HD video files stop/start - what is the bottle neck?

Izi · 21 Feb 2009 at 23:38

OK, system is as follows:

intel pentium 4 540
2gb ddr 2 ram
250gb SATA raid 1
Old PCI geforce 6200

Whilst watching HD video on this machine it can stop start / judder whilst trying to decode the video. The CPU is around 30% when watching a HD video - does this mean its something else?

PCDave · 21 Feb 2009 at 23:43

1080 or 720? how bigs the screen? my old 8600gt struggled with 1080 but could just about play 720

Chris1712 · 21 Feb 2009 at 23:47

H.264 or x.264? 720 or 1080? mkv or wmv or bluray disc?

Could be a billion things mate. The processor is up to the job of 720p imo, would struggle with 1080 though.

Izi · 21 Feb 2009 at 23:51

720p.HDDVD.x264-ESiR.mkv

my laptop can play them no problem spec:

Core 2 Duo 2GHz
2gb Ram
8400M GT graphics

Izi · 21 Feb 2009 at 23:54

its on a 32inch screen 1366x768 res.

muon · 22 Feb 2009 at 00:00

-Google coreavc codecs. Most efficient hi-def codec I've come across. Slightly worse picture quality when compared with ffdshow which the raw image.

-Turn hyperthreading off which will mean an single threaded apps can make full use of the processor. but be warned that pentium 4 performs less efficiently for program which can utilise 2 threads.

Izi · 22 Feb 2009 at 00:05

ghost101 said:
-Google coreavc codecs. Most efficient hi-def codec I've come across. Slightly worse picture quality when compared with ffdshow which the raw image.

-Turn hyperthreading off which will mean an single threaded apps can make full use of the processor. but be warned that pentium 4 performs less efficiently for program which can utilise 2 threads.

thanks for this...

what would you all suggest the bottle neck be? I assume it must be the old GFX card?

trying to decided if I shoul just get a 4830 (i can get one for £70)

Katoom · 22 Feb 2009 at 00:07

GFX card? I had an ATI 2400 for ages, was fine until i tried it at 1080p with my new TV.
Bought a 3650, no stuttering.

Memphis · 22 Feb 2009 at 00:30

The PCI graphics card will be killing HD playback, be it 720P or 1080P. You'll need to change that if you want decent playback.

muon · 22 Feb 2009 at 01:09

The graphics card will be irrelevant since you are using the CPU to decode the x264 video. As long as it can display the resolution it should be fine. For example, a PC I used to have which was a pentium 4 with onboard intel graphics could run 720p video absolutely fine.

The pentium 540 is good enough for 720p video without resorting to offloading decoding to the gpu. Even then you have to use MPC to get any x264 acceleration.

muon · 22 Feb 2009 at 01:16

Katoom said:
GFX card? I had an ATI 2400 for ages, was fine until i tried it at 1080p with my new TV.
Bought a 3650, no stuttering.

Makes no sense since both have UVD. The problem was either a faulty graphics card or something else which got corrected in the process of installing a new graphics card.

Makes even less sense if you arent using software which supports gpu acceleration.

Izi · 22 Feb 2009 at 01:36

hmmm so my set up shoult be fine as it is?

i am doing to buy new gfx card tomorrow and see if that helps anyway.

Chris1712 · 22 Feb 2009 at 03:10

thought said:
hmmm so my set up shoult be fine as it is?

i am doing to buy new gfx card tomorrow and see if that helps anyway.

You need more cpu efficient codecs, this is what coreavc is. Getting a better gfx card will make no difference whatsoever to x264 playback. UVD And whatever nvidias equivalent is only kicks in on h264 content (bluray/hd-dvd discs) or x264 content encoded to strict standards to include DXVA, few HD releases are done to this standard and the ones that are (Uber high bitrate 1080p stuff) your cpu wont be able to handle anyway.