Codecs and Players

[kAi]

If you have playback issues here is a little thread with codecs and such to make sure you have these before asking for problems.

Lots of people seem to be having playback issues so I thought I would create this thread so that they may come here and make sure they have the codecs needed to play the files. I also put up some players that are common or are well liked by the community.

If there are some other codecs and/or players or other good utilities that are missing (and there is, I know, this is like a starter guide) and would like them up,just reply and I will add them to this post. If some of the links don't work also reply and say something.

It might be a good idea for some of you people that don't know, to read the following, it might help you out. First off uninstall all of the codecs that are currently on your machine, get all the codecs here and install them, reboot and there you have it. Also, you can go the alternative way and install the CCCP which is a codec pack, and has many items inside of it. It would be best not to install the individual codecs then install the CCCP, as this will cause conflicts and irritation.

Now, for people who have codecs installed and can't figure out why they can't seem to play a certain video file, than GSpot is the little utility for you it will check to see what codecs are needed to play the file, and then you can come here and download it, and if it isn't here you can say what one you need and find me a link if you can and it will be added for other people.

Combined Community Codec Pack:

CCCP (http://cccp-project.net/) - Only codec pack worth mentioning, if you have problems with the lower half, try uninstalling all video and audio codecs, then install this.

Codecs and stuff:

Virtual Dub (http://virtualdub.sourceforge.net/)
DivX (http://www.divx.com/divx/download/)
XviD Binary (http://koepi.org/xvid.shtml/) - Binary (.exe) For the Source XviD.org (http://www.xvid.org/)
FFDShow (http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=53761&package_id=59355&rele ase_id=274595) - Get the .exe, get the source if you know how to compile it.
AC3 Filter (http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=66022&package_id=63808&rele ase_id=178906) - Get the .exe, get the source if you know how to compile it.
MP3 (http://mitiok.cjb.net/)
Vobsub 2.23 (http://www.doom9.org/Soft21/Subtitles/VobSub_2.23.exe) - Direct Link
OggDs (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Ogg_DirectShow_Filters.htm) - This is a codec used to play OGM files along with VobSub.
on2 VP6 Decoder (http://www.on2.com/downloads/vp6-decoder/)
.mkv (http://www.matroska.org/technical/guides/playback/windows/index.html) - Get the codec needed to play .mkv files here.

Players:

VLC Player (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/) - Nice player, as you don't need codecs.
Core Media Player (http://www.tcmp.org/)
Media Player Classic (http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=82303&package_id=84358&rele ase_id=227046)
View Cast Player (http://www.on2.com/duckutils/duck_license.php3?class=player)
BSPlayer ('http://www.bsplayer.org/') - This is the player that I use.

Other

GSpot (http://www.headbands.com/gspot/) - Checks to see what codecs are needed.
AFreeCodecVT (http://www.afreecodec.com/afreecodecvt.php) - Like GSpot.

[Jman]

Good stuff. Seems like a few ppl have been having problems as of late. They should place a stickie on this thread.

[stos289]

I noticed that you missed OggDs (http://tobias.everwicked.com/oggds.htm). This is a codec used to play OGM files along with VobSub.

[MrJoshua]

ok is there an order to how you install them or any tricks to make them work the best?

[kAi]

nah, pretty much just install them.

[anime050]

Well, it depends on what you're playing. DO NOT INSTALL DIVX 5.0. It's a pain in the ass.

If you have both Xvid and Divx 5.0 installed on your comp. They will both try to render the .avi files. If your .avi is either xvid or divx.
Right now I only have Xvid and ffdshow installed. My ffdshow decodes divx 3.11 divx 4. While my Xvid decodes Xvid and Divx 5.0.

I also have other stuff for MKV play back and OGMs.

This keeps things much cleaner.

[naitsabes]

So then which codec is best for .avi's?

[complich8]

avi is a container, it holds audio and video streams. codecs are what are used to encode (and play back) those audio or video streams. So that's not a very good question ...

I suggest what a lot of other people suggest ... if you're playing normal stuff, install the latest xvid (which will decode xvid and divx5), install the latest ffdshow for divx 3/4, install ac3filter if you're watching stuff with ac3 audio streams, and only install other stuff (like ogm splitters and stream switchers and subtitle filters) if you need them.

As far as an overall "best" codec, the 4 major stream codecs (xvid, divx5, wmv9, real) all have their own strengths and weaknesses. Because they do things differently, there's no clear "best", if that's what you're asking. But Xvid is probably the most versatile single codec for playback as well as the best quality for decoding xvid stuff, and ffdshow is the most versatile overall (being able to decode just about everything you throw at it).

[o2Ly]

hi, i got some problem here.. when i start the naruto ova.. it only produce sounds i cant see videos.. sorry i dont know how to make that work.. can someone please help me here.. and i dont know what codec is.. sorry.. im very sorry..

ok it works now.. i had download all of that man.. hehe TY for this link!... take care

[mrla119]

i still have a problem. i downloaded all the newset codecs, xvid and ffdshow and a bunch of other stuff, but i still cant play naruto. does anyone know why?

[DO]

Originally posted by: mrla119
i still have a problem. i downloaded all the newset codecs, xvid and ffdshow and a bunch of other stuff, but i still cant play naruto. does anyone know why?


You might have too many codecs on your system at once that could be causing some sort of compaitablity error. Just uninstall all your codecs and pick one from the list Kai posted, I say go for divx.

[quanta2998]

I'm having a problem running your Aquarion releases.

Without FFDshow installed, it runs but it's too slow and the voices and lips don't match up.

Once I install it, it starts to look like two pictures are becoming interlaced into one and it keeps jumping between the two pictures making it unwatchable.

I ran Gspot on the files and it says I have all the required codecs.

I tried using VLC and while that runs better, every 10 minutes or so, a shot freezes and I lose about 30 seconds of video before it reloads again.

Any solutions?

[DO]

Go for an older video player like Media player Classic. Also whats the stats on your computer?

[NM]

I found a codec pack which pretty much has what kAi posted. If you install this pack, you won't need to download anything else, the codecs in the pack will be sufficient. The pack has the following:
- AC3Filter
- CoreAAC
- CoreVorbis
- Haali media splitter
- OggDS
- VSFilter
- Customized ffdshow build
- wmv9
- Xvid's decoder

Just install this and you should be fine.
Zhentarim's Codec Pack (http://forum.zhentarim.net/viewtopic.php?t=239)

[Munsu]

That's pretty much what I found on anime-legion's site known as the Combined Comunity Codec Pack downloaded here:

http://www.kickassanime.org/wi...8aka_Get_it_Here.21.29 (http://www.kickassanime.org/wiki/index.php?title=Compack#Current_Pack_.28aka_Get_it _Here.21.29)

Filter Pack Containing:
VSFilter 2.36 (+ border fix) - Subtitle renderer for softsubs
Haali Matroska Splitter (6/07/2005) - Required for MKV playback
OggDS 0.9.9.5 - Required for OGM playback
CoreVorbis 1.0 - Decoder for OGG audio in MKV files
CoreAAC (2/24/2005) - Decoder for AAC audio in MKV files
ffdshow (6/07/2005) - Decoder for H.264, XviD, and DivX video
WM9VCM - Decoder for WMV9 video
AC3Filter 0.70b + fix - Decoder for AC3 audio
Media Player Classic (MPC) 6.4.8.4 - One of the recommended players
ZoomPlayer 4.50 RC1 standard - The other recommended player

For futher updated versions can be found here:

http://anime-legion.net/legion/downloads.htm

It seems that many people are starting to use this codec pack and have reported no troubles that I know of, I haven't tried it myself

[Tiger of The wind]

um i hate to be a pest but can i ask for help to install the cccp cause it looks like it might be hard to install

if someone can im me and help me out that would be great

my im name is

ponyfeatherz22 and im on aim

[Thi3f]

....................

[ninjitsu_master]

a good player for watching naruto is....... elecard mpeg 3.0....... isnt choppy and i think its better than Divx...

[shiro03]

hi guys
can anyone help me? why is the frame rate going faster then sound while watching avi. is that any codec that i didnt install or updated? thanks

[shiokenstar]

I can't seem to get Windows Movie Maker to open any Naruto episodes. Also, I have no idea how to uninstall/install codecs and stuff, could someone tell me how? One more thing, the CCCP link doesn't seem to be working...

[Munsu]

How great that you read the posts that included recommended players... as far as I know it Windows Movie Maker was NEVER mentioned as a recommended player...

Also read my post earlier in this thread... it has a working link for the CCCP codec pack... if it doesn't work for you, then you have some internet problems on your side...

[kAi]

The CCCp link I have in my post seems to be fine, I can get it.

You can uninstall codecs from Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel.

[shiokenstar]

i was just trying to get it to work with Windows Movie Maker so i could try to make music videos with them. and i got the link working so thanks.

[DraGunZer0]

This AC3 codec is giving me problems... I mean it works fine.. but the volume is extremely low. And if I do raise the volume, some parts I can't really hear anything well. For example the background music of aone's initial d 4th stage releases, and some parts of FF7:AC were really low sounding. Anyone have a good configuration?

[Y]

I had this problem too. Here's my solution. You're probably either using headphones or a stereo speaker setup, whereas AC3 audio is generall surround sound. Go to your player's audio options and change it to output as headphones or stereo instead of surround, and those quiet audio channels should be normal.

[DraGunZer0]

Hmm.... well... I have already set it to desktop stereo speakers... just for clarification, how would i do that with Windows media player?

EDIT:: Check it, heres what I'm messing around with.
I'm using Initial D 4th Stage from Aone because thats the one with the most sounds missing.
Open with windows media player, then I go to my task bar, and a little icon on my task bar next to my clock that says FFDShow audio appears. I right click that, then go to FFDShow Audo decoder, then under volume I'm messing around with those bars. I notice that SL and SR are playing but theres no sound at all, and during parts of the song, theres no vocals where there should be vocals (the karaoke is going but no voices)

[navashuryn]

Well, I ended up having to look in WMM's "Help" to find out how to get it to work, but here's what you need to do:
Go to "Tools" and "Options", then click on the thing that says "Restore All Defaults". That makes sure that any codec that isn't compatible with Window Movie Maker isn't being used... Then, Import the video, and be sure to have the "make clips option" on, but that's not the end of what you have to do... You have to drag the file thingy that shows up in the "Collections" to the storyboard (meaning you have to take the entire video and drag it to the storyboard), then you have to go to "File", click on "Save Movie File", and go on from there... Basically, you have to change the .avi file to .wmv, or else it won't work... It took me the longest time to figure that out, and like I said, I had to go to the "Help" site in order to find that out... I hope that helps...

[Seiken]

The new Naruto vids wouldn't play for me, but my wife's stupid "Ghost Whisperer" episode would play just fine. My PC has been running with just the XviD codec all this time. I never bothered with DivX, ffdshow, or anything else. So anyway, I came to this forum, read some of the codec suggestions, and now nothing will play (not even my wife's stupid "Ghost Whisperer" episode.

I tried the following codec configurations:
- just XviD
- just DivX
- just ffdshow
- Xvid + DivX
- Xvid + ffdshow
- DivX + ffdshow
- Xvid + DivX + ffdshow

I have tried in: bsplayer, vlc, windows media player, and media player classic.

Has anyone ever come across something like this? Pretty lost on what to do at this point. Thanks.

[Seiken]

Surprise! I rebooted, and everything is magical in the world. Just call me putz.

[Balkoth]

When i play the Naruto videos, the sound and video aren't really synchronized, the audio goes faster than the video...im using CCCP and Media Player Classic.

[Kortez]

I was wondering if anyone could help me with a little problem. I just finished DL FF-AC, but its telling me I need a h.264 codec but i cant seem to find it anywhere. Could someone tell me what would be the easiest way to get the movie working?

[NM]

Read the posts on the first page and download the CCCP. Its not that hard people, kAi has listed EVERY codec available on his first post, not to mention that everyones answer on the first page has been answered with "Get the CCCP".

[Kortez]

I tried the CCCP link he gave, but all got was a 404 error. I also DL all the other codecs that was there but that didn't help either. I also spent about 3 hours searching the net for infomation, but to no avail. I didn't want to waste your time or mine by posting a useless question but it seems I've exhausted all of my options at this point.

[stos289]

First off, here (http://www.cccp-project.net/) is where you can get the CCCP. I tend not to stick with codec packs as they tend to have a lot of bloat that I don't need (the only codec I have is Xvid and I have not had any trouble playing anything with Media Player Classic). To play videos that are encoded with H.264 (Quicktime codec), you can either get a player such as VLC (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/) or Quicktime itself. From what I have read, if you install the CCCP, it has the neccesary decoders to play H.264 encoded files. Hope I could help.

[Kortez]

Sorry for the late reply, but I was kind of buzy. Yes thank you it was a big help. I appreciate the assisstence. i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif

[Jinnaisbane]

Sorry, but i installed CCP. And it has indeed let me view and hear AOne's: FFVII Advent children. problem is the video is slow and choppy as hell. the sound is great volume and everything. but video...yeah... help is in dire need.

[Deadfire]

Sorry, but i installed CCP. And it has indeed let me view and hear AOne's: FFVII Advent children. problem is the video is slow and choppy as hell. the sound is great volume and everything. but video...yeah... help is in dire need.

I'm thinking of many things that can cause this, what player are you using?

[naruto=pwnage]

firstly I have a laptop that has two speakers. when I'm playing FF7 Advent Children everything is fine and dandy except for the audio...
the audio is [I]really[I] quiet. any suggestions?

[Jadugar]

FF Advent children has AC3 audio. Make sure you have some AC3 codec to play it, otherwise download it from here

http://ac3filter.sourceforge.net/#download

If the sound is still low then go to Control Panel > AC3 Filter. Click on Gains tab and turn up the Gains control up a a bit.

[kAi]

Updated the links that were broken.

If links don't work please tell me.

[Board of Command]

Here's a couple suggestions for the codecs:

-replace Matroska Pack with just Matroska Splitter since it can also handle OGM
-take off OggDs because you have Matroska Splitter, and FFDShow can decode Vorbis
-here's a better link for FFDShow: link (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/FFDShow.htm)

The only things I have installed are FFDShow, VSFilter, Matroska Splitter and AC3 Filter. I let FFDShow decode pretty much everything, including MP3. But of course, if I need to encode stuff, the actual codecs are required.

But for newbs, FFDShow might be hard to configure since it has so many options. I personally can't live without the sharpening filter.

[t1no]

I have the CCCP and it's working great me, very simple to install and use.

[drims]

Im trying to watch blood + episode 1, but I cant open the file with windows media player. What do I need to play this episode which is an RMVB file?

[Board of Command]

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Real_Alternative.htm

[itadakimasu]

my favorite that i have found is klite full codec pack, which includes my baby.... windows media player classic. I have been using for over a year and no problems at all, whereas i was having some kind of issues before with vlc..

[David75]

Just a little help here.
Most of the time, when there's a traveling in a anime, the image gets a little jerky. I mean the traveling is not smooth at all.
I have latest CCP installed, all codecs removed before that last installation.
If I try the same video files with zoom player, vls, WMP, MPC or any player the result is the same.
I run a P4 3.6Ghz with 1Gb of RAM under XP.
Maybe the problem is just coming from the encode and/or original material, but I doubt it.

[saman]

heey, i didn't know this thread was here. i've been having a problem for a little while too.

about three months ago, i decided to upgrade my video card from the generic intel one to a nvidia 6200 pci-e card. before this, all my videos worked fine on wmp 10. after this, the colours on my avis were completely distorted. i uninstalled everything i had, one by one, and the problem went away when i uninstalled ffdshow. i then read somewhere that nvidia cards and ffdshow interfere with each other when interlacing video, but no one had a working solution. the problem is, before nvidia, i relied on ffdshow for pretty much all my decoding needs, and it worked perfectly. now, i've got divx, xvid, .ogg, and .mkv codecs installed separately, and some of my videos still don't work right in wmp (they work fine in vlc, though, so i know the problem's with the codecs). i've tried several codec packs, including CCCP, but none of them work. i've also tried installing wmp 11, and using gspot, but they haven't helped. i miss ffdshow, and want to get my videos working right in wmp. any suggestions?

[Yukimura]

Have you tried either of the players that come with CCCP (Media Player Classic & zoomplayer? Also are you 100% sure you don't have any extraneous programs that might come with filters or codecs that you might have missed? I had a problem a while ago where Nero installed a bunch of codecs that interfered with a random sampling of xvid avis.

[saman]

waaaugh i fixed it! i just selected hardware deinterlacing in ffdshow's video output options, and it worked! finally!

yay i'm so happy. thanks for the suggestions, yuki :)

[David75]

waaaugh i fixed it! i just selected hardware deinterlacing in ffdshow's video output options, and it worked! finally!

yay i'm so happy. thanks for the suggestions, yuki :)

Under Deinterlacing, I only have Kernel Deinterlacing which meaning would let me think it's hardware. Am I in the wrong menu?

[saman]

well, you're using cccp, so i don't know what menu it would be for yours. however, the fact that the same thing happens no matter which player you use, especially vlc and mpc which use their own codecs, makes me think that it's not a codec problem you're having. it could be the original source or the encode, but if it happens with every avi you try to play, then it may also be your video card. what kind of video card do you have?

[David75]

7600GT from gigabyte.

I'll have to be more careful wether it happens everytime or not. In fact it's not a great deal, just that some shows, or sometimes one ep in a show, get a lot of travelings, and then it becomes a problem.

[Board of Command]

None of the stuff in FFDShow is hardware-related.

[David75]

Little update.
Changed my comp, built one. For now I have a cheap E2160 CPU waiting for a E8500 to be available.
It seems the jerkyness in travelings disapeared almost entirely when I didn't even do a full windows install, only a quick repair.

So the question:
Do any of you know of a good media center solution under windows? I tried MediaPortal, Domotix and others... but all have their problems/glitches/format incompatibilities.

Mediaportal didn"t work because it needs WMP9 and WMP9 doesn't want to install no matter how clean I tried to get rid of traces of WMP10 and 11. Plus I don't know if I want a mediacenter working with WMP (and a old one at that)

I was wondering if some media center use MPC as their player, for compatibility sake, and also because I'm used to it.

thanks

[Shadow Skill]

Been using Zoom player and http://www.cole2k.net/

For 2 years or little more, I've had 0 problems, 0 Conflicts, 0 headaches. :P

[Inazuma]

It's been years and I am bringing this back.

I'm having trouble with my videos. I'm having artifacts with Media Player Classic running lastest CCCP. Artifacts that are absent when playing with VLC.

I hate VLC, I want my Media Player classic to play smoothly again.

Any help or links to free up to date packs ?

[David75]

If you need help, you have to give precise details.
First, try to get media info and paste results for files with artifacts.
Mediainfo should be now embedded in MPC, right click and properties when playing the file.

Second, when playing the file in MPC, right click and tell us which filters are used by MPC.

Third, no codec pack are needed in 99% of cases, and the remaining 1% can be solved by downloading the filters needed, installing them yourself, telling MPC how to use them.

[Kraco]

Sounds very much like the issue of a player not handling 10-bit encodes. The easiest way to solve that would indeed be to first get rid of the whole pack, then install just MPC-HC, Haali splitter, and LAV filters, and set the video decoding to the LAV external filter. Output to EVR curstom pres. or something similar. Though I'm not 100% certain the Haali is even needed, might not be since MPC has its own splitter anyway.

[Inazuma]

I've reinstalled cleanly MPC and CoreAvc but now, for some weird reason, the image is flipped upside down.

EDIT : ( I'm still having issues, not sure why I've used the past tense)
Nevertheles I was having issues with this file for example
Running EVR Custom Pres and Haali Splitter when playing suck mkv file

General
Unique ID : 195790931289790325114287372709143970724 (0x934BF634A9488393A82B6B2C805303A4)
Complete name : Ω:\[DVD] Gundam Unicorn\[Coalgirls]_Mobile_Suit_Gundam_Unicorn_04_(1920x1080_Blu-ray_FLAC)_[4E39574D].mkv
Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 2
File size : 7.18 GiB
Duration : 59mn 50s
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 17.2 Mbps
Movie name : Gundam Unicorn 04
Encoded date : UTC 2011-12-21 21:09:20
Writing application : mkvmerge v4.4.0 ('Die Wiederkehr') built on Oct 31 2010 21:52:48
Writing library : libebml v1.0.0 + libmatroska v1.0.0
Attachment : Yes / Yes

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High 10@L5.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 16 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 59mn 50s
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 072 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 10 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Title : Gundam Unicorn 04
Writing library : x264 core 119 r2106+636 fcb18f7
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=16 / deblock=1:-2:-2 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / fade_compensate=0.00 / psy_rd=0.70:0.15 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=24 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-3 / threads=36 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / fgo=0 / bframes=8 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=60 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=16.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=81 / qpstep=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.50

Audio #1
ID : 2
Format : FLAC
Format/Info : Free Lossless Audio Codec
Codec ID : A_FLAC
Duration : 59mn 50s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 24 bits
Title : 5.1 FLAC
Writing library : libFLAC 1.2.1 (UTC 2007-09-17)
Language : Japanese

Audio #2
ID : 3
Format : FLAC
Format/Info : Free Lossless Audio Codec
Codec ID : A_FLAC
Duration : 59mn 50s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Title : 5.1 FLAC
Writing library : libFLAC 1.2.1 (UTC 2007-09-17)
Language : English

Text #1
ID : 4
Format : ASS
Codec ID : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Compression mode : Lossless
Title : English
Language : English

Text #2
ID : 5
Format : ASS
Codec ID : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Compression mode : Lossless
Title : French
Language : French

Text #3
ID : 6
Format : ASS
Codec ID : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Compression mode : Lossless
Title : Spanish
Language : Spanish

Text #4
ID : 7
Format : ASS
Codec ID : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Compression mode : Lossless
Title : Songs + Signs
Language : English

Menu
00:00:00.000 : en:00:00:00.000
00:03:50.772 : en:00:03:50.772
00:18:16.595 : en:00:18:16.595
00:34:00.622 : en:00:34:00.622
00:43:46.374 : en:00:43:46.374
00:56:30.429 : en:00:56:30.429

[Marik]

CoreAVC doesn't support all profiles. 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 aren't supported for example. Do the things I sent you in the PM and you shouldn't have any problems playing anything.

[Killa-Eyez]

Hiya. Been a while (again) so here's my post;

I've got a laptop and a PC connected to my Sony STR-DA50ES reciever over S/PDIF. The laptop has a Realtek HDA integrated soundchip (ALC888S) and has a Home Theater feature which, if selected, sends out a Dolby Digital Live! signal over the TOSLink connection (3.5mm jack) decoding everything to 5.1 surround sound. A very neat and easy-to-use feature, ideal for playing music on all my Jamo (http://www.jamo.com/search/?sku=D6PTX5.1) speakers.

Now my PC also has a Realtek HDA integrated soundchip (ALC1200) which, unfortunately, doesn't support this feature. It's connected with a coaxial S/PDIF RCA cable and the only output it has is PCM 2 channel for everything without a DD or DTS track. Now it seems that it's not the hardware that doesn't support it as the soundchips all seem the same and are all capable of sending DD or DTS signals. It's rather dependent on it's hardware ID defined in the bios settings, allowing or blocking certain features like DDL! or DTS-Connect during it's driver installation. It all comes down to licensing. Scoping the web for possible solutions to use this same feature on the PC, I came across a couple of possibilties. One was the use of modified Realtek drivers in conjunction with X-Fi drivers and utilities with DDL! and DTS-C installed seperately. This I could not get to work after one try and frankly became too much of a hassle to set up. Another theory was hacking the hardware ID, tricking the driver installer into enabling such features. The latter seems the most proficient solution to my problem but a way has yet to be discovered.

So after several hours of searching I settled with this (http://www.thehosthelpers.com/general-chat/(audio-how-to)-upmix-your-stereo-mp3's-to-5-1/) forum post. I decided I didn't need to hear everything in 5.1 surround, just my music. I'd use my laptop to watch movies anyway. I use CodecGuide (http://www.codecguide.com)'s K-Lite Mega Codec Pack along with it's x64 variant, installing and setting up everything to be played with WMP12 as I'm not too big on having different players installed. I followed the instructions in the post except for enabling the LFE Crossover and I now play all my music in 5.1 surround.

I thought I'd just post this for anyone experiencing the same issue as I did. Hope it helps.

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Another problem though... I'm not sure if it's dependent on the codec installed, the VGA card, the DVI cable/connection or my SyncMaster it's hooked on but almost every file starts of playing in a bright red color. The picture is viewable except it looks all pink and gay-ish:

1363

I've used CodecGuide's FAQ (http://codecguide.com/faq_display_issues.htm) to determine the problem but to no avail. Funny thing is though, after clicking on any different file like .avi or .mp4 (which play ok) and clicking the same .mkv file again makes it go away. Guess I'll have some troubleshooting to do. If anyone knows a little more, your help would be appreciated.

[Kraco]

All my problems of bitstreaming multichannel audio to my homecinema amplifier went away when I uninstalled all Realtek drivers and simply stuck to Windows default audio drivers. Seriously, I don't know what they are smoking at Realtek, but it can't be anything good. The Windows drivers are very simple to configure as well. The player also needs to be configured to make sure it doesn't touch the sound intended to be bitstreamed.

I used K-Lite Mega Codec Pack years and years ago, and I have to say it's probably the most bloated codec pack invented by mankind. Even if I risk sounding hostile and sarcastic, I can only say: Good luck trying to solve any problems caused by that mammoth. For some years now I have went the other way of installing the bare minimum. Hunting down problems is much easier that way and the individual components are easy to update if problems arise. Or simply remove.

[Killa-Eyez]

Well, sure enough, it were my codecs. I guess I went a little overboard. I had the regular K-Lite Mega Codec Pack installed, alongside the 64x version of it and to top it of, the AVC codec. Uninstalled all of them and only reinstalled a newer version of the KLC pack. Everything works flawlessly now.

[Alhuin]

I just recently obtained a Bluray drive for my PC, so I'm looking for a good player and the codecs needed. I've tried doing a search on Google, but I'm getting so many different results, all requiring money, so I figured I would ask here real quick. I'd prefer a free program, but I guess there are always ways around that.

I was hoping the CCCP would have what's needed... I know next to nothing about appropriate codecs and whatnot, but it appears to work for DVDs, so I thought maybe there was a chance. Alas, it did not work.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[David75]

Blu-ray on a pc is one of the hellish things we have on earth... if you are honest...

I abandonned the idea long ago, as it was painfully crippled from the creation of the standard. And to date, I do not remember seeing an opensource alternative that works out of the box and reliably. That's when I wanted to build a BR HTPC like 3/4 years ago.

Maybe paid software works, haven't tried any cracked versions. My laptop came pre-equiped and I only used it for br like 10 times, so maybe those soft got better and I'm only on the negative because of the frustration I felt long ago

[Kraco]

BD (just like DVD) is a proprietary format and license fees must be paid to the rights owner if you want to legally release a device or software capable of playing the official format. That's why there are so few legally free alternatives, or rather, none. Either you pay or pirate. Though paying might have happened if you got a retail packed drive (or laptop with a drive) and some software was thus included in the package price.

A couple of years ago I was still thinking of getting a BD drive for my computer, but slowly I've let go of the idea. It's easier to watch the movies with my regular standalone BD player of the home theater (I don't have PS3) and burning optical discs is kind of out of fashion unless you are burning video BDs of some holiday trips, family events, hobbies, or whatever.

[Alhuin]

Yeah, I guess I should've done some more research before buying the drive. I really just wanted to be able to watch Blurays on my computer because I don't actually have a TV. I do have a PS3, and my monitor sports an HDMI connection, but the speakers on the monitor are so quiet, and I don't want to spend the money for a PS3 headset.

It appears that PowerDVD, ArcSoft Total Media, and Mac Bluray Player are the best choices, according to all the results I got from "best blu ray player for windows". I read the PowerDVD had a lot of online integration, so I'll probably avoid that one, but I guess I'll try the other two.

I was just figuring that, since Blurays have been around for 5+ years now, there would be more freeware support for it like with DVDs. *shrug*

[Buffalobiian]

What do you mean by "online integration"? If you really liked the program, you could block its internet access with a firewall (either the default windows firewall or other) if you didn't want it connecting online for whatever reason.

[Munsu]

What combination of Codecs and Players are you guys currently using?

I've been fairly loyal for years, with good results, to the Combined Community Codec Pack. For a while now, even with their newest package from 2015, I've found it very lacking particularly with anime releases.

Currently I've managed to use THIS GUIDE (http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=516729&show=0) (with the latest versions of all mentioned of course) and results so far have been promising. I did the install yesterday, so we'll see.

I did consider trying the KCP Kawaii Codec Pack, which looking back now I would've probably done if I had to do this again, but decided to install all the elements individually since it seems that Codec Packs are very dependent on their developers keeping it up to date to the changes, and seems like they're also prone to disappearances. Hopefully installing the individual elements by themselves will provide for a more lasting solution.

But all told, I would've liked to try the KCP Kawaii Codec Pack before venturing to the standalone codecs/players/filters option.

Regardless, still curious what you guys are using to keep your systems running anime in particular at the proper quality level.

[Kraco]

I haven't used any codec packs for many years. It's pointless since it doesn't ensure latest components, as you said, plus I got annoyed by all the bloat.

What I have are:
MPC-HC
madVR renderer
xy-VSFilter

When I had to live without my desktop for a few weeks recently, I only had MPC-HC on my laptop and everything seemed to work nicely, so I'm not sure that Vobsub modification is even necessary anymore. But then again, I only started to use it because some non-HS releases occasionally used fancier text effects MPC-HC didn't support on its own.

MadVR I started to use because at least years ago the video was slightly better looking with it. Less gruesome artifacts.

Less is more as far as I'm concerned. But I can live with two extra components. Doesn't feel like much. I haven't yet encountered anime encoded using the new more efficient video codecs, but possibly they will appear. I'll have to see how it goes then. Traditionally you have needed something else for a little while until MPC-HC has incorporated it.

[Buffalobiian]

I only use CCCP and it works. It renders videos, it renders subtitles.

I haven't had to touch anything since.

I have noticed something weird on my new installation of W10 though. Scrolling in MPC with the cursor on the video panel does the following:

mouse wheel up = volume up
mouse wheel down = volume down

Meanwhile, scrolling the wheel when the cursor is on the control panel of the window does the opposite. That is:

mouse wheel up = volume down
mouse wheel down = volume up.

[Munsu]

I only use CCCP and it works. It renders videos, it renders subtitles.

I haven't had to touch anything since.

I have noticed something weird on my new installation of W10 though. Scrolling in MPC with the cursor on the video panel does the following:

mouse wheel up = volume up
mouse wheel down = volume down

Meanwhile, scrolling the wheel when the cursor is on the control panel of the window does the opposite. That is:

mouse wheel up = volume down
mouse wheel down = volume up.

I've never had a problem with CCCP until half year ago. Maybe I had some codecs fighting each other, but I was getting a lot of instances in which the picture got corrupted.

I did the new install with the individual elements and it's all good now.

That said, I'd wager the Kawaii Pack would be better at this point than CCCP, but it'll be a test for another time.