some thoughts on XBMC + MPC-HC

Hi guys,
i've been reading alot on XBMC lately and
i run in alot of posts where users say "i use an external player for...."
and many talk about MPC-HC is the best media player
and support DXVA, DTS-HD MASTER and more....

Ok, my question is,
since XBMC uses "DVDPlayer" as core media player,
could there be a way to swap it for MPC-HC officially?
like use MPC-HC as core media player?

i know there's an experimental branch of XBMC using "DSPlayer" as core...

thats why im asking myself if there could also be at least
another experimental branch of XBMC using "MPC-HC" as core media player?



thx

It is pretty easy to set MPC-HC as the primary external player. I did it last month for fun to try out MadVR.

The problem is that is the opposite of seamless. With DS Player it acts like the actual DVDPlayer. With MPC-HC it has its own splash screen, its own OSD gui, and its own commands. There is no real way to make it a smooth experience.

DS Player exists to be a testbed for DVDPlayer. It exists more to test out XBMC's future, and less to offer advanced features to users. MPC-HC can't do that because its a separate program with differing goals, and therefore it is best used separately.

Hey Eskro,

I'm not a programmer by any stretch, but let me give this a shot...

As of now, you can set up XBMC to play files using MPC-HC automatically by creating a file called playercorefactory.xml and placing it in your userdata folder.

Specific directions on how to do this are located here.

But, it sounds like you may already know how to do this.

If your point is "why can't it be integrated within the xbmc GUI (so it can have the pretty pictures and info and stuff, and look/feel seamless) there are a few reasons.

1. While MPC-HC is free, I believe that it isn't open source. This means that, while you can download and use it completely free of charge, recompiling and redistributing it is a big no-no.

2. It isn't cross-platform (meaning it only runs on windows). While, obviously, to make use of windows specific hardware acceleration, XBMC must contain some windows-specific code, incorporating an entire player that only works on windows (when XBMC itself runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux--VERY cross-platform) doesn't make a lot of sense. Even though you are only talking about making a branch, most branches are made with the intention of eventually incorporating the code/functionality into the main branch (like DSplayer, for example).

3. There isn't actually any added functionality that MPC-HC has that XBMC's core player or DsPlayer hasn't achieved on it's own, to my knowledge. So, aside from preferring one interface to the other (which honestly, if you're using a remote, XBMC is far superior cosmetically; MPC-HC has better mouse support) there would be no reason to incorporate MPC-HC into XBMC, even if the other two points above didn't already rule it out.

MPC-HC does indeed kick ass, but so does XBMC, and they are adding more advanced functionality to the core players all of the time. So, if there is a feature that it doesn't have that you want, and MPC-HC has it, that's why god gave us the ability to launch external players from within xbmc by default using playercorefactory.xml. Otherwise, just hang tight and I'm sure they will get to that feature soon enough!

MPC-HC is open source....
so as the original MPC....
and it supports bitstreaming DOLBY TRUE-HD and DTS-HD MASTER....

DSPlayer uses MPC-HC filters to decode the video and audio so its no different to using MPC-HC, or it can use any other directshow filter what else exactly would you want to use from MPC-HC ?

oh thats nice to know!

Well i've been reading a tutorial on how to set MPC-HC to bitstream DTS-HD MASTER audio...

tutorial --> Here!

eskro Wrote:oh thats nice to know!

Well i've been reading a tutorial on how to set MPC-HC to bitstream DTS-HD MASTER audio...

tutorial --> Here!

LOL

So the the bit your really interested in is bitstreaming DTS-HD MASTER which isn't actually done by MPC-HC its done by ffdshow you can do exactly the same with DSPlayer already

MPC-HC has its own filters built in or provides them as standalone but its also able to use external filters because its also a directshow player exactly the same as DSPlayer

ahhh,,, i see....

But then, would DSPlayer be incorporated into XBMC officially? someday? or never?

I believe that's the goal I've been using a build for ages without problem and I believe some of the unofficial builds compiled in that thread recently are very stable

eskro Wrote:But then, would DSPlayer be incorporated into XBMC officially? someday? or never?

DSPlayer features find themselves in XBMC when "it is time" for them to be added. In Camelot times only the DS Player build had DXVA2 support, now Dharma does. I expect that same lag going forward.