WinDVD - Anybody notice audio sync problems? (1 Viewer)

[Ryan Patterson]

I find WinDVD seems to have a problem with syncing audio and video. It seems that the audio appears to be a few tenths of a second ahead of the video. This is slightly noticable when watching a film-sourced movie, but much more noticable when watching video-sourced material. When watching the interviews with Brian Singer on the X-Men disc, it's pretty obvious that the audio and video are totally out of sync.
This happens on both WinDVD 2000 and the new WinDVD 3.0. I do not experience this problem with my Dxr2 setup, nor in PowerDVD or SoftDVD. Normally, I would say "screw WinDVD" and use the others listed, but PowerDVD sucks at deinterlacing video-sourced material (very jagged & pixellated), SoftDVD is no longer supported, and Dxr2 looks ugly on my monitor.
Listed below are my system specs. As you can see, I have a SB Live 5.1 card, which shouldn't cause problems, since all major software packages usually test major team players like Creative. As I say, it works fine with everything BUT WinDVD, so I suspect it's a problem with WinDVD and not the sound card.
Thanks,
Visor
---------------------------------------------
Abit KT7A KT-133A Motherboard
AMD 1Ghz/266 CPU
192 MB PC133 SDRAM
40 GB HDD 7200RPM ATA-100 with DMA on
Plextor CDR 16/10/40
Creative Labs 2x DVD-ROM
Asus 7100 GeForce2 MX Video Card
SB Live 5.1
Dxr2 DVD Hardware Decoder
3Com 3905 Network Card
[Edited last by Ryan Patterson on August 28, 2001 at 12:46 AM]

 

[Cliff Watson]

Ryan,
It sounds like WinDVD is not picking up the DMA buffer time used on the soundcard.
What version of PowerDVD are you using? I've found that PowerDVD 3.0 build 0525 has very good deinterlacing for video.

 

[Ryan Patterson]

Hi Cliff, thanks for the reply.
How would I go about fixing the DMA buffer time used on the soundcard? Is there a setting for this?
I'm using PowerDVD 3.0, but I don't know what the build number is. The 'About' screen that comes up after double-clicking the Cyberlink logo doesn't show the build number either. Where do I go to check for this?
Thanks,
Ryan

 

[Cliff Watson]

Ryan,
The problem is with WinDVD not the soundcard drivers. You should contact InterVideo tech support and ask them for a work around to this problem.
To determine the build number in PowerDVD bring up the "About PowerDVD" window and then double click on the word "PowerDVD" on the left side of the box and the information will change. Build 0525 will show as 3.0.0525
For video source try setting the properties to "Force Bob" or "Auto-select". If you have the player set to "Force Weave" video will look really bad.
Cliff

 

[Ryan Patterson]

Thanks Chris, I'll check the build number when I get home.
I've tried running video-sourced material in Bob and Auto-Select mode, but it doesn't help. It looks like PowerDVD is using that "single-field interpolation" method described in the popular Link Removed article. Basically, it's taking a field and duplicating the missing lines, giving the picture a blocky, stair-stepped effect. PowerDVD also does this for FBI warning screens and single-frame menu screens. So you're saying that the new build fixes this so it acts more like WinDVD? Cool...
I can try to email WinDVD about the sound problem, but since many people own the SB Live 5.1, I'm surpised they haven't made a fix for this already. Would they know what I'm talking about when I say "WinDVD is not picking up the DMA buffer time used on the soundcard."?
Thanks,
Ryan

 

[Cliff Watson]

"Basically, it's taking a field and duplicating the missing lines, giving the picture a blocky, stair-stepped effect. PowerDVD also does this for FBI warning screens and single-frame menu screens. So you're saying that the new build fixes this so it acts more like WinDVD? Cool..."
Ryan,
Are you absolutely sure that you have a full 3.0 version of PowerDVD? I worked with the CyberLink video engineer last year to get the Bob algorithm correct so that it did not produce stair-stepping. When 3.0 was released in November it was much better than WinDVD for video-source material. The version you have installed may not be using the correct filters.
When you contact InterVideo just tell them you have a problem with A/V sync using the SB Live 5.1 soundcard. Also check for updated drivers for the SB Live.
Cliff

 

[Ryan Patterson]

Hi Cliff,
As far as I know, it is the full version of PowerDVD 3.0. Are demo versions, etc. without this new Bob algorithm? I also have the full version of PowerDVD 2.5, but I have that as AsusDVD, as it came with my Asus 7100 card. This version also has the stair-stepping effect. When exactly did this Bob conversion take place?
I'll email Intervideo about the sound problem...
Thanks,
Ryan

 

[Cliff Watson]

Ryan,
You’re right the old 2.5 version of PowerDVD did have bad stair-stepping. PwrDVD 3.0 was released in Oct/Nov. 2000 and has been updated several times. The build 0525 added Dolby headphones and HWMC for the Radeon video card and build 06?? Supports DXVA for use in WinXP.
Did you completely remove the AsusDVD player before installing PowerDVD 3.0? I still think PowerDVD is using an old filter left over from version 2.5.
Cliff

 

[Ryan Patterson]

Well, I tried patching the 0525 over my old version 1116 (Huh? Why does the older version have a bigger number?). This didn't solve the problem, so I did a full uninstall of PowerDVD off my PC and reinstalled everything again. This didn't help either... until I unchecked the "Use Hardware Accelerator" option. THEN it played back without the jaggies. Interesting... does PowerDVD not like the Geforce2 MX chipset? I've played around with various drivers for this video card, and nothing has ever improved the picture. (Although upgrading to the new 14.70 beta drivers disabled the brightness adjustment) Do you know what the filename would be for the old filter you're referring to?
Running in software mode doesn't seem to degrade performance (I have a 1 Ghz system, after all), so I guess I can use this for now. I also tried uninstalling and reinstalling WinDVD, but I still have audio problems. I also tried disabling hardware support in WinDVD, but the audio is still out of sync. Sigh, I hope Intervideo answers their emails...
Ryan

 

[Cliff Watson]

Ryan,
The build number is the month/day that it was released. 1116 was the original release date last year.
I’m a dummy! HWMC is a known problem with the GF2 video cards. I’ve been using the Radeon for so long that I forgot about it. With your CPU power you don’t need HWMC anyway.
Cliff

 

[Ryan Patterson]

Ah... so when the Cyberlink people were making PowerDVD, they didn't even stop to consider one of the most popular video card brands in the industry today? What were they thinking?

So I take it hardware motion compensation doesn't really improve anything if you have a fast enough PC? I'm guessing HWMC doesn't do a better job at choosing between deinterlacing methods for film and video-sourced material. (Actually, the new article at Home Theater HiFi talks a little about this)
Ah well, problem solved on the PowerDVD end. WinDVD says they respond to emails within 2 business days, so I sent one off to them. I'll put the resolution in this thread.