DVD Player that Plays 720p AVI files?

[mlwitchking]

Hello,

I'm new to the forums, but I browsed around looking for a dvd player that would play 720p AVI files. I was thinking about getting the Philips 5982 player, but I am not sure if it would play these files. I have read some threads about this, but have not found any answers. Also, would I need component or HDMI to get 720p? Furthermore, does it play mkv files? I'm guessing no, but I got to ask. Thanks in advance!

[edDV]

They aren't cheap
http://www.divx.com/products/hw/browse.php?c=7

They can connect analog component or DVI/HDMI.

[mlwitchking]

The one player that I am thinking of buying, the Philips DVP5982, says that it can upconvert to 1080p. So, even though it can upconvert, it won't play a 720p AVI file?

[edDV]

The one player that I am thinking of buying, the Philips DVP5982, says that it can upconvert to 1080p. So, even though it can upconvert, it won't play a 720p AVI file?

No. Up conversion is a simple task. Applies to 720x480 DVD only.

Decompression of HD MPeg4 requires a beefy processor like the Sigma Designs EM8620L.

[mlwitchking]

Ok. That answers my question. I have a follow-up: What is the largest resolution AVI files that the Philips 5982 will play? Will it play 960x576? Thanks!

[jagabo]

Ok. That answers my question. I have a follow-up: What is the largest resolution AVI files that the Philips 5982 will play?

720x576, same as DVD.

[jman98]

Ok. That answers my question. I have a follow-up: What is the largest resolution AVI files that the Philips 5982 will play?

720x576, same as DVD.

That may not necessarily be correct. Various forum members in the past have reported being able to play Divx/Xvid files with horizontal resolutions over 800 and maybe as high as 900, but the vertical resolution was quite a bit below 480. I'm just pulling these resolutions out of the air, but something like 850x250 might play. Typically you should not expect anything above 720x576 to play, but it MIGHT play if the horizontal resolution is not above 900 and the vertical resolution is quite a bit below 480. The resolutions that I saw quoted as working were really strange, which is why I don't remember exactly what they were.

[jagabo]

I have an old Liteon 2002 that can play some widths over 720 if the height is small enough. Roughly if the width * height is less than 720 * 576. Although not all combinations of widths and heights meeting that criteria will play properly.

On my DVP-5960 I get a "resolution not supported" message if the width is anything over 720, regardless of the height. The 5982 is likely the same.

For example, the Liteon will play 736x320, 768x368, 800x336, and 848x368. The 5960 said the resolution was not supported and played only the audio.

Some devices I know that will play HD Divx:

Linkplayer2: http://www.iodata.com/usa/products/products.php?cat=HNP&sc=AVEL&pId=AVLP2%2FDVDLA
MVix: http://www.mvixusa.com/

[mlwitchking]

I went out and got a philips 5982 today. It will only play AVI files upto 720 * 480. Also, there seems to be a stuttering problem with some AVI files. Is this normal?

[jagabo]

I went out and got a philips 5982 today. It will only play AVI files upto 720 * 480. Also, there seems to be a stuttering problem with some AVI files. Is this normal?

Probably. There are several things that can cause playback problems:

1) Too high a bitrate. The only fix for this is re-encode with a lower bitrate. The player handles high bitrate better from DVD than from USB.

2) Packed bitstream. I hear there's already a firmware upgrad that fixes this on the 5982. Otherwise you can unpack the bitstream with MPEG4Modifier.

3) Xvid's 2 or 3 warp point GMC will cause problems for all set-top players. This will require a re-encode.

4) Bad multiplexing of the audio and video streams. This can be fixed by remultiplexing with VirtualDubMod or some other AVI muxing program.

[mlwitchking]

Probably. There are several things that can cause playback problems:

1) Too high a bitrate. The only fix for this is re-encode with a lower bitrate. The player handles high bitrate better from DVD than from USB.

I have been using a DVD to play these files. It is most likely this. The weird thing is that there is smoother playback on the philips 3040 that I returned than the philips 5982, except for ~20 second skips.

2) Packed bitstream. I hear there's already a firmware upgrad that fixes this on the 5982. Otherwise you can unpack the bitstream with MPEG4Modifier.

No packed bitstreamed.

3) Xvid's 2 or 3 warp point GMC will cause problems for all set-top players. This will require a re-encode.

No GMC.

I might return it and try for a better processor.

Thanks for the help.

[jagabo]

Probably. There are several things that can cause playback problems:

1) Too high a bitrate. The only fix for this is re-encode with a lower bitrate. The player handles high bitrate better from DVD than from USB.

I have been using a DVD to play these files. It is most likely this. The weird thing is that there is smoother playback on the philips 3040 that I returned than the philips 5982, except for ~20 second skips.

What frame size and bitrates do these files have?

[mlwitchking]

The files in question are 624 * 352. Bit rate is 122 kpbs audio and 1150-1250 kpbs video vbr. Normal AVIs have roughly 900 kpbs video vbr.

[jagabo]

The files in question are 624 * 352. Bit rate is 122 kpbs audio and 1150-1250 kpbs video vbr. Normal AVIs have roughly 900 kpbs video vbr.

I usually encode higher than that and don't have problems on a 5960. I'll typically have 704x400 or 640x480 with VBR video over 2000 kbps, CBR audio at 192 kbps.

[mlwitchking]

I have tested more stuff that is encoded at lower bitrates and have run into the same problem of frames being skipped. I am beginning to think that it is the player. Hopefully, it is just this one player, not the model in general.

[jagabo]

I have tested more stuff that is encoded at lower bitrates and have run into the same problem of frames being skipped.

Is this happening with all the files you try? Or only a few?

Burn your discs as DVD_ROM ISO or UDF, don't use multisession, and make sure they're finalized.

[mlwitchking]

These are Memorex DVD+R (since my laptop doesn't like -R) burned using ISO. The larger files are ~240MB for ~25 minutes of video each. That is where I got the ~1200 average variable bitrate. Is there any program that can scan through the file and graph out the bitrate of the AVI files?

[jagabo]

AVI Bitrate Grapher -- although the units it uses aren't conventional.

I think this program has been integrated into KCSoftware's VideoInspector.

[mlwitchking]

I found some packed bitstream using gspot and mpeg4modifer. Some of the AVIs are working much better. It might be a little while until I get a chance to test them all. I'll let the forum know about playback for the Philips 5982.