Comments on Komeil Bahmanpour: Fixing Poor Video Playback Quality and Jagged Edge...

@Shira "The poor stay poor" Leonard Coh...

2011-03-22T13:07:30.508-07:00

@Shira

"The poor stay poor" Leonard Cohen - Everybody Knows

You can't create what's not there, unless you're watching a Hollywood crime movie, where they exaggeratedly enlarge suspect's license plate's poor-quality snapshot, say 100X, and see what's there!

I think you're OK. See if you can see aliasing artifacts. If they're not there, yours is just fine. What perturbed you in the first place is not there anymore, and what you see now is nothing but screen's high resolution combined with the new display technology.

[Posted 3/15/2011 7:22 PM] Dear Komeil My friend...

2011-03-22T12:33:56.614-07:00

[Posted 3/15/2011 7:22 PM]

Dear Komeil

My friend here corrects me... he says there is a clear improvement after following your instructions, and most videos are watchable... He says the quality depends on the file type... mp4 files look quite good ! most avi files are poor quality still...
Also we have read that low resolution movies will never look sharp on high resolution screen - what is your opinion on that matter ? do you advice to change screen resolution ?

Thank you !!!

Shira

[Posted 3/15/2011 7:09 PM] Dear Komeil Well... i...

2011-03-22T12:32:04.394-07:00

[Posted 3/15/2011 7:09 PM]

Dear Komeil

Well... it was a mistake on my part. I did NOT install any codec pack... I meant to say: directx... and also removed the windows media player as you suggested... I followed precisely all your instructions ! (you were very clear about the codec issue...)

Still... I faced the same issue...

Thanks !

Shira

[Posted 3/15/2011 6:48 PM] Dear Shira, There must...

2011-03-22T12:28:47.345-07:00

[Posted 3/15/2011 6:48 PM]
Dear Shira,

There must be a misunderstanding, as I've asked NOT to install any codecs, as codecs interfere admissible player operation.

PowerDVD, Nero, and Adobe Premiere are among the worst codec-spreading programs, so avoid installing them.

Also do NOT install any codec packs.

A clean Windows 7 SP1 x64 contains exactly 103 codecs. (GSpot Codec Information lists codecs' count when opened.)

After Windows restore and WMP removal, without any further codec installation, try MPC-HC.

Used by one of our civil engineers, there's one of these incredible machines in the construction site I frequently visit. Maybe I can check that one...

Hope this helps,
Komeil Bahmanpour

[Posted 3/15/2011 7:47 AM] Dear Komeil Again.... ...

2011-03-22T12:27:08.052-07:00

[Posted 3/15/2011 7:47 AM]
Dear Komeil

Again.... much thanks for your reply and detailed guidance...

I did all according to your instructions... reinstalled windows, removed media player, installed the codecs you advised, and Mpc-Hc with the recommended configuration...

Still, I am facing the same issue ! problem was not solved...

After browsing the net, and reading few forums... I feel that the problem lies with Windows 7 itself... and when combined with a high quality video card, it simply doesn't give a picture as sharp as with other O.S...

Unfortunately, Vista and xp can not be installed on this system...

Anyway... If you still believe the problem can be solved in another way, please share with me...

I attach a document specifies the computer components...

I wish you all the best of what life is offering !

And thank you again

Shira

Dear Shira, First of all, I'm happy you haven...

2011-03-13T03:18:46.229-07:00

Dear Shira,

First of all, I'm happy you haven't gone for the 14-inch L401x, as its screen is one of the worst in the entire portable electronics' history.

All the codecs you've installed worsen the experience. You should uninstall them all... and because codecs are filthy sitcky uninstallable creatures, I suggest restoring your Windows using Dell Recovery to its factory state. Forget playing media with Windows Media Player / Windows Media Center, remove them utilizing "Turn Windows features on or off \ Media Features," and stick to non-codec-based players such as Winamp for audio and MPC-HC for video. (Of "non-codec-based," I meant players packed with built-in codecs.)

For the powerful Nvidia GeForce GT 420M packed in your laptop, the 266.58 driver you've mentioned is not the 64-bit one, and what you need is located here:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/notebook-win7-winvista-64bit-266.58-whql-driver.html

Uninstall the current driver and install the one above.

Now, because EVR renders video based on Direct3D, you need to install the latest DirectX engine, located here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=3b170b25-abab-4bc3-ae91-50ceb6d8fa8d

Then, if you're chasing quality, you should only use Media Player Classic Home Cinema with DirectShow video output set to EVR Custom Presenter. MPC-HC is available as a 64-bit build, which makes it a top choice.

Other players such as VLC media player, are slow and deliver poor quality. VLC is only good for when Media Player Classic Home Cinema doesn't support a few codecs, such as 3GP with AMR audio, and rare kinds of FLV.

Regards,

Komeil Bahmanpour

Dear Komeil I have been reading your post regardi...

2011-03-13T01:36:37.715-08:00

Dear Komeil

I have been reading your post regarding fixing poor video quality in windows 7.

I wish to ask for your help.

I have purchased a Dell laptop about three months ago. Model is: xps L501x, with 1GB Nvidia Geforce GT 420M, arrives with windows 7 home premium x 64.

Me, too, am experiencing unsatisfied video quality on ALL player... exactly as you describe in your post: jagged edges, some flickering points here and there... whatever I tried (including codecs installation, updating all drivers of Nvidia and Intel graphics, changing resolution etc. didn't help.

I called Dell India technical support and they tried to lead me through several troubleshooting processes that didn't "change the picture" ;-)
Eventually they told me that since the videos are "watchable", I should settle with it !!! But I can not... it is too disturbing for me...

Then I "bumped" into your post and felt some hope since it seems to offer a solution for this annoying problem.

Yet, I still want to ask kindly for some clarification regarding this issue...
Since I am not a big expert in computers, I didn't figure out which WHQL driver I should download and install... there are few of them... could you send me a link to the exact one I need ?
Should I install it INSTEAD of the regular one ? this is the driver I was told (by Dell people) to install:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/notebook-win7-winvista-266.58-whql-driver.html

The other issue is : I could find where is the Enhanced Video Renderer (EVR) option in my video players options. I use vlc, bsplayer and windows media player.

I would be so so grateful to you if you could help me in here since this issue has been bugging me for so long !!!

I wish you all the best, brother...

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience with all !!!

Beautiful days to you

Shira

Any idea how to _disable_ this filtering (edge smo...

2010-09-20T11:04:29.218-07:00

Any idea how to _disable_ this filtering (edge smoothing and color enhancement) in WMP 12 (Win7)?

Thank you very much for a good advice! You helped ...

2010-09-17T00:12:55.738-07:00

Thank you very much for a good advice! You helped me to solve my problem!

Alex

[Posted April 3, 2010 5:41 PM] ممنون از لطف شما. ...

2010-07-30T02:46:48.345-07:00

[Posted April 3, 2010 5:41 PM]

ممنون از لطف شما. قاعدتاً هم نباید با رندر سه‌بعدی و پخش بازی‌های رایانه‌ای و پخش دی‌وی‌بی‌-اس (ماهوارهٔ معمولی) و دی‌وی‌بی-اس۲ (ماهوارهٔ اچ‌دی) مشکلی داشته باشید؛ از آنجا که این ایراد تنها در پخش ویدیو در مدیا پلیر کلسیک و وی‌ال‌سی مدیا پلیر که از رندرر پیش‌فرض سیستم استفاده می‌کنند دیده می‌شود، علی‌الخصوص در هنگام ری‌سایز کردن فریم‌های تصویر.

[Posted April 3, 2010 4:26 PM] مشکلمو حل کردی. از...

2010-07-30T02:43:55.248-07:00

[Posted April 3, 2010 4:26 PM]

مشکلمو حل کردی. از وقتی رو کامپیوتری که با خروجی دی وی آی به اچ دی ام آی تلوزیون پلاسمای پذیراییمون وصله ویندوز سون ریختیم، فقط موقع پخش ویدئو کلیپ به همسرم می گفتم تصویر بی رنگ و دون دونه، می گفت نه، چشمت مشکل داره! البته موقع پخش ماهواره و بازی های ویدئویی کامپیوتری مشکل نداشت بنظرم. این اختلاف تصاویر رو اکثر مردم حس هم نمی کنن، چه برسه بخوان مشکلشو حل کنن!

خیلی خوشحالم مقاله ها تو داری به فارسی بر می گردونی. اینجوری برای ما هم قابل استفاده است.

عاشق ادبیاتتم. همیشه برام سئوال بود نت اسکیپ چرا بین این همه آدم تو رو مدیر دیموز کرده بود... حالا می فهمم چرا.

Actually VMR7 filters very well in Windows XP but ...

2010-05-27T08:47:31.419-07:00

Actually VMR7 filters very well in Windows XP but in Vista or 7 it appears MS deleted the filtering functionality. Perhaps this was done to force developers to start using EVR as VMR9 has the same problem.

thanks for the article, solved my problem

2010-04-01T15:19:55.638-07:00

thanks for the article, solved my problem

Using MPCHC on Windows Server 2008 (so probably on...

2010-03-18T22:50:10.063-07:00

Using MPCHC on Windows Server 2008 (so probably on Windows Vista) I ended up with the following error:

----------------------------------------
Error creating DX9 allocation presenter
----------------------------------------
No D3DX9 dll found. To enable stats, shaders and complex resizers, please make sure to install the latest DirectX End-User Runtime.
CreateDevice failed

D3DERR_NOTAVAILABLE
----------------------------------------

Like always, thank you for a useful detailed article. You're a genius. :-*

--Andrea Mengele