Issue with Divx playback on Philips DVP642

[nickolasj80]

I have a Philips DVP642, which plays Divx files.
It plays most fine but several play, but the video looks garbled, issues with the color, etc. I have attached some pics I took of with my camera (didn't know a better way to get a pic of these), which shows the issue.
If anyone has any ideas or knows about firmware upgrades/hacks etc, it would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[jagabo]

Try pressing System Menu twice while playing.

[somebodeez]

Were those files XviDs?

[nickolasj80]

yes, it is xvid, and yes the "system menu twice fix" works. I was just wondering if there was a more permanent fix.

[jagabo]

A good DVP 642 guide:

http://www.jarnot.com/twiki/bin/view/Public/DVP642LisaBsAVIGuide

The "System Menu" fix is a cheap fix, and you will still notice some funky color smearing throughout the film. This is mild enough that it is acceptable to many people. To get the best results, though, all AVI's with "Custom MPEG" should be re-encoded for proper playback on the Philips 642.

[giannid]

Those files use an earlier xvid codec that wasn't compatible with divx.

If you are ripping the files yourself, you should make sure you have the latest version of the xvid codec.

[celtic_druid]

With a few vary rare exceptions XviD has always produced MPEG-4 compliant output and has therefor always been DivX compatible, since DivX is MPEG-4.

Still although XviD = ASP MPEG-4 part 2 and DivX = ASP MPEG-4 part 2. It isn't really fair to call XviD DivX. XviD is more powerfull, it supports CQM (Custom Quant Matrices) as you have just found out. As well as other ASP features like 3 warp point GMC.

Still if you use a Home Theatre profile, the output should be just as compatible as DivX encoded with a HT profile. Try enabling qpel in DivX and it won't work on an ESS based player either. XviD just has more options to break DXN HT compatibility. Just a pitty that the chipset manufactures decided to concerntrate more on conforming to DXN profiles than MPEG-4 ones.

[Farshid420]

Can anyone please point me in the right direction (tutorial/readme) on how to properly re-encode an xvid that uses a MPEG Custom matrix to an H.623 or MPEG matrix? Thank you!

[m0d]

This is an incompatible DivX. It is not because it might be an Xvid. Xvid's play fine. The DVP642 is unable to play DivX or Xvids that use the QPEL or GMC options. Google around for Divx QPEL - you will soon be an expert on the issue. When you make your Divx, don't enable it. The only fix is to reencode it or watch is on your computer.

There is nothing wrong with your player, there is just no way a $60 can have the cpu horsepower to decode these videos right now. Some significantly higher-cost players are beginning to though.

m0d

[jagabo]

Can anyone please point me in the right direction (tutorial/readme) on how to properly re-encode an xvid that uses a MPEG Custom matrix to an H.623 or MPEG matrix? Thank you!

Search the guides. Look for Divx to Divx or Xvid to Xvid conversion:

https://www.videohelp.com/guides.php?tools=&madeby=&formatconversionselect=DivX+to+DivX...or+List+Guides

Here's an easy fast (relatively speaking) method using VirtualDub and Xvid:

1) File -> Open AVI
2) Video -> Fast Recompress
3) Video -> Compression. Select Xvid, press Configure. In the Xvid configuration dialog press the default button.
4) Files -> Save as AVI.

Xvid's default is to use single pass, target quantizer (constant quality) mode. The default quantizer is 4. If you want higher quality use a smaller quantizer (the file will get bigger though). Since you're starting with an already compressed video you may want to use higher quality so as not to lose more quality from reencoding.

When I compress from clean sources I usually use a target quantizer value of 2. That gives results that are nearly identical to the source even if you look at enlarged still frames. At 3 you will see a little macroblocking if you look at enlarged still frames. But at normal playback speed it's not noticeable. At 4 you may see a little macroblocking during playback if you look very closely.

I usually also disable b-vop's (because b frames are encoded with lower quality) and set the I-frame interval to 100 for faster seeking.

[Farshid420]

Can anyone please point me in the right direction (tutorial/readme) on how to properly re-encode an xvid that uses a MPEG Custom matrix to an H.623 or MPEG matrix? Thank you!

Search the guides. Look for Divx to Divx or Xvid to Xvid conversion:

https://www.videohelp.com/guides.php?tools=&madeby=&formatconversionselect=DivX+to+DivX...or+List+Guides

Here's an easy fast (relatively speaking) method using VirtualDub and Xvid:

1) File -> Open AVI
2) Video -> Fast Recompress
3) Video -> Compression. Select Xvid, press Configure. In the Xvid configuration dialog press the default button.
4) Files -> Save as AVI.

Xvid's default is to use single pass, target quantizer (constant quality) mode. The default quantizer is 4. If you want higher quality use a smaller quantizer (the file will get bigger though). Since you're starting with an already compressed video you may want to use higher quality so as not to lose more quality from reencoding.

When I compress from clean sources I usually use a target quantizer value of 2. That gives results that are nearly identical to the source even if you look at enlarged still frames. At 3 you will see a little macroblocking if you look at enlarged still frames. But at normal playback speed it's not noticeable. At 4 you may see a little macroblocking during playback if you look very closely.

I usually also disable b-vop's (because b frames are encoded with lower quality) and set the I-frame interval to 100 for faster seeking.

Thanx for the info jagabo, but the only real answer I was looking for was why I kept getting the no stats file error, and then I realized that since I was doing the process manually, I had to do a first pass manually, and then set a second job for the second pass to start after it All good now, thanx again for the help :P

[KiwiKid]

Why not use AVI ReComp listed in the tools section. It is designed for reencoding AVIs to be standalone compliant. I have a 642 also and any AVI that appears to be out of spec gets run through it. It works brilliantly.