load in MPC-HC on the same system with everything set to auto, and it did work like that on this machine "pre-October".

Could you drop the file in GraphEdit / GraphStudio?

It would probably be good to start another thread if you think there's a problem.

Thanks.
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Matt Ashland, JRiver Media Center

glynor

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Re: Going with Red October...
« Reply #10 on: June 24, 2011, 10:32:56 am »

You got it... Later on tonight.
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rick.ca

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Re: Going with Red October...
« Reply #11 on: June 24, 2011, 02:16:06 pm »

I would recommend working in the other direction.  Start with Red October.  It's working well for most users.

To be clear, this is what I'm trying to do and my strong preference. And it's not just a matter of not knowing what the status of the merit system is. Even if I were confident it worked as before, I can't forgive it for the hours of my life it has stolen.

Changed: When using Red October with additional filters, if a selected decoder will not connect, the standard Red October decoder will be used instead (previously playback would just fail).

This sounds promising. I knew I had the same problem with one of CoreAVC and LAV CUVID. I suppose it was with both. Most of my videos are downloaded AVI and MKV, so they contain a variety of content.

I'm happy to look manually at my merit scores on the system tonight if it would help.

Is there anything to my theory my merit scores were messed-up testing early versions of RO, and this is why the system doesn't appear to be working normally? Looking at them with DirectShow Filter Manager (and looking is all I've ever done), they seem okay. Filters I use or have installed/registered recently are "preferred;" most of the stuff I never use are "unlikely" or "do not use." One exception is the madVR version I registered at the same time as LAV CUVID—it's "do not use."
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