[Interceptor]

Happy New Year to everyone!

The title basically says it all - I've tried searching the forums and found out that it's a common problem with ATI cards, but it should have been solved in Catalyst 10.4 with UVD2 cards, but I don't find it to be true

My HTPC specs:
- AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (2 GHz, dual-core)
- ASRock A785GMH/128M motherboard (785G+SB710)
- ATI Radeon HD 4200 IGP with 256 MB (128 MB sideport + 128 MB shared)
- 2 GB RAM (DDR2-800)

Software:
- Windows 7 Ultimate x64 (with all the updates)
- ATI Catalyst 10.12 (latest)
- XBMC 10 (latest)

I can playback this file fine:
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : [email protected]
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 2h 41mn
Bit rate : 15.5 Mbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.311
Stream size : 17.5 GiB (89%)
Title : x264 - crf encode @ 55% of the original bitrate
Writing library : x264 core 93 r1542 5b86182
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=4 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=64 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=12 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=5 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=2 / wpredb=1 / wpredp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=40 / rc=crf / mbtree=0 / crf=19.0 / qcomp=0.80 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=38000 / vbv_bufsize=30000 / crf-max=0.0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30 / aq=1:1.00 / nal_hrd=none
Language : English

But not this one:
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : [email protected]
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 5 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 1h 36mn
Bit rate : 5 000 Kbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Variable
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.101
Stream size : 3.29 GiB (85%)
Writing library : x264 core 88
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:-1:1 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=9 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=32 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=12 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=6 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / wpredb=1 / wpredp=2 / keyint=240 / keyint_min=24 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=50 / rc=2pass / mbtree=1 / bitrate=5000 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Language : English
Color primaries : BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4, SMPTE RP177
Transfer characteristics : BT.709-5, BT.1361
Matrix coefficients : BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4 709, SMPTE RP177

I can playback both files using DXVA normally on my main computer with NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT 512 MB Is there a solution to this problem or will I be forced to buy a new VGA card? I went for the ATI because NVIDIA has problems with Philips LCD TVs (something to do with EDID) and it's impossible to have HDMI audio enabled.

Thanks in advance.

[poofyhairguy]

Thanks for the heads up. This is the thread I will link to when people ask my why I NEVER recommend AMD GPUs for any OS. Enjoy your new Nvidia GPU- for a suggestion a GT210 plays anything not heavily de-interlaced and it has an onboard audio chip that is way better than previous offerings. With the new Nvidia driver many HDCP handshake issues have been solved- heck it even works with my 3D TV that is listed as not compatible on their website! Worth a shot.

Ghostbusters.

[Interceptor]

I have the latest NVIDIA WHQL drivers and the EDID problem with my Philips TV still isn't solved When HDMI audio is enabled, I get a blank screen + Unsupported Video Format message on my TV every few seconds. I'm currently circumventing this problem by using SPDIF optical out but that only works for stereo! There is no way for me to get digital surround sound directly to my receiver for now.

So, with ATI and NVIDIA out of the picture, I really have no options left. I was considering Intel GMA 4500HD a couple of months ago, but back then, they had all sorts of problems with HD decoding. Now I'm stuck with an AMD/ATI platform that's only partially usable.

[poofyhairguy]

I'm currently circumventing this problem by using SPDIF optical out but that only works for stereo! There is no way for me to get digital surround sound directly to my receiver for now.

Using the motherboard's SPDIF out only lets you have two channel PCM? SPDIF should easily pass through AC3 and DTS to your receiver via your motherboard's audio chipset. Something else is up.

So, with ATI and NVIDIA out of the picture, I really have no options left. I was considering Intel GMA 4500HD a couple of months ago, but back then, they had all sorts of problems with HD decoding. Now I'm stuck with an AMD/ATI platform that's only partially usable.

Intel is the worst.

[CrystalP]

You can try bumping the video memory, who knows.

The 4200 has UVD2 but the known working 4xxx have UVD2.2. There's little reliable information available about the limits. I remember another report of a problematic IGP 4250 and will consider blacklisting them for out of spec files but I need more details to make sure it really is the problem.

Please post a complete debug log where you play the L5.0 file that doesn't work.

Please try the out-of-spec samples mentionned in the Intel DXVA thread here: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=83743 and report.

[Interceptor]

You can try bumping the video memory, who knows.

The 4200 has UVD2 but the known working 4xxx have UVD2.2. There's little reliable information available about the limits. I remember another report of a problematic IGP 4250 and will consider blacklisting them for out of spec files but I need more details to make sure it really is the problem.

Please post a complete debug log where you play the L5.0 file that doesn't work.

Please try the out-of-spec samples mentionned in the Intel DXVA thread here: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=83743 and report.

CrystalP, you're a life saver!

I have successfully played Quantum of Solace trailer and the video from my first post that didn't want to play I can't find the link to Samsung Demo video? The one in your post is broken.

Bumping the memory to 128 MB sideport + 256 MB shared solved the problem! I am now running 128 + 512 configuration since 1.5 GB of RAM will be more than enough for playing music/movies (around 50% is free after running XBMC).

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!