Playing Hd Video Without Lagging All The Time...

[Baniboy 3]

Okay, my video card isn't the best possible(ATI Radeon HD 3450, sounds complicated but operates like a garbage can), but I would like to play HD video without lagging all the time, or at least less lagging. 800 € laptop's video card is cursedAny software that makes this possible, I don't mind if it's windows/whatever(just not solaris or mac os )

Edited October 15, 2009 by Baniboy (see edit history)

[truefusion 3]

I'm not sure if this is possible (i.e. without upgrading the graphics card itself), but i can only recommend two things: For one, get a better driver for your integrated graphics card. And two, from a complaint a friend of mine had on a similar issue: get better codecs (assuming you're talking about DVDs here, as online video players tend to make HD optional).

[k_nitin_r 8]

Hi!As an alternative, till you get a better graphics card, you can use a converter to convert the HD videos to regular quality to watch them on your laptop. I sometimes use a converter named Xilisoft to convert videos between different formats though you can even use the DownloadHelper plugin for Firefox to do the conversion for you. The DownloadHelper plugin leaves a tiny logo on the videos to advertise itself, which shouldn't be a problem especially since it is free for use. I believe you can also use the tools available with Ahead Nero for multimedia editing and conversion to convert the videos from HD to normal quality.

[Baniboy 3]

Actually I'm talking matroska files, a friend sent me a few. I want to plug my laptop to our TV with HDMI cable, and watch it on the bigger screen. I don't want to reduce the quality, the whole idea is to play high-quality video. Well, which are the better codecs? I'm playing them on vlc and they lag, I play the on Mplayer on linux, they lag. So is there some magic codec around?I could update my graphics card, but it's a laptop and I've never opened up one. One of the other things that worries me is that it has warranty left, so if I open it up, *poof* warranty is gone. Besides, I don't know if any other graphics card fits in the laptop! It's pretty big yes, chose it because I want a big screen and enough power.

[rob86 2]

Just how good is your video card? I have a pretty old Desktop with an NVidia 5200 Fx 128mb. I wouldn't call it a great video card and I have no problems playing pure HD movies. I remember one person had a problem where their videos would skip if they didn't have their laptop plugged in. Have you tried that? The videos wouldn't work with the laptop running off the battery.

Edited October 16, 2009 by rob86 (see edit history)

[minimcmonkey 0]

Install the latest drivers for your video card, make sure your using a recent and reputable media player, if your PC is slow generally the problem may not be caused by graphics, in many cases a total OS re-install will speed things up a lot.

[truefusion 3]

Well, which are the better codecs? I'm playing them on vlc and they lag, I play the on Mplayer on linux, they lag. So is there some magic codec around?

I do not know of "better" codecs, especially for Linux. I've always used the ones in the Ubuntu repository, and they've worked for me. But i've also always used a graphics card whose core clock was at least 620mhz. Using different video players won't help solve the issue, as they all use the same codecs. If you are using a high resolution for the monitor (like 1280 x 786-900), lowering the resolution temporarily may help reduce the lag.

[iGuest 3]

luckily I use Moyea HD Video Converter which adopts advanced audio and video synchnization. Therefore, we don't worry tha issues about audio out of video. Moreover, with this program's built-in codecs, it will never add the burden to the original system.

-reply by partake06

[rayzoredge 2]

It's probably not the best idea, but is there a way to prioritize your media player process to the highest so that full CPU usage and GPU usage is directed at displaying your HD movie? Shut down any other processes and reap as much CPU power and RAM as you can so that you can focus your computer on just playing the movie.The ATI Radeon HD 3450 is toted on AMD's website (go figure) as being HD-capable, but it just reminds me of how laptops had that stupid "Vista Ready" sticker on them.You can't upgrade the GPU in a laptop UNLESS you have a similar part in the same form factor... NVIDIA has their MXM form factor working for them, but even that is limited. The only upgrade I've ever done was an NVIDIA GPU and it was basically from a Dell Latitude to a Dell Inspiron, and although it did work, I was doubtful. It's a pain but it's possible... but not likely.I ran into this same issue with my HP Pavilion zd8000... the ATI Mobility Radeon X600 did not like most 720p HD movies. Playing a 1080p HD Matroska version of The Dark Knight was so bad that I actually just got rid of the movie... it was unwatchable.

[Baniboy 3]

Just how good is your video card? I have a pretty old Desktop with an NVidia 5200 Fx 128mb...

Here are the specs of my computer:

I have a HP dv-7 1090 (laptop):Processor: AMD Turion X2 Ultra Dual-Core mobile ZM-80, 2.10 GHzRAM: 3 GB, 800 MHzVideocard: ATI Radeon HD 3450, 256 MBMemory: 2x 232 GB Hitachi (5400 rpm) HDDOS: Ubuntu and Vista Premium

Install the latest drivers for your video card, make sure your using a recent and reputable media player, if your PC is slow generally the problem may not be caused by graphics, in many cases a total OS re-install will speed things up a lot.

I don't know, is 2.10GHz slow for HD? I wouldn't like reinstalling the whole thing.

I do not know of "better" codecs, especially for Linux. I've always used the ones in the Ubuntu repository, and they've worked for me. But i've also always used a graphics card whose core clock was at least 620mhz. Using different video players won't help solve the issue, as they all use the same codecs. If you are using a high resolution for the monitor (like 1280 x 786-900), lowering the resolution temporarily may help reduce the lag.

I'm using a 1920 x 1080 "monitor", the TV.

ATI Radeon HD 3450 is based on RV620 chipset and features a 525MHz clock speed, 400MHz memory clock speed

My graphics card's decoding is hardware-based, so it should run with HD videos? It's supposed to support x264 too. I'm not using linux to play FullHD, as the drivers on linux aren't good enough.I also found a review here.

The clock speed for the card is 600MHz on the core and 1GHz on the memory. DirectX 10.1 and ATI PowerPlay are supported as well.

Pretty confusing, isn't it?Apparently, the card is for watching HD movies, but doesn't work for me? I must be cursed or something.. Anyway, maybe the second quote about clock speeds is for non-mobility radeon 3450 and the regular one.

It's probably not the best idea, but is there a way to prioritize your media player process to the highest so that full CPU usage and GPU usage is directed at displaying your HD movie? Shut down any other processes and reap as much CPU power and RAM as you can so that you can focus your computer on just playing the movie.
The ATI Radeon HD 3450 is toted on AMD's website (go figure) as being HD-capable, but it just reminds me of how laptops had that stupid "Vista Ready" sticker on them.

You can't upgrade the GPU in a laptop UNLESS you have a similar part in the same form factor... NVIDIA has their MXM form factor working for them, but even that is limited. The only upgrade I've ever done was an NVIDIA GPU and it was basically from a Dell Latitude to a Dell Inspiron, and although it did work, I was doubtful. It's a pain but it's possible... but not likely.

what is a form factor? I'll try shutting down every useless process and stuff. I considered clocking, too, but I don't want to fry my card.
Does vista ready sticker do anything? I tried looking the card specs up at amd's website on this page. After clicking on the link of "ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 Graphics" I get an error page.
I found another site that gives me the specifications of the card. All these specifications are confusing, they all give different results. I hate AMD right now, can't even have an error-free site for me to check the right specifications. Screw them!

Any more ideas? I could install xp, but I'm not sure it'll work..

[rayzoredge 2]

Here are the specs of my computer:

I have a HP dv-7 1090 (laptop): Processor: AMD Turion X2 Ultra Dual-Core mobile ZM-80, 2.10 GHz RAM: 3 GB, 800 MHz Videocard: ATI Radeon HD 3450, 256 MB Memory: 2x 232 GB Hitachi (5400 rpm) HDD OS: Ubuntu and Vista Premium

I don't know, is 2.10GHz slow for HD? I wouldn't like reinstalling the whole thing.

 

I'm using a 1920 x 1080 "monitor", the TV.

 

My graphics card's decoding is hardware-based, so it should run with HD videos? It's supposed to support x264 too. I'm not using linux to play FullHD, as the drivers on linux aren't good enough.

I also found a review here.

Pretty confusing, isn't it?

Apparently, the card is for watching HD movies, but doesn't work for me? I must be cursed or something.. Anyway, maybe the second quote about clock speeds is for non-mobility radeon 3450 and the regular one.

 

what is a form factor? I'll try shutting down every useless process and stuff. I considered clocking, too, but I don't want to fry my card.

Does vista ready sticker do anything? I tried looking the card specs up at amd's website on this page. After clicking on the link of "ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 Graphics" I get an error page.

I found another site that gives me the specifications of the card. All these specifications are confusing, they all give different results. I hate AMD right now, can't even have an error-free site for me to check the right specifications. Screw them!

 

Any more ideas? I could install xp, but I'm not sure it'll work..

The thing is that I play 720p HD video on my aging HP Pavilion zd8000 laptop, which is spec'd at a Intel Pentium 4 3.2GHz processor, 2GB of DDR2 SDRAM, and a dedicated ATI Mobility Radeon X600 graphics chip (PCIe). As old as this thing is, it plays 720p without too many hiccups, but if I want true fluidity without any hiccups with larger files, I need to keep Firefox closed, etc. Comparing the two, the X600 and the 3650 are comparable with benchmarks until you start getting newer with the 3DMark versions. I don't know if this translates into HD performance or not, but I shouldn't be getting better HD playback than you do.

 

Then again, I'm running Windows XP SP2 on that machine, so maybe it's the codec that's slowing you down, or how Linux is handling that codec? If you're serious about watching HD, I'd try another operating system just to see, and of course, for the good of all computer users wondering the same thing.

 

Although you wouldn't want to (and it's counter-productive), reducing your resolution might help with lag, especially if your video card doesn't even support the resolution you're trying for. (You should be good, because the specifications noted for the 3400 series say that you can go up to 1920x1080. Emphasis on should.)

 

The form factor of anything is the physical property, size, and shape of a component. Basically, I was saying the obvious that you can't shove a square peg into a round hole and expect it to work. NVIDIA has/had MXM for a mobile solution, but I've only done this once and with two similar Dells that I presume both had MXM form factor chips.

 

That stupid Vista-Ready sticker is the equivalent of slapping a Greddy, AEM, or Shelby sticker on my Honda Civic. Just because I have the sticker doesn't mean my hardware under the hood is any better, and it definitely doesn't make me go faster.

 

Try the XP solution if you have some time on your hands and install the latest version of the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack for brain-dead codec management and inclusion of the most popular codecs. Fire up VLC or Windows Media Player and let us know.

[Baniboy 3]

Booting into a xp installation CD results in a BSOD. Don't know why, maybe it's crappy vista preventing downgrade? I've been fighting with my computer for the last months, it seems like I fail on every step...Anyway, installed k-lite mega pack. Haven't yet tried to play HD stuff with it as I don't have the files anymore.

[rayzoredge 2]

Instinctual impulse: Check your RAM. I've never encountered a BSOD when doing my infamous wipe-and-reinstall-Windows-XP kick. Everything is being loaded from the CD, so maybe the CD is bad (has a corrupted system file that Setup needs) or your RAM is failing (if you're really "fighting" your computer). Replace or off the offending RAM stick and/or try another XP CD if you have access to one.Also, I recommend that you keep a short HD clip handy to test out your setups. I'm a geek so I keep the uber-cool Halo Landfall video handy for when I'm bored and when I want to watch/test 720p HD, but it does come in handy in situations like these.It sucks that you've been dealing with this for almost a month. Damn you technology... damn you.

[iGuest 3]

 k-lite mega pack has the same problem...Lags like hell...I'm trying to figure it out too and cant...I have downloaded 3 hd movies and I will watch it no matter wat but cant seem to find any solution yet...There seem to be a fix for vlc bye increasing the buffer size but didnt try it yet...

-reply by tahmaseeb

[Baniboy 3]

Okay sorry I haven't kept you updated, but it works now! It appears it was the codec. Now I removed some dust from inside of my laptop as well so it runs pretty smoothly. Thanks for suggesting the codec!