WMC losing one pixel column on right

[Mike88]

I just checked my setup using the mp4 that tzr916 referred & I too am missing the right side pixels with WMC7. I also tried MPC-HC and it does display them. My HTPC is used primarily as a DVR with WMC7. I just use MPC-HC once in a while to look at miscellaneous videos.

If I wanted to use MPC-HC to watch recorded .wtv programs, is there a way to use the WMC7 remote? When I tried I could only get the Pause & Play functions to work.

[holidayboy]

^ I think that a quick google will give a few options - I think that you could just edit the keyboard shortcuts in mpc-hc to match the media center ones?

[tzr916]

...LAV does not have the capability to offload deinterlacing to the GPU via DXVA. It can only offload deinterlacing to the GPU via NVIDIA CUDA or Intel QuickSync. When using DXVA, LAV deinterlacing is handled by the CPU.

I have just verified the same jaggies are showing when using ZP + LAV decoder set to NVIDIA CUVID (GPU Adaptive HW deinterlacing disabled, software YADIF deinterlacing disabled). As soon as I enable GPU Adaptive HW deinterlacing and/or software deinterlacing in the LAV settings, the jaggies magically disappear.

Seems like that means the MS decoder doesn't do Adaptive HW deinterlacing by default and they don't provide anything like a properties page for the decoder (like LAV and all other decoders/players in the world). I guess MS just assumes it's setup in the graphics driver control panel? Unfortunately the nvidia control panel doesn't have any such setting.

[richard1980]

Seems like that means the MS decoder doesn't do Adaptive HW deinterlacing by default and they don't provide anything like a properties page for the decoder (like LAV and all other decoders/players in the world). I guess MS just assumes it's setup in the graphics driver control panel? Unfortunately the nvidia control panel doesn't have any such setting.

The deinterlacing algorithms that are available to the MS decoder depend on the GPU's DXVA implementation. All DXVA implementations are required to include a Bob deinterlacer, but anything beyond that is completely up to the GPU manufacturer. Additionally, the manufacturer can choose to make certain algorithms unavailable to DXVA. For example, Intel could decide to include a DXVA Bob algorithm, but maybe they decide to have a Weave algorithm that can only be accessed via QuickSync.

Even if a manufacturer includes other algorithms that are accessible via DXVA, the MS decoder has to pick which deinterlacing algorithm to use. I don't know how it decides which algorithm to use.

[Mike88]

^ I think that a quick google will give a few options - I think that you could just edit the keyboard shortcuts in mpc-hc to match the media center ones?

In MPC-HC I did look in View > Options > Keys. I did not see anything for Fast Forward or Fast Rewind. I did quite a bit of Googling & other people were also looking for these functions & could not find them. It's like they don't exist. But then I saw a couple postings were MPC-HC was hanging up when doing FF, but no info on how they were doing it. There was no mention of a remote so I presume others were using a keyboard. There are no FF or Rew buttons on the MPC-HC screen. I'm guessing some people found a work around.

[Marc_G]

MPC-HC has functions called Increase Rate and Decrease Rate that serve as speed control. You can map them to keys or whatever (Options, Keys, scroll down until you find these). They have default keys assigned, but I forget which they are (I've remapped mine).

From standard 1.00 x playback, hitting Increase Rate successively takes you to 2X and so on. Decrease rate brings you back. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if there is an actual "rewind" as such, as in playing backwards. Long ago I gave up on FF/RW and preferred skip forward, back. I've got keys mapped to take me back 5 seconds and forward 30. When the wife asks "what did he say?" I just bump it 5 or 10 secs back in one or two presses.

Marc

[Mike88]

I also use skip a lot, & skip back because I didn't know what someone said. But skipping ahead through commercials is not exact because the times vary. I usually do several skips & then FF at IIRC is the 10X speed in WMC7. If I hit the Play button as soon as the program resumes & the recording backs up a few seconds to right at the end of the commercial & therefore we don't miss any program material. Obviously I have to pay attention to the screen, but most of the time this works out just right.

[erkotz]

A few questions:
1. Is the same problem visible playing the content in WMP?
2. What video card is in use?
3. Have the latest drivers been tried?

[STC]

1. No. WMP plays correctly.
2. Any video card - not related.
3. See 2.

[RyC]

I was curious and pulled up the AVS 709 overscan pattern on my Echo and HTPC. The Echo seems to be ever so slightly overscanning on the top and bottom, and the right column is also missing. Running the same pattern on the HTPC in WMP on the same input shows no overscan and the right column (as expected), so I don't think the TV is overscanning since the pattern is correct on the HTPC on the same input. Whatever the case, I'm not OCD enough to care about the incorrect overscan. It's pretty small and I don't notice it at all.

[STC]

..I'm not OCD enough to care about the incorrect overscan.

The op and others actually raised a valid point if they use WMC player for rips and high quality playback. For regular TV, I agree, you don't really notice or see any difference from the seating position.

[RyC]

Ah good point, I didn't mean to offend nevertheless. You're right, I probably would care if I used WMC for movies and such, but it's TV only for the Echo. XBMC handles movies on the HTPC.

[Marc_G]

As the OP, I will confirm that my answers match STC's responses.

For me it's less about losing a pixel column worth of display, but that the rest of the display is improperly scaled and thus pixels don't line up properly, causing moire and other artifacts and lack of sharpness.

and as described earlier, I have tried tv and flat panel setup options. Neither results in correct output. All other players align perfectly to the display. It's probably some internal math bug the programmer missed and only the most OCD of us notice. I bought a high end panny plasma specifically to get sharp pixel matching for bluray content and noticed it immedately in the first days of owning the set. I'm actually shocked it's something that hasn't gotten more attention or a fix / workaround.

sigh. Part of the abandoned potential of WMC.

no offense taken. I've set up Media Browser Classic to use MPC-HC and will likely migrate to media browser theater for all but tv in time.

[barnabas1969]

Oh, I agree that if the right-most column of pixels is lost, the the rest of the picture definitely suffers due to the scaling that must result. I don't know how I would be able to determine that the right-most column of pixels is not working though. It's not an easy thing to do.

[Marc_G]

Hi barnabas- the free AVSHD calibration disc files work great for exposing it. I forget what the name of the file is and im on a mobile device right now. I think the basic settings.mp4 has a test pattern that shows it clearly but other scaling tests may be even better.

[RyC]

Yes, that's the exact pattern I used, and it's very clear at showing if there's overscan, or parts of the image being cut off, or underscan.

[STC]

Oh, I agree that if the right-most column of pixels is lost, the the rest of the picture definitely suffers due to the scaling that must result.

Up close yes.

Really from a seating position, no.

I compared a TiVo and WMC with the same recorded material where I saw moire and both showed it just as much. If it's there it's there...
We are talking cable quality here and mine may not be as good as yours.

[STC]

FYI all, because eric is a dude and has some high up MS contacts I have asked him to see if he can poke the old hornets nest about this to see if he gets a response.

Naturally no promises but worth a pee into the wind.