Windows 7: Choppy video in Media Center but not MPC

Hello,

Was wondering if anybody else had the problem I'm having. Just bought Acer x1200 miniPC. Here are the specs

Athlon 4850e 64x2
3GB ram
320Gb HD
Came with HDMI built onto MB (Nvidia Geforce 8200) opted to go with PCI-E ATI Raddeon 4550 with HDMI because Nvidia would not scale to fit screen.
Running Windows 7 Build 7264 32-bit

The problem I am having is I have alot of HD movies in mkv format and pretty much all of them play except for the higher bitrate 1080p movies.
They will play fine in MPC but will become pixelated and choppy when playing in Windows Media Player or Media Center. I like the media center because its easier for me to search and play movies with the remote.

I have tried the Shark codec pack, I tried VLC and also PowerDVD. What's wierd is that in order for it to work in MPC I had to use and older version of K-lite codec pack. If I use a recent pack (like from the last couple of months) then it will also be pixelated in MPC.

Any help would be appreciated.

I know a long time ago I had problems with codecs, I think somewhere you can change the priority but I don't remember how all that works I've never had problems since.

what codec pack are you running?

I am running the Windows 7 codec pack, i usually just download something from digital digest and see which packs from there i like most, then i'll just save it on my hdd and keep using that untill it craps out and i need to find a new one =p i used xp stuff way into vista and i've used vista codec packs for a lot of the beta on here. digital-digest one of the best sites

The best bet, imo, is to check into www.cccp-project.net/beta . This however doesn't solve the WMP issue as CCCP uses MPC-HC.

I also tried out Shark's pack, and it made video playback in WMP horrible. Possibly try installing the newest beta of Haali's splitter, http://haali.net/mkv/mkx.y.9.exe
It is an un-announced beta but it allows WMP to use it's own codecs which actually seem to work pretty well (WMP12 has HD codecs built in, it just can't split the MKV file). That way you can use WMP12 or MC and have the functionality you like

Hi jez1, sorry for the late reply and welcome to the forums. I would say that in my experience the Shark007 codecs work best for me

Have you tried installing the latest drivers for your GFX card? A lot of hardware manufacturers are finally waking up to Windows 7 and producing drivers for it (and added support)

Might be worth a try to see if there are updated drivers for you

Thanks to everyone for their input.

I have tried installing the latest drivers for my ATI card, however installing the Catalyst slows up the picture.

I also tried the Shark codecs but still has issue playing higher bitrate 1080p mkv files.

For now I am sticking with an older version of K-lite codec pack which was dated like 12-2008. If I go any with any later versions then I start getting the pixelation in the higher bitrate 1080p mkvs

Well its either the driver (maybe needs newer or correct, or a bad codec (uninstall all of them). What ver driver, what codec etc?

Ken

I'd have to say it is a codec issue if using an older version of the codec pack gives better results. I say this because I'm assuming the system is simply ignoring some of the codecs from the pack. MKV itself is not a codec, it is only a container that holds all of the data inside together. For 1080p playback the most commonly used codec would be h264 which WMP12 already has a very good codec built in for. All it needs is a way to see inside the container. I still recommend un-installing all the codec packs and trying the link to Haali I gave up above. That will screw with as little of your system as possible, which cannot be said about k-lite at all, and also allow WMP to use the codec which was written specifically for it.