How To Play HD Video On a Netbook 205
Barence writes with some news to interest those with netbooks running Windows: "Netbooks aren't famed for their high-definition video playing prowess, but if you've got about $10 and a few minutes going spare, there is a way to enjoy high-definition trailers and videos on your Atom-powered portable. You need three things: a copy of Media Player Classic Home Cinema, CoreCodec's CoreAVC codec, and some HD videos encoded in AVC or h.264 formats. This blog takes you through the process."
And? (Score:3, Informative)
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There are also laptop upgrade cards that you can get that work as external video decode cards (like the old days of 3D).
Given how truely pathetic an Atom CPU really is, I kind of doubt that even CoreAVC can let it play HD video.
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I wouldn't say the atom is pathetic...it solves a certian problem reasonably well.
It's a little slower then your white hot core 2 whatever, but it serves it's purpose as a low-power x86 compatable processor. Beats the crap out of a pentium or celeron running at the same clock.
That's not to say an arm or similar might not solve the problem better...
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> just give up and get an iPad! ...assuming an iPad is any less limited when it comes to h264 than an iphone is.
OTOH, I have personally verified that an ION machine can play a BD rip or an HD-PVR recording.
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If you're playing HD MKV files on Windows 7 just install DivX for Windows. It includes a media foundation component that lets Windows Media Player read the MKV file then decode it using DXVA. If you don't want to install the whole DivX bundle you can even get the component standalone from DivX Labs [divx.com].
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DXVA is not a format, it is a method of video acceleration, and recent netbook adapters accelerate H.264.
Side: I've been watching H.264 HD MKV videos on a netbook since last September with this ;)
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Re:And? (Score:4, Interesting)
Crystal HD [xbmc.org] would also be a valid solution.
XBMC supports it. I'm not sure if mplayer itself does yet.
It turned my AppleTV into a 1080p beast. Just need a Mini-PCIe slot.
And if you're reading this and HAVEN'T heard of XBMC [xbmc.org] you're missing out on hands down the best HTPC front end ever made.
I've used it since '05 and on an original XBox and they've come a long way.
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That requires buying a new netbook, instead of using one you've already got. Duh!
Re:And? (Score:5, Informative)
-VDPAU is a decoding library. MPlayer (and many other media programs) supports VDPAU.
-mplayer WITHOUT an external hardware accelerated decoding library will not be able to play 720p/1080p files on a netbook without severe stuttering (or possible complete failure).
Re:And? (Score:5, Informative)
$ cat ~/bin/mplayer-slowcpu
#!/bin/sh
mplayer -autosync 30 -vfm ffmpeg -lavdopts lowres=1:fast:skiploopfilter=all $*
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Sometimes I wonder if a 4-digit slashID# really does make you a better hacker...
Re:And? (Score:4, Funny)
Nah. Usually just older.
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Slashdot crashes for a day, then upgrades the user id field to a bigint.
at least, that's what happened when comment id (24 bit unsigned) hit the ceiling.
Re:And? (Score:4, Insightful)
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obligatory (Score:2)
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Skip this story (Score:5, Informative)
It's no more than an ad for a codec.
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I came here for the hilarious parody of a productive exchange of comments; I barely skimmed TFS!
I suspect I'm not alone in this, what what?
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I'm able to play HD video on my netbook, and it has a shitty VIA 1.2Ghz processor AND video card! Not to mention that it has a higher resolution than typical netbooks. Stupid story.
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I agree. I've had GPU accelerated decoding for over a year now. I had it before it was even available in common codec packs like Klite.
This seems like a plug for CoreAVC. A great codec, for sure, but it's still a plug.
DXVA (Score:2)
going to need a netbook with a graphics chip that support DXVA 2.0
If you have a GMA950 you're SOL.
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If you have a GMA950 you're SOL.
So I read that as SQL. And since I happen to have a GMA950 my first thought was "Huh, I am not!" And then I realized that I should clean my glasses.
VLC (Score:5, Informative)
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VLC on an aspire one will play back 1080p video files without stuttering?
Re:VLC (Score:5, Insightful)
Where can I buy a 10" 1080p netbook?
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two words: External display
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Most HD video I've found on the web is 720p, when you can find it. The number of people transcoding 1080p bluray movies in their native resolution to playback on their netbook is vanishingly small. In either case, if you knew it was going on your netbook, you'd download/transcode the 720p to begin with. If you do video editing for a living you're not going to own a netbook anyways.
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Corecodec won't play back 1080p on an AspireOne with gma950 without stuttering either, unlress you're dealing with VERY low bitrates.
720p worked fine though...
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Step 3: grab a cup of coffee, because the standard h264 codec with VLC can't manage 720p on a netbook. (have you even tried the listed video?)
Corecodec is a highly-optimized codec that can squeeze just that extra bit of power out of your CPU. There's even a wrapper for it on Linux.
Should you be (un)lucky enough to have a GMA500 GPU in your netbook, it can take care of the decoding for you by using mplayer-vaapi (custom build)
It depends on the video (Score:2)
Resolution is merely one factor, and is relatively unimportant compared to the others.
My netbook (Atom N280) can decode 720p, but the bitrate needs to be pretty low (think less than 4mbit -- which is fine for a lot of movies, but really bad for others). If CAVLC (as opposed to CABAC) is used I can get away with a little higher bitrate.
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lol, I wish I had your eyes. I can hardly notice anything wrong with the picture at 800kbps, nearly 1/5th what you seem to think is a minimum threshhold. And I am wearing contacts so my vision should be reasonably close to 20/20... Though I also can't tell the difference between hdtv and regular on a television. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if 30% of people with hdtvs can't tell the difference in a double blind test.
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I can tell TV and HDTV, but (ignoring aspect ratio) they would need to be side by side or have a picture where either there is an amount of small text or the detail jumps out at you like a detailed landscape. People in suits on talk shows with bland backgrounds will be harder, although the face/hair gives it away.
I would assume, you too, could tell TV vs HD, just use get your monitor to think it's projecting to your normal resolution and somehow downgrade the signal along the way to 640x480 somehow (idk if
what, no cool hardware solution? (Score:3, Interesting)
How for /. has fallen (Score:5, Insightful)
Come on.. an advertisement for a commercial codec to use in a Windows system / application?
How did this make it as a story?
I could maybe understand a story about doing this on an OSS system. But, that would not have been news because many of us have been doing that for years.
When the OSS Nvidia or Radeon driver gets full VDPAU support, that merits a front page story.
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You can use wine to shoehorn this API into Linux.
Although I still remain skeptical that CoreAVC can help an Atom that much. Perhaps they use Phoenix tails somewhere...
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Corecodec is actually very efficient compared to most other decoders... decoding in software, it uses about 40% less CPU time than the Win7 decoder...
Actually made 720p halfway enjoyable on an N270...
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I could maybe understand a story about doing this on an OSS system.
You'll have to wait at least a decade. In the country where Slashdot is operated and hosted, a consortium of about two dozen companies conspires to keep H.264 decoding out of open source software. This consortium is called MPEG-LA.
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Yeah... that certainly explains my 2 HD-PVRs and the 6TB of h264 transcoded DVD's here.
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In the country where Slashdot is operated and hosted, a consortium of about two dozen companies conspires to keep H.264 decoding out of open source software.
And that consortium has failed. See x264.
**** HD Videos (Score:2)
They're a pain in the ass. Most of us don't have screens that can make them look any better (especially if those screens are on a netbook!) and don't care if we did. I prefer to convert my HD videos to a lower bitrate so they can display on a generic video adapter without any fancy software. Not always convenient, of course.
But this post is really an excuse to make a cute observation about netbooks: they seem to be marketed as less powerful than they are! This is mainly in the way netbooks are described to
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why do netbooks have really cruddy speakers?
Because good speakers would make the case bigger.
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Hell, today's artificially-loudened-during-mastering transient-loaded bass-heavy music like this* [youtube.com] would shred even laptop cones.
*Fun fact: early in the song, a "hot bowl of grits" is mentioned.
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*Fun fact: early in the song, a "hot bowl of grits" is mentioned.
Are we talking Natalie Portman hot grits or Al Greene hot grits?
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The first feature is that the default config typically underclocks the CPU. OK, this makes the battery last longer, but not a lot longer.
You're sort of right. Changing the cpu frequency on a netbook saves a small amount of power... a few percent. Lowering the core clock speed saves tons of power... for instance there's about 30% difference in idle power between the normal and low power modes using ASUS's utility to change the bus frequency. This corresponds to hours of battery life, and it's a big deal. Changing the cpu freq only saves minutes.
But getting linux to easily change the core clock speed is really difficult. There's no icon t
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Do you have a screen with more than 480/576 lines?
Do you have headphones?
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playing 1080 or 720p content would be a mild improvement but not particularly noticeable vs 480. I do have a vga output which can get me 768 lines on my hdtv (can't go higher without DVI/HDMI) so it might be usable there...but if I just want to play to my TV, I just need a 20ft DVI-HDMI cable or a $200 acer computer with ION and xbmc and not a netbook.
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Seems like a problem with your setup. My HDTV supports 1080p VGA input, and any netbook with the GMA 900 or newer should support output at this resolution.
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But that's just the problem. Such a GPU isn't in most portable computers. So if I want to watch something that's HD, I have to leave my armchair and go sit at my desk.
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But that's just the problem. Such a GPU isn't in most portable computers. So if I want to watch something that's HD, I have to leave my armchair and go sit at my desk.
Or choose a portable computer that does actually have one. You said most don't have it, not all.
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GPUs with hardware decoding are in most non-netbook systems nowadays. The Intel 4 series mobile chipsets have H.264 decoding, as do all recent ATI and nVidia GPUs.
Broadcom chip (Score:2)
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They're about $40 for the mini-pci-express addin card, and the problem is you will lose wireless (easily fixable with a usb dongle though...).
XBMC has support, other programs are coming online quickly.
Excuse me, but... (Score:2)
...any netbook with an ARM chip has hardware video acceleration, and can play HD video in fullscreen without problems.
Oh, you were talking about an Atom mini-laptop? That’s no a real netbook with that platform power profile, now is it? ;)
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What model is it? Where do I buy one?
Of course, since you pulled that out of your ass, you might have a little trouble answering. We all know such a machine does not exist.
Screen Resolution (Score:2)
Why HD video takes money (Score:3, Insightful)
As long as the screen resolution is high enough view HD why would HD video take any time or money to get?
The video itself is copyrighted and DRM'd, and the most common codec used to store it is patented and compute-intensive.
Err... (Score:3, Insightful)
What good is 720p video on my 1024x600 monitor? Too bad they don't make 600p videos.
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Too bad they don't make 600p videos.
In 50 Hz countries, they make 576p videos, which are close enough.
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Not all netbooks have low res. There's a couple of 12 inch that have higher resolution, and some like the nokia booklet have 1280x720 on 10 inch.
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When my iBook had a 12" screen, it was a laptop not a netbook.
Don't let the term slip like that... if it's 12", it's a freakin' laptop. Otherwise, the word "netbook" becomes even more meaningless than it already kind-of is.
Hell, next thing you know, my 13.1" tablet will be a "netbook", and then my 14.1" work laptop will be a "netbook"...
Slippage? What slippage? (Score:4, Funny)
I'm buying a 17" netbook later this year.
The name just feels lighter!
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Fine fine, still leaves the 10 inch 1280x720. I only know of one model, but its the one i have, so meh :)
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Of course, but do note I was replying to a reference to 720p, not to the article.
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you might appreciate the ability to play back 720p content when your friend sends you his high-resolution videos and you don't want to wait a few hours while your netbook transcodes them down to 600p.
Honestly, do people not think about these things?
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You might be interested in learning about the VGA port [wikipedia.org].
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Ever resized a blurry image to be smaller? It gets sharper.
Same thing applies to video. 720p on 1024x600 looks very sharp! At its native size, it might look a tad less nice.
Which of you fucktard voted up Spam? (Score:4, Insightful)
Seriously, this is looks like any of the rest of the spam, especially with the opening statement.
Get the right netbook (Score:4, Informative)
Just buy the right netbook the Asus 1201N plays High def video perfectly well because it has an Nvidia 9400M graphics processors with Cuda and hardware video decoding. It will even output 1080P via it's HDMI port. It also has a dual core Atom 330 running at 1.6 ghz. All together it's a hell of a gadget for the money.
My first generation Wind plays HD fine (Score:2)
My first-generation MSI Wind has no problems playing HD video when running Windows 7. I can even multitask to some extent.
What's the point of this story? Next are you going to post a summary of how to view webpages on a netbook? Or maybe some special $10 solution to connect your netbook to wifi?
What a waste of bits.
Ummm? (Score:2, Insightful)
Why is this here... (Score:2)
And actually MPC-HC is capable of decoding videos using the hardware h264 decoder the laptop probably already has built in. CoreAVC would just decode the video in software.
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Not Atom netbooks with Intel GPUs.
AVC's Secret Sauce (Score:5, Interesting)
The secret to CoreAVC's speed is that it cheats... If you compare the frames output, with any other codec, you'll see that the results are not the same. People have commented on how CoreAVC looks different, sometimes "fuzzy". Again, it's going for lower-precision in exchange for speed. This is particularly galling in the case of H.264/AVC, since it has lossless modes, which are supposed to be bit-exact, not "close enough".
Honestly, if you want slightly faster + blurry video, why don't you just grab a lower-resolution copy of the same video, and save yourself the disk space, and money on the software license.
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h.264 accelerator chip (Score:2)
And to get rid of those unsightly stutters, free up a slot and install a dedicated co-processor.
http://www.logicsupply.com/blog/2009/11/16/the-little-pcie-card-that-could/ [logicsupply.com]
Supported by XBMC under Windows, Linux and OS X. Cost $49 at that site, under "accessories, adapters". I just ordered one and will put it thru its paces on my Asus EEE 901 soon.
That's easy. (Score:2)
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Sure or you could just be a cool dude who has some HD videos on his netbook who is visiting a friend who wants to watch a movie. You just happen to have the newest Spiderman on your drive and your netbook sports an hdmi out. You now have a tiny portable media server. How cool is that? I mean your netbook is now not just only for browsing the web. You can actually maybe use it to watch a movie, or several even if the ion's claims to battery life hold up. I mean they are shipping with like 160-320gb hard driv
Re:You will also need (Score:5, Funny)
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You make some good points, but you've made one serious mistake. A "cool dude" would not have the lastest Spider-man movie on his drive.
Finally! The day that I have been waiting for has arrived. I want some of that cool-dude advice that is going around.
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Indeed. See. This is why I am not a cool dude. I don't have any friends either.
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Don't know why that popped into my head. I was thinking of newer movie franchises that sucked and that popped in first.
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Actually, that's basically my process.
I save all of my DVDs as iso, move them to an external drive, then play them through my netbook (MSI U210) which has 720p HDMI output.
The image quality is definitely superior to my DVD player hooked up directly to the TV, and better yet, it doesn't force me to watch with a 4" black border if I want to see the subtitles.
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Nothing wrong with using a computer as a cheap but decent upscaler. Lately all I've been using is windows media center and media player for video. The quality is great with the right codecs. Don't know what's up with VLC these days, but it doesn't seem to do scaling very well, or at least the last time I tried. Media player works great though. I mean, all I need is a time bar and some buttons at the bottom when I move the mouse and that satisfies those needs and plays anything I have codecs for. :)
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Re:How does this CoreAVC compare to K-lite? (Score:5, Informative)
K-lite is just a codec pack, most of these use the standard ffmpeg for h.264, the multi threaded version of which is still "experimental", also coreavc not only is extremely optimised it also supports CUDA, so if you have an NV based netbook it will run much better with very little CPU usage.
I own a copy of coreavc for all my machines I expect to play h.264 on (3 copies), and was very happy to see haali splitter (along with coreavc) is now 64-bit, so full windows media centre support :)
It works, its cheap, I like paying programmers/companies who do a good job, it makes a nice precedent.
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If you have nvidia graphics use mplayer, free and it supports VDPAU.
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'Shame the article doesn't do any actual comparisons between any two codecs.'
I compared CoreAVC with ffmpeg, vlc etc. a while back, using a Samsung NC10 Atom-based netbook to play relatively low bitrate 720p stuff from the BBC iPlayer (thanks to get_iplayer). CoreAVC was the only codec that came close to handling these videos (most just ground to a halt after a few seconds). MPC + CoreAVC gave decent picture quality on a 720p TV, but some audio synch issues and slight cyclic speeding up/slowing down of play
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I use a PS2 to watch 720p and 1080i video and it can do AC3. I can play from DVD or USB stick. I can buy those for, what $50 on eBay?
Is the PS2 portable and viable as a generic computer?
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I think he means a PS3. Portable...no, but a generic computer, yes...it can be:
Not going to be playing any HD video on it under Linux though.
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I didn't realize the PS2 played H.264...
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