[jotka]

XBMC is very good piece of software: quick navigation, a lot of cool features. But... Video quality from XBMC is awful in comparison to properly configured FFDSHOW on my kuro display.

Why development team is so resistant to include support for external codecs? Code portability ? LOL. In HTPC software, the picture quality is the most important issue!

i'll wait then...

regards,
Jarek

[nu1mlock]

Why don't you just use FFDSHOW and stop complaining then. It feels like we've been over this a million times. If you want more information about it, just use the search-feature.

[mrkrad]

no the ability to start playing your videos as soon as the ftp starts downloading is paramount.

[Louike]

I have to agree on this one, CoreAVC decodes way better with a fraction of the resources.

There wil be no directshow for linux or apple so improvement of the existing playback software or a new feature to select an external codec of choice is what we can hope for.

[WiSo]

People please don't complain if you don't know what's behind.
We're not against everything and we discussed also the codec things but this has lower priority as our time is limited.
Starting an external player might not be that difficult (but you won't have the same navigation experience) but implement it in XBMC is a total different thing.
We currently run in OpenGL and if we want to switch to directx we have to completely redesign the graphic subsystem. It's not possible (afaik) to switch only for the video renderer to directx.
Also all improvements to the existing renderer which would have more attention due to more developers won't go directly to the directx version as this won't fit anymore.

[spiff]

IF you had any idea what ffdshow was, you'd hide in a corner in shame right now.

[americantabloid]

Could we please have a sticky with this information in the Windows subforum, eg why OpenGL is used and perhaps the reasoning behind the decision.

So we refer this questions to the sticky instead of making new threads every week.

Thanks
at

[jotka]

what ffdshow was

I have an idea what FFDSHOW IS now...

[midgetspy]

Starting an external player might not be that difficult (but you won't have the same navigation experience) but implement it in XBMC is a total different thing.

Has this ever been discussed as a potential future feature? Perhaps an option to launch an external player could be made available for those having trouble with XBMC playback for whatever reason. XBMC does have a really amazing GUI engine and feature-set but playback quality seems to be a constant concern.

[konfoo]

Has this ever been discussed as a potential future feature? Perhaps an option to launch an external player could be made available for those having trouble with XBMC playback for whatever reason. XBMC does have a really amazing GUI engine and feature-set but playback quality seems to be a constant concern.

Did you do a search before replying? I already implemented this -- LaunchPlayer.

[ashlar]

Has this ever been discussed as a potential future feature? Perhaps an option to launch an external player could be made available for those having trouble with XBMC playback for whatever reason. XBMC does have a really amazing GUI engine and feature-set but playback quality seems to be a constant concern.

Ok, yesterday I refrained in a "don't feed the troll" attempt (not talking about you midgetspy) but still... I am *unhappy* about the playback performance of XBMC today. I am unhappy and frustrated, 'cause the interface is so far above anything else that it's painful not being able to use it.

But I have to be honest and recognize that this software is still in beta form, that it is a beta for the first release ever of XBMC in a multiplatform environment, which is far more ambitious than anything anybody else in this field is trying to do (yeah, VLC... but it's just a player).

Considering all the pleasure the team has given us for free in all these years, I feel that threads like these are not very generous toward them.

Let's wait the first release, let's wait some point releases after that. If stuff doesn't get better, then maybe we'd have serious reason for discontent (even though, at the end of the day, we ain't paying a dime). Today is soon, really too soon.

Now... how tough it is to wait? A lot, believe me, I know.

[nugentgl]

People please don't complain if you don't know what's behind.
We're not against everything and we discussed also the codec things but this has lower priority as our time is limited.
Starting an external player might not be that difficult (but you won't have the same navigation experience) but implement it in XBMC is a total different thing.
We currently run in OpenGL and if we want to switch to directx we have to completely redesign the graphic subsystem. It's not possible (afaik) to switch only for the video renderer to directx.
Also all improvements to the existing renderer which would have more attention due to more developers won't go directly to the directx version as this won't fit anymore.

OK, I am not very smart (admittedly) so does CoreAVC use directx and that is the reason it can't be utilized?

[Louike]

The latest SVN has improved playback, made my day.

[spiff]

coreavc is a closed directshow codec.

ffdshow is basically a dshow wrapper for ffmpeg, the library which both xbmc and vlc uses for most of its video playback.

[ashlar]

ffdshow is basically a dshow wrapper for ffmpeg, the library which both xbmc and vlc uses for most of its video playback.

Yes, but xbmc currently exposes a fraction of the possibilities that ffdshow is very upfront in displaying in its control panel.

Plus... would the current implementation allow for AviSynth scripting? I'd say no, as it is just a Windows thing (AFAIK), but I might be wrong.


I don't particularly care for the two things, as going toward HD I feel that postprocessing becomes more and more irrelevant, just trying to understand what the original poster was so keen about.