High Quality Video Playback On Windows

[Opcode]

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MPC-BE + madVR + LAV Filters

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In this tutorial I will show you how to setup MPC-BE, madVR and LAV Filters.

 

For those who are looking for a little something more than what standard media players such as VLC offer.

 

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Step 1 - Download

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• MPC-BE
• madVR
• LAV Filters

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Step 2 - Installation

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1. Install MPC-BE.
2. Extract madVR to a fresh madVR folder, and then copy it to the MPC-BE install directory (C:\Program Files (x86)\MPC-BE).
   • Inside the madVR folder right click madHcCtrl.exe and select properties. At the bottom under Securty click the Unblock button and then Apply -> Ok.
     • This will stop the annoying "potentially unsafe software" run window from popping up every time MPC-BE loads madVR.​
3. Install LAV Filters, make sure you un-check all of the components except for what is pictured below.

 

You should now have everything installed with a MPC-BE directory setup that looks something like this.

 

 

Next we install madVR. Navigate into the madVR folder and you should spot a install.bat batch file. Right click on it and run it as an administrator.

 

 

If all goes well you should get a console window with a message saying the filter was registered successfully.

 

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Step 3 - Configuring MPC-BE

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Now it is time to configure MPC-BE to use these fabulous new pieces of software. Launch MPC-BE and navigate to View -> Options.

 

Next navigate to the Video section. You should see a drop down menu option labeled Video renderer and set it to madVR.

 

 

Now navigate to Internal Filters and disable everything for both Video Decoders and Audio Decoders tabs.

 

 

With all of them disabled we will want to add the custom decoders that MPC-BE will use instead. So navigate to External Filters and click the Add Filter... button.

 

Select LAV Audio Decoder from the list and hit OK.

 

 

LAV Audio Decoder should now exist in the External Filters list. Off to the right there are a set of combo box options, make sure you set it to Prefer.

 

 

Now follow the last two steps and do the same for LAV Video Decoder.

 

Optional: Lastly navigate to Player -> Interface and enable the option Use the preview in the search (this will enable a thumbnail as you hover over the video timeline).

 

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Step 4 - Configuring LAV Filters

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Once you have both of them added to the list double click on LAV Video Decoder within the list. You should be confronted with a window like so.

 

 

From the drop down menu in the top right, select the appropriate decoder for your GPU. The following guide should help you make the right choice.

• None – Stick to high performance software decoding (you need a moderately strong CPU).
• NVIDIA CUVID – CUDA decoding (see here for PureVideo version).
  • Make sure you configure the Codecs for HW decoding according to the nVidia GPU you have.
    • nVidia PureVideo 2 – H.264 and DVD.
    • nVidia PureVideo 3 – H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2 and DVD.
    • nVidia PureVideo 4 – H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2, DVD and MPEG-4.
    • nVidia PureVideo 5 and 6 – H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2, DVD, MPEG-4 and HEVC.
  • Also enable the UHD (4k) option if you have PureVideo 5 or later GPUs.
• Intel QuickSync – For Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge, and Haswell CPU's.
• DXVA2 (copy-back) – Recommended for Nvidia GPU's and ATI/AMD with UVD3.
  • CPU with SSE 4.1 support is recommended.
  • AMD – Bulldozer or newer.
  • Intel – Penryn or newer.
• DXVA2 (native) – Recommended for older ATI/AMD GPU's with UVD 2.x.

 

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Step 5 - Configuring madVR

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You can access the madVR settings by playing any video and right clicking anywhere in the video player and going to Filters -> madVR Renderer.

 

From there click Edit Settings.

 

Rendering -> General Settings

• Disable enable automatic fullscreen exclusive mode.

Scaling Algorithms

• Chroma Upscaling – Jinc, 3 taps, anti-ringing.
• Image Upscaling – Jinc, 3 taps, anti-ringing.
• Image Downscaling – Catmull-Rom, anti-ringing + linear light.

 

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Step 6 - Enjoy

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MPC-BE is all finished and you can now enjoy better quality video playback on your Windows machine.

 

 

Anyways, have fun!

[Shalashaska]

I am doing the same but with MPC-HC.

 

Perhaps add a segment for the hardware decoder types and also scaling options, I've personally chosen DXVA2 over CUVID on my Nvidia system because CUVID uses more power and doesn't yield a discernable improvement in performance.

[MammothJerk]

http://mpv.io/ ?

 

ive been using this for a few months and from my experience its better and simpler then mpc with lav and mad

[Tsuki]

curious, whats wrong with vlc?

[Opcode]

curious, whats wrong with vlc?

Codecs provide poor quality video playback. Check the top of the first post for a picture comparison between VLC and MPC-BE w/ madVR.

 

VLC is intended to just work with whatever video file you have, they don't do much optimization to provide the best video experience to the end user.

[Tsuki]

Codecs provide poor quality video playback. Check the top of the first post for a picture comparison between VLC and MPC-BE w/ madVR.

 

VLC is intended to just work with whatever video file you have, they don't do much optimization to provide the best video experience to the end user.

ahh fair enough. ill have to wait until i get home to check out the image. work computer blocks all the fun stuff sadly.

[mad dudy]

CCCP is a lot easier to install and works fine for 10-bit encoded anime. so why would i want this way?

[Opcode]

CCCP is a lot easier to install and works fine for 10-bit encoded anime. so why would i want this way?

First and foremost you end up with a much more basic configuration that isn't packed with bugs like CCCP. Secondly, it gives you the freedom of setting things up the way you want them instead of being no different than a pre-configured LAMP stack. This also allows you to keep core components up to date rather than relying on a team to update the package. I could honestly create an installer package for all of this in about 5 minutes (without the problems CCCP has) if people are that technically inclined. Tho this isn't intended for those who are technically inclined to begin with so if you need to use an installer with everything setup for you, great. The primary goal here is to accomplish better video playback than other video players that aren't optimized for quality playback such as VLC.

[nokturrduk84]

Pot player already provides me best quality. No need for this, but thx for article anyway.

[IdortMasterRace]

MPC-HC/BE Master Race reporting in.

 

vlc

Pot player

 

[nokturrduk84]

MPC-HC/BE Master Race reporting in.

 

 

no no no no!

[mad dudy]

First and foremost you end up with a much more basic configuration that isn't packed with bugs like CCCP. Secondly, it gives you the freedom of setting things up the way you want them instead of being no different than a pre-configured LAMP stack. This also allows you to keep core components up to date rather than relying on a team to update the package. I could honestly create an installer package for all of this in about 5 minutes (without the problems CCCP has) if people are that technically inclined. Tho this isn't intended for those who are technically inclined to begin with so if you need to use an installer with everything setup for you, great. The primary goal here is to accomplish better video playback than other video players that aren't optimized for quality playback such as VLC.

i been using CCCP for years and never had any problems or bug then again the only thing i do with it is watch videos.

[cesrai]

Do I deselect everything also for the Internal Audio??

[Opcode]

Do I deselect everything also for the Internal Audio??

I personally deselected everything for all three tabs (Source, Video, Audio). Not sure exactly of what to deselect in the newer versions of MPC-BE. Tho I did and I guess LAV took over for everything just fine as I was still able to play 1080p videos. So I would just uncheck everything under "Internal Filters".

[cesrai]

I personally deselected everything for all three tabs (Source, Video, Audio). Not sure exactly of what to deselect in the newer versions of MPC-BE. Tho I did and I guess LAV took over for everything just fine as I was still able to play 1080p videos. So I would just uncheck everything under "Internal Filters".

Did that, it worked your link is broken I downloaded the video from somewhere else and I used quicksync, what anime site do you like??

[Opcode]

Did that, it worked your link is broken I downloaded the video from somewhere else and I used quicksync, what anime site do you like??

I don't like anime 

 

Here's some test videos, added them to main post.

[cesrai]

I don't like anime 

What do you like phineas and ferb?

[Opcode]

What do you like phineas and ferb?

Anime =/= Cartoons

[cesrai]

Anime =/= Cartoons

I know it doesn't, I asked do you like phineas and ferb ?

[Opcode]

I know it doesn't, I asked do you like phineas and ferb ?

I don't mind cartoons.

[cesrai]

I don't mind cartoons.

Like? give me something.

[Astralify]

I use k-lite codec pack, with priority LAV/ffdshow/haali splitter/ and Media Player Classic/BS player. Also, a special little program called smooth video project (SVP). It interpolates frames in realtime (like TVs).

[EvilLemur]

TBH the default settings the mpc-hc pretty much make all the anime i watch and movies look amazing. but when i put it on my tv it sometimes looked a bit weird and now this makes it look Amazing and smooth and the colors also look more vibrant only one problem!  every time i open a file i got a security warning.... so i had to disable the tray icon but once its set up there is no need to have it unless you need to constantly make changes.  thanks for this! 

[frostin1990]

Been using this for almost a week and its quite amazing, the difference is definately night and day ..maybe the best player i've used...i just wish i found this earlier...

[Opcode]

Guide updated with some more improvements.