MP4 playback on new laptop pixelated

[hwyhobo]

I have downloaded a number of movies in mp4 format from youtube for private offline viewing. On my old laptop either on an internal monitor or connected to my 24" monitor DVI-DVI they looked great. My old laptop croaked, and I bought a new one. My videos are horrid now, all pixelated to the point they are unwatchable, either in VLC or WMP. I messed around with it, finally returned it, got a new laptop, different graphics, same problem.

My old laptop had ATI Fire video card. It connected to my monitor DVI-DVI.

My first new laptop had Nvidia 330 graphics card and was connected HDMI-DVI. However, videos were bad both on the laptop screen and external monitor, so it can't really be the problem with the connection, can it.

My second new laptop has integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics and is connected HDMI-DVI. Same problem.

I can't believe that my old laptop worked so well, and both of these are awful. Is there something I can do? Forgive a naive question (I don't know much about it), but could it be a matter of a codec I could install that would help? I am trying to find a solution that wouldn't require returning this laptop (I can't find any that use the old graphics card). I am running Windows 7. I searched the net, I RTFMed, I searched the forum, but couldn't find anything.

I don't even keep TV at home, everything I watch is on my computer. Any help or pointers will be most appreciated.

[redwudz]

VLC uses it's own codecs, so I doubt it's a codec problem. Maybe something in the VLC output settings. You could try Media Player Classic Home Cinema as it does fairly well with MP4s. Other than that, check your video card settings.

Is it only the Youtube videos that have the problem?

And welcome to our forums.

[Bonie81]

I have a similar problem. I tried almost all free players.
I do not know much about Youtube videos, I have some movies ripped into mp4.
In most of the player video and audio gets out of the sync.

for same video and audio bitrate mkv gave me far better quality than mp4,
and all free players plays mkv very well without any problem after installing ac3filter, ac3 file and Haali Splitter.
I like mkv and XViD over mp4.

[guns1inger]

mkv is just a container, as is mp4. The same video can be put in both containers. If you use the same settings for the encoding, the results will be the same.

[jagabo]

for same video and audio bitrate mkv gave me far better quality than mp4

MP4 and MKV are just containers. What matters is the codecs used in those containers. You can put the same h.264 video and AAC audio in both containers and they will look and sound exactly the same (aside from any problems some player may have with the containers).

[Bjs]

First rule in change of hardware:

Old vs new ... maybe you have neglected "screen resolution" changes as this affects whats being viewed.

Ie: 800x600 = nice and clear vs 1920x900 = pixelated interference look.

Then move onto software players and codecs.

[hwyhobo]

Resolution is the same as before, I output to my external monitor, 1920 x 1200, but the problem exists on the internal monitor as well. It is the same external monitor as before. I messed around with video card settings, every possible switch, nothing. Same on the integrated Intel graphics as on the Nvidia 330 mobile I was using on another laptop. Blotchy pixelation, large groups of pixels moving around. Awful. I can hardly believe that both graphics adapters, Intel and Nvidia are so much worse than a 6 year old ATI card I had before. Difference is dramatic, not just noticeable. Like night and day. I understand mp4 are just containers, but they are the same videos I played before, and they looked very well. And yes, they were saved from youtube.

How could 6 year newer laptops with faster processors play videos so much worse that the old one? This just doesn't compute. Also, I used VLC before, on the old laptop, no problems.

I tried Media Player Classic Home Cinema, no difference.

Any suggestions as to which settings to look into?

[jagabo]

How could 6 year newer laptops with faster processors play videos so much worse that the old one?

You're having driver problems. Update to the latest WHQL certified drivers for your graphics card if you haven't already. Try using the different output devices in your players.

[hwyhobo]

I've searched the net and found hundreds of posts from people who are having problems playing back videos on Win 7. Here is just one of those threads:

http://windows7forums.com/windows-7-support/1127-poor-video-quality.html

There are tons of them. There doesn't seem to be any definite solution. I am so disappointed. I've searched for the WHQL drivers, can't find them. I will search more. If I had Win XP handy, I would blow the damn thing off my laptop and start from scratch.

[jagabo]

Yes, the problem is quite common.

[cognus]

Doesn't looked like this was really rectified/solved.
I think the OP was seeing just a poor video/rip/convert. I see the same thing. I've yet to see a MP4 from a torrent or such that really looks good. almost every other vid I have looks/plays spectacularly on my particular hardware, or burnt to DVD, on my Sony Bluray player.
not so with the MP4's I've pulled. Maybe its the DIVX codec at fault, but at any rate, not worth the hassle to me.
I'll stick with other types

[creamyhorror]

I think the OP was seeing just a poor video/rip/convert.

No, he was almost certainly having driver or decoder problems. "Blotchy pixelation, large groups of pixels moving around" is too serious a problem for every Youtube MP4 to be having, at least in comparison with what he was seeing before.

If you see horrible artifacting on your own videos, you may be having a driver or decoder problem too.

[cognus]

i see.

i have a few mp4's [only a few] of movies, lord of the rings for instance, and not knowing how many generations deep my copy is I can't explain the poor quality of it. I thought maybe there is something endemic to the packages that render mp4 output that is non-quality

[creamyhorror]

Could be your decoder, or it could be a lousy source, e.g. taken with a camcorder in a cinema.