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  1. I apologize ahead of time as I know this has been asked before...I tried searching the forums but the answers were either a little too technical or didn't match what I was looking for.

    I have a canon vixia hf100 that I bought. When I upload the video to the PC, the playback is extremely choppy and slow (using Windows Media Player, Divx, software that came with camcorder)...I wasn't sure if it is a computer problem or due to the avchd format.

    I'm pretty new to this so any help would be much appreciated. I would like to firstly view my videos on the computer and then secondly edit them. Perhaps I need to convert the .mts files?

    If you can tell me how to find out my computer specs as well I'll tell you the specs of my pc.

    Thanks,
    George
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  2. Member PuzZLeR's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by icecold0725 View Post
    ...I wasn't sure if it is a computer problem or due to the avchd format....using Windows Media Player, Divx, software that came with camcorder...
    Any form of AVC (also called H.264) is CPU intensive. It is highly compressed with key frames far apart, so, assuming there's no issue like a bad hard drive, RAM issues, etc, choppy playback could be any combination of a slower computer or the format. As well, depending on your system, you may want to look into other players, such as if you have multiple cores then MPC HC can optimize playback as such.
    Originally Posted by icecold0725 View Post
    I would like to firstly view my videos on the computer and then secondly edit them. Perhaps I need to convert the .mts files?
    AVCHD, in my opinion, was actually a child of marketing, not logistics, brought forth as a blu-ray playback format in cameras so Sony can win the format war with their blu-ray, but had little consideration to actually making it edit-friendly. (Politics in my opinion.) Alot of people editing hate working with AVCHD and do indeed convert it to something else. If this interests you further, you can look into CineForm, which is a professional format but not expensive at the consumer level. Once you convert to this format your video will slide like butter through any supporting editor.
    Originally Posted by icecold0725 View Post
    If you can tell me how to find out my computer specs as well I'll tell you the specs of my pc.
    A good start would be to right-click on the My Computer icon and let us know what's in the General tab.

    BTW - Welcome to the Forum.
    Last edited by PuzZLeR; 10th Oct 2010 at 12:22.
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  3. To get smooth playback you will need a dual core CPU and multithreaded h.264 decoder, or a graphics card that supports h.264 decoding in hardware (DXVA) and drivers and a player with DXVA support.
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    I don't mean to intrude on this thread, but jagabo, could you give us a name of a "multithreaded h.264 decoder" and where we can find it? Thanks.

    Mike
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  5. Hey guys - thanks for the help - here's a screen shot of cpu specs.

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    sorry for the newb question but what do you mean about multiple cores?

    thanks
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  6. Originally Posted by blueleo65 View Post
    jagabo, could you give us a name of a "multithreaded h.264 decoder" and where we can find it?
    ffdshowmt (free), Divx (their h.264 decoder, not the older MPEG 4 part 2 decoder, free-ish), CoreAVC Pro.
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  7. Member PuzZLeR's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by blueleo65 View Post
    I don't mean to intrude on this thread, but jagabo, could you give us a name of a "multithreaded h.264 decoder" and where we can find it? Thanks.

    Mike
    I mentioned MPC HC.

    Play -> Filters -> MPC Video Decoder (Settings tab)
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  8. Originally Posted by icecold0725 View Post
    Hey guys - thanks for the help - here's a screen shot of cpu specs.
    A Pentium 4 is too slow. And that CPU is probably paired with a graphics card without DXVA support. What graphics card do you have? From Device Manager look under Display Adapters.

    If you have a desktop you can upgrade to a graphics card with DXVA support for about US$50. You might be able to upgrad the CPU to a dual core Core 2 Duo.
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  9. Member PuzZLeR's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by icecold0725 View Post
    what do you mean about multiple cores?
    More than one CPU as do have the latest models of the last 5 years or so. More horses are better than one at pulling the carriage.

    And I will agree with Jagabo. A PC (from what looks to me as from 2003-2004) doesn't seem to have the horses, or the horse, for AVC or HD, at least not at the OEM level. You will need upgrades.
    Last edited by PuzZLeR; 10th Oct 2010 at 12:58.
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    Originally Posted by jagabo View Post
    Originally Posted by icecold0725 View Post
    Hey guys - thanks for the help - here's a screen shot of cpu specs.
    A Pentium 4 is too slow.
    Indeed, and a Pentium 4 running Windows 7 is a horrible abomination.

    If you have a desktop you can upgrade to a graphics card with DXVA support for about US$50. You might be able to upgrad the CPU to a dual core Core 2 Duo.
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  11. Member PuzZLeR's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by El Heggunte View Post
    Originally Posted by jagabo View Post
    Originally Posted by icecold0725 View Post
    Hey guys - thanks for the help - here's a screen shot of cpu specs.
    A Pentium 4 is too slow.
    Indeed, and a Pentium 4 running Windows 7 is a horrible abomination.
    I too found that rather strange when I was expecting XP. Not the OEM OS I would say.

    But is it as much an abomination as H.264 in AVI? Oops, that's another thread going on...
    Last edited by PuzZLeR; 10th Oct 2010 at 14:23.
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  12. haha that probably explains why i'm having a challenge...I bought the PC for $100 on Craigslist. Is it worth upgrading this desktop or would it be best to buy a new one? Also - would it be possible to convert the avchd format to something "easier" for this particular computer to handle?

    Thanks
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    Originally Posted by icecold0725 View Post
    haha that probably explains why i'm having a challenge...I bought the PC for $100 on Craigslist.
    Your challenge with AVCHD is not a simple carriage, but a chariot that needs stallions to pull. You have one lone pony. Maybe a good pony, but only one pony nevertheless. (But I do want a pony, don't you? )
    Originally Posted by icecold0725 View Post
    Is it worth upgrading this desktop or would it be best to buy a new one?
    You know, every PC that I've bought said it's "upgradable" at purchase. ... he he... Then I find I need this RAM, then this motherboard, then, well why don't I just buy a new PC? ... like my fifth, sixth, etc, (I now have 8). This is my experience. I would suggest buy any card, etc when there's a money back guarantee. Try it first on your system. But I doubt you will have much success on your system with AVCHD other than, maybe, playback - edits and encodes may be unrealistic.
    Originally Posted by icecold0725 View Post
    Also - would it be possible to convert the avchd format to something "easier" for this particular computer to handle?
    If editing, and you're serious, look into CineForm and this applies even to modern computers too. This is stuff of Legend to its users.
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    Actually, if your Pentium 4 has 1.5GB of RAM, and a semi-decent video card, even without DXVA capabilities, it should be able to smoothly playback 1280x720p VC-1/H264 videos at least. Of course, you would also need fast decoders (such as CoreAVC or DivX) and a fast HDD as well. But this all is not possible when you have an OS that is probably eating nearly 2/3 of the installed RAM.
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  15. Yes, a P4 should be able to handle h.264 at 1280x720p24 and maybe 1280x720p30. But it won't handle 1280x720p60, 1920x1080i30, or 1920x1080p60 without GPU assist.

    1.5 GB of DRAM and Win7 is probably OK if you don't do anything else while playing the video.
    Last edited by jagabo; 10th Oct 2010 at 21:23.
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  16. Originally Posted by jagabo View Post
    Yes, a P4 should be able to handle h.264 at 1280x720p24 and maybe 1280x720p30. But it won't handle 1280x720p60, 1920x1080i30, or 1920x1080p60 without GPU assist.

    1.5 GB of DRAM and Win7 is probably OK if you don't do anything else while playing the video.

    So do you think I could upgrade the RAM to maybe 4 GB and the playback would be pretty smooth? I won't be able to buy a new PC for a while (we just had our first kid so convincing the wife any money needs to be spent on 'non-kid' related items is like playing the lotto)...

    I'll probably buy a 2 TB external hard drive and just store all the vids on there for now and when I get a new pc later i can tinker with some editing...just need a place to "park and play" the "firsts" for the lil guy.
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  17. Originally Posted by icecold0725 View Post
    Originally Posted by jagabo View Post
    Yes, a P4 should be able to handle h.264 at 1280x720p24 and maybe 1280x720p30. But it won't handle 1280x720p60, 1920x1080i30, or 1920x1080p60 without GPU assist.

    1.5 GB of DRAM and Win7 is probably OK if you don't do anything else while playing the video.

    So do you think I could upgrade the RAM to maybe 4 GB and the playback would be pretty smooth?
    No. I'm pretty sure your camcorder shoots 1280x720p60 or 1920x1080i30 (usually called 1080i60 by marketing).
    Last edited by jagabo; 11th Oct 2010 at 11:24.
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  18. Just to re-iterate: you need a DXVA capable card, and a player (like MPCHC) that can use it. It will make a world of difference, and an adequate card can be had for perhaps as low as $30 bucks with rebate.
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  19. Originally Posted by fritzi93 View Post
    Just to re-iterate: you need a DXVA capable card, and a player (like MPCHC) that can use it. It will make a world of difference, and an adequate card can be had for perhaps as low as $30 bucks with rebate.
    Thanks! can you suggest a few models to look at?
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  20. Originally Posted by icecold0725 View Post
    Originally Posted by fritzi93 View Post
    Just to re-iterate: you need a DXVA capable card, and a player (like MPCHC) that can use it. It will make a world of difference, and an adequate card can be had for perhaps as low as $30 bucks with rebate.
    Thanks! can you suggest a few models to look at?
    First you have to check to see if your computer has an AGP slot or a PCIe slot.
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  21. Right, otherwise you're out of luck. And the power supply must be adequate too.

    Anyway, I have a Radeon 2400 in my HTPC and can play Blu-Ray rips at about 10% load or less in MPCHC and TME. For gaming, it wouldn't do, but it's been perfectly satisfactory for my purposes. So I should think something like this would do the job for you:

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131371

    Not very power-hungry, quiet, cheap.

    Others more knowledgeable can recommend other cards. Again, you gotta have the correct slot, ideally a PCIe slot.

    Good luck.
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  22. Member PuzZLeR's Avatar
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    Assuming you have the correct slots, you can just check with the local electronics chains in your area online. They almost always have such cards on special if budget is your thing (not sure which part of the world you live in though.)

    Make sure there's a money-back guarantee if it doesn't solve your problem.

    If it doesn't solve your problem, then yes, I will agree with you that a 2TB might be the best thing now. Just store it for a later time (but make disk backups since these drives can crash). This content will be more useful anyway when the little one isn't such a little one later down the road.

    Your current PC shouldn't be a waste though if you buy a more powerful one later. You can still use it for email, downloads, etc. while your latest does the "heavy plumbing". I still employ most of my 8 PCs for separate tasks.
    Last edited by PuzZLeR; 12th Oct 2010 at 10:13.
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