Wanted: Good simple test for H.264 decoder working?

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Gordy7

gordy7
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#27017 10-Oct-2008 13:17

Hi,
Have run AverTV on DVB-T and runs mostly 100% CPU usage on TV3.
Have set up GBPVR with H.264 decoder selected. Used Cybermedia PowerDVD.CPU usage still mostly 100% also on TV3.
I would have expected to see some drop in CPU usage with the H.264 decoder.
Is there any other simple test to check/compare with and without H.264 decoder working to see the relative performance?
SystemAMD Athlon 64 3500WinXP Pro SP2Avermedia Speedy Hybrid DVB-TAsus EN8600GT/2DHT/256M with latest Asus drivers.(latest Nvida and Microsoft drivers were no good)Latest Monogram AAC decoder.
TIA.
Cheeers
Gordy

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ATinyChipmunk

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#170411 10-Oct-2008 13:36

Make sure its enabled in both programs (codec) AND im not sure your cpu is cut out, most ppl recomment a dual core. for HD

sbiddle

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#170412 10-Oct-2008 13:37

Is this PowerDVD8 or PowerDVD7?

8 seems to suffer from issus on some installs where it won't use h/w acceleration in 3rd party applications even if the DXVA box is ticked. There is a thread on the gbpvr forums that details some registry hacks to enable this.

I personally think Arcsoft TotalMedia theatre is a far superior H.264 codec.

eXDee

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#170414 10-Oct-2008 14:01

I've had nothing but freezing, lag and stuttering with arcsoft's codec. Card is 8500GT.

sbiddle

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#170417 10-Oct-2008 14:29

eXDee: I've had nothing but freezing, lag and stuttering with arcsoft's codec. Card is 8500GT.

It appears to have some serious issues with Media Portal. Works great with GB-PVR.

It is actually the only 3rd party video codec I have installed on my new Vista install as it does MKV, divx/xvid and H.264 so there is no need to instal FFDshow.

1gkar

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#170463 10-Oct-2008 17:43

sbiddle:
eXDee: I've had nothing but freezing, lag and stuttering with arcsoft's codec. Card is 8500GT.

It appears to have some serious issues with Media Portal. Works great with GB-PVR.

It is actually the only 3rd party video codec I have installed on my new Vista install as it does MKV, divx/xvid and H.264 so there is no need to instal FFDshow.

So I can assume you're not into upscaling DVDs, etc.

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Little

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#170477 10-Oct-2008 18:45

1gkar:
sbiddle:
eXDee: I've had nothing but freezing, lag and stuttering with arcsoft's codec. Card is 8500GT.

It appears to have some serious issues with Media Portal. Works great with GB-PVR.

It is actually the only 3rd party video codec I have installed on my new Vista install as it does MKV, divx/xvid and H.264 so there is no need to instal FFDshow.
So I can assume you're not into upscaling DVDs, etc.

I have it working perfectly in MediaPortal with a 8500GT. Just a default installation with no further configuration required.

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Nety

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#170480 10-Oct-2008 19:01

1gkar: So I can assume you're not into upscaling DVDs, etc.

?? want to explain a bit further?

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sbiddle

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#170504 10-Oct-2008 20:35

Nety:
1gkar: So I can assume you're not into upscaling DVDs, etc.

?? want to explain a bit further?

No I'm not.

If you are using FFDShow you can fiddle with a lot of settings to effectively upscale the content in the same way a DVD player or TV can upscale content.

charley

183 posts

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#170561 11-Oct-2008 09:16

Gordy7: Hi,
Have run AverTV on DVB-T and runs mostly 100% CPU usage on TV3.
Have set up GBPVR with H.264 decoder selected. Used Cybermedia PowerDVD.CPU usage still mostly 100% also on TV3.
I would have expected to see some drop in CPU usage with the H.264 decoder.
Is there any other simple test to check/compare with and without H.264 decoder working to see the relative performance?
SystemAMD Athlon 64 3500WinXP Pro SP2Avermedia Speedy Hybrid DVB-TAsus EN8600GT/2DHT/256M with latest Asus drivers.(latest Nvida and Microsoft drivers were no good)Latest Monogram AAC decoder.
TIA.
Cheeers
Gordy

Try recording the tv3 stream then playing it back in powerdvd with hardware acceleration enabled. If cpu usage doesnt go down then you wont be able to get h/w accel working in 3rd party apps.

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Nety

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#170567 11-Oct-2008 09:58

sbiddle:
Nety:
1gkar: So I can assume you're not into upscaling DVDs, etc.

?? want to explain a bit further?

No I'm not.

If you are using FFDShow you can fiddle with a lot of settings to effectively upscale the content in the same way a DVD player or TV can upscale content.

I agree.. I think "creating" detail that was not there in the first place looks worse then playing the DVD as it was encoded. Luckily the TV I have does a very good job with SD material.