[anonymlol]

I noticed a group called EightBit is releasing a lot of other groups subs using 8-bit (h.246 High Profile) video. I'd love to get in touch with them and help out, as I was thinking of making some normal "8bit" encodes with multiple (when applicable) sub tracks (from raws, that is. None of this transcoding 10bit to 8bit sillyness).

I'm still trying to make a wiki page for the brave who want to get an external player working with XBMC, but until I do it myself I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it. If anyone has gotten it to work and wants to share the steps they've taken, feel free to share it here and I'll throw it up on the wiki.

Hi, I'm the one behind [EightBit], I'm only re-encoding the 10bit stuff because xbmc doesn't support it yet. I watch the re-encodes myself, and decided I would share with others who need them. To distinct it from other releases, I tagged them [EightBit] And that's all I do, I'm no expert in encoding and I don't wanna spend too much time with it (if you use other subs, you would have to time them, might turn out to be a lot of hard work).

I use xbmc for mac and tried the external player (mplayer osx extended) and it didn't work for me. After clicking on an episode in xbmc it wouldn't start playing. After a few tries I eventually gave it up and started re-encoding for now.

As for subgroups, doki, ffpeeps, hatsuyuki, shikkaku, gotwoot and horriblesubs (no subgroup, just rippers) and probably some others still release in 8bit. 8bit isn't dead yet. But I hope 10bit makes it into xbmc sooner than later.

[alexrose1uk]

@ned - here's the guide I promised. I can't promise the file links will stay up for ever, but I don't intend or removing the files I uploaded.

**********************
***THE GUIDE*** v2

Necessary Files
1.Download the latest build of DSPlayer from
http://dsplayer.passion-xbmc.org/
Additional links also sometimes provided here:
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=106629
This is the official XBMC with DSPlayer thread which is still running and open, so if you encounter problems, it's one of the best places to go to catch other users or Tiben's attention.

(All credit goes to Tiben and BlinkSeb for creating DSplayer, and 0wing for putting together this unnofficial, Pre-Eden build).

2. Download the latest LAV Filters installer from
http://1f0.de/downloads/.
At the time of writing this, the latest version is 0.43

2a. Download my pre-setup DSPlayer XML files pack (this simplifies the setup process, rather than you having to create/amend the necessary files yourself).
http://www.mediafire.com/?shhv882weatedlo

Initial Setup
3. Install XBMC as though it were the normal build, load it up and setup all your preferences, such as true fullscreen rather than windowed. Once this is done, exit XBMC, do not try to play anything yet.

4. Install the LAV Filters using the LAV installer downloaded previously (ensure you install the x86 version of the LAV files, even if you are using Windows x64, as XBMC/DSPlayer can only use x86 filters)

5. Go to the new LAV Filters start menu option and pick LAV Audio Configuration. Under formats, tick all those you wish to bitstream. You shouldn't have to change anything else, so just click OK once this is done.
6. OPTIONAL STEP if you want to enable CUVID Nvidia hardware decoding or set uniform RGB output values.
Go to LAV Filters in the start menu again and this time pick LAV Video. If you want to enable CUVID video decoding, or RGB output values you can do so here.
-I have some files that don't play nicely decoded by CUVID so I left hardware acceleration set to none

Configuring XBMC to use DSPlayer
- For these steps you will need my DSPlayerfiles pack, which you should have downloaded under step 2a (you can create/edit the files yourself...but this is easier)

7. Navigate to your XBMC Userdata folder
(On Win7 this will usually be C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Roaming\XBMC\userdata)
8.Copy advancedsettings.xml from my pack here. This file will tell XBMC to use DSPlayer instead of DVDPlayer for videos by default.
9. Now create a folder inside Userdata called 'dsplayer'. Put renderersettings.xml from my pack in here.

-This will tell DSPlayer to render subtitles at 1080p, and also to enable subtitle animation. If you screen isn't 1080p, your machine is too slow to fluently render high res subs at the same time as Hi10p, or you don't want animated subs, you can edit the file with notepad to suit your needs, it should be fairly self explanatory

10. Leave your userdata folder behind and go to your XBMC install folder. (Usually this will be C:\Program Files(x86)\XBMC).
Go into the system subfolder, then players and finally into the dsplayer subfolder (XBMC\system\players\dsplayer).

11. Make a backup copy of mediasconfig.xml and filtersconfig.xml incase you ever want to go back to the originals. (ie mediasconfig.bak)
12. Copy the mediasconfig.xml and filtersconfig.xml from my files pack into the folder, replacing the originals.

*************

13. Now load up XBMC, and open a video of your choice. Go to the in-playback video options menu.
14. Change the scaling option to Bicubic or Bilinear, rather than Nearest Neighbour. This will resolve blockiness issues which occasionally catches out people new to the player. Once you have set your chosen option scroll down to the bottom of the video options menu and save this as the default for all videos; this will prevent you having to set this up for each video.
Like with MPC-HC, these scaling options will very slightly affect performance, but can also help make low res video scaled to HD resolutions far more tolerable. For reference I use Bicubic -0.75

14. Enjoy!


This probably sounds loads more complicated than it is, but once you've done it a couple of times it's really easy, especially if you've got the .xml files already setup and just needing copied into the right places

As an aside, if you right click/press C whilst a file is highlighted in XBMC, you should be able to use the 'Play using' option to use DVDPlayer instead of DSPlayer for any files it disagrees with.

**********

Hope this helps!

The default files provided by the XBMC DSPlayer branch specify to use the included mpc-hc video decoder filter, and also to use FFDshow for the audio, which you needed to install seperately.

As the LAV decoders have been a little more reliable for certain filetypes and bitstreaming, and also was one of the first video decoders to incorporate proper Hi10p support; my xml files reconfigure every video type DSPlayer would traditionally play with FFDShow to use the LAV filters instead, simplifying installation for a new user (compared to the V1 files which only did this for MKV)

The official DSPlayer splitter and LAV's splitter also come from the same code base so this is as much a homage to thier work together as anything else, however the LAV Splitter should be slightly more up to date!

LAV Video decoder defaults to multithreaded CPU only decoding, unless you explicitly enable CUVID [ATI equivalent due as a future option].
If you find this is too much for your CPU, you may amend the mediasconfig.xml to use the original default MPC video decoder again which will utilise DXVA, however, I cannot guarantee if this as yet will fully support 10bit h264 out the box.

[Ned Scott]

Hi, I'm the one behind [EightBit], I'm only re-encoding the 10bit stuff because xbmc doesn't support it yet. I watch the re-encodes myself, and decided I would share with others who need them. To distinct it from other releases, I tagged them [EightBit] And that's all I do, I'm no expert in encoding and I don't wanna spend too much time with it (if you use other subs, you would have to time them, might turn out to be a lot of hard work).

I use xbmc for mac and tried the external player (mplayer osx extended) and it didn't work for me. After clicking on an episode in xbmc it wouldn't start playing. After a few tries I eventually gave it up and started re-encoding for now.

As for subgroups, doki, ffpeeps, hatsuyuki, shikkaku, gotwoot and horriblesubs (no subgroup, just rippers) and probably some others still release in 8bit. 8bit isn't dead yet. But I hope 10bit makes it into xbmc sooner than later.

Well even a 10bit to 8bit convert isn't that bad, and a lot of people are thankful that you're putting up those releases! Keep up the good work.

[Ned Scott]

@ned - here's the guide I promised. I can't promise the file links will stay up for ever, but I don't intend or removing the files I uploaded.

Awesome! I'll try getting this on the XBMC wiki today or tomorrow.

[0wing]

@ned - here's the guide I promised. I can't promise the file links will stay up for ever, but I don't intend or removing the files I uploaded.

I don't mean to nitpick, but it's 0wing not Owing .

[InsaneFinn]

@ned - here's the guide I promised. I can't promise the file links will stay up for ever, but I don't intend or removing the files I uploaded.

Great work. Though now i have now one issue. I can't get audio output to work from HDMI and i have switched all audio outputs to HDMI in XBMC including DSplayer. Menu sound are audible through HDMI, but not movie sounds. However, if i put my computers system audio to go through HDMI, then i could get the movie sounds through HDMI as well.

I can use it temporaly, but since i picked XBMC for my media center program especially because i could get HDMI output for this program without switching system audio output and my remote control worked with this (and it looks good too ). I'll try to keep searching the settings myself, but if someone can figure it out, please tell me.

EDIT: I just found out, that it definately has something to do with DSplayer, since i just accidentally found out, that you choose, which player to use by right clicking video file. I tried the DVDPlayer and it outputted audio from HDMI. Naturally the image was rubbish on 10bit video.

[alexrose1uk]

I don't mean to nitpick, but it's 0wing not Owing .

Sorry, I realised that yesterday when sorting and doing some edits on the guide, but looks like I accidentally reverted the typo when I was changing some bits round. Sorry dude!

Great work. Though now i have now one issue. I can't get audio output to work from HDMI and i have switched all audio outputs to HDMI in XBMC including DSplayer. Menu sound are audible through HDMI, but not movie sounds. However, if i put my computers system audio to go through HDMI, then i could get the movie sounds through HDMI as well.

I can use it temporaly, but since i picked XBMC for my media center program especially because i could get HDMI output for this program without switching system audio output and my remote control worked with this (and it looks good too ). I'll try to keep searching the settings myself, but if someone can figure it out, please tell me.

Unfortunately neither LAV or FFDShow, as far as I'm aware, allow the ability to specify which audio output is used, so not sure what to suggest here I'm afraid, if cycling through the DSPlayer specific audio output option doesn't work.

What you could perhaps try doing is going back to the previous Dharma unofficial build of DSPlayer, and see if it works then, just incase its an option that broke with pre-Eden.
http://www.mediafire.com/?ol1s1p923a8e7bh

[InsaneFinn]

if cycling through the DSPlayer specific audio output option doesn't work.

Cycling the outputs didn't work, expect when i tried to use my USB-Headset output (in DSplayers settings), then the XBMC would crash every time when i played video. Other setting just outputted through my computer speakers. But i'll leave it to rest for tonight and do some research on tomorrow.

[jwcalla]

So is there any firm word as to when an ffmpeg update will actually happen? 12.0? 13.0? 20.0?

[InsaneFinn]

What you could perhaps try doing is going back to the previous Dharma unofficial build of DSPlayer, and see if it works then, just incase its an option that broke with pre-Eden.
http://www.mediafire.com/?ol1s1p923a8e7bh

Well, i decided to try this, but no help there. If I'm assuming correctly, then this is indeed DSplayer related and it won't be fixed, since the it's development has ended? I do hope i'm wrong.

If i can't find solution tomorrow, then i'll just make the DVDPlayer as default player and use DSplayer only when watching 10bit material.

[Yappa]

So is there any firm word as to when an ffmpeg update will actually happen? 12.0? 13.0? 20.0?

Well, I had hoped that it'll start appearing in one of the nightlies a few weeks/months after Eden has been released. Of course it would be nice to know if the team has any idea when that might be. I doubt that reencodes will last until the end of 2012.
Of course, if most "scene groups" also started releasing in 10-bit only, then the wait probably wouldn't be that long, I guess.

[Ned Scott]

So is there any firm word as to when an ffmpeg update will actually happen? 12.0? 13.0? 20.0?

Next release after Eden. I don't know if that means 12 or 11.5 or 11.1 or however the devs want to do it, but it is something they are planning for.

[Ned Scott]

...I doubt that reencodes will last until the end of 2012...

I doubt 10bit exclusive releases will last until the end of 2012. The trend is not more CPU power, but rather more task-specific devices (netbooks, tablets, etc). Sub groups don't get this yet, but they will. The actual computer industry and market decide these things, not people who call themselves "encoders". There are no consumer hardware decoders for Hi10P on the horizon, so anyone who wants video to work on the majority of devices that play video will have to support consumer standards for a long time to come.

[Oral-B]

I doubt 10bit exclusive releases will last until the end of 2012. The trend is not more CPU power, but rather more task-specific devices (netbooks, tablets, etc). Sub groups don't get this yet, but they will. The actual computer industry and market decide these things, not people who call themselves "encoders". There are no consumer hardware decoders for Hi10P on the horizon, so anyone who wants video to work on the majority of devices that play video will have to support consumer standards for a long time to come.

Sure hope you're right.

[jwcalla]

I doubt 10bit exclusive releases will last until the end of 2012. The trend is not more CPU power, but rather more task-specific devices (netbooks, tablets, etc). Sub groups don't get this yet, but they will. The actual computer industry and market decide these things, not people who call themselves "encoders". There are no consumer hardware decoders for Hi10P on the horizon, so anyone who wants video to work on the majority of devices that play video will have to support consumer standards for a long time to come.

Pree-cise-lee. If I wanted to take my Android over to a friend's house, plug it into his TV and play an anime, I'm good to go thanks to the GPU. Try playing a 10-bit file, and it's a no-go.

And you're right -- the industry is moving more and more heavy software tasks onto the CPU / GPU. Video decoding, virtualization, and now encryption are all hardware accelerated, which is significantly more efficient.

Unfortunately it seems many of these encoders don't really care about whether or not people can play their files. As long as it plays on their laptops using CCCP, that's all that should matter... and that's how everyone else should watch too.