major difference in playback quality between vlc and wmp

[octeuron]

i recently backed up a movie using freedvdripper to try it out and although the 2 hour movie became only a 630meg file (i used economy mode since the two 'better' options had terrible motion distortions), i observed a couple of interesting things:

when i played the 630meg avi file with vlc (v.86c) the window was tiny and sure enough when i full screened it it looked REALY pixelated and jaggy (interstingly though the file did not have the motion artefacts that the 'medium' and 'high' quality settings produced with file sizes of 1.1 gigs and 1.6 gigs respectively)

when i played the same 630meg avi file with wmp, the window was fair size (640ish) and actually looked totally watchable when i full screened it (did not have the pixelated jaggies that vlc produced)
the only issue i have with the wmp playback is that it is stretching vertically
also should mention that when i open the avi with wmp, i notice it initilizes two ffdshow plugins (one blue one red - perhaps it is one of these that is stretching the image)

can anyone tell me why the difference in playback from the same file is so huge between these players? (completely unwatchable with vlc versus pretty decent with wmp)
something to do with the ffdshow plugins?

im trying to backup my dvd collection (of over 100 dvds) and if i could do it with a program like freedvdripper which does it so fast and i can have watchable results (ofcourse without the vertical stretching) then i will be one happy camper

[jagabo]

Try a different output device in VLC. Tools -> Prefernces -> Video -> Output... use the pulldown to select different devices until you find one that looks right. Also try the "Accelerated video output" and "Use hardware YUV->RGB conversions" options.

I think WMP has a setting where it automatically doubles the frame size when playing small frame videos. Hence the larger default window when you use WMP.

[octeuron]

i tried those different output options and i do not see any change between them (btw, does this supose to happen automatically or do i need to save, or do i need to save and restart the video?

and where are these:

the "Accelerated video output" and "Use hardware YUV->RGB conversions" options.

[jagabo]

You have to stop (not pause) playback and restart playback for the changes to take effect. The other settings I mentioned are right above the output pulldown you've been changing (when using the simple interface).

[octeuron]

ok yes now i can see the difference between the diferent ouput options.
i tried them all and some looked the same, the direct x looked best i think in small window but i couldnt make it full screen and it crashed my videocard. image just produced a bunch of stills, openGL looked most similar to whatever wmp does (albeit in a smaller wndow) but it caused screen tearing in fullscreen.

the yuv-rgb conversions produced no change (and i cant find the accelerated video output - perhaps it is cause im using version .86c?)

and wmp is still producing the best image for this file (with said ffdshow plugs) except for the vertical stretching

btw, i appreciate your help jagabo

[jagabo]

What type of file are you trying to play? WMV/ASF? Those can have multiple video streams at different resolutions. I don't know what VLC does in that case -- it might play only one stream and picking a low res one. I doubt this is your issue though. Have you tried other players (other than WMP) like MPCHC? MPCHC is a lot like VLC in that it has many codecs built it. The UI is more like WMP version 6.

Have you tried updating to the latest WHQL certified driver for your graphics card? That might make a difference.

Also, examine one of your files with Media Info and post what it says...

[octeuron]

its a avi file created with freedvdripper.
the only other player that i have installed and tried opening the file with is quicktime but quickime crashes and cannot open it.

here is a gspot of the file: