problem playing MKV file on a strong computer

[tomchook]

Hello,
I my computer is HP pavilion dv9750ej (Core2Duo 2.2Ghz, 2GB RAM, Gforce 8400M GS). I'm running Vista SP1 with the latest drivers, and I have K-lite mega codec pack installed. The problem is that when I watch movies in MKV format (720p), they are lagging and flicking. I tried to install CoreAVC video decoder 1.6.5 (I added it on external filter on MPC, marked it as "prefer", and disabled the other external filters), but still the movies are lagging! I bought the computer this August, and I can't believe it's so weak that it can't run such movies! My CPU is fluctuating between 60-100% when I'm viewing a movie.

Other than that I have Kaspersky Internet security 2009 and SuperAntiSpyware, and I'm really safe about the rest, so I doubt that I have some kind of malicious program that kills my CPU...

How can I fix this problem?

Thank you in advance,
Tom

[redwudz]

I would try VLC Media Player. It uses it's own codecs, so if K-lite has messed up your system, (Not unusual ) that may tell you if it's just a codec problem. Also you mentioned MPC. If that's not MPC Home Cinema, you might try that instead.

MKV takes a fair amount of CPU and video card power to display properly. 60 - 100% CPU is way too high. With my ATI 3870 video card and my system, it averages 14 - 20% with VLC or MPCHC playing MKVs. And these are 1920 X 1080 high definition files from a Blu-ray conversion.

[jman98]

Try using VLC instead to play the files. VLC often provides a superior MKV viewing experience over other tools. I can play 720p MKV files on my old single core 3200+ AMD system without any problems if I use VLC, but nothing else will work as well.

KLite isn't really helping and we don't recommend its use. The much over praised CoreAVC didn't really do anything for me either, but VLC worked fine. Note that VLC has all its codecs built into it, so you don't need to worry about what codecs it uses.

[poisondeathray]

What renderer are you using in MPC? If you are using VMR9 renderless, change it to overlay mixer which uses significantly less CPU

What is your audio codec in the .mkv ? Use mediainfo to find out. What decoder are you using for decoding it?

What processes are contributing to the 60-100% CPU usage when playing? Look at task manager. Check if it's something other than the player, e.g. virus scan, bad virus etc...

[tomchook]

I tried the newest VLC - It's even worse (bad quality + lagging)
I also tried MPC Home Cinema, but it has the same problem.
I changed the VMR9 renderless to overlay. It does help a bit, but still lagging a lot.
In the task manager, MPC takes almost all the CPU power (40-80%).
The audio codec I use for the MKV file is AC3 (A_AC3) and the video is V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC

What is the next thing to check?

[poisondeathray]

Make sure you're not in some low power saving mode - Check the control panel power options under the power schemes, that you are not on some low profile like "power saving" or something like that

Check that your CPU is ramping up speed - Download CPU-z to check the clockspeed at idle and when you are playing the movie

Do you have haali media splitter and AC3 filter installed?

When you render the file in graphstudio, what filters does it say you are using?

[Squash]

In addition to the above suggestions, you might be able to get DXVA acceleration from your video card using MPCHC's decoder; I'm not sure. I think the regular 8400s support DXVA but don't know about the mobile versions.

To try it, go back into MPCHC. Since you're in Vista, you'll need to set the renderer to "EVR Custom Pres" to get dxva. Also go into Internal Filters and make sure that H264/AVC (DXVA) is checked, and uncheck the H264/AVC (FFmpeg). (I'm assuming the video is AVC).

If it works, you should be able to click View > Display Stats (or hit Ctrl+J) while your video's playing and it'll show "DXVA2: H.264 bitstream decoder" (you may need to stretch the screen to the right a little to see it) and CPU usage should drop very low; if it doesn't work, it'll say "Not using DXVA".

[Midzuki]

[ d e l e t e d ]

[tomchook]

I changed my power settings on my laptop from "power saving" to "high performance" and it worked!! the videos are now crisp and clear!
Thanks for all your help!

[diogo baltazar]

This was so helpful. I registered just to say thank you; Ingenious, poisondeathray.