Problems playing MKV 720 & 1080 - Not enough PC ?

[NotSoEasy]

WinXP SP2
P4 2.40 GHz
1.5 GB RAM
Sparkle GeForce FX 5200 / 256MB DDR / AGP 8x/4x / DVI / VGA / TV Out /
ECS 848P-A (Deluxe)

Trying to play an .MKV file with VLC and it has really choppy playback.
Is this software with improper settings or hardware (video card) that is not enough or has improper settings?
Maybe all together I don't have what it takes to play such files?

720p.bluray.x264.mkv
Video____: 1280x720 (720p) @ 5233K (23.976fps)
Audio____: DTS @ 1509K

[redwudz]

You might try MPC-HC. VLC can use a lot of resources. If your video card is marginal, MPC-HC may be a better choice.

[DarrellS]

You may be able to play 720p with that configuration but you can't play 1080p.

Minimum Configuration
(to play 720p video)

Windows XP
Windows Media Player 9 Series
2.4 GHz processor or equivalent
384 MB of RAM
64 MB video card
1024 x 768 screen resolution
16-bit sound card
Speakers

Optimum Configuration
(to play 1080p video with 5.1 surround sound)

Windows XP
Windows Media Player 10
DirectX 9.0
1.8 GHz Intel Core Duo or higher processor (or equivalent);
3.0 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or higher processor (or equivalent)
512 MB of RAM
128 MB video card
1920 x 1440 screen resolution
24-bit 96 kHz multichannel sound card
5.1 surround sound speaker system

[NotSoEasy]

You might try MPC-HC. VLC can use a lot of resources. If your video card is marginal, MPC-HC may be a better choice.

It seemed to play it a little better but still going crazy. Audio seems fine but video is like I slowed it down to slow-mo
Then it started skipping both audio and video.

I think maybe my PC is just to weak to play this stuff. The card might be well enough but I never know how to configure the software right. I will just need to convert to XviD I guess so I can watch

[creamyhorror]

P4 2.4GHz, probably not going to play most 720p videos except ones encoded with lower-end settings and lower bitrates. You might try the DivX H.264 decoder, which is pretty fast (definitely faster than VLC's anyway). You have to use a player besides VLC in order to use decoders, though.

In the end you should probably just upgrade your PC.

[yoda313]

In the end you should probably just upgrade your PC.

Or an alternative is to buy a hd media player like the wdtv that plays files off a usb harddrive (ntfs supported). Then hook that up to your tv and your set to go. Much cheaper than fully replacing your computer if playback is your only concern. Of course I think they only have composite and hdmi out no component as far as I know so that might be a consideration. Or find a competiting model that does have component.

They are only 120.00 usd or so and of course you need to have a usb drive to play the files back. The unit is really small and can fit anywhere, your harddrive is another story. The interface is fairly straight forward and the firmware does get periodic upgrades for added flexibility.

That way you simply drag and drop the video file into the harddrive and boom, you can play it with no problems.

Edit - yes the wdtv can play high def mkv files, many of its competing models can as well.

[jagabo]

A graphics card with hardware h.264 decoding will able to play DXVA compliant 720p and 1080p videos.

[NotSoEasy]

I don't have the money right now to buy a media player.
I have a Mvix 5000R that has been good for me, but it lacks HD playback.
I guess I should just look to convert this to XviD playable on my Mvix ...

[greymalkin]

you could try the splash media player just to see if it helps any. it's free.