[CAaronL]

I am building a Windows 7-based XBMC HTPC for a family member. I spent so much time on the automation processes (Sickbeard, etc.) and building an initial video library, that I never got around to actually playing a video with XBMC.

It turns out that I can't play a single video. I've tried SD XviD and 720p x264 MKV. The video stutters so badly that it is completely unwatchable. I've used XBMC with lots of different video hardware, in both Windows and Linux, and I've never had an issue like this one. Usually, XBMC just "works," when it comes to playing video.

The GPU (AMD Radeon HD 6310) is integrated into a proprietary HP motherboard.

DirectX is up to date, and I'm currently using the default Microsoft-signed video drivers that Windows Update recommends and installs. I've also tried using the latest driver directly from AMD, and I get the same awful video playback no matter which driver I am using.

I've tried DXVA output in XBMC, as well as Pixel Shaders and Automatic. I've even turned off hardware acceleration altogether. No matter what, the playback is exactly the same, and very bad.

Can anyone suggest some possible solutions, or anything to try? I combed these forums for info about other people's experience with other AMD Radeon cards of this same ilk, and it seems that no one has any problem with flawless 1080p video. What could be the culprit? I'm building this system as a gift, and I'm running out of time to get it working!

[KraziJoe]

WASAPI AMD HDMI, use that as your audio.

http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Aud...gure_audio

[CAaronL]

Wow, thank you so much. When I was skimming through articles about AMD Video + XBMC, I did see some references to AMD HD Audio, etc., but I guess I didn't read carefully enough to see that the problem with video could be related to the audio driver being used. In fact, I don't even have any speakers or anything hooked up to this box yet, because I just wasn't concerned about audio at this point.

Thanks for pointing me in what might very well be the right direction. I actually resorted to a fresh OS install, thinking that perhaps I had some drivers that got hopelessly borked, so I have to set everything up again. I did indeed have the Realtek HD Audio driver installed, though, so this time I'll see if I can get an AMD Audio driver working. This board doesn't have HDMI audio output, though -- it's all analog, and the video output will be HDMI via DVI (adapter).

[CAaronL]

Do you have a link where I can download the AMD HD Audio Driver, which apparently coexists with the AMD Radeon video driver better than the generic Realtek drivers I had been using? I've found some references online to the fact that they are supposedly included with the AMD Catalyst Installer, but I don't get an option to install an audio driver when I use the latest Catalyst.

[p750mmx]

The best driver release for the HD 6310 is 12.8/12.10 imho. De HD audio driver is available in the extracted directory, after you defined a place to extract the setup package (during installing), but in most cases it installs automatic.

[CAaronL]

Everything is working now; problem solved. Thanks you guys.