How To Obtain the Best Video and Audio Playback?
#1
Hi,

I am new to XBMC and would be grateful for any guidance about how to optimise the video and audio settings in the system. Some background as follows:

PC System
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.1ghz.
ATI Radeon HD 3000 series

Connection
Sony 50" LED via HDMI

I have noticed that video playback is not as strong as say Windows Media Player, so there must be some settings I am missing? I also noticed that audio is not as crisp and volume is lower when played through XBMC? How Can I optimise these settings to get greater quality? Is the best setting for TV/Movies in 4:3 to use Wide Zoom?

Also can I override the meta settings for audio where it has selected the wrong album art and increase to play at 320kbps? Are there any Units I can use with large storage capacity to hook up to my PC and stream from my PC without having to hook my PC directly up to the TV?

Greatly appreciative for any advice.

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#2
Video:

you want the TV at 16:9 or best fit. Not zoom nor 4:3

more than anything you want your TV to be calibrated. You can get calibration settings for your model online (cnet forums or tweaktv).

you could set up an external player like WMP-HC with MadVR. However, the gains will be subtle and it will increase the complexity of your setup.

Audio:
once the bitrate for a music file has been compressed that file cannot gain bitrate again. example: 320kbs MP3, compressed to 128kbs takes up less space on disk, reencoded to 320kbs takes up more space on disk but sounds the same as the 128kbs.

Radeon HD 3000 you want to bit stream audio to an external reciever otherwise, I don't think bitstreaming will help. Also, TV speakers should be replaced with high quality audio speakers. Check out AVR forums. Be prepared to spend a lot. Like 100 to 200 a speaker. Also, get a reciever to decode the audio or a dedicated audio card. I'd recommend bitstreaming to a reciever.

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#3
Thanks, appreciate your response.
I have considered using AirParrot. http://airparrot.com/. This might be an option for me without having to plug my laptop directly into my TV from an aesthetic perspective. Anyone used this?
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#4
XBMC cannot receive AirParrot video streams.
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#5
4:3 video should be played back at 4:3, otherwise people are fat and the whole thing is distorted.
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#6
Ned Scott: If you have ATV3, could you not mirror your PC screen to the TV and therefore if you are playing XBMC on your PC, it would work?
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How To Obtain the Best Video and Audio Playback?0