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Topic: Which ffdshow build to use? (Read 4899 times) previous topic - next topic
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Which ffdshow build to use?

Hi,

I am using ffdshow for most of my video playback. However, I am not quite sure which build to use. I normally download from Free-Codecs.com. They have three versions available:

FFDShow MPEG-4 Video Decoder
FFDShow MPEG-4 Video Decoder MMX
FFDShow MPEG-4 Video Decoder SSE 
 
I know that MMX and SSE has to do with processor specs, but I do not know which one I should use. My processor is an Intel Core Duo running on a laptop. The one without MMX or SSE gets updated more often than the others it sems, so I have been using that, but would like to know if any of the others would be better.

//C

Which ffdshow build to use?

Reply #1 –
Don't get me started with ffdshow versions... there's loads of different versions around, some run more stable and some less, and you never know which one to choose. It constantly gets updated, but to me it seems that there's no authority that deems certain versions stable, working towards milestones and keeping clear priorities.

I'm not a big fan of ffdshow itself either, mainly because i think that the configuration is utterly unorganized and cluttered, bordering on chaotic. You can find a plethora of unnecessary switches, sometimes marked "use XY's method" (with no further explanations), and you basically have to do extensive testing on your own as to what looks good with certain material. I mean, having such a mighty filter can be useful, but you can't forever add new features, you also have to think about how you make them manageable. I don't think that's a big enough priority at ffdshow.

I can only tell you that the SSE version should be the right one for your CPU, but i can't tell you which one of the many different compiles you should get. I personally use 3 or 4 seperate external filters in conjunction with the ones integrated in Media Player Classic, and i don't miss ffdshow, which i used for a long time before.

Which ffdshow build to use?

Reply #2 –
Quote from: CiTay on
Don't get me started with ffdshow versions... there's loads of different versions around, some run more stable and some less, and you never know which one to choose. It constantly gets updated, but to me it seems that there's no authority that deems certain versions stable, working towards milestones and keeping clear priorities.

I'm not a big fan of ffdshow itself either, mainly because i think that the configuration is utterly unorganized and cluttered, bordering on chaotic. You can find a plethora of unnecessary switches, sometimes marked "use XY's method" (with no further explanations), and you basically have to do extensive testing on your own as to what looks good with certain material. I mean, having such a mighty filter can be useful, but you can't forever add new features, you also have to think about how you make them manageable. I don't think that's a big enough priority at ffdshow.

I can only tell you that the SSE version should be the right one for your CPU, but i can't tell you which one of the many different compiles you should get. I personally use 3 or 4 seperate external filters in conjunction with the ones integrated in Media Player Classic, and i don't miss ffdshow, which i used for a long time before.


Thank you for you advice. Could I ask you which filters I would have to get that would cover what ffdshow is capable of? What I do us watching avi’s/xvid/divx and some mpg movies. I also encode som xvid using Virtualdub for instance to embed sub titels into movies, resize hd movies to ntsc etc.

I also find ffsdhow to be confusing, especially with regards to builds, so it would be great if I could replace it with something that works and does exactly what I need and nothing more. However, I do not want to install one of these enormous codec packs that does everything and then some.

Which ffdshow build to use?

Reply #3 –
Okay, so here's what i use, all in conjunction with MPC:

For DVDs i use NVIDIA PureVideo Decoder which can utilize the hardware decoding features of my Geforce 7600 GT. Note that in the MPC options under "Internal Filters", i unchecked MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video on the right.

For DivX/XviD i use the good old DivX decoder. I had some problems with the 6.x decoder, that's why i stick to this older version, which has nice quality and the film mode (which i set to the second notch), with full post-processing. This film mode is basically the only reason that i don't use the otherwise equally good XviD decoder.

For H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, i use CoreAVC.

For the different containers, i use Haali Media Splitter, also called MatroskaSplitter.

I'm not saying it's the best or most versatile solution, but i did extensive testing concerning video quality of different decoders, and i'm quite satisfied with this.

Which ffdshow build to use?

Reply #4 –
I agree that it's frustrating not to have had some sort of stable milestone release, though http://downloads.sourceforge.net/ffdshow-t...61211_clsid.exe is a good (if not SSE-optimised) start. http://ffdshow-tryout.sourceforge.net/html/en/faq.htm shows a limited comparison of compiles from different compilers and for different instruction sets, and show that with some filters, ICL9 + SSE is the winner.

Personally I use clsid's SSE builds from http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=173941 , which are updated weekly or so instead of nightly.

Which ffdshow build to use?

Reply #5 –
Bah, don't listen to CiTay. He is the only nerd on the planet that doesn't use ffdshow.

It's the best video decoder, hands down. You don't need to configure anything if you don't want to. It works right away. But if you want to configure it, it offers a plethora of very useful filters.

For DivX/Xvid you can even use the old build from the ffdshow site. I just get a build from Free-codecs or Afterdawn. Never had any problems with standard mpeg-4 ASP decoding. AVC is also stable now, afaik. But I use CoreAVC for that.

So, just get ffdshow. It's so much better than anything else.
 

Which ffdshow build to use?

Reply #6 –
If you didn't follow, my friend, i used ffdshow for a long time before. I just found something which works better for me. I don't need hours of image quality comparisons to find the best post processing config in ffdshow, i did my comparisons and came to these conclusions:

1) DivX full PP and light Film Mode gives the best DivX/XviD decoding results for me
2) PureVideo Decoder filter (or a recent PowerDVD/WinDVD with HW decoding that uses PureVideo features) gives the best MPEG-2 results (this is objective if you own at least a Geforce 6, example where they didn't even used the purevideo noise/sharpen modes)

As you alluded to, AVC playback in ffdshow can be sketchy, so what do you need it for? MPEG-1? Bad quality anyway, MPC internal filter is fine. MPEG-2? PureVideo beats it. DivX/XviD? Can't get much better quality out of that than with the standard filters. What remains is an overcrowded software full of filters you will never use and switches whose sense will forever escape you.