MPEG2 Decoder frustrations

[Oats]

Win7 decoders = random crashes, can't even get through a 30 min show
Cyberlink = random crashes, less often, 1 out of 3 times during playback of an hour show
FFMPEG = no crashes, but audio gets more and more out of sync as it plays
Arcsoft = random crashes

MPC-HC = no crashes in the 3-4 hours of playback. I thought the quality wasn't as good so I'm trying Nvidia now.

This is only for shows captured by the Hauppauge 2250 digital tuner. Everything else plays perfectly without any issues.

Are there any other MPEG2 decoders?

[reggie14]

Originally Posted by Oats

Win7 decoders = random crashes, can't even get through a 30 min show

I'm with you on that. I can't make it very far into an MPEG2 video either using the included Win7 decoders. It's not a Sage problem- I get the same crashes in WMP.

Out of curiosity, what video card do you have? I have an HD3850, and I was thinking about upgrading it in the hopes that its a problem with the video card.

[Naylia]

You might have source issues and not playback issues...

When you say everything else works perfectly, is that including other tv tuners, or just DVD/internet video?

The 3850 is plenty of video card, no worries there.

[alfi33]

Originally Posted by Naylia

The 3850 is plenty of video card, no worries there.

Video card drivers might be worth looking at though. The most current version is not necessarily the best version.

[Oats]

Originally Posted by reggie14

I'm with you on that. I can't make it very far into an MPEG2 video either using the included Win7 decoders. It's not a Sage problem- I get the same crashes in WMP.

Out of curiosity, what video card do you have? I have an HD3850, and I was thinking about upgrading it in the hopes that its a problem with the video card.

I'm using an 8800GT. I thought it might be the video card at first, but I game on the PC and watch other sources without any issues. I ran some video stability tests and passed no problem.

Originally Posted by Naylia

You might have source issues and not playback issues...

When you say everything else works perfectly, is that including other tv tuners, or just DVD/internet video?

The 3850 is plenty of video card, no worries there.

I believe the issue is source and decoder related. From some research it seems it is pretty common for digital streams to have errors in them which can cause decoders to crash. I found plenty of Win7MC complaints about the Win7 decoders crashing when playing back digital streams. Changing the decoders was the recommended fix.

I installed Arcsoft decoders but haven't played back any digital recordings yet.

[scoful]

I had a lot of issues with Cyberlink Powerdvd decoders (I think version 8?) that came bundled with my Blu-Ray drive.

Yesterday I downloaded an update for it and it seems stable so far. It seemed to only work for about 45 minutes and then Sage would seize up or the video would freeze but audio would continue.

[reggie14]

Originally Posted by Oats

I believe the issue is source and decoder related. From some research it seems it is pretty common for digital streams to have errors in them which can cause decoders to crash. I found plenty of Win7MC complaints about the Win7 decoders crashing when playing back digital streams. Changing the decoders was the recommended fix.

I installed Arcsoft decoders but haven't played back any digital recordings yet.

Tell me if you find a decoder that works well.

By the way, what do you mean by your decoders crash? In my case, my computer completely locks up and I have to do a hard reset.

[sleeeves]

I haven't seen it mentioned whether or not you've tried the Nvidia PureVideo decoder. It worked great for me in Windows 7. It would also offload the decoding to your 8800...

[Oats]

Originally Posted by reggie14

Tell me if you find a decoder that works well.

By the way, what do you mean by your decoders crash? In my case, my computer completely locks up and I have to do a hard reset.

Yes, that is what happens to me. I believe it is caused by the decoder. I've only watched a one hour show since switching to Arcsoft, but I'll try to update the thread with results.

Originally Posted by sleeeves

I haven't seen it mentioned whether or not you've tried the Nvidia PureVideo decoder. It worked great for me in Windows 7. It would also offload the decoding to your 8800...

I haven't tried them, but I do have a license from years ago. The main reason I haven't tried them is they stopped updating them 4-5 years ago. I'm not sure how that effects decoders but I'd prefer to use newer ones if possible.

[sleeeves]

Originally Posted by Oats

I haven't tried them, but I do have a license from years ago. The main reason I haven't tried them is they stopped updating them 4-5 years ago. I'm not sure how that effects decoders but I'd prefer to use newer ones if possible.

I also prefer the latest and greatest but in the case of the PureVideo decoder, I believe it stands up just fine with all the current stuff out there. And since it provides DXVA with your card, there's nothing much newer than that, unless you're using EVR etc...

Another option if you want the absolute latest thing is to try the MPC-HC standalone decoders - this site has the latest svn. I think there's a build from 4/20/2010 and they have both 32 and 64 bit flavors. I haven't used the MPC-HC standalone filters for MPEG2 except for a few minutes of testing but they seem to work fine.

[Oats]

I use the MPC-HC H.264 decoder, but thought I had read the MPEG2 decoder don't use DXVA. I'll probably end up trying it out since I just had a crash with the Arcsoft decoder.

Edit: I was wrong the MPC-HC does have DXVA, I'm trying it now.

[reggie14]

Originally Posted by Oats

I use the MPC-HC H.264 decoder, but thought I had read the MPEG2 decoder don't use DXVA. I'll probably end up trying it out since I just had a crash with the Arcsoft decoder.

Edit: I was wrong the MPC-HC does have DXVA, I'm trying it now.

How did that work out for you?

[Oats]

Originally Posted by reggie14

How did that work out for you?

MPC-HC MPEG2 Decoder
I only watched 3-4 hours of TV and had no crashes. However, I didn't think the quality was as good as others when there was fast moving objects. So I switched to the Nvidia decoder.

Unfortunately I only record 3-4 hours of QAM HD a week so it takes a while for me to find out how well the decoders work. I've only watched an hour with the Nvidia decoder.

I also found out CoreAVC is H.264 decoder only. So it is off my list.

[Savage1701]

Main Concepts makes some MPEG 2 decoder packs at the consumer level, as well as some H.264 ones. Might be worth a look. They will let you sample/demo them, although you will have a watermark on your recordings/playback. But who cares for sample purposes.

I've also used some of the old Intervideo decoders (Prior to Corel ruining them with WinDVD 9 and maybe even 8). But WinDVD 7 and WinDVD 6 seem to have some decoders that work well. I also used them with BTV for my OTA ATSC stuff, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

[Polypro]

Win 7 built in decoders working great here. Have you played your file in Graphedit to make sure nothing else is getting inserted?

P

[Oats]

Originally Posted by Savage1701

Main Concepts makes some MPEG 2 decoder packs at the consumer level, as well as some H.264 ones. Might be worth a look. They will let you sample/demo them, although you will have a watermark on your recordings/playback. But who cares for sample purposes.

I've also used some of the old Intervideo decoders (Prior to Corel ruining them with WinDVD 9 and maybe even 8). But WinDVD 7 and WinDVD 6 seem to have some decoders that work well. I also used them with BTV for my OTA ATSC stuff, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

Thanks for the suggestions. Right now the nvidia decoders seem to be working well, I've watched 4-5 hours of 2250 HD recordings without any issues. Hopefully I finally found one that will work.

Originally Posted by Polypro

Win 7 built in decoders working great here. Have you played your file in Graphedit to make sure nothing else is getting inserted?

P

I've played with graphedit and everything looks normal.