Computer help needed (HD 1080p problems)

[aneeshm]

Whenever I try to play a ripped HD-DVD video, if it's anything greater than 720p, the machine can't handle it. I've tried almost everything, and it appears that the hardware simply can't handle it.

I had thought that the machine I bought two and a half years ago should be good for at least three years. Here are the specs:

AMD 3200+ 64-bit single-core
ASUS nForce A8N-E SLI Deluse board
nVidia 6600 Graphica Card
2 GB RAM
3 gBPS SATA Disk


What should I do? Upgrade? If so, should I live with it until quad-core processors become affordable (I guess this will happen in around another semester)? Or are the current crop of dual-core systems still a good enough investment?

[Kuciwalker]

Upgrade, and don't pirate?

[aneeshm]

Upgrade. So it seems I'll have to.

As for not infringing copyright - that's a rather more........ negotiable thing, shall I say?

[Cort Haus]

Aneesh subforum

[thesilentone]

A new graphics card should do the trick, I know the 8600GTS has a really good decoder, I think the higher end ones do now as well, not too sure about ATI.

[LordShiva]

With what codec is teh movie encoded? If it's H.264 and you're using ffdshow or x264 to decode, you'll want to use CoreAVC instead - it's much more efficient.

[Elok]

Ha, the Indian is asking the West for tech support! Where's your Hindu Civilization now?

[Asher]

Your CPU is likely too weak, your GPU doesn't decode HD streams.

Upgrade one or the other or both.

Radeon 2xxxx, GeForce 8xxxx except 8800GTS/Ultra will do it.

[aneeshm]

@ Asher

I'm going to upgrade the entire machine at around the time of the next semester.

But until then, I've found a quick-fix (I tried it on Linux, but it turns out that it worked on Windows, too, when a friend of mine with a Windows with VLC machine tried it (he had the same problem)).

I did something which fixed the problem, but I don't know exactly what I did, I merely followed instructions. I can now play HD movies without lagging video. But I'd really like to know what I actually did.

It was a change in one setting in VLC.

Settings -> Preferences -> Input / Codecs -> Other codecs -> Ffmpeg

There, I had to enable advanced options to change the setting.

I changed "Skip the loop filter for H.264 decoding" from "None" to "All".

After that, everything works fine, at least in VLC. (I found this advice while searching for ways to make VLC run better/faster, on Google, and found a link to the VLC forums.)

Now could you please tell me what exactly that setting change did? What is a loop filter? Will this change affect something else? Will it cost me something, either in terms of quality or anything else?

[LordShiva]

FFMPEG isn't a good filter (most of VLC's filters aren't teh best for their jobs). Teh loop filter is basically a deblocker and also reduces ringing artifacts.

Use mpc with CoreAVC instead of VLC.

[aneeshm]

What's a deblocker, and what's a ringing artefact?

Anyway - HD totally rocks. Just finished downloading the first of the Matrix trilogy, and watched it today.

It kicked some major ass.

Simply that one little special effect scene near the end where the flames are shown billowing out from the elevator Neo and Trinity blow up was worth the entire download. And also that scene when Neo blasts the Agents interrogating Morpheus - you can seep every little speck of dirt flying around, each wisp of smoke, every individual drop and droplet of water.

HD.