Posts: 76
Joined: Dec 2009
Reputation:
0
I'm running Kodi v17.0 beta 3 under Windows 10 64-bit, with SSD.
I get stuttering when I try to play 4K HEVC videos (24p).
What's the minimum I need to do to achieve smooth playback?
Is there any chance a future software update will allow my system to play back smooth 4K 24p 10-bit HEVC?
Posts: 403
Joined: Mar 2015
Reputation:
3
I believe you would need a GTX 960 (at least from the Geforce 9xx series) to 10bit decode, then you would need to check if one of the outputs can drive 4k (or UHD) at 24p.
Posts: 654
Joined: May 2010
Reputation:
28
I have had the same issue. 10bit playback was not possible with my system. As Kodi 17 ist a 32bit solution, it's not so powerful during decoding like 64bit solutions. That's why some other players (MPC-HC) are able to play the files on the same system.
If you want smooth playback you need a GPU with full HW support of decoding HEVC 10 bit. The cheapest solution i know is a GTX950. The GTX 970 is more a gaming GPU because of lacking full HW support of HEVC.
To benchmark your system you can try DXVA Checker and test both 32/64bit decoding.
Posts: 4
Joined: Oct 2016
Reputation:
0
A good solution if you just want hardware decoding and do not play games is the AMD RX-460 pick it up for around £100.00.
Posts: 76
Joined: Dec 2009
Reputation:
0
Unfortunately I occasionally play games too and the 960 is half the speed of the 970 in 3D performance so that's not a good option for me.
What about the new GTX 1070? Does that have 10-bit HEVC hardware decoding and does Kodi support that?
I will give MPC-HC a try too, I don't mind using an external player with Kodi.
If all else fails I may just have to bite the bullet and upgrade motherboard+CPU+RAM.
Posts: 76
Joined: Dec 2009
Reputation:
0
Oh yeah, damn Nvidia put the feature in the 950/960 but not the higher-end 970. Argh!
Posts: 654
Joined: May 2010
Reputation:
28
Kodi 17 supports DXVA2 but the necessary api functions need to be implemented in the driver of your GPU. In my case i own a GTX950 but i never was able to get HEVC to play with Windows 7. No matter which driver i used.
I switched to Windows 10 64bit and Kodi 17 is working fine with HEVC 10bit. I'm able to play the tesfile with HEVC 10bit 400MBit/s
I read you use Windows 10 64bit and Kodi 17. So if NVDIA didn't messed up the driver (and i guess no) the GPUs will work fine.
Posts: 2,510
Joined: Dec 2012
Reputation:
216
I have a GTX 960.
It hardware decodes every HEVC 10/12 bit I've ever thrown at it and does not depend on any CPU additional help.
It is silent during playback.
The fans spin so slow when they do engage that you can't hear anything.
I can't comment on it's gaming abilities. I don't game.
This is for HTPC usage only and fits all my needs perfectly.
I know they are less expensive than GTX 10XX models and doubt you'd gain anything in an HTPC environment.
As was written, higher GTX 9XX models do not dedicate HEVC to hardware and was the sole reason I purchased this particular one recently.
I actually bought 2 so I would have a backup or something for another build in the future.