TBS 6925 PCi Card with hardware blind scan in DVB-S2 and DVB-S

[Llew]

Sorry, I have to contradict myself - You do need to install codecs for DVBViewer. There are some free bundles of codecs available if you search online for them.

 

[Lazarus]

Murray Walker syndrome?

 

[Llew]

VS - I've always used the free K-Lite codec pack for my viewers, it includes codecs such as ffdshow and Cyberlink. Not sure if it still has elecard now, the one I downloaded about three years ago did.

 

[aceb]

My PC is just and old 3 gig P4, I started off with XP Pro SP3 32 bit but after reading some comments about CCs Blindscan app I put another drive in and installed W7 SP1 64 bit so have it as dual boot now. Both are clean installs specifically for DVB and running DVB Dream and both Crazy and BlindScan it is definitely quicker and more stable on Windows 7.

For Codecs I use a selection, like Llew I downloaded the K lite package but generally run the Dscaler codec along with VMR9 renderer and for H264 I use Microsofts DTV-DVD which is very low on overheads, comes in handy on this single core! Microsoft again for AC3 audio and DivX for AAC. On the whole it works, just a very few channels I have to change to another one to correctly render an image.

 

[Vipersan]

Thanks for the info guys ..

I came accross this by softreel :-(bottom of the page)

..it appears to be a dedicated dvbs all format codec ...which covers all feed formats ..
Just a pity it doesn't do H264 ..so I still need one for HD ...but at approx £12 ....I might well buy it

Anyone used this one ?
It certainly looks the part ...but mpeg2 SD& HD only ...such a pity....no H264
rgds
VS

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The Etymonix SoftReel MPEG-2 codec is a faster than real-time MPEG-2 video decoder optimized for single-core and multi-core systems. It enables smooth high-quality 4:2:2 playback of native MPEG-2 SD and HD video streams in DVB applications, Windows Media Player and other DirectShow-compatible products.

SoftReel's robust design makes it resilient to bitstream errors (e.g. from transmission glitches or scratched video discs). It has been tested on a wide range of processors and Windows operating systems for outstanding compatibility and stability.

The following table compares the main features of SoftReel version 2 with version 1. For a more complete product description, please see the detailed feature list.

Feature SoftReel v2 SoftReel v1
Maximum resolution 1920x1152 768x576
Media formats supported HD 1080p, 1080i and 720p
DVB (HD and SD, 4:2:2 and 4:2:0)
All 18 ATSC formats
SD (NTSC/PAL)
SVCD/CVD/VCD SD (NTSC/PAL)
SVCD/CVD/VCD
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 4:3 only
Performance Up to 5x faster than v1 Baseline
Multi-core optimized Yes, up to 16 cores (*) No
Deinterlacing Yes No
3:2 pulldown (telecine) Yes No
DVB applications Yes
(ProgDVB, DVBViewer, DVBDream, MyTheatre, AltDVB, TransEdit) No
Resilient to errors Yes No
CPU compatibility Wide range of CPU manufacturers Limited
CPU optimizations SSE2/SSE/MMX MMX only
Side-by-side 3D video display mode Yes (*) No
Field pictures and non-intra streams Yes (*) No
MPEG-1 video playback Yes No
Operating systems Windows 7/Vista
Windows XP MCE
Windows XP/2000/NT4
Windows Me/98/95 Windows XP/2000/NT4
Windows Me/98/95
Frame-accurate seeking in AVI files Yes Yes
One-click setup Yes No
Profiles/levels MP@ML, MP@LL, SP@ML, 4:2:2P@ML, 4:2:2P@HL, MP@H-14, MP@HL MP@ML, MP@LL, SP@ML
MPEG chroma formats 4:2:0, 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 4:2:0, 4:2:2
Output formats RGB32, RGB24, RGB565, RGB555, YUY2, UYVY, YV12, NV12 RGB32, RGB24, RGB565, RGB555, YUY2, UYVY, YV12
(*) New features introduced in version 2.30

 

[Low Profile]

Nero codecs will decode 4:2:2 in SD - not sure about HD, plus a whole lot more. Traditionally I have found Cyberlink codecs to be the best quality, low resourse codecs to use (in SD).

 

[Vipersan]

..well did a quick calc ...and the 20 dollars ...worked out about £12.30
..I figured it worthwhile at that price so placed an order for a single key by paypal..
Whilst I'm waiting ...I'll use the free demo version ...and keep hunting for H264 codecs..

Its a bit of a minefield ..as the problem with the unclean installation ..was mostly down to conflicts ...and codec clashes.

At least the Softreel codecs are specifically designed for DVB apps ..and various apps are mentioned by name.

rgds
VS

 

[Vipersan]

My PC is just and old 3 gig P4, I started off with XP Pro SP3 32 bit but after reading some comments about CCs Blindscan app I put another drive in and installed W7 SP1 64 bit so have it as dual boot now. Both are clean installs specifically for DVB and running DVB Dream and both Crazy and BlindScan it is definitely quicker and more stable on Windows 7.

For Codecs I use a selection, like Llew I downloaded the K lite package but generally run the Dscaler codec along with VMR9 renderer and for H264 I use Microsofts DTV-DVD which is very low on overheads, comes in handy on this single core! Microsoft again for AC3 audio and DivX for AAC. On the whole it works, just a very few channels I have to change to another one to correctly render an image.

Hi Paul ..
Can you provide a bit more info on the H264 DTV-DVD Codec ..
What/where is that codec located ...and is it a freebie ?
..or did it come in a hardware bundle ?

cheers m8
VS

 

[strs65]

It is Microsofts decoders for mpeg-2/h264, included in Windows 7 and as such it is a "freebie".

Btw, I downloaded the trial version of Etumonix's Softreel mpeg2 decoders. I'm trying them some time now and generally they work alright. But on some occasions they seem to break apart...

Kurdsat on Thor (11109H) with Mainconcept on DVBViewer Pro 4.8.1/Windows 7 64bit



Same channel with Softreel

 

[starman345]

Just for your interest, download a copy of Radlight Filter manager and have a look under the directshow filters tab to see how many codecs you already have on your computer, it might surprise you. I've never bought codecs there are tons of them out there in other applications that you normally install on your computer. Not all dvb apps will be able to use them automatically, but most will. In many cases Dvbdream needs the CLSID of the codec copied to the guids(codecs.ini in more recent versions) file in DD so that it will be recognized. You can easily do that with Radlight Manager.
As has been mentioned here, the Cyberlink codecs are very good, download a trial copy of PowerDVD, it will install the Cyberlink codecs, you don't ever have to fire up PowerDVD, just so long as its on your computer somewhere the codecs will work. They offer dxva and seldom does my computer cpu usage exceed 15%.

 

[Vipersan]

Thanks for the info guys ..
I have been out most of the day ...but finally got to install the softreel codec I bought ...
It appears to be working just fine for SD ...and have installed ffdshow as well ..
So here is my current config as used on dvbdream as shown in the screencap ..
SD ...performs flawlessly ...
But when I select an HD H264 channel ..
The audio eventually gets out of sync ...
The picture occasionally pauses ...which possibly accounts for the lost sync ..
If left on long enough ...it hangs the dvbdream application ...preventing it from being shut down ..although it continues to run...producing unsynced picture and sound ...but is unresponsive to my attempts to change channel etc..

So looks like this app at least does not like the FFDshow H264 codecs ...
Or my system becomes overburdened and unstable ..
CPU is at about 55% when displaying H264..
Is that ok ?
All new to me.
rgds
VS

 

[Llew]

It's always worth having a choice of h264 codecs to try VS. I find the most stable on my Win7 x4 is the Microsoft one that came with Win7 as strs65 mentioned.

 

[Llew]

What I tend to do now also is to use TSReader after scanning a channel with Crazyscan's Blind Scan Monitor and use VLC's codecs via TSReader.

 

[Vipersan]

Hi friends ..
Progress of sorts to report..

I ended up buying a second codec for H264 ..
I guess its not a huge price really ..but still it all adds up .

This time its the CoreAVC 2.5.5 Professional Edition ...cost approx £8...
So in totall thats about 20 squid for the softreel (sd) and coreavc (H264 HD)
Both appear compatible ...and run without any freezing or stuttering issues.
My only worry is the cpu usage in HD ..as I'm not sure if my motherboard integrated HD chipset (M3A78pro - hdmi out) has hardware accelleration for graphics..
Or if it has it and isn't being used ..
but going to install dvbviewer pro next ...so that might offer more insight.
cpu usage averages around 60% peaking to 70+ on H264 ...but has not yet caused any freezing.
I'm posting a full pc screen cap to show the currently employed codecs etc ..and BBCHD selected ..and cpu usage (bottom left of dvbdream)
but ..remember this is a fairly clean uncluttered os atm ..as its a recent build from scratch.
rgds
VS

 

[Low Profile]

dvbsupport (.net) has HD (codec) packs - that I think are free & may be worth checking out.

 

[Vipersan]

dvbsupport (.net) has HD (codec) packs - that I think are free & may be worth checking out.

Cheers LP..
I will take a look ...but so far the codec combination shown above is performing very smoothly ...
I was just hoping to get the cpu usage in HD down a little...but may not be possible as I'm not using a graphics 'card' as such ..
The GPU is an integrated chip on the motherboard.

rgds
VS

 

[strs65]

Hi friends .. Progress of sorts to report.. I ended up buying a second codec for H264 .. I guess its not a huge price really ..but still it all adds up . This time its the CoreAVC 2.5.5 Professional Edition ...cost approx £8... So in totall thats about 20 squid for the softreel (sd) and coreavc (H264 HD) Both appear compatible ...and run without any freezing or stuttering issues. My only worry is the cpu usage in HD ..as I'm not sure if my motherboard integrated HD chipset (M3A78pro - hdmi out) has hardware accelleration for graphics.. Or if it has it and isn't being used .. VS

As a matter of fact your motherboard seems to have an integrated graphics card that does indeed support video hardware accelleration, so theoretically it should work with the latest version of CoreAvc that supports Ati/AMD cards with dxva accelleration.

_http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM2Plus/M3A78_PRO/#specifications

Integrated  ATI Radeon™ HD 3200 GPU 
Supports HDMI™ Technology with max. resolution up to 1920 x 1200 (1080P) 
Supports DVI with max. resolution up to 1600x1200 @60Hz 
Supports D-Sub with max. resolution up to 2560x1440 @ 75Hz  
Hybrid CrossFireX™ Support (For Windows Vista only) 
HDMI/DVI/RGB Support 
Supports Microsoft® DirectX 10, OpenGL 2.0, Pixel Shader 4.0 
Maximum shared memory of 256MB

I'm posting a full pc screen cap to show the currently employed codecs etc ..and BBCHD selected ..and cpu usage (bottom left of dvbdream) but ..remember this is a fairly clean uncluttered os atm ..as its a recent build from scratch.

I think that for some reason (some kind of settings with its enconding) BBCHD is causing more cpu usage than other HD channels, if it is possible try another HD channel.

 

[Vipersan]

As a matter of fact your motherboard seems to have an integrated graphics card that does indeed support video hardware accelleration, so theoretically it should work with the latest version of CoreAvc that supports Ati/AMD cards with dxva accelleration.

_http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM2Plus/M3A78_PRO/#specifications

Integrated  ATI Radeon™ HD 3200 GPU 
Supports HDMI™ Technology with max. resolution up to 1920 x 1200 (1080P) 
Supports DVI with max. resolution up to 1600x1200 @60Hz 
Supports D-Sub with max. resolution up to 2560x1440 @ 75Hz  
Hybrid CrossFireX™ Support (For Windows Vista only) 
HDMI/DVI/RGB Support 
Supports Microsoft® DirectX 10, OpenGL 2.0, Pixel Shader 4.0 
Maximum shared memory of 256MB

I think that for some reason (some kind of settings with its enconding) BBCHD is causing more cpu usage than other HD channels, if it is possible try another HD channel.

Thanks for researching my mainboard Strs...
Been too busy at work till now ..
Left DVBdream running all day ..whilst at work ..
Still working ...no crashes when I got home ..
All HD channels ITV BBC and CH4 HD on 28East ..use about the same cpu in HD mode ..
It may well be the app itself ...dvbdream...oem that is incapable of using acceleration ...
Going to try DVBviewer pro this evening ...so maybe _that_ will allow acceleration mode.
cheers
VS

 

[remlap]

Really tempted by this card now reading it even can tune the really low SR radio stations.

Is this card compatible with DVBViewer yet?

 

[strs65]

Works fine with DVBViewer Pro, but motor (Diseqc 1.2 or USALS) is not yet supported.