Blu-ray stuttering HTPC - Blu-ray Forum

imprex311 · 05-05-2008, 01:00 AM

I know this has been covered a lot, but I too have a stuttering issues on my blu-ray HTPC. I think I have a new angle that might help fix it, or at least better understand it.

First here are my system specs:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400 - brisbane
Abit M2N-HD Motherboard
2GB Gskill RAM DDR2-800
Windows XP Pro (updates disabled, its an HTPC, I dont like windows making it restart all the time, I last updated it about 3 months ago)
ASUS Nvidia 8500GT 256MB
DVI to HDMI cable to Sharp 37in 1080p TV

Here is the problem, I am able to play most blu-ray discs at 1080p with little or no issue. I recently had trouble with Resident Evil Extinction. The disc is basically unplayable at 1080p and marginally better at 720p. What I found is that when playing most discs my CPU usage is 40-50%, but when played Resident Evil, the usage was around 90-100% hence the stuttering.

I have found that Resident Evil Extinction is profile 1.1 and I think that is what making the difference. So my question is this: Does the video card handle the profile data, or is it purely the CPU that handles it?

I assume the CPU handles that data. I admit that I could update video card, off load all of the video data and the CPU can be completely freed up to handle the profile. Does anyone have any information regarding CPU usage for different profiles?

Im open to any ideas you've got.

Thanks in advance

WickyWoo · 05-05-2008, 01:16 AM

Your videocard should be handling most of it

On an X24400, the CPU load decompressing a PiP stream is negligable

What's your playback software and is it updated?

imprex311 · 05-05-2008, 01:57 AM

Playback software is PowerDVD 8 Ultra, I just downloaded yesterday. I will check to see if I missed any patches or updates.

syncguy · 05-05-2008, 10:04 AM

Resident Evil Extinction is encoded in AVC which is intensive in computations and demand more CPU power in comparison to VC-1. Check whether the other BDs that plays are VC-1 or AVC. If the others are VC-1 this could be your problem.

Obiit · 05-05-2008, 10:31 AM

I've just loaded up Resident Evil:Extinction into PowerDVD 8.0 (initial release) and at both 720 and 1080 the CPU load is about 50%.

My HTPC is:-
ATI HD2600XT
Athlon X64 AM2 4200+
3gig Ballistix DDR2-800 RAM (about 2 gig free)
Windows XP SP2 Media Centre 2005.

I'd put your trouble down to the 8500GT not accelerating HD content correctly (for whatever reason).

If your only going to be using the PC for HTPC stuff i'd replace the card for an ATI - 2600 series or the newer 3400 series. The 2600 series should be had at bargain prices as i just got a 3450 for 24 quid (about $50)

P.S.

Welcome!

imprex311 · 05-05-2008, 11:59 PM

Thanks for the input guys...

Here is what Ive played all the way through on my system. I just tested the CPU usage on these as well. I only played the first few minutes, but got a good average. Everything was played at 1080p output

Movie - Codec - CPU usage (%) - Playable all the way through (yes/no)

300 - VC-1 - 50% - Yes
American Psycho - Mpg2 - 50% - Yes
Alien vs. Predator - mpg2 - 50-60% - Yes
Alien vs. Predator Requiem - mg4/AVC - 70% - Questionable
Fifth Element - mpg2 - 40% - Yes
Resident Evil - mg4/AVC - 75% - Questionable
Resident Evil Apocalypse - mgp2 - 40% - Yes
Resident Evil Extinction - mpg4/AVC - >90% - No

As near as I can tell, I can play VC-1, and mpg2 discs just fine. Within those groups, there is varying quality of video. It was difficult to find an average usage as it varied with the speed of the scene. You probably need at least 30% more CPU than average to compensate for the fastest scenes. Thats why the mpg4/AVC discs are questionable for my system, most the time they are ok, but during the high action scenes, the CPU max's out.

Obiit, thanks for the welcome and the suggestion, but before I buy anything know I would like understand the reason I need it. I have researched and found that my 8500gt is supposed to have good support for AVC and VC-1 but nvidia's latest drivers for Windows XP fell short of expectations. (Someone correct me if I am behind.) I could upgrade to Vista to keep the card. Or I could also upgrade my CPU, or wait for better drivers. (just exploring all my options)

According to http://arstechnica.com/journals/hard...-vs-nvidia?rel
Nvidia cards work better with AVC than with VC-1, but I am seeing the opposite. I guess I will look into an ATI card.

thanks again

imprex311 · 05-06-2008, 02:01 AM

Will an ATI HD2400Pro get the job done? I can get my hands on one for free tomorrow, thats why I ask.

prerich · 05-06-2008, 02:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Obiit

I've just loaded up Resident Evil:Extinction into PowerDVD 8.0 (initial release) and at both 720 and 1080 the CPU load is about 50%.

My HTPC is:-
ATI HD2600XT
Athlon X64 AM2 4200+
3gig Ballistix DDR2-800 RAM (about 2 gig free)
Windows XP SP2 Media Centre 2005.

I'd put your trouble down to the 8500GT not accelerating HD content correctly (for whatever reason).

If your only going to be using the PC for HTPC stuff i'd replace the card for an ATI - 2600 series or the newer 3400 series. The 2600 series should be had at bargain prices as i just got a 3450 for 24 quid (about $50)

P.S.

Welcome!

I don't think the Nvidia card is the problem. My 8500 gt plays everything I throw at it. Judging from his cpu usage, I would look at my PowerDVD Ultra settings and ensure that hardware acceleration is enabled and after that, I would hook it up to the internet get my windows updates and get the latest drivers for the 8500 GT. This should get the OP going

imprex311 · 05-06-2008, 03:40 AM

I do have the latest drivers for my 8500gt, 169.21. Have there been any windows XP updates in the last 3 months, that effect HD playback?

Hardware acceleration is enabled. Prerich, are you using Windows XP or Vista, its not in your post script? According to what I have read, the drivers for the 8500gt in XP are somewhat lacking on hardware acceleration for VC-1 and AVC.

Thanks syncguy, for putting me onto that track.

Kirsty_Mc · 05-06-2008, 04:00 AM

Are you running anti virus software... if so this really ruins your PC performance and can lead to things like this.

Try removing your antivirus and see how things run. You could always upgrade your antivirus to a hardware solution (http://www.yoggie.com)... these run with vastly reduced system overheads and for some versions... none at all.

Also check out other TSRs which may be bogging down your system.

I also find WinDVD more reliable.

Obiit · 05-06-2008, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imprex311

Will an ATI HD2400Pro get the job done? I can get my hands on one for free tomorrow, thats why I ask.

The 2400Pro has some MPEG2 acceleration issues and not really enough clock speed to run H.264 fast enough. If it's free then by all means try

but don't be surprised if it isn't as good as you'd hoped.

imprex311 · 05-07-2008, 12:44 AM

Ok I managed to get my hands on a visiontek HD2600xt, temporarily. But I cant get it to show any picture. I get the intro, the menu, FBI warnings but when the movie starts, I get audio and blank screen. I downloaded the drivers from ati/amd's website.

Worse than that, during the blank screen, my CPU is apparently trying to decode the data, so my usage is up around 80%. Hardware acceleration is enabled in PowerDVD and I cant seem to turn it off.

What am I doing wrong?

Obiit · 05-07-2008, 12:14 PM

Thats a bit weird!! I'm using the Catalyst 8.3 Drivers and i plays fine with PowerDVD 8.0 with Hardware Acceleration Enabled (you cannot not use hardware acceleration on PowerDVD for Blu-ray afaik). Have you completely removed the Nvidia drivers? Tried re-installing PowerDVD? Have you tried the other DVI port on the card?

imprex311 · 05-10-2008, 12:07 PM

Ok, I ended up re-installing windows XP. I have an nvidia chipset with onboard graphics so it took a while to get the drivers right. I have the HD2600xt installed with the catalyst 8.4 drivers. I did manage to get PowerDVD 8 installed and get it to play but I got the same results. I still get stuttering on Resident Evil Extinction. CPU usage is 90-100%

It doesnt appear that the hardware acceleration is working as it should be. I had written it off the bad XP drivers for the nvidia card, but now Im not so sure. The only other video settings I can find to adjust in powerdvd are the interlacing settings. Any recommendations on changing those?

Does anyone have a working configuration for blu-ray in windows XP with either an HD2600xt or an 8500gt? If so what are the specs, (CPU, motherboard, drivers, software)

Obiit · 05-10-2008, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imprex311

Does anyone have a working configuration for blu-ray in windows XP with either an HD2600xt or an 8500gt? If so what are the specs, (CPU, motherboard, drivers, software)

My HTPC is:-
Sapphire ATI HD2600XT (Catalyst 8.3 Drivers)
Athlon X64 AM2 4200+
3gig Ballistix DDR2-800 RAM
ASUS M2NV-VM Motherboard
Creative Audigy 2 ZS
Samsung 500gig SATAII hardrive
Pioneer BDC-202 Blu-ray drive
Xsilence 420 watt PSU
Silverstone Sugo Case
Windows XP SP3 Media Centre 2005
PowerDVD 8.0 Ultra
WinDVD 9 Plus.

All drivers and patches up-to-date except software players which are at release status. They have played everything i have thrown at them so if it ain't broke don't fix it

Runs at about 40% CPU and very smoothly.

Not too sure what is up with yours. Motherboard fault on the PCI Express slot as both ATI and Nvidia cards are misbehaving? Worth a BIOS update on the motherboard? Yes i know doing that is always risky but if it cures your problem......

imprex311 · 05-12-2008, 02:11 AM

Obiit, thanks for your help, but I am still not making any progress.

I have updated the bios, uninstalled and reinstalled everything, PDVD, drivers-video and chipset. Same issues with both ATI and Nvidia cards. I have noted that you have the same chipset I do, so the only difference is the RAM and possibly some difference between Abit and ASUS.

I have even tried going to vista home premium, (added a hard drive, and just swap wires back and forth if I want to switch). This would be my first Vista install, and I am having more issues with vista that with anything else. Apparently microsoft can only load sata drivers half way.

To summarize for other people who might be interested, I have found no way to make hardware acceleration work with either ATI or Nvidia on my system.

Best of luck to others with similiar issues

Obiit · 05-12-2008, 11:40 AM

Have you tried http://www.memtest.org/ to check your RAM just in case? Can you borrow another motherboard from somewhere as i'd say it's that which is causing the problems. Just a thought is your PSU power stable and sufficient to run everything ok?

Vista on those boards is absolute pants. Tried for about six months to get it to work and it just wouldn't. Came out that Nvidia based motherboards and drivers weren't up to scratch with regards to sleep/resume. Have found out that it can be iffy with others too. Thats why i'm on XP and staying there for the forseeable future.

pseudomaniac · 05-13-2008, 11:52 AM

I have an 8500GT - Slimline Powercolor card with HDMI Connection.

The system

P4 3.0 HT 775
4gb ram
Intel 915 Chipset
Win XP Pro
Current Forceware Drivers
Current Intel Chipset Drivers
Current DirectX 9

Movies such as Cars, Pirates, Die hard - all beautiful and fine.

Golden Compass - jittery, jumpy - unwatchable - 100% CPU Useage.

Upgraded board and chip to Intel E35 Chipset and A Core2Duo 4600 - no more problems.

I still don't think the 8500GT is handling the load it should be handling though - the CPU shouldn't be doing as much work as it is even now IMO

Obiit · 05-14-2008, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pseudomaniac

I still don't think the 8500GT is handling the load it should be handling though - the CPU shouldn't be doing as much work as it is even now IMO

Some people are also finding this with lower powered CPU's. This would indicate that the 8500 nvidia's are not the best for blu-ray acceleration

pseudomaniac · 05-19-2008, 01:48 PM

I'd put it more on code. 3d Games are coded to eat the GPU alive, and then processing tasks fall on the CPU.

The Blu-Ray thing doesnt seem to be using that GPU for anything near it's potential. I monitor GPU and CPU loads / temperatures / voltages while using these software players and can't tell it's taxing the GPU at all.

Maybe NVidia will release a player.

05-05-2008, 01:00 AM	#1
imprex311 Junior Member Member since:May 2008 4K collection:133 Blu-ray collection:428 DVD collection:135 iTunes collection:1	Blu-ray stuttering HTPC I know this has been covered a lot, but I too have a stuttering issues on my blu-ray HTPC. I think I have a new angle that might help fix it, or at least better understand it. First here are my system specs: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400 - brisbane Abit M2N-HD Motherboard 2GB Gskill RAM DDR2-800 Windows XP Pro (updates disabled, its an HTPC, I dont like windows making it restart all the time, I last updated it about 3 months ago) ASUS Nvidia 8500GT 256MB DVI to HDMI cable to Sharp 37in 1080p TV Here is the problem, I am able to play most blu-ray discs at 1080p with little or no issue. I recently had trouble with Resident Evil Extinction. The disc is basically unplayable at 1080p and marginally better at 720p. What I found is that when playing most discs my CPU usage is 40-50%, but when played Resident Evil, the usage was around 90-100% hence the stuttering. I have found that Resident Evil Extinction is profile 1.1 and I think that is what making the difference. So my question is this: Does the video card handle the profile data, or is it purely the CPU that handles it? I assume the CPU handles that data. I admit that I could update video card, off load all of the video data and the CPU can be completely freed up to handle the profile. Does anyone have any information regarding CPU usage for different profiles? Im open to any ideas you've got. Thanks in advance

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05-05-2008, 01:16 AM	#2
WickyWoo Blu-ray Champion Member since:May 2007 Trading Score:2	Your videocard should be handling most of it On an X24400, the CPU load decompressing a PiP stream is negligable What's your playback software and is it updated?

05-05-2008, 01:57 AM	#3
imprex311 Junior Member Member since:May 2008 4K collection:133 Blu-ray collection:428 DVD collection:135 iTunes collection:1	Playback software is PowerDVD 8 Ultra, I just downloaded yesterday. I will check to see if I missed any patches or updates.

05-05-2008, 10:04 AM	#4
syncguy Blu-ray Guru Member since:Mar 2008	Resident Evil Extinction is encoded in AVC which is intensive in computations and demand more CPU power in comparison to VC-1. Check whether the other BDs that plays are VC-1 or AVC. If the others are VC-1 this could be your problem.

05-05-2008, 10:31 AM	#5
Obiit Active Member Member since:Nov 2007 Location:Oldham, UK Home Theater Gallery:2 Blu-ray reviews:1	I've just loaded up Resident Evil:Extinction into PowerDVD 8.0 (initial release) and at both 720 and 1080 the CPU load is about 50%. My HTPC is:- ATI HD2600XT Athlon X64 AM2 4200+ 3gig Ballistix DDR2-800 RAM (about 2 gig free) Windows XP SP2 Media Centre 2005. I'd put your trouble down to the 8500GT not accelerating HD content correctly (for whatever reason). If your only going to be using the PC for HTPC stuff i'd replace the card for an ATI - 2600 series or the newer 3400 series. The 2600 series should be had at bargain prices as i just got a 3450 for 24 quid (about $50) P.S. Welcome!

05-05-2008, 11:59 PM	#6
imprex311 Junior Member Member since:May 2008 4K collection:133 Blu-ray collection:428 DVD collection:135 iTunes collection:1	Thanks for the input guys... Here is what Ive played all the way through on my system. I just tested the CPU usage on these as well. I only played the first few minutes, but got a good average. Everything was played at 1080p output Movie - Codec - CPU usage (%) - Playable all the way through (yes/no) 300 - VC-1 - 50% - Yes American Psycho - Mpg2 - 50% - Yes Alien vs. Predator - mpg2 - 50-60% - Yes Alien vs. Predator Requiem - mg4/AVC - 70% - Questionable Fifth Element - mpg2 - 40% - Yes Resident Evil - mg4/AVC - 75% - Questionable Resident Evil Apocalypse - mgp2 - 40% - Yes Resident Evil Extinction - mpg4/AVC - >90% - No As near as I can tell, I can play VC-1, and mpg2 discs just fine. Within those groups, there is varying quality of video. It was difficult to find an average usage as it varied with the speed of the scene. You probably need at least 30% more CPU than average to compensate for the fastest scenes. Thats why the mpg4/AVC discs are questionable for my system, most the time they are ok, but during the high action scenes, the CPU max's out. Obiit, thanks for the welcome and the suggestion, but before I buy anything know I would like understand the reason I need it. I have researched and found that my 8500gt is supposed to have good support for AVC and VC-1 but nvidia's latest drivers for Windows XP fell short of expectations. (Someone correct me if I am behind.) I could upgrade to Vista to keep the card. Or I could also upgrade my CPU, or wait for better drivers. (just exploring all my options) According to http://arstechnica.com/journals/hard...-vs-nvidia?rel Nvidia cards work better with AVC than with VC-1, but I am seeing the opposite. I guess I will look into an ATI card. thanks again

05-06-2008, 02:01 AM	#7
imprex311 Junior Member Member since:May 2008 4K collection:133 Blu-ray collection:428 DVD collection:135 iTunes collection:1	Will an ATI HD2400Pro get the job done? I can get my hands on one for free tomorrow, thats why I ask.

05-06-2008, 03:40 AM	#9
imprex311 Junior Member Member since:May 2008 4K collection:133 Blu-ray collection:428 DVD collection:135 iTunes collection:1	I do have the latest drivers for my 8500gt, 169.21. Have there been any windows XP updates in the last 3 months, that effect HD playback? Hardware acceleration is enabled. Prerich, are you using Windows XP or Vista, its not in your post script? According to what I have read, the drivers for the 8500gt in XP are somewhat lacking on hardware acceleration for VC-1 and AVC. Thanks syncguy, for putting me onto that track.

05-06-2008, 04:00 AM	#10
Kirsty_Mc Power Member Top contributor Member since:Oct 2007 Location:UK Blu-ray collection:536 Blu-ray reviews: 21	Are you running anti virus software... if so this really ruins your PC performance and can lead to things like this. Try removing your antivirus and see how things run. You could always upgrade your antivirus to a hardware solution (http://www.yoggie.com)... these run with vastly reduced system overheads and for some versions... none at all. Also check out other TSRs which may be bogging down your system. I also find WinDVD more reliable.

05-07-2008, 12:44 AM	#12
imprex311 Junior Member Member since:May 2008 4K collection:133 Blu-ray collection:428 DVD collection:135 iTunes collection:1	Ok I managed to get my hands on a visiontek HD2600xt, temporarily. But I cant get it to show any picture. I get the intro, the menu, FBI warnings but when the movie starts, I get audio and blank screen. I downloaded the drivers from ati/amd's website. Worse than that, during the blank screen, my CPU is apparently trying to decode the data, so my usage is up around 80%. Hardware acceleration is enabled in PowerDVD and I cant seem to turn it off. What am I doing wrong?

05-07-2008, 12:14 PM	#13
Obiit Active Member Member since:Nov 2007 Location:Oldham, UK Home Theater Gallery:2 Blu-ray reviews:1	Thats a bit weird!! I'm using the Catalyst 8.3 Drivers and i plays fine with PowerDVD 8.0 with Hardware Acceleration Enabled (you cannot not use hardware acceleration on PowerDVD for Blu-ray afaik). Have you completely removed the Nvidia drivers? Tried re-installing PowerDVD? Have you tried the other DVI port on the card?

05-10-2008, 12:07 PM	#14
imprex311 Junior Member Member since:May 2008 4K collection:133 Blu-ray collection:428 DVD collection:135 iTunes collection:1	Ok, I ended up re-installing windows XP. I have an nvidia chipset with onboard graphics so it took a while to get the drivers right. I have the HD2600xt installed with the catalyst 8.4 drivers. I did manage to get PowerDVD 8 installed and get it to play but I got the same results. I still get stuttering on Resident Evil Extinction. CPU usage is 90-100% It doesnt appear that the hardware acceleration is working as it should be. I had written it off the bad XP drivers for the nvidia card, but now Im not so sure. The only other video settings I can find to adjust in powerdvd are the interlacing settings. Any recommendations on changing those? Does anyone have a working configuration for blu-ray in windows XP with either an HD2600xt or an 8500gt? If so what are the specs, (CPU, motherboard, drivers, software)

05-12-2008, 02:11 AM	#16
imprex311 Junior Member Member since:May 2008 4K collection:133 Blu-ray collection:428 DVD collection:135 iTunes collection:1	Obiit, thanks for your help, but I am still not making any progress. I have updated the bios, uninstalled and reinstalled everything, PDVD, drivers-video and chipset. Same issues with both ATI and Nvidia cards. I have noted that you have the same chipset I do, so the only difference is the RAM and possibly some difference between Abit and ASUS. I have even tried going to vista home premium, (added a hard drive, and just swap wires back and forth if I want to switch). This would be my first Vista install, and I am having more issues with vista that with anything else. Apparently microsoft can only load sata drivers half way. To summarize for other people who might be interested, I have found no way to make hardware acceleration work with either ATI or Nvidia on my system. Best of luck to others with similiar issues

05-12-2008, 11:40 AM	#17
Obiit Active Member Member since:Nov 2007 Location:Oldham, UK Home Theater Gallery:2 Blu-ray reviews:1	Have you tried http://www.memtest.org/ to check your RAM just in case? Can you borrow another motherboard from somewhere as i'd say it's that which is causing the problems. Just a thought is your PSU power stable and sufficient to run everything ok? Vista on those boards is absolute pants. Tried for about six months to get it to work and it just wouldn't. Came out that Nvidia based motherboards and drivers weren't up to scratch with regards to sleep/resume. Have found out that it can be iffy with others too. Thats why i'm on XP and staying there for the forseeable future.

05-13-2008, 11:52 AM	#18
pseudomaniac Member Member since:May 2008 Location:Cincinnati	I have an 8500GT - Slimline Powercolor card with HDMI Connection. The system P4 3.0 HT 775 4gb ram Intel 915 Chipset Win XP Pro Current Forceware Drivers Current Intel Chipset Drivers Current DirectX 9 Movies such as Cars, Pirates, Die hard - all beautiful and fine. Golden Compass - jittery, jumpy - unwatchable - 100% CPU Useage. Upgraded board and chip to Intel E35 Chipset and A Core2Duo 4600 - no more problems. I still don't think the 8500GT is handling the load it should be handling though - the CPU shouldn't be doing as much work as it is even now IMO

05-19-2008, 01:48 PM	#20
pseudomaniac Member Member since:May 2008 Location:Cincinnati	I'd put it more on code. 3d Games are coded to eat the GPU alive, and then processing tasks fall on the CPU. The Blu-Ray thing doesnt seem to be using that GPU for anything near it's potential. I monitor GPU and CPU loads / temperatures / voltages while using these software players and can't tell it's taxing the GPU at all. Maybe NVidia will release a player.

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