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[benn600]

When I play a DVD in Video Lan Player, the blacks are deep and immersing.  When played through Media Center (using the PowerDVD codec), blacks are more grey and basically wipe away any decent contrast ratio the used display may have.  I have tried various settings within PowerDVD with no success on improving this.

This realization came about when I compared a different movie DVD (through Media Center) vs. a Blu Ray of the movie (on a standalone player).  I noticed the DVD was significantly brighter and the colors are also less pronounced and more muted.  Blacks being grey is not good at all, especially with all the effort put into setups these days to improve contrast and get black blacks.

[Yaobing]

Did you try adjusting Brightness and Contrast?

[benn600]

Those settings do not work and have not worked for quite a while (for me).  I am using Enhanced Video Renderer on Windows XP.

[Yaobing]

Those settings do not work and have not worked for quite a while (for me).  I am using Enhanced Video Renderer on Windows XP.

I see.  There is indeed a problem with EVR on XP.  I have not figured that out.  There is no problem using EVR on Vista.  With EVR on XP, color controls some times work and some times do not.  On my computer they work for DVD playback, but not for other video and TV playback.  I will have to dig deeper to find out what is going on.

[Alex B]

Try CCCP/FFDShow and set it to use libmpeg2 for MPEG2 decoding. Then you can use FFDSHow for adjusting the levels and also its other postprocessing features.

I have never tested EVR on XP. Most likely VLC does not use it. It also does not use the PowerDVD filters. Actually, I think its internal decoder is libmpeg2.

[benn600]

I'll try the suggestions.  When I play the same DVD in PowerDVD directly and Media Center, side by side, PowerDVD is much more vibrant and impressive.

[benn600]

I'm still trying different DVDs and comparing them and their quality.  I cannot emphasize how brilliant DVDs look when played correctly.  I'm sure I need to adjust my settings but this is seriously overwhelming.  It looks like the video quality skyrocketed.  I am pleased that the issue has been noticed so I can fix it!  The difference is astounding.

[benn600]

Try CCCP/FFDShow and set it to use libmpeg2 for MPEG2 decoding. Then you can use FFDSHow for adjusting the levels and also its other postprocessing features.

I have never tested EVR on XP. Most likely VLC does not use it. It also does not use the PowerDVD filters. Actually, I think its internal decoder is libmpeg2.

I think I speak for a lot of people here when I say that CCCP is nearly impossible to get working properly.  When I do manage to get CCCP playback to actually work in Media Center, I have two problems:
1. Video quality is disappointing. It doesn't appear to be deinterlaced and if it is, the deinterlacer is very poor.  When there is fast movement, I see the interlace lines horribly and still images flicker around corners and edges.
2. Fast forwarding is worthless.  Anything above 5x displays almost no image updates.


With the PowerDVD codec, I can fast forward at 100x and the visual image updates are the best I have ever seen...DVD fast forwarding doesn't even compare!  I get probably 3 frames per second of instant updates at 100x!

When I play DVDs directly in the PowerDVD player, they look breathtaking (perfect).  Through Media Center (using the PowerDVD codec) reveals contrast / saturation issues.  At a minimum, I can say it doesn't look as good.  The deinterlacing, upscaling, etc., all seem fine.  The main problem is that through MC the video looks brighter so blacks are more grey.  When I watched a DVD through PowerDVD I saw some of the blackest blacks I'd ever seen on our projector...the same ones I enjoy when watching a Blu Ray disc.

Could you please point me to a tutorial Alex on how to setup CCCP for DVD playback?  I just tried again and if I select the "ff" one or the "Gabest" video codec, I get the playback error.

[JimH]

Check our wiki.

[benn600]

I was able to get "MPC - MPEG-2 Video Decoder (Gabest)" to work as the video decoder.  The output looks the same (not acceptable).

I went into PowerDVD and noticed a setting that has a few options including Vivid, Theater, and Bright.  The output I see in Media Center is not quite as bright as "Bright" but it is close.

The solution might be closer than I thought.  Here are some of my findings:

With both CCCP and PowerDVD, if I use Renderer 9, I am able to adjust the OSD brightness option.  If I lower it TWO clicks, everything looks significantly better and may very well be exactly what PowerDVD looks like.  So by making the renderer switch, I am able to configure the OSD items which is very helpful.  Now I wonder if the default of brightness is unusually set high?  I would think the answer would be found in looking at black video (past the edge of movie video) and comparing that the black MC adds to the frame.  At two marks down, it is very difficult to tell the difference.  One or zero marks down (from the default brightness) is very easy to notice.  It may take three...  Just did some side by side comparisons.  I think 3 steps down from the default is better than two and looks fabulous.

Alex: since it sounds like you use CCCP, how is your fast forwarding at 100x?  On my systems, 5x skips and jumps at various speeds and 20/100x basically show nothing.

With renderer 9 I can see video drawing.  I usually notice it at about 1/3 the way in the upper right corner and it manifests as a sharp line where the frame updated above it and has not updated below it--visible on a fast image change or very fast motion.  This is probably why I ended up preferring Enhanced...seeing video drawing is never pleasing!

[benn600]

One more note for the day...I tried Legacy Video Renderer and it may be the real answer.  The default brightness setting looks great (like it should).  I can adjust the settings and they all work.  I don't notice video drawing.

The biggest drawback I see is that the OSD is not transparent like it is with Enhanced.

It all comes down to the renderer it seems!  I read an article on a Microsoft site detailing the differences between the renderers that may be helpful:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd374574(VS.85).aspx

[)p(]

The washed out look is when the decoder uses video levels (16-235) and the display is set to pc levels (0-255).

peter

[benn600]

Yaobing,

Are the renderers built into Windows and not editable or adjustable through MC?  I suppose there is interaction with them that can be adjusted.

Using left/right on Position (OSD) causes an error in some cases with Enhanced Video Renderer.  Trying to jump ahead or behind with this item stops the video and it seems like something crashes behind the scenes.