Video playback and decoder selection

[zehd]

I think I've had a long running misunderstanding of the codecs page for both GB-PVR and now nPVR

I understand that nPVR is TS-centric... I bit the bullet and accepted that... LOL So which of the codec choice drop downs is for selecting a codec for a TS file?

And according to the survival guide, to play analog mpgs (my old stuff and stuff from my other gb-pvr analog server) I just need a MPG2 video codec and MPEG1 Layer 2 Audio Codec. Of course this is funny to me because I've had this with GB-PVR for years... I've been able to flip around ffdshow, cyberlink, MPC, etc and then choose the one that looks best for me... Same for audio.

But now in npvr. with anything chosen, my old MPGS just sit there blank black screen, playback location 0.00 to 0.000. I think once, in my playing around... I got win7 to play the old mpgs... but then I lost playback of new TS recordings. I'm sorry, I forgot the circumstances.

I'd really like to get a starting point for me to troubleshoot this... Should I/ can I use Graphedit to see what the chain is? As I said it's probably something missed or a basic misunderstanding.. because I've had these codec issues since I started mixing digital with analog...

[sub]

I understand that nPVR is TS-centric... I bit the bullet and accepted that... LOL So which of the codec choice drop downs is for selecting a codec for a TS file?

All of the decoders options on the Settings -> Decoders screen are for TS files. Digital tv can contain any of those codecs listed on that screen. For example, New Zealand uses H.264 video with HE-AAC or AC3 audio, the UK uses MPEG2 with MPEG1 audio, France uses H.264 with E-AC3 audio, etc. These same decoder settings are also used for .mpg files too. All other file types (.avi/.mkv/.mov etc) just use whatever decoders Windows/Directshow chooses.

If .mpg files arent playing for you, post the npvr.log and I'll take a look. Where are these .mpg files from? If they were from GBPVR, were they transcoded?

[mvallevand]

And according to the survival guide, to play analog mpgs (my old stuff and stuff from my other gb-pvr analog server) I just need a MPG2 video codec and MPEG1 Layer 2 Audio Codec.

The codec is for decoding, but you also need an mpeg2 demux or spliiter too and you can't select this inside NPVR they use the system default.

Martin

[zehd]

If .mpg files arent playing for you, post the npvr.log and I'll take a look. Where are these .mpg files from? If they were from GBPVR, were they transcoded?

Thanks for the explanation...

Yep... If I were to ask you to look at transcoded mpgs, it would be like shooting a moving target...

The log here has me using the video Library to view a GB-PVR analog mpg from a haup pvr150... then me trying to view a newly recorded digital show (recorded with npvr)

Then I realized I still had npvr using VMR7... so I switched it to EVR.

And I tried again... same order...

The analog video if on a network computer

These tests are on my XP box, using the same codecs (I think) that I have selected with the GB-PVR (same machine)

[zehd]

I guess I've never needed to know those layers because the codec packs took care of that stuff..

OK... so if I didn't want install a codec pack... just bare bones... i'll need video/audio codecs and a demux... so where does someone get that info, rather than relying on codec packs...

What I mean is.. I don't want to install more than I need.

[mvallevand]

Sorry I use a codec pack (K-Lite), this is 2011 not a decade ago when even applying an MS patch caused a bit of paranoia. It has a minimal install choice that should do what you want.

Martin

[zehd]

Update: I removed the saf 400 codec pack... and just with the left over cyberlink I bought a while ago and the Nero codecs that installed with Nero... I have new TS and old MPGs playing...

Of course none of the codecs left on the computer can play divx. so I'll be looking at packs again

[sub]

Update: I removed the saf 400 codec pack... and just with the left over cyberlink I bought a while ago and the Nero codecs that installed with Nero... I have new TS and old MPGs playing...

Great.

[zehd]

I don't really want to play favourites... but it seems my codec problems were simply working with SAF 400 (500 would never install properly)

Anyway... I don't know why I gave up on Klite... used it for a long time...

But after I uninstalled SAF and installed KLite with simply the defaults... both GB-PVR and nPVR work fine. Better than fine actually...

I find it odd how I can't F7 aspect ratio change or see OSD while watching either TS or PS in GB-PVR and XP EVR.. I know there were several limitations with that combo... but I did have it working before I started with nPVR

Anyway.. I'm now switching over completely to nPVR..

Kudos to sub and the whole Beta team...

[imilne]

If you don't want a codec pack, you can get pretty much everything you're likely to need with regards to splitters and so on using the standalone filters from mpc-hc. You can just pick and choose the ones you specifically need and ignore the rest (eg perhaps mpg, mkv and mp4 only).