How to add video or audio decoders to Sage

[majortom]

Hi. I am unable to find a post that explains how to add a video/audio decoder to the Sage audio/video set-up. I am betting that I have to add a line/code to the sage properties file but I can not find how to do it. I had to re-install Sage a couple weeks ago and now only the Sage default decoders are posted. I am having a slight problem with my picture and sound that I had before. I was able to fix it by selecting a different decoder that Sage is not picking up now. Thanks for any help.

[Djc208]

Is the decoder still installed on the machine? If you re-formated the PC then those decoders may not be present for Sage to find.

[majortom]

Thanks for the response. Yes others are installed. I downloaded a program from another post here at sage that searched for any decoders on your computer. I believe I had two. roxio cineplayer and another one that I can't place right now. I want to download (free) or buy a good decoder to try and get the best picture and sound out of Sage. I do not want to buy or download a good decoder just for it to sit on my desktop. My video card is ATI RADEON 3870 512MEG DDR4. Attached to hdtv 38" vizio via hdmi. Sound thru hdmi.

[Djc208]

Try the ATI AVIVO codecs from their web site, they're supposed to be OK and they are free.

I don't know that Sage has to be set up to recognize new codecs, I've never had to do it but you could always install the codec and then re-run the install program in case something in the install routine loads the codecs into Sage.

[majortom]

I did a re-install of Sagetv and the same default decoders showed up again. Does anyone know how to manually add decoders to the sage.properties file? or how to get sage to recognize and pull in the decoders.

[Conejo]

Generally, decoders are installed and registered to the system, not the application. You can see what codecs are installed, and see their merit settings, using 3rd party applications like DirectShow Filter Manager.

If you download/installed nVidia Pure Video, an mpeg2 Decoder, then it would be available to SageTV upon reboot.

[jerryt]

Some filters are not pre-enabled in Sage. To enable something like FFDshow, open Sageproperties in notepad and edit these lines;
videoframe/additional_audio_filters=ffdshow Audio Decoder
videoframe/additional_video_filters=ffdshow Video Decoder

Upon restarting Sage your filters will now be available.

[ghostlobster]

Originally Posted by majortom

Hi. I am unable to find a post that explains how to add a video/audio decoder to the Sage audio/video set-up. I am betting that I have to add a line/code to the sage properties file but I can not find how to do it. I had to re-install Sage a couple weeks ago and now only the Sage default decoders are posted. I am having a slight problem with my picture and sound that I had before. I was able to fix it by selecting a different decoder that Sage is not picking up now. Thanks for any help.

What OS are you running? If you're running Vista, the MS codec is actually pretty good for video. For audio, the AC3 filter is pretty much a requirement. To get the Vista decoder available, shut down Sage (including the service if you're running as a service, and then edit the sage.properties file finding:
videoframe/additional_audio_filters=
videoframe/additional_video_filters=
Change them to:
videoframe/additional_audio_filters=Microsoft MPEG-1/DD Audio Decoder
videoframe/additional_video_filters=Microsoft MPEG-2 Video Decoder

Someone had mentioned the AVIVO decoders...I'd be very interested in finding out where to grab them from and how to enable them. The ATI website says that these codecs are only for 1k series cards.

[majortom]

I am running windows xp. I took jerryt advice and added the following lines:

videoframe/additional_audio_filters=ffdshow Audio Decoder
videoframe/additional_video_filters=ffdshow Video Decoder

and it cleaned my audio and video up about 90%. Should i see any additions or selections to the sage audio/video menus when i add a decoder? I am using sherlock to find out what decoders I have. I still show the same default choices but I could tell the difference. I think I will buy one of the 3 grades of the nVidia Pure Video codec and hope that will finally fix my problem. I read on another post that even though I am using a ATI video card this codec will still work.

[Conejo]

Originally Posted by majortom

I think I will buy one of the 3 grades of the nVidia Pure Video codec and hope that will finally fix my problem. I read on another post that even though I am using a ATI video card this codec will still work.

Why not install the trial version of the Pure Video Codec and try it out with your recorded mpeg2 content. You can download it from here: http://www.nvidia.com/object/dvd_dec...223-trial.html

[Ryokurin]

This actually brings up a question I have about the videoframe/additional_video_filters option. Is it possible to have multiple listings? When I used XP I used to put ffdshow here to use it for post processing of SD content, However now that I've transitioned to Vista I swiched it to the microsoft codecs, but I miss the post processing options I had. I tried the obvious " , " command to chain them its ignores after the first codec listed.

[Conejo]

Originally Posted by Ryokurin

I tried the obvious " , " command to chain them its ignores after the first codec listed.

Don't forget the ubiquitous " ; " or the ever lovable " | " pipe.

[jerryt]

Originally Posted by majortom

I am running windows xp. I took jerryt advice and added the following lines:

videoframe/additional_audio_filters=ffdshow Audio Decoder
videoframe/additional_video_filters=ffdshow Video Decoder

and it cleaned my audio and video up about 90%. Should i see any additions or selections to the sage audio/video menus when i add a decoder? I am using sherlock to find out what decoders I have. I still show the same default choices but I could tell the difference. I think I will buy one of the 3 grades of the nVidia Pure Video codec and hope that will finally fix my problem. I read on another post that even though I am using a ATI video card this codec will still work.

Yes, you have to select FFDshow under setup, The entries in the property file only make them available to select.

[majortom]

Wow!... I downloaded the trial version of the Pure Video Codec and what a difference. This is what i expected when i started working with Sagetv. The codec not only cleaned up my picture from my digital box (satellite) but my analog picture (cable) going straight to my hvr-1600 looks great. I now only have a slight sound distortion when i watch tv through my digital box. When I watch analog I do not have any distortion at all. I think I will switch the hvr-1600 tuners and the audio cable to see if that fixes the problem. Thank you to everyone. All the suggestions helped.

One more thing--After my 30 days, the trial is up and I will have to buy the Pure Video Codec. Would it be cheaper to buy a program like Powerdvd or something else that has the same Codec. I like to look for the best bang for the buck. Thanks again for all the help.

[Conejo]

Originally Posted by majortom

I now only have a slight sound distortion when i watch tv through my digital box. When I watch analog I do not have any distortion at all.

Audio distortion could be from the settings of your STB, bad wires, Encoder card levels or audio codec selected in SageTV.

STB:
Some Boxes have two types of Audio outputs: Variable and Fixed.
If you only have one set of L/R Audio Out and there's no setup-menu to set it to FIXED then you should set it with the STB remote control to around 86%.

Bad wires:
Make sure the L/R Audio wire fittings are tight to the connectors. Poor shielding, broken wires or poor fittings can cause anything from minor dropouts to major hum/distortion.

Encoder Card:
Since this is an input device I doubt that it's the source of the distortion unless it's overcompensating for LOW VOLUME.

Codec:
I've set my audio codec to use AC3, and now an icon pops up in the System Tray (near the clock) when SageTV is in play mode and allows me to tweak settings. I've lowered the input level a tad am playing with 3.1 audio because I like the brilliance.

You can set your Audio Codec in SageTV or use default and set the merit high in dshow filter manager.