So if you read this far you know where I am. Playing DVD rips with just a bit of chop. But it was always nagging me so here is what followed..,.
If some of you remember, I was having some issues with regular DVD playback on my server. But I did a number of tweaks and got it looking fairly good with only some chop left. Well, if there is one thing about me I am persistent. A while back I tried the media player VLC. When I watched a DVD rip through that it looked fantastic but I was only getting stereo soundtrack. Fast forward to this past weekend.
Going through the audio options on the Baetis(Windows OS) and the VLC player, I am now able to get the multich to come and play as an audio source when I watch a DVD rip through the VLC player. It really doesn't sound that bad. Here is what I did.
I had to setup VLC to Directx audio out in two spots and make sure that VLC is "looking" for the 80.3 which is just a simple menu selection Also, one thing that I had to do was to go into the control panel of windows based Baetis server. In there is an icon named sound. If I double click on that another widow pops up and I see my 80.3 listed If you double click on it and then go to supported formats it gives some info. It says max number of channels is 8.
HDCP supported
Bit depths 16 bit 20 bit and 24 bit.
Then for sample rates it says 32.0 kHz, 44.1kHz, 48kHz and 88.2 Khz
Then in another box it has Encoded formats
DTS audio
Dolby Digital Plus
DTS-HD
Dolby TrueHD
Dolby Digital.
Then in the advanced mode it says Select the sample rate and bit depth to be used when running in share mode. It goes from 16bit 48000hz(DVD Quality All the way to 24bit 192,000Hz(studio quality).
I have it on the dvd quality.
Now also, I just happen to right click on my 80.3 icon and another screen came up. It allows me to setup my speaker configuration, When I did that, I saw that it was in stereo mode. But, there was a 5.1 surround and 7.1 surround option as well. So, I put it to the 5.1 setting.
After I did all of that, I played a movie and I got the Multich output.
According to Craig(a friend of mine on AVS forum), "The "Multi-Channel" on your pre/pro display just means that the
server is decoding the Dolby Digital or DTS track instead of bitstreaming it to the
pre/pro for the pre/pro to decode. You must have the output in the VLC player set to PCM. If the decoder in the server is a decent decoder, and assuming it is working properly, the sound should be virtually the same between DD/DTS decoded in the sever or decoded in the pre/pro. Your pre/pro will still apply Audyssey EQ and all the BM and Distance settings, so that should be the same also."
Now Craig mentioned the fact that VLC player is probably set for PCM audio and the server itself is doing the decoding but I still get the EQ function and bass management. He said the only "downside" is that I can't see what format is being played. I guess he means Dolby Digital or DTS. To be honest, it really doesn't matter because I only have one or the other on my DVD rips so as long as it plays which ever is on the rip, I am fine with it.
So that's it. The server is now doing EVERYTHING I wanted it to do. I tested just a few parts of some DVD rips and it sounds fine and looks great.
If anyone knows if there is a bit stream option in VLC, please let me know and I will switch it. But if this is as good as it gets, I can easily live it for the 40 or so DVD's I have on the server. I am so glad I decided to just try one more time and play around.
Movie update:
I just wanted to give a full update(review) now that I have watched a movie. I watched Open Range last night which is a DVD rip. First the video was very good. There was no jaggedness at all. The colors of the landscape in the beginning were really vibrant. Detail on close up shots of different people were also very clear and detailed. I was very happy with the video. On the audio side I was equally happy. The thunder at the start of the movie was potent and had some power. All of the gunshots were crisp and had impact(the shotgun as well). But the dialog as well was crystal clear. I could make out every word, even low level dialog and mumbles were clearer now. In addition little insects flying around were convincing. I will probably watch a few more as tests.
This is probably just for when I watch a movie. If I wanted to give someone a demo. I doubt I would use a dvd rip. I would want them to get the full experience so I would use a BR rip. But for stuff that I watch, it's great. I am really glad I played around a bit more. Now everything looks and sounds great
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Topic: problems playing standard DVD's (Read 27928 times)