Having 1080P playback issue on desktop

[Ryushikaze]

So, to preface, my computer is a 2.4Ghz Core 2 duo, 4 GB ram, and an Nvidia GEForce 8800 GT running Windows Vista Ultimate. I've got the latest Windows updates, CCCP version codecs, and Nivdia drivers for my GPU.

But any time I attempt to play an HD (1080p) media file in Media Player Classic, I find that while the sound plays at proper speed, the visuals lag behind ever so slightly, compounding to several minutes by the end of a long movie. Now I'm curious, since my specs are all more than sufficient on paper to play these files with no issue.

My two most immediate concerns are A: GPU is insufficient for what I need it to do, or B: I've been silly and forgotten a necessary software component here.

So, everyone, A, B, or something else? And how can I fix this?

[Ace Pace]

Have you checked the CPU usage? You might be on paper using the GPU, but it might end up that it's not using GPU decoding.

[General Zod]

What type of video file (container and codec?) are you trying to play? 1080p HD could be a number of things, though h.264 mp4 or matroska are the most obvious. My most immediate guess would be the file itself is corrupt or one of your codecs isn't properly up to snuff.

[Ryushikaze]

They are Matroska files, yes. And I would have suspected the codecs as well, but I literally yesterday downloaded and reinstalled the CCCP pack.

I'll see if the CPU or GPU is handling the issue. If it turns out it is, how do I go about telling my GPU to handle the issue?

Yeah, my CPU jumps from 30% to 97-100% when I start the file. It's almost certainly the GPU noninclusion.

[Ace Pace]

I don't have anything that requires GPU assisted decode so I'm not sure, but check drivers/the media player, see if they have any options. nVidia on their website should have a guide.

[phongn]

Use MPC-HC and follow the instructions to enable DXVA support. It's also possible your video was encoded in such a manner that you can't use hardware acceleration.

[Ryushikaze]

I tried downloading MP-HC and followed the instructions they suggested, but all that does is cause no picture and a clicking noise to come from the file. Unless there's an extra step besides setting internal settings (which I could not locate), I'm not sure what the issue is.

I managed to change my extant settings to that 1080 videos play without slowdown, but it is still running from my CPU and has the tendency to stall and then 'catch up' or just skip over a noticeable number of frames.

Are there any other non Windows Media Player free players that run with hardware support, or is MP-HC my only real free option?

[phongn]

Are there any other non Windows Media Player free players that run with hardware support, or is MP-HC my only real free option?

DirectShow filter chains are something of a black art, unfortunately. Most other players can use DXVA in specific situations so long as the proper codecs are installed but even then things can be finicky. If you are using some sort of advanced subtitling system, you cannot use DXVA outside of MPC-HC