Which video decoder(s) should I use in KMPlayer?

[Elliot B.]

I mainly play DVDs and 720p HD-sourced MKVs fullscreened to 1680x1050. What video decoder(s) offer the best quality?

[x9248]

I use Cyberlink for DVD's and CoreAVC for mkv's. Neither are free /wink

KMP's internal codecs are pretty decent tho, but these are better in terms of CPU performance.

[mancode20]

I have a similar question. Is there anyway to use CoreAVC for just .mkv files inside of Media Center and still be able to use subtitles for those files? Cuz unless there is another way to do it, the only way I know of is to use FFDShow for both. CoreAVC is a lot faster when fast forwarding in Media Center, but then I lose the ability to use subtitles. Is what I want possible? Running XP Media Center.

[Elliot B.]

I use Cyberlink for DVD's and CoreAVC for mkv's. Neither are free /wink

KMP's internal codecs are pretty decent tho, but these are better in terms of CPU performance.

I am using CoreAVC in KMPlayer, but the performance is choppy. I have enabled CUDA support. Any ideas?

[x9248]

I have a similar question. Is there anyway to use CoreAVC for just .mkv files inside of Media Center and still be able to use subtitles for those files? Cuz unless there is another way to do it, the only way I know of is to use FFDShow for both. CoreAVC is a lot faster when fast forwarding in Media Center, but then I lose the ability to use subtitles. Is what I want possible? Running XP Media Center.

I know nothing about Media Center, but I don't see why a video decoder determines subtitle rendering... strange :p

I am using CoreAVC in KMPlayer, but the performance is choppy. I have enabled CUDA support. Any ideas?

Play a video in KMP, hit Ctrl+tab while playing and copy+paste the info you get here.

[Elliot B.]

Play a video in KMP, hit Ctrl+tab while playing and copy+paste the info you get here.

[Primary Filtergraph]
0) - KMP Matroska Reader
1) - KMP Audio Codec
2) - CoreAVC Video Decoder
3) - KMP Audio Transform(Copy)
4) - Video Mixing Renderer9(Windowed)
5) - Default DirectSound Device

[Video Info]
Decoder - (MPEG2) CoreAVC Video Decoder
Format - Major Type: Video - Sub Type: YV12
VideoInfo2: YV12 1536X-720, 12 bits

[Audio Info]
Decoder - (0x8) KMP Audio Codec(DTS(Digital Theater Systems)-LibDTS.dll)
Format - Major Type: Audio - Sub Type: PCM
WaveFormatEx: PCM(0x1), 48000 Hz, 16 Bits, 2 Ch

[Basic Video DSP]
Internal brightness: 100%

[Advanced Video DSP]
+Video Plugin

[Audio DSP]
+Pre amplification: Main: (100%)
+Auto Volume Control
+Audio Plugin

[Subtitle Settings]
+Draw Mode(Selected): Image
+Draw Mode(In use): On Overlay
+Text Rendering Method: Rasterizer
+Support HTML Tags(SMI)

[KMPlayer]
+Version: 2.9.4.1433(6,369,792, 15/10/2008 6:30:38 AM)
+libcodec.dll: Exist(4,225,536, 11/07/2008 5:59:56 AM)
+libmplay.dll: Exist(431,616, 14/07/2008 2:31:44 AM)
+PProcDLL.dll: Exist(1,769,472, 25/02/2008 6:07:04 AM)
+LibDTS.dll: Exist(144,384, 25/02/2008 6:06:28 AM)
+liba52.dll: Exist(41,472, 08/07/2008 10:09:42 AM)
+libfaad2.dll: Exist(287,744, 08/07/2008 10:07:22 AM)
+libmad.dll: Exist(88,064, 08/07/2008 10:10:06 AM)
+libmpeg2.dll: Exist(116,224, 08/07/2008 10:10:20 AM)
+theora.dll: Exist(152,576, 08/07/2008 10:10:44 AM)
+OggVorbis.dll: Exist(1,165,312, 25/02/2008 6:07:00 AM)
+xviddll.dll: Exist(678,400, 08/07/2008 10:15:36 AM)
+Old_QUARTZ.DLL: Exist(770,048, 25/02/2008 6:07:00 AM)
+AboutDll.dll: Exist(105,472, 03/10/2005 5:12:18 AM)
+DTView.dll: Exist(104,448, 25/02/2008 6:04:36 AM)
+MPlayer.dll: Missed
+ImLoader.dll: Exist(856,064, 25/02/2008 6:05:22 AM)


--------------------
[File Info]
--------------------
K:\---\---.mkv
  General
	Complete name : K:\---\---.mkv
	Format : Matroska
	File size : 4.37 GiB
	Duration : 1h 36mn
	Overall bit rate : 6 478 Kbps
	Encoded date : UTC 2009-10-21 23:59:45
	Writing application : mkvmerge v2.9.8 ('C'est le bon') built on Aug 21 2009 13:21:42
	Writing library : libebml v0.7.7 + libmatroska v0.8.1
  Video #1
	Format : AVC
	Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
	Format profile : [email protected]
	Format settings, CABAC : Yes
	Format settings, ReFrames : 5 frames
	Muxing mode : Container [email protected]
	Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
	Duration : 1h 36mn
	Bit rate : 4 677 Kbps
	Nominal bit rate : 4 967 Kbps
	Width : 1 280 pixels
	Height : 720 pixels
	Display aspect ratio : 16/9
	Frame rate : 23.976 fps
	Resolution : 24 bits
	Colorimetry : 4:2:0
	Scan type : Progressive
	Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.225
	Writing library : x264 core 77 r1292 e381f6d
	Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=umh / subme=7 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.0:0.2 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / chroma_qp_offset=-3 / threads=6 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=0 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / wpredb=1 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / rc_lookahead=40 / rc=2pass / mbtree=1 / bitrate=4967 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
	Language : English
  Audio #2
	Format : DTS
	Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
	Codec ID : A_DTS
	Duration : 1h 36mn
	Bit rate mode : Constant
	Bit rate : 1 536 Kbps
	Channel(s) : 6 channels
	Channel positions : Front: L C R, Surround: L R, LFE
	Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
	Resolution : 24 bits
	Language : English
  Chapters
	Language : English
	1 : 00:00:00.000 00:00:00.000
	2 : 00:02:39.409 00:02:39.409
	3 : 00:07:14.184 00:07:14.184
	4 : 00:11:37.488 00:11:37.488
	5 : 00:13:33.479 00:13:33.479
	6 : 00:15:22.088 00:15:22.088
	7 : 00:17:35.888 00:17:35.888
	8 : 00:20:25.140 00:20:25.140
	9 : 00:24:31.303 00:24:31.303
	10 : 00:26:23.790 00:26:23.790
	11 : 00:28:02.556 00:28:02.556
	12 : 00:29:40.237 00:29:40.237
	13 : 00:33:20.165 00:33:20.165
	14 : 00:34:20.391 00:34:20.391
	15 : 00:35:14.487 00:35:14.487
	16 : 00:39:49.512 00:39:49.512
	17 : 00:42:34.844 00:42:34.844
	18 : 00:44:41.178 00:44:41.178
	19 : 00:46:17.233 00:46:17.233
	20 : 00:49:19.123 00:49:19.123
	21 : 00:52:20.929 00:52:20.929
	22 : 00:55:23.987 00:55:23.987
	23 : 01:00:33.546 01:00:33.546
	24 : 01:04:19.188 01:04:19.188
	25 : 01:06:14.303 01:06:14.303
	26 : 01:08:58.009 01:08:58.009
	27 : 01:10:20.716 01:10:20.716
	28 : 01:13:35.327 01:13:35.327
	29 : 01:15:24.353 01:15:24.353
	30 : 01:17:52.751 01:17:52.751
	31 : 01:19:45.864 01:19:45.864
	32 : 01:21:53.867 01:21:53.867
	33 : 01:23:23.290 01:23:23.290
	34 : 01:26:02.657 01:26:02.657
	35 : 01:29:02.420 01:29:02.420


--------------------
[System Info]
--------------------
CPU 0: 2666MHz, Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU	 E6750  @ 2.66GHz, Intel64 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 11
CPU 1: 2666MHz, Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU	 E6750  @ 2.66GHz, Intel64 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 11
OS: Windows NT Professional(Version 6.1 Build 7600) 
Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260

DirectX: 9.0c(4.09.00.0904)
Memory: All: 4,192,760 KB, Available: 2,584,124 KB, Used: 38%
CodePage: 1252, Charset:1
Instruction: MMX MMX2 SSE SSE2 SSE3 64Bits 

[System Process]
System
smss.exe
csrss.exe
wininit.exe
csrss.exe
services.exe
lsass.exe
lsm.exe
svchost.exe
winlogon.exe
nvvsvc.exe
svchost.exe
MsMpEng.exe
svchost.exe
svchost.exe
svchost.exe
svchost.exe
svchost.exe
nvvsvc.exe
spoolsv.exe
svchost.exe
AppleMobileDeviceService.exe
mDNSResponder.exe
svchost.exe
LVPrcSrv.exe
nTuneService.exe
LVPrS64H.exe
PnkBstrA.exe
PsiService_2.exe
nvSCPAPISvr.exe
svchost.exe
TunerFreeMCEService.exe
UpdateCenterService.exe
WLIDSVC.EXE
SearchIndexer.exe
WUDFHost.exe
svchost.exe
WLIDSVCM.EXE
taskhost.exe
dwm.exe
explorer.exe
msseces.exe
SetPoint.exe
SetPoint32.exe
KHALMNPR.exe
svchost.exe
dllhost.exe
msnmsgr.exe
wlcomm.exe
taskhost.exe
audiodg.exe
isoburn.exe
iexplore.exe
iexplore.exe
WMIADAP.exe
WmiPrvSE.exe
KMPlayer.exe
firefox.exe

[x9248]

KMP Matroska Reader has many many bugs, I would not recommend using it. Install Haali, then go to Preferences > Source Filter > The Rest (tab) > checkmark Matroska at the top.

I would also change Video Mixing Renderer9(Windowed) to something like VMR9(Renderless), or EVR since you are on WIN7. I don't know anything about CUDA, but I know my ATI won't use hardware acceleration on VMR9 but only EVR in Vista. Preferences > Video Processing > Renderer (tab).

You processor is good enough that CUDA isn't even necessary, so try it with and without it to see if the choppiness goes away. I have a weaker E4600 and it plays flawlessly any 1080p h264 without DXVA.