[Streamerke]

Here is a sample, unfortunately it's about 50MB:

http://relayer35.com/stuff/00218.MTS

Thanks for checking.

The file came back as a pretty standard NSTC 29.970FPS interlaced video file @ 17Mbps. I have 2 PCs: one new one with Windows 7 that I use for video editing etc. and then a 4 year old one on Vista 64 which is my media center in the living room. Only on the one in the living room I have XBMC.

I can tell you that the file played very well and without any problem on both PCs in MPC-HC and VLC Media Player on both PCs. In XBMC the file plays well too, with DXVA2 disabled. Due to the fact that CPU only has some problems decoding each frame in time there is some stutter here and there but I can assure you this is frames being dropped, nothing wrong with the video file itself.

I play my own home movies that I render at 25FPS and 16Mbps. The PC can barely handle this due to the fact that DXVA2 must be switched off so if you up the specs like on your source material this gives frame dropping. The O command when pressed during playback confirms this.

I conclude there is nothing wrong with the file itself and a PC should be able to play this. XBMC should be able to play it too, given that the PC is powerful enough when DXVA2 is disabled. This being said, even though my PC is 4 years old I have a quite powerful CPU so I can imagine that a new i3 or even i5 processor will have problems with the file too.

[relayer35]

Here is a sample, unfortunately it's about 50MB:

http://relayer35.com/stuff/00218.MTS

Thanks for checking.

The file came back as a pretty standard NSTC 29.970FPS interlaced video file @ 17Mbps. I have 2 PCs: one new one with Windows 7 that I use for video editing etc. and then a 4 year old one on Vista 64 which is my media center in the living room. Only on the one in the living room I have XBMC.

I can tell you that the file played very well and without any problem on both PCs in MPC-HC and VLC Media Player on both PCs. In XBMC the file plays well too, with DXVA2 disabled. Due to the fact that CPU only has some problems decoding each frame in time there is some stutter here and there but I can assure you this is frames being dropped, nothing wrong with the video file itself.

I play my own home movies that I render at 25FPS and 16Mbps. The PC can barely handle this due to the fact that DXVA2 must be switched off so if you up the specs like on your source material this gives frame dropping. The O command when pressed during playback confirms this.

I conclude there is nothing wrong with the file itself and a PC should be able to play this. XBMC should be able to play it too, given that the PC is powerful enough when DXVA2 is disabled. This being said, even though my PC is 4 years old I have a quite powerful CPU so I can imagine that a new i3 or even i5 processor will have problems with the file too.

My media center PC is an Athlon X2 5600, and it cannot play back the file with just CPU.

DXVA can play back the file, when implemented properly, that's why it works with MPC-HC when I set up the Windows Media Codec as an external filter. It also plays back fine in Windows Media Player on Win 7 with DXVA. I have a Phenom 6 core on another machine, and it won't play it drops over the half of the frames on these videos as well when DXVA is disabled. So the only real way to get smooth playback on any of my PC's is with DXVA. I know it's possible, since the Microsoft codec can do it. There was another codec I bought that could play it too, but I don't remember the name of it.

The files also play perfectly on the PS3, and on my WDTV Plus that is another room.

[Streamerke]

Well I guess these files are quite demanding but like I said if you can use hardware acceleration a low-end graphics card and a medium-end CPU will probably do. And I know that PS3 and WDTV and the likes (I have a Popcorn Hour and a PS3) play these files but these devices have been optimized for these kind of files. In fact in Popcorn Hour and many other devices the playback is done by a simple Sigma chip. And believe me or not but my 2-year old smartphone can playback these files as well (25FPS interlaced that is).

I guess the weakest point is the graphics card. If you cannot use hardware acceleration (DXVA2 setting in XBMC) then CPU has to do the job and even though you may have a strong CPU it may do a worse job than a dedicated video chip like you have in media streamers.

For me playback in Windows is OK, even of the much more demanding 50FPS files, but in XBMC I cannot use DXVA2 so I barely manage to play my 25FPS home movies. And even then the O command says there are a few frames being dropped but it is hardly noticeable.

I will try to get that external player working and see how I can configure it to only start for my home movies.