DVD Decoder - Arcsoft not showing DVD menu cursor

[RetroBox]

Hi Everyone,

I found several threads scattered around the forum about DVD menus not showing its cursor to make a selection, but I see that several of them are older and perhaps no longer relevant with newer versions of Sage. My goal is to use the Arcsoft decoder (because it gives me the best picture of all my available decoders - got it with my HD-PVR purchase), but cannot navigate the menus. I am using a Quad Core Win 7 machine with Sage 7. I can get this to work using the Microsoft DTV-DVD decoder, but the picture quality is not great.

I tried changing the registry setting for YUVMixing as discussed in this post, but still no cursor. I also tried all the combinations of Overlay /EVR /VMR9 along with the Acrsoft decoder with no success. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[APillowOfClouds]

I had that problem with v6 with a cheap built in vid card. I eventually just abandoned it and used a different machine.

[UgaData]

I have the same issue. I had it with XP and now with Vista. I had it it Sage 6 and it is still an issue with Sage 7.

I tried the same things you did with the same results.

It would be best to put in a bug report, otherwise it will probably not get looked at by Sage.

[RetroBox]

I am using an ATI HD4650 connected to my receiver via HDMI on a Windows 7 Quad Core machine... granted, not the top of the line video card, but should be decent enough to watch DVD's correctly with the Arcsoft codec. One thing I will say is that I do see just a little bit of jerky movement in the picture quality when watching a show in 1080i and using the Arcsoft codec - would this mean the 1 GB in the card doesn't have enough juice to push both picture and sound?

It is dissapointing about not being able to use Arcsoft as delivered - with the popularity of the HD-PVR, I cannot imagine someone not reporting this issue with Sage... I am still not sure if the SageTV software is to blame.

Any other thoughts?

[APillowOfClouds]

You can try upgrading your video card driver, although I don't expect it will help. I think my built-in card was an ATI. You could also try another card if you have one lying around, just to prove whether it's Sage, ArcSoft or the video driver. I can tell you on mine every other video card worked fine but that one I had the problem with had no cursors, but other than that it worked fine also.

[RetroBox]

I did make sure that I have the latest drivers, but the more I think about it, I am beginning to think you may be on to something about it being a crappy card.

The jerky video while watching 1080i HDTV may actually confirm it. I did order a new card, a SAPPHIRE 100289L HD 5670 1GB which should greatly improve things. One of the main factors in choosing this card is that it supposedly can give me 7.1 HD audio with bit-streaming support via HDMI based on this article I found on Missing Remote. Whether this actually materializes is another thing altogether (I am stuck with 2 channels over HDMI with my current card). I will post back my results when I get the card and come back from vacation.

[RetroBox]

Alright, I am back from vacation and had a chance to install my new Sapphire HD5670. As a preliminary benchmark, this new card bumped my Windows 7 "Experience Index" rating from 5.1 to 7.0. I was excited about this until I started testing where it really counts within Sage.

The Arcsoft menu markers are still nowhere to be seen, whether I use EVR, Overlay or VMR9. I was also disappointed in that using the Arcsoft codec for TV was still a little jerky during playback. The Sage MPEG2 decoder had a similar issue - looked great, but it would be just a little jerky on playback. On a positive note, the Microsoft DTV-DVD codec seems to look better for playing DVD's and the card came with the ATI Avivo codec that is really decent for TV - good colors and very smooth at 1080i. I am still working on it, but I can tell there is an improvement in sound and I think I will actually accomplish 7.1 with some more Reclock /ffdshow audio tweaking.

So.... the card, I guess, is not the issue. I would still like to get the Arcsoft codec to work for me because I think it can provide me with the best picture. Any suggestions or ideas?