Philips 642 XVid Playback Anomolies

[MedievalMan]

I use GSPOT to tell me whether the XVID/DIVX is compatible with my player.

I know:

Only AC3 / Mp3 audio supported
DivX or XVid, the Philips does not support Qpel or GMC quantization types.

However, on a few XVID files that should work correctly (fit the above), I get wierd "smearing" and "blockiness" in the playback, that does not occur if the file is played on the computer.

The DVDR media the file was burned on is the same as I've always used.

Is there anything else I should be looking for?

Is it possible that these particular files were encoded with a newer version of the XVID codec, that the Philips is not compatible with?


Thanks,

Matt Lawson

[MedievalMan]

Oh, and this is not the massive smearing/colour problem that is solved by once hitting the system button . This solution does not appear to fix this particular problem I am having.

[jantxn]

To add to your above list of things the 642 does not like according to my readings and testing.

1. The player seems to have difficulty with bit rates above 1800
2. It does not like xvid B (B-VOPs) frames.

Clips encoded with xvid B frames seem to cause pixelation and other "blockiness" particularly in the lower right hand quadrant of the picture. This is most noticable in high motion scenes using bitrates above 1100.

The solution of course is to re-encode.....

[giannid]

It won't play files with greater than 720 width. I usually encode at 640 or less, though it should play files up to 720.

It might not play files that don't have a PAR (pixel aspect ratio) of 1.00. This is knows as the "square pixels" problem.


Also, while you're right that it won't play QPEL, it does play GMC on Divx (but not xvid) because it is weak enough that the DVP642 can handle it. This is not the case for GMC encoded xvid, which requires more processing power.

[MedievalMan]

My next question is:

Is there a stand alone DVD player that has superior compatability than the Philips?

Thanks.

[lifeisfun]

I-O Data Linkplayer2
Linktheater ( Buffalo)

[MJA]

My next question is:

Is there a stand alone DVD player that has superior compatability than the Philips?

Thanks.

Pioneer DV588AS.MP3, WMA and DivX Compatible

http://ww1.onecall.com/PID_27949.htm

I think DIVX to DVD using VSO DivxToDVD is alot better I never used my divx player since

[icewill36]

It won't play files with greater than 720 width. I usually encode at 640 or less, though it should play files up to 720.

It might not play files that don't have a PAR (pixel aspect ratio) of 1.00. This is knows as the "square pixels" problem.


Also, while you're right that it won't play QPEL, it does play GMC on Divx (but not xvid) because it is weak enough that the DVP642 can handle it. This is not the case for GMC encoded xvid, which requires more processing power.

thats not true about the width, ive got some movies with 800 width that play fine.....

[celtic_druid]

The ESS chipset used does not support resolutions greater than 720x576.

Smearing and blocking is most likely due to use of a CQM (Custom Quant Matrix).

[ElvesBrew]

My next question is:

Is there a stand alone DVD player that has superior compatability than the Philips?

Thanks.

I have a Philips 642 myself and I was thrilled when I first got it as I had been looking for a player that could playback DivX and AVI files in general. While it did pretty well with the DivX part it didn't do well with AVI files in general.

Only files that adhered to the strict DivX format and preferably DivX 5.x would play back reliably. I found all sorts of ways to fix the AVI files that wouldn't play but all of them required some form of re-encoding and took a long time. If I wanted to re-encode I could have simply stuck with my old SVCD/VCD/DVD JVC and re-encoded to DVD or SVCD.

Any way, I recently picked up a JVC 61 LCOS style of rear projection HDTV, great set, and was shopping for a new upconverting player. I ran across several but the LG DVB418 really caught my attention as it not only had Component and HDMI, upconversion, and a host of other features but it supported DivX. So I figured I would give it a try.

After I got over the sticker shock of an HDMI cable I got it home and hooked it up. I played several DVDs through it and I was amazed at the picture quality. The upconverted HDMI output is just beautiful.

After I got over the thrill of playing my DVDs I pulled out some DivX CDs I had and they were beautiful too. New life was found in these old films. After a while I started trying some of the discs that the Philips 642 had choked on and they were all playing too. Now granted, not every single AVI file played flawlessly but 75% of the rejects from the Philips did play and of the remainder several of them played with artifacts but were at least watchable.

I would say that the LG DVB418 can play 90 percent of the AVI's I have with no major issues. Of the remaining 10% a little more than half will play but they have noticable issues that make it difficult but not impossible to watch with the balance being either unplayable or unwatchable. Not perfect but definately the best I have seen so far.

EB