Stuttering Playback on 1920 x 1080 WMV files

[thebazman]

Hi,
I'm looking for some help and advice.

I used to be able to these watch .wmv files without problems, using the 128 Mb video card which I had installed on my old motherboard.
I recently got a new motherboard, which had a 64Mb on-board video card.
Recently, when I tried to view the same files, the video would stutter every couple of seconds or so, resuming not from the point at which the video freezes, but at the point to which the length of the 'stutter' would take the clip.

Purchased a new video card - ATI Raedon RX2600Pro, 256Mb DDR2 - and I am still encountering the same problem. What I also think is worth mentioning, is that when I was able to view the files smoothly whilst using my old motherboard, I had the sam amount of RAM (1gB) but this RAM was not as fast as the RAM I now have on the new motherboard, which is 1Gb DDR2 - and the processor, whilst around the same frequency as my current newer one, was NOT dual core - my current processor IS a dual core model.

Here is technical info on the clip from the G-Spot program:
Size: 459 MB
File Type: ASF (.WMA/.WMV)
File length: Correct
Sys Bitrate: 8191 kb/s
sar 1.778 (16:9)

Codec: WMV3 Name:WMP v9 (VC-1 Simple/Main)
Status: Codec Status Undetermined
Resolution: 1920 x 1080

My sustem information:
WinXP SP3
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4800+
1Gb DDR2 RAM
Video Card Raedon RX2600PRO


If you've got this far, thanks for taking the time to read - any help at all would be much appreciated!

[poisondeathray]

What media player are you using? Do you have WMP11 installed?

Not all are DXVA compatible (ie. not necessarily use the video card for acceleration), and you have to turn it "on" to use that feature

Do you have all CPU drivers updated on your new mobo? (go to the AMD site and check)

[Soopafresh]

8191 kb/s at 1920x1080 will put a strain on your processor, especially during scenes with a lot of movement.\

And as poisondeathray mentioned, the player might factor into the puzzle. Try VLC

[thebazman]

Poisondeathray & Soopafresh, thanks for taking the time to read & reply.
As far as the updating of CPU drivers is concerned, I wasn't aware that may be an issue - thanks for pointing that out.

Does this page look like the right one to download from :
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_13118,00.html
The m/b was bought & installed around 3 months ago, I'm not exactly sure how up to date things might be in the driver area, i.e. how old it might be, and would be unsure of what to install/not install from the zips on that page.

Soopafresh, I have VLC player, and it seems to be worse than any of the other players with the files in question! Checked, and I do have WMP11 installed.
Whilst I don't have the greatest of technical knowledge, it does irk me somewhat that the files played smoothly on a machine which was effectively inferior to the one I am running now.
Guys, thanks again for the replies, it's appreciated.

[poisondeathray]

I think it's the 2nd from the bottom, AMD processor driver for Windows XP. I primarily use Intel systems now, so I am not certain. You can check in the add/remove programs (in the control panel) to see if it is already installed (or if you have an older version for example)

You also might want to check your graphic card configuration, to see if video acceleration is enabled (it varies by model, so I can't suggest more specific advice on this), and update to latest drivers

[thebazman]

Thanks poisondeathray, AMD processor driver appears to be already installed when I check on add/remove programs.
Please forgive my ignorance, but how exactly would I go about checking graphic card configuration to see if video acceleration is enabled?
Thanks again for your reply.

[poisondeathray]

The graphic card should not be a factor, unless you are using DXVA acceleration with it enabled (e.g. using cyberlink power dvd, with accerleration enabled, or MPC home cinema). WMP doesn't use DXVA acceleration (I'm assuming that's what you were using to play). If you want to check settings anyway, it would be found by right clicking the desktop => settings tab => advanced => there should be a tab for your graphic card

It sounds more like either a configuration or hardware problem since your previous system with 1 CPU core could play it properly. Do you have the duo core optimizer from that page installed?

Open up your task manager and see if any other processes are eating up CPU cycles (e.g. virus scans, maybe you're running something else). Also how much free memory do you have in the task manager?

Can you render the file in gspot? push the "1" button in the lower left hand corner under the MS A/V heading

[thebazman]

desktop => settings tab => advanced => troubleshoot inidicates that hardware acceleration is set to 'full'.

desktop => settings tab => advanced => adapter> properties indicates that 'this device is working correctly'

I tend to agree with your comment re configuration/hardware problem comment, because as you say, I could view the files without problem when i was running my system on the old m/b.

When you ask " Do you have the duo core optimizer from that page installed?" Do you mean from the page I posted earlier on the AMD site which relates to my processor?

As far as running processes are concerned in task manager, the single largest entry listed is 'firefox.exe' at 204,228K, with CPU usage running at about 8%.

Poisondeathray, thanks again for your input, your time and replies are appreciated, especially when dealing with a bonehead like myself... I hope I can get to the botom of this!

[thebazman]

forgot to mention, when i render the clip in G-spot, the following info is offered:

Render OK. The following combination of filters was used:
(Src)-->>--(A)-->[DMO:WMVideo Decoder DMO ]>--(B)[Video Renderer]
(Src)-->>--(A)-->[DMO:WMVideo Decoder DMO ]>--(B)[Default DirectSound Device]

[poisondeathray]

I'm assuming that's a typo, where the 2nd line should be WMAudio Decoder? not WMVideo

Yes, I was referring to the duo core optimizer on the AMD page, but that's just a wild guess

Can you try playing it in media player classic instead of WMP11?

Is the video on your main hard drive, or a peripheral one? I doubt this is the problem but check to make sure your hard drive is using DMA not PIO mode in the device manager

I'm out of ideas

[thebazman]

Yeah, you're correct about the typo - sorry!
I've tried all media players I have, and the problem persists
The file is located on my hard drive, yes.
As a last try, how would I check the hard drive is using DMA not PIO mode?
Poisondeathray thanks again for all your input, you're a Saint!

[poisondeathray]

right click my computer => hardware tab => device manager => look under IDE or SATA controllers, and right click for properties on each channel

Also make sure your power profile is set to desktop, not laptop or some other power saving profile (right click desktop => properties => screen saver => power => power schemes drop down menu

Are you sure your CPU is ramping up speed properly? Download CPU-z and see if it ramps up under CPU load. If not, you could disable the power management savings features / throttling in the BIOS, and it would always run full speed (but consume more power)

Also try other 1080p wmv files, perhaps that one is corrupted?

[thebazman]

Hi again,
checked as per your instructions, and hard drive is using DMA not PIO mode!
Will look into the BIOS settings and let you know how I get on. I'm 100% sure the files are not corrupt, as I was able to view all of them on my old system! Power profile is also set to desktop.
Thanks again for all your time Poisondeathray!

[jagabo]

Do you have video overlay enabled? If not the CPU has to convert everything to RGB for display. What kind of CPU usage are you seeing while viewing?

Setting desktop => settings tab => advanced => troubleshoot => hardware acceleration to none, rebooting, then setting it back to full, and rebooting will usually enable video overlay.

[thebazman]

Hi Jagabo, thanks for your reply.
I'm reading the thread from work just now, so will check up on these issues when I get home.
Have yet to check BIOS settings Poisondeathray, ended up getting tired with it and going to bed - will look into that later and report back!

Thanks again for your time guys.

[thebazman]

Hello again guys...
Jagabo, tried your suggestion re video overlay, and unfortunately the problem persists.
Percentage CPU usage runs at about 75-80% during playback, which I'm guessing is way too high. Now for the very strange bit! The video automatically opens in full screen, and when I opened task manager to view CPU usage, the stuttering is massively reduced when the task manager window overlaps the video window - yet when I minimise the task manager back to the task bar, the stuttering begins again! Is this purely due to the fact that the task manager is taking up some of the screen space at this point... I really don't know, but found it very odd and thought it was worth mentioning...!

[jagabo]

Percentage CPU usage runs at about 75-80% during playback, which I'm guessing is way too high.

That's pretty high but not necessarily a problem. If the player you are using has the option of triple buffering try using that.

Now for the very strange bit! The video automatically opens in full screen, and when I opened task manager to view CPU usage, the stuttering is massively reduced when the task manager window overlaps the video window - yet when I minimise the task manager back to the task bar, the stuttering begins again! Is this purely due to the fact that the task manager is taking up some of the screen space at this point... I really don't know, but found it very odd and thought it was worth mentioning...!

That is very strange. I don't know what to make of it. You might try updating to the latest WHQL certified drivers for your graphics card. Have you tried any other players?

[thebazman]

Thanks Jagabo,
I'll look into updating the drivers. Also, do you know of any media players in which the triple buffering that you mention can be enabled?

[jagabo]

VLC has the option (Settings -> Preferences -> Video -> Output Modules -> DirectX -> Use Triple buffering for Overlays) but that player seems to be giving you problems. Some other players worth trying are MPCHC and KMPlayer. I don't think they have explicit triple buffering options though.