Codec differences is a good point. I forgot that the US is not using H.264 as much as we are.
HD in the UK basically means H.264
UK Freeview HD New Encoder ?
- holidayboy
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Rob.
TGB.tv - the one stop shop for the more discerning Media Center user.
TGB.tv - the one stop shop for the more discerning Media Center user.
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All ATSC content in the US is MPEG-2* - content that will normally be handled by a set-top box (whether cable or Satellite) can be any format the set-top box can handle. Satellite content has always required a STB for every screen, so they made the move to h.264 sooner, but Cable companies stuck with cheaper components for longer, and had a lot more of them, so they've been less vigorous about moving to h.264 content
WMC should be able to handle H.264 content, though older Extenders don't (the DMA-2x00 extenders are perfectly capable of playing H.264 content, they just won't do so if the container is .WTV). Is the H.264 content that you are receiving Copy-Protected?
* H.264 support was actually added to the ATSC specification about 6 months before the digital switchover, much too late for a lot of the hardware that was purchased in the run-up to the switchover, and a lot of that hardware is still in use.
WMC should be able to handle H.264 content, though older Extenders don't (the DMA-2x00 extenders are perfectly capable of playing H.264 content, they just won't do so if the container is .WTV). Is the H.264 content that you are receiving Copy-Protected?
* H.264 support was actually added to the ATSC specification about 6 months before the digital switchover, much too late for a lot of the hardware that was purchased in the run-up to the switchover, and a lot of that hardware is still in use.
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As far as I know, the i50/p25 switching in the UK has only been seen to cause stuttering for WMC users. In my case, 7MC is badly affected, but my TV receiver is not. As I understand it, the improved image quality and compression ratio provided by MPEG4/AVC/H.264 over MPEG2, means the decoder has to work much harder to output the data in real time. So it seems likely that a software decoder may be vulnerable to stuttering where a hardware implementation is not.
However, it's also possible that the Microsoft video decoder in MSMPEG2VDEC.dll (which supports H.264 despite it's name) does not handle these frame-rate changes properly. I'm willing to throw hardware at this problem (if I only knew what hardware), but AFAIK, neither the BBC nor Microsoft seem interested in providing support.
I believe a later version of MSMPEG2VDEC.dll ships with Windows 8, so I wondered optimistically if any 8MC users in the UK have seen stuttering on BBC HD terrestrial (FreeView) transmissions?
However, it's also possible that the Microsoft video decoder in MSMPEG2VDEC.dll (which supports H.264 despite it's name) does not handle these frame-rate changes properly. I'm willing to throw hardware at this problem (if I only knew what hardware), but AFAIK, neither the BBC nor Microsoft seem interested in providing support.
I believe a later version of MSMPEG2VDEC.dll ships with Windows 8, so I wondered optimistically if any 8MC users in the UK have seen stuttering on BBC HD terrestrial (FreeView) transmissions?
- holidayboy
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I think that MC uses MSDTVVDEC.dll for TV.
My Echo extender plays back the file with very little stutter visible.
I meant to try playing the file in VLC last night but forgot, not sure if it shows the same effect?
My Echo extender plays back the file with very little stutter visible.
I meant to try playing the file in VLC last night but forgot, not sure if it shows the same effect?
Rob.
TGB.tv - the one stop shop for the more discerning Media Center user.
TGB.tv - the one stop shop for the more discerning Media Center user.
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msdtvvdec.dll is interesting. I can't find a copy on my Win7 system disc.
I thought msmpeg2vdec.dll was the media foundation codec but maybe it's the direct x equivalent?
I thought msmpeg2vdec.dll was the media foundation codec but maybe it's the direct x equivalent?
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Just wondering if anyone here has found a proper solution to this problem as it appears that the BBC have started using this new encoder on DVB-S2 broadcasts too.
See http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... 28&p=54588
See http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... 28&p=54588