noob question : problem with fps with x264

[meemoe_uk]

>be me
>running 1800 number indexed jpg 1280x1024 16bit images thru virtualdub, static pics -> animation, at 25fps
>works fine
>try convert to mpeg using latest x264 codec
>can only get it to work at 15fps, any higher causes mini freezes
>adjust quality to low
>no change
> try screen video capture thru MSI after burner
> exact same problem, max 15fps b4 mini freezes start

any ideas?
Can't understand how my pc is powerful enough to process the jpgs at 25fps , but can't handle them once they are converted to format that is supposed to be video optimized.

[jagabo]

Decoding h.264 requires much more CPU power than decoding JPG. What CPU do you have? What graphics card?

[meemoe_uk]

AMD A4-3400 APU + radeon HD graphics 2.7Ghz + 4 GB ram

Ok, seems like I mistook mpeg as a optimizing playback codec, but you imply its optimizing size on disk, at the expense of playback speed.

Is there a codec that optimizes playback speed instead of size on disc?

[El Heggunte]

Xvid/DivX and MPEG-2 are faster to decode than H.264; Xvid gives better compression than MPEG-2.

If you want to encode to MPEG-2 from VirtualDub, you'll have to use the external encoder feature
(not available in versions 1.9.x and older). Xvid or DivX is "VfW-friendly" already.

[jagabo]

AMD A4-3400 APU + radeon HD graphics 2.7Ghz + 4 GB ram

That shouldn't have any problem playing 1280x1024 h.264 video at 25 fps, even 50 fps. It should probably be able to handle 1920x1080 at 50 fps.

Ok, seems like I mistook mpeg as a optimizing playback codec, but you imply its optimizing size on disk, at the expense of playback speed.

All high compression codecs are optimized for file size at the expense of playback speed. Generally, the more they compress the more power it takes to play them.

By the way, although h.264 is an MPEG family codec (MPEG 4 Part 10), most people use "mpeg" to refer to MPEG 2 (DVD, etc.) or MPEG 1 (VCD, etc.). Most people refer to h.264 as AVC or just h.264, to avoid confusion with MPEG 1, MPEG 2, MPEG 4 Part 2 (Xvid, Divx).

Is there a codec that optimizes playback speed instead of size on disc?

You need to figure out what's wrong with your computer. Or your encoding.

[meemoe_uk]

ok now that i know x264 tries to minimize the file size, I began looking for an option to change this. I think i found it straight away, there were decoder speed options. Changed them to high speed.

Fixed problem straight away. easy. Just didnt have the right mindset yesterday with my 'mpeg is doing all it can to speed up decoding' idea.

thks.

[jagabo]

ok now that i know x264 tries to minimize the file size, I began looking for an option to change this. I think i found it straight away, there were decoder speed options. Changed them to high speed.

Fixed problem straight away.

You shouldn't need to do that with what you're encoding. Maybe your player is using DXVA (hardware h.264 decoding) and you encoded with settings that aren't DXVA compatible (DXVA only supports a subset of h.264 features). What x264 settings were you using?

[meemoe_uk]

>What x264 settings were you using?

There's more than a dozen nobs to tweak in the x264 configure box, i wouldn't know which one(s) is the relevant setting.
Here's some...


output mode : VFW
VFW FourCC : H264

Preset : SuperFast
Tuning : None
Rate Control : Single pass - ratefactor-based CRF
Ratefactor : 16.5
Fast Decode : Yes

Decoder & AVI Muxer : libav
VirtualDub Hack : Yes

[jagabo]

Those settings shouldn't be a problem for DXVA or CPU playback. Maybe you're just using a player which doesn't handle h.264 in AVI well. Try remuxing into a container more suitable for out-of-order frames, like MKV or MP4.

[jagabo]

I may have been able to reproduce your problem on an old AMD Athlon 2 X2 255 and Windows Media Player. A similar file had slightly jerky playback when using the virtualdub hack option in AVI (I suspect it was skipping bframes). MPCHC on that computer had no problems playing the video. Try turning off the virtualdub hack. Or try using the zero latency option instead. Or try entering --bframes=0 in the options box.