XMS-888 doesn't play XVID V1.0-RC3

[mirkin]

Argghh..

My XMS-888 doesnt seem to play movies encoded with XVID 1.0-RC3 plays about 3 seconds then says codec not supported.

Jokin please get the guys in the factory to work on this one !

Mirkin

[jokiin]

Argghh..

My XMS-888 doesnt seem to play movies encoded with XVID 1.0-RC3 plays about 3 seconds then says codec not supported.

Jokin please get the guys in the factory to work on this one !

Mirkin

If you are getting a codec not supported message then likely it won't be able to be supported either. Most of the files that should be supported don't give the not supported message, they tend to play poorly, this kind of result is firmware related, some of these things have been addressed or are currently getting done and are due in the next firmware release. Codec not supported stuff like GMC or QPEL may attempt to play and then fail with an error as the ESS chipset is not capable of supporting them, it's not likely that this will change in these players either as it is a hardware limitation. If you are encoding your own stuff then I would suggest that you look at using a different encoder (andw or buts seem to have the best info as to what is xms friendly) If you are downloading these files then you don't have much choice, but you could always re-encode them if you think it's important enough. Keep in mind that the encoders that are commonly used were never really made with stand alone players in mind, they have been made for PC where codec issues are no big deal as you can add codecs any time you need to. This is starting to change though (someone mentioned in another thread that one of the encoders had started adding optimisation for ESS chipset in the newer version) might be worth having a look through some of the other threads and see what others are using and what results they are achieving. www.xms888.tk is always up to date with just about anything you need to know about this player, check it out.

[andw]

We are not the only ones with this problem, just posted on the 'Yamada' forum...
http://www.digitalathome.com/cgi-bin/viewthread.php?tid=973
If the hardware is capable of it, my guess is that ESS will probably include support in the 'base firmware' that they give to the manufacturers. However, I wouldn't expect this until Xvid 1.0 is confirmed as fully released and stable.
Even then it might not be possible...
note : The Yamada DVX-6100 is based on a similar ESS chip to the XMS-888 - not the same though - so don't try and use their firmware on the 888

[mirkin]

andw yea i guess they will wait until 1.0. However the hardware must be capable to some degree it plays 4-5 seconds perfectly (sound and all). Its just like it sees an unexpected frame probably at the keyframe then bails with codec not supported.

Id guess its upto how much is done by the h/w and s/w as to how flexible they can program the decoder

[davidf]

andw yea i guess they will wait until 1.0. However the hardware must be capable to some degree it plays 4-5 seconds perfectly (sound and all). Its just like it sees an unexpected frame probably at the keyframe then bails with codec not supported.

Id guess its upto how much is done by the h/w and s/w as to how flexible they can program the decoder

What settings are you using as I have no problem with the RC3 xvid files, I only use single pass don't know if that effects things.

[bluestar67]

I download The haunted house movie Xvid 1.0 RC3 ......not playing properly..
player stutterly with my DX-628 as well.............. dont have XMS-888 to test

[zymotic]

I have had mixed results with using the xms for mpeg4. But I have encoded and xfiles episode using AutoGK (http://www.autogk.net/web/modules.php?name=Downloads) and provided u specify installation of ESS based stand alone support during setup the results are dare i say it - very close to dvd quality this at a rate of 607 kb/s. Apparently ESS cant handle certain matrices (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?threadid=72698)

Hope to see others having success with this hardware and software. I only wish other files in my mpeg 4 collection played so well. Anyway I've only owned the xms for about 5 hrs now. Had to take the first one back as the mechanism was faulty.

[nasssty]

I too have had dramas trying to play the DVDRIP of The Haunted Mansion.
I haven't as yet taken a look at the specific XVID format it is encoded in, but it plays the first 3-5 seconds and then dies, so im guessing its the same release.

Is it going to be a matter of re-encoding all of these non-supported movies, or will there be a fix in store for us? ***fingers crossed***

[davidf]

I too have had dramas trying to play the DVDRIP of The Haunted Mansion.
I haven't as yet taken a look at the specific XVID format it is encoded in, but it plays the first 3-5 seconds and then dies, so im guessing its the same release.

Is it going to be a matter of re-encoding all of these non-supported movies, or will there be a fix in store for us? ***fingers crossed***

Sounds more like a corrupt file rather than a xvid issue, I think PCs are more forgiving when a file is 'missing' bits but stand alone units don't like that at all. I have ocassionally played bit torrent files where a small section of file never got downloaded these files worked on yhe pc but the xms had a fit when it got to the hole in the file.

[jokiin]

Sounds more like a corrupt file rather than a xvid issue, I think PCs are more forgiving when a file is 'missing' bits but stand alone units don't like that at all. I have ocassionally played bit torrent files where a small section of file never got downloaded these files worked on yhe pc but the xms had a fit when it got to the hole in the file.

I think you are on the right track here, there seems to be an asumption that anything that is downloaded should play just because the PC can play it, the reality is you have no idea how it was encoded, the PC is a lot more forgiving when it comes to problem files.

[bwg]

to those having problems with The Haunted Mansion:
please don't flame me if this is a stupidly obvious suggestion, but have you tried DivFix? It may just be an indexing or corruption problem as davidf and jokiin are suggesting. If so, running it through Divfix, or even loading it up in VirtualDub (which will check the index for problems upon opening the file I think) might help.
Go here (http://divfix.maxeline.com) for DivFix.

BTW zymotic, I've been using AutoGK ever since I noticed that it came out with a matrix documented compatable for ESS chipset players, only had successes so far (touch wood), impressive quality too :) I haven't started using the Xvid 1.0 release candidates yet, I'm still using the version that came with AutoGK (can't remember the version number though).

[nasssty]

I havent as yet run The Haunted Mansion through DIVFIX as it plays flawlessly on both my PC and my XBOX (xbox media center). It was downloaded in a set of sequential RAR files which checked out fine and unrar'd as you would expect.

The image and sound quality of the movie is unbelievable, and i noticed that if you hit fast forward as soon as it begins to play, you can actually fast forward through the entire movie on screen, however it will only play the first 3 seconds when you play it normally.

For arguements sake, I will run it through DIVFIX when I get home from work and reburn the movie to ensure that its not simply an index problem, but if anyone has other ideas, then please let me know!

[andw]

...
The image and sound quality of the movie is unbelievable, and i noticed that if you hit fast forward as soon as it begins to play, you can actually fast forward through the entire movie on screen, however it will only play the first 3 seconds when you play it normally....
What happens if you 'fast forward' past the place where it breaks and play from there?

[nasssty]

I can fast forward through the entire movie on screen, but once you hit PLAY anywhere in the movie, it stops and goes back to the navi menu thingy.

[andw]

There is a thread at 'DigitalAtHome' on the Yamada DVX-6100 (similar chip to ours), on the same subject.
It appears that the file in question may have been encoded with GMC (not supported by ESS).
see http://www.digitalathome.com/cgi-bin/viewthread.php?tid=973 look for 'cherzo's' post.

[bwg]

It appears that the file in question may have been encoded with GMC (not supported by ESS).
ouch! I feel a re-encode coming up... :p :)
It's probably a good idea to check any 'downloaded' avi's before burning them to make sure they'll be compatable in the xms.
And all these people in the forums when they're at work! I don't know, tsk tsk...
ooops, the boss' coming, gotta go! :dD

[nasssty]

Hahaha i bet you're a work net'er just as much as the rest of us!!!
One question... is there any easy method to re-encode a movie?
The rip is flawless, and i dont really wanna have to convert to DVD, then re-encode back to DIVX/XVID just to play on the XMS!!! Thats alot of OUCH!!!

[bwg]

Hahaha i bet you're a work net'er just as much as the rest of us!!!
One question... is there any easy method to re-encode a movie?
The rip is flawless, and i dont really wanna have to convert to DVD, then re-encode back to DIVX/XVID just to play on the XMS!!! Thats alot of OUCH!!!
yes, I confess, I am I am! :)
It's definitely not a problem with xvid rc3, because I just found an older avi I'd burnt a while ago (Hero) that was encoded with an older version of xvid (don't know which) that does the same thing - plays for about 3-4 secs, then exits to smart-navi with "codec not supported" message.
as for re-encoding, it depends what you define as "easy". I'm about to go through this process myself (with Hero):
I use VirtualDub or one of it's flavours (like VirtualDubMod). Open the avi (and hope like hell you don't get a message like I do with Hero about VBR audio, cause that will mean decompressing the audio into a WAV then re-compressing into CBR mp3 audio to avoid sync issues). In the 'video' menu, ensure full processing mode is selected, and click compression. Select whichever codec you desire from the ones installed on your system (I use xvid). In the 'audio' menu (or streams' menu in VirtualDubMod), ensure direct stream copy is selected (unless you've had to decompress to a wav, in which case you'd select the wav and do full processing mode to compress into mp3 at your desired settings).
Then just 'save as' in the file menu, select destination, and hey presto!...wait for it re-encode (you hope).

[nasssty]

Alright i think you jinxed me!!! I went to convert The Haunted Mansion as you described, and ive got the VBR problem as well. Now how about telling me how to convert the audio :P

[bwg]

I did the audio, but the problems were only just starting. Now I'm getting errors in the video stream when I try to re-compress...I found one error in DivFix, which it cut out, but VirtualDubMod is still stalling about a quarter of the way through the avi with a critical exception error! Anyone out there got any ideas???
nasssty: re the VBR audio, which encoder are you using? PM me, cause I think we're kinda getting off topic here :)