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simpleVideo - DVD/Video Player for myHTPC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This program was developed to provide beginning users with an easy DVD/video solution that is integrated well with myHTPC. It reads and uses all of the key commands that each user has specified within myHTPC so there is no fiddling with girder or other programs to provide full remote capability. This software does not decrypt CSS or any other DVD decoding scheme. It merely uses your previously installed DVD decoder (such as WinDVD, PowerDVD, etc.) and DirectX to play back your own DVD's.

 

Requirements:

  • DirectX 8 or 9 installed and working. It is possible it may need DirectX 9 installed if it doesn't work with DirectX 8.
  • .NET 1.1 Runtime installed. Here is the download link if you don't already have it.
  • For DVD playback, you must have a DVD decoder installed like WinDVD or PowerDVD to play back DVD's.

DVD Notes:

  • To get the subtitles in a DVD to work correctly, I have had to first turn them on using the DVD's onscreen subtitle screen, then goto simpleVideo's screen to change it from there during playback.

File Mode Notes:

  • When in the file mode, there are three main methods to navigate back and forth within a file:
    • Regular FFW/REW buttons: They will actually fast forward or rewind the movie if the codec supports this. This didn't work with the WMP Player before for Divx files and other types, but it does now with simpleVideo.
    • The Next/Previous buttons: Traditionally these are used for skipping between files in the playlist. I have an option to override this and instead skip a certain # of seconds instead of navigating between playlist files. These settings vcan be changed in the Video page within the Settings screen.
    • The Skip Back/Forward buttons: These are by default linked to your myHTPC keys ChannelUp and ChannelDown. These keys will skip another defined number of minutes around within the current file. This setting can be changed in the main page of the Settings screen.
  • You can navigate the items in the playlist by bringing up the popup menu and selecting "View Playlist". You can then browse for additional files to add to the playlist, or select a file to play that is already in your playlist, or you can also clear the playlist.

 

Features:

  • Fullscreen DVD and video playback, no windowed view available. Uses myHTPC offsets for underscan/overscan correction.
  • Full keyboard command ability using myHTPC key mapping settings and mouse support
  • DVD's: Variable speed for FFW and REW (2x, 4x, and 8x), Slow motion, and Frame stepping.
  • Title, time and status displays fade out of sight after use
  • Use of subtitles, multiple audio tracks, and angles if available for DVD's.
  • On-screen settings controls to let you change program settings with or without a mouse connected
  • Can be used with a mouse or by keys configured through your key configuration for myHTPC.
  • Can resume DVD's and videos that have been previously watched
  • DVD's can be played from a hard drive as the IFO, and VOB files or from an ISO by passing in parameters.
  • Can specify a directory for trailers to be randomly played before the main movie/DVD.
  • Simple!

 

Installation:

Run the simpleVideo.msi program and follow all the prompts to complete installation.

Upgrade instructions: If you are upgrading from simpleDVD to simpleVideo, you will want to take the State.ini file from the simpleDVD directory and put it into your simpleVideo directory. It contains the resume positions for all of your DVD's and other video files. Also note that since simpleVideo is the new name, you will want to change the paths you have set up that previously pointed to simpleDVD to now point to simpleVideo.

When it is finished installing, you will want to add a new Programs module in the myHTPCConfigure.exe program. Here is a screenshot with the settings needed for DVD playback:

Here is a screenshot with the settings needed for video file playback. You will want to add a new Media module in the myHTPC Configure program. The player tab should look something like this:

 

Command-Line Parameters

/Drive= Use this parameter if you want to specify which directory the DVD is located in. For example, type /Drive=F:\DVDRips\Spider-man in the Parameters box (as shown in the above picture) to use directory F:\DVDRips\Spider-man as the DVD directory. The directory you specify should contain the .IFO and .VOB files for the movie you want. To use the myHTPC variables with a Media module, then use this as a parameter to simpleVideo: /Drive=%dirs|@@|"||%

/ISO= Use this parameter when you want simpleVideo to use DaemonTools to mount a particular DVD ISO for you and play it. For example, you would use this parameter to mount the ISO at D:\DVDRips\Spider-Main.iso: /iso=G,D:\DVDRips\Spider-Main.iso . The G in the example is the drive that Daemon Tools has mapped for the virtual Device 0. So if you have Daemon Tools Device 0 as drive F:, then you would just substitute F for G in the above example. Using the variables that myHTPC uses, just use this: /iso=G,%files|@@|||% for the parameters string. It assumes the default directory for Daemon Tools (C:\Program Files\D-Tools), but can be changed by opening up the settings.xml manually and changing the path there

/Jump= Use this parameter to jump to a particular chapter and title within a DVD. This will happen as soon as possible within simpleVideo. So for example, to jump to title 1 and chapter 7 of the DVD, you would enter /Jump=1,7 in the Parameters line.

/file= Use this parameter to play normal video files with simpleVideo. Supported types are .vob, .avi, .mpg, .mpeg, basically anything that can be run using Directshow. Quicktime files don't seem to work using normal Directshow methods. It can support multiple files also, by separating them with a @@. So for example, to specify two files, you could send this parameter: /file="D:\Multimedia Files\Movie1.avi"@@"D:\Multimedia Files\Movie2.mpg" Using the variables that myHTPC uses, just use this: /file=%files|@@|"||% for the parameters string.

Settings:

This box will appear when you select the 'simpleVideo Settings' selection from the main menu.

Global settings:

Show Toolbar? - Use this setting if you use a mouse to navigate and want the toolbar to be shown.

Onscreen display delay (in seconds) - Use this setting to set the delay time the title/time bar is visible before hiding.

Desktop to display on - Use this setting to specify simpleVideo to use a different monitor to display on. The number used is the number that is displayed in Windows in Display Properties for the desktop you want to use.

Font Size - Use this setting to set the font size used on the title/time bar, between 10 and 20.

Toolbar Size - Use this setting to set the size used for the toolbar, choose between Small. Medium and Large.

Menu Size - Use this setting to set the size used for the menu, choose between Small. Medium and Large.

Time Skip in Minutes - This setting is used to set the number of minutes to skip within the DVD or video file when one of the Time Skip keys is pressed.

DVD drive - Use this setting to make sure simpleVideo uses the correct drive for displaying the DVD title. The actual drive is handled automatically, this is just to make sure the displayed title for the DVD is reading from the correct drive. This parameter only shows up if you have more than one CD/DVD drive.

Trailers Display Mode - You can choose to play trailers for both videos and DVD's, videos only, DVD's only or none. Choose the number of trailers to play, and then choose the directory where those trailers are located. It will then add these trailers before the first DVD or video that you are playing.

Titlebar position - This setting allows you to place the progress/title bar anywhere up or down on the screen. The default setting of 100 places it at the bottom, 50 would be in the middle of the screen, and 0 would be at the top.

 

DVD Settings:

Auto DVD Render Method - Use this setting to change the way the DVD decoders are used/searched for using an automatic method. Only change this setting if some aspect of playback is not functioning correctly, or you have lockups and such. You will have to restart simpleVideo for the setting to become effective. You probably don't need to ever modify this setting.

DVD Decoder - Use this setting to set the DVD decoder that you want to use for DVD playback. Make sure that you have this DVD decoder installed on your system, otherwise simpleVideo will not behave correctly.

Audio Device - This setting is used to select which Audio device to use on your system. In some cases, it may be necessary to select your actual Sound card to get the proper sound out for DVD playback.

Display Mode- Use this parameter to change the way the aspect ratio is handled within the simpleVideo window.

  • Default - Just the default video aspect ratio as before.
  • Fill Screen - This setting forces the video to take up the entire simpleVideo display. The four offset parameters underneath it are used so that you can position the video anywhere within the simpleVideo display exactly how you want it. They work as offsets in % from each of the four screen edges. So to make it always display the full width but 10 % down from the top and 10 % from the bottom, set the top and bottom offsets to 10 and keep the left and right offsets at 0.
  • Pan & Scan - This chops off the video from the edges to fit onto a 4:3 display. IT uses the individual DVD specs for the Pan & Scan settings.
  • Crop - This just crops the image at the images like the Pan & Scan does, but doesn't actually use the Pan & Scan method.

Closed Captioning ON? - Check this setting if you want to turn on Closed Captioning.

Video File Settings:

Stretch to Fit screen? - Setting this will make the video stretch to fill the entire screen, no matter what the actual aspect ratio of the video file is. Notice this will cause the video to be slightly skewed depending on the size and resolution of your screen.

Override the Next/Prev buttons - The normal operation is for the Next/Prev buttons from myHTPC to skip between files in the playlist. If you usually only have one file in the playlist, or don't care to skip between files in the playlist this way, then you can use the override setting. You will want to then set the two settings below for the actual value it will skip within the current video file.

Keys and their capabilities:

All keys are read from myHTPC's configuration file. So if you set them using the myHTPC Configure program, then they will be set for simpleVideo too. You can change the mapping between the keys in myHTPC and simpleVideo by going to the Keys page in the Settings screen.

Play - Will play the DVD or video file. If pressed while fast-forwarding or reverse, it will return the playback to normal speed.

Pause - Will pause playback of the DVD or video file. Will toggle play/pause if pressed.

Stop - Stop the playback.

Next - If in the DVD mode, it will skip to the next chapter in the DVD title. If it is in the video file mode, normally it will skip to the next file in the playlist. If you have the override setting turned on, it will instead skip the defined # of seconds forward within the current video file.

Previous - If in the DVD mode, it will go back to the previous chapter in the DVD title. If it is in the video file mode, normally it will skip to the previous file in the playlist. If you have the override setting turned on, it will instead skip the defined # of seconds backward within the current video file.

FFW - Each press will increment it from normal play speed to 2x, 4x, and then 8x speeds. After that, it will return to normal speed. If pressed while playback is paused, it will play in slow motion forwards until you hit Play again.

REW - Each press will increment it from normal play speed to 2x, 4x, and then 8x speeds. After that, it will return to normal speed. If pressed while playback is paused, it will play in slow motion backwards until you hit Play again.

Back - Will bring up a menu that allows you to exit out of the program, resume playback, goto the title menu, and goto the main root menu, change settings, and (if in video mode) a playlist option.

Arrow keys - Allow navigation around menus. Pressing the Right key while paused will frame step the video with each press of the Right key. The up arrow key will bring up the titlebar, and the down arrow will immediately hide the titlebar.

Enter - Will select the currently highlighted button on the DVD menu.

Skip Back - This key will skip backward in time a certain number of minutes.

Skip Forward - This key will skip forward in time a certain number of minutes.

 

 

 

Girder Triggering:

There are a few events in simpleVideo that can trigger events in Girder. To use them, you must open the Settings.xml in the simpleVideo directory and make sure the GirderPath entry is correct for your setup. Then fill in each parameter with what you want to pass to Girder when this action occurs in simpleVideo.

  • TimeUpdateFrequency - enter the number of seconds you want between time updates
  • GirderPath - Make sure this is your path to the Girder event.exe file
  • AppStartEvent - Enter the string to send to Girder when simpleVideo starts up. For example if you want the SimpleVideoStart event in Girder to trigger, you could use something like this: SimpleVideoStart 18 -silent as the parameter for Girder, assuming the event in Girder is named SimpleVideoStart and the deviceID is 18.
  • AppCloseEvent - Enter the parameter string to send to Girder when simpleVideo closes.
  • StopEvent - Enter the parameter string to send to Girder when simpleVideo stops
  • NewChapterEvent - Enter the parameter string to send to Girder when a new chapter occurs. This parameter has three variables, [title-num], [current-chapter], and [total-chapters]. When these strings appear in the parameter string you specify, I will substitute the correct values for these parameters.
  • TimeUpdateEvent - Enter the parameter string to send to Girder to update the time elapsed and the total time. This parameter has two variables, [elapsed-time], and [total-time]. When these strings appear in the parameter string you specify, I will substitute the correct values for these parameters.
  • PlaylistChangeEvent - Enter the parameter string to send to Girder when the currently playing item in the playlist changes. This string has a variable, [title] that holds the new media items title. When this string appears in the parameter string you specify, I will substitute the correct value for this parameter.

 

History:

 

  • 2.2.6 - 3/31/2004
    • Added an option to not show the resume dialog for DVD's or Videos individually. Open the Settings.xml file and change the HideDVDResumeWindow or the HideVideoResumeWindow setting to True. If they are not there, you can just add the entries to the Configuration block.
    • Added an option to have a separate control window to control simpleVideo from another display, like on a touch panel. Open the Settings.xml file and change the ShowControlWindow setting to True. If this setting is not there, you can just add the entry to the Configuration block.
    • Added Alt-F4 as a command to close simpleVideo.
    • Did some work on playing ripped DVD directories to make it more forgiving. You should now be able to just hit play on a folder to play that directory. Still use the /Drive=%dirs|@@|"||% as the parameter line
  • 2.2.5 - 2/19/2004
    • Fixed a problem with Quicktime files. Please make sure you are running Quicktime 6.5, the latest version.
  • 2.2.4 - 2/9/2004
    • Fixed the problem with 4x3 ratio video files played on a widescreen display. The video was set to the wrong aspect ratio.
    • Now the default behavior on Stop is to set playback to the beginning of the video file. This way you can very quickly return to the beginning of the video by hitting stop and then Play to start playback from the beginning.
    • Added a setting to the settings.xml file (not in the on-screen GUI yet) to let you choose to hide simpleVideo when the playlist ends. Set the HideOnPlaylistEnd entry in the settings.xml file to true to hide simpleVideo, or false to leave it up when the playlist ends. If it doesn't exist in the file, just add the entry manually.
    • A fix to try to help stability issues.
  • 2.2.3 - 1/29/2004
    • Fixed a problem with setting the SkipTime mode in the Settings screen wasn't getting saved.
    • Fixed a problem with Skipping back not working correctly.
    • Added a check for quotes around the .iso filename when passing in as a parameter. If it already has quotes, I won't add them to filename again.
    • Added some extra work on resetting the filter graph when playing consecutive files in the playlist. I have been able to play successive DVD's in the playlist with WinDVD and Cinemaster codecs, but not PowerDVD.
  • 2.2.2 - 1/21/2004
    • Fixed a couple bugs with the Sonic Cinemaster codecs for playing DVD's.
  • 2.2.1 - 1/20/2004
    • The aspect ratio issues for Quicktime files is fixed since I am not using the third party control anymore.
    • Quicktime is now only needed if you want to play Quicktime files, it isn't necessary to just do DVD's or other video files. The previous caution is still valid, that you probably want to stay clear of bringing up the popup menu when a Quicktime video is playing as it could cause unstability.
  • 2.2 - 1/16/2004
    • Added Quicktime support. I have seen some wierd things using the ActiveX control like when bringing up the menu ontop of the Quicktime window, so in general just be cautious when playing Quicktime movies.
    • Added Girder capabilities to trigger Girder when certain things happen in simpleVideo. Read the Girder section for more details in this readme.
    • Changed the max speed for DVD playback to 32x
    • Changed/fixed the behavior when adding to the playlist. If the last file in the playlist completed, then adding a file to playlist will also start playing this new one. Otherwise when you add a media file to the playlist, it won't immediately start playing the new file.
    • Added lots of extra debugging info for troubleshooting users questions/problems
    • Fixed the problem with the /jump parameter not working with a DVD directory passed as parameter also.
  • 2.1 - 12/19/2003
    • Added ability to add DVD's and videos interchangably to the playlist. You can now add a file, Play a DVD in the drive, or add a ripped DVD folder to the playlist on the fly. I stil l have one remaining problem, and that is, it won't play the second DVD if you have more than one DVD (whether ripped or on disc) in the playlist, and if you are using a manual DVD decoder setting.
    • Added option to use ffdshow for DVD's. It already will use ffdshow if installed and configured for other media files. Note: In my testing, for playing .vob trailers, it would sometimes just show black video on them if I was using the ffdshow filter, so if you use .vob's as trailers, you may want to watch for this.
    • Changed the parameter string to pass it on the command line from myHTPC. Use this instead: /file=%files|@@|"||%. This will fix the problem with files that have commas in the name.
    • Added a new setting to let you specify where to vertically place the progress/title bar on the screen.
    • Will now disable the screensaver while simpleVideo is playing.
    • A few bug fixes.
  • 2.0 - 12/10/2003
    • Added ability to play other media types in addition to DVD's, such as .avi, .mpg, standalone .vob files and others. Use the new /file= parameter to pass in the file name. Reasons to use this over the WMP9 plugin are aspect ratio can be altered, true fast forward (based on codec) and immediate fullscreen.
    • Renamed simpleDVD to simpleVideo to reflect the new capabilities.
    • Added ability to randomly play trailers/demo files before the DVD or the movies files you want to play. You can specify the directory and the number of files to play in the Settings screen.
    • Can now use the volume up/down buttons specified in myHTPC to bring the playback volume up/down.
    • If playing a DVD or movie, pressing the up arrow will bring up the titlebar at the bottom, the down arrow will cause it to fade away immediately.
    • simpleVideo is now a single instance application, so calling it multiple times on accident should not mess things up.
    • Couple of bug fixes.
  • 1.6.4 - 11/19/2003
    • Fixed the case if you were using the DVD Decoder set to something besides default, and you selected your actual Audio card as the Sound Device in the Advanced settings. No sound was heard in this case.
  • 1.6.3 - 11/19/2003
    • I have added a trial fix for the problem users are having with getting simpleVideo to output DD/DTS sound. Set the 'AudioProperties' item to 1 instead of 0 in the settings.xml file located in the simpleVideo directory. Make sure you are using the Advanced settings and have selected whatever DVD Decoder you are using before you try this. You will see a popup box for the Audio properties for the DVD decoder that you are using when simpleVideo starts. Select the mode you want and then hit Apply and OK. I know this isn't the optimal solution, but I at least want to see if it works though. If it does then I will look into setting this information programmatically.
    • Now even if simpleVideo crashes, the Log.txt file will still be available to see the debug info.
  • 1.6.2 -11/17/2003
    • Fixed the problem with the 'Exit' not closing simpleVideo.
    • Added another fix for users still not able to get it working correctly. This will now use the VMR as a backup filter if there is a problem with the normal Video Renderer not working correctly.
  • 1.6.1 - 11/13/2003
    • Fixed simpleVideo so that it could be run without specifying the Starting directory when run from myHTPC. Also came into play when trying to use it as Autoplay executable.
  • 1.6 - 11/11/2003
    • Added a new parameter that you can specify which title number and chapter number to jump to on the DVD when simpleVideo starts. Look in the Parameters section in this readme for more details on how to use it.
    • Added a couple of keys and a new setting to skip forward and back a certain amount of time in minutes.
    • Fixed a couple of problems with resuming.
    • Fixed a problem with spaces in the ISO name when passing in an ISO file.
    • Can now turn on/off Log file using Settings screen.
    • Added a section to the 'DVD Options' that shows some details about the DVD itself.
    • Advanced screen has settings to specifically pick the DVD decoder and the sound device, but this code is Experimental, which means there may be problems running it. Use these settings if you have trouble getting simpleVideo to work correctly. I have also added a fix for users that were just missing the Video Renderer from the filter list. The BuildDVDGraphManual setting is now being used to pick which DVD decoder to use, so don't set this parameter manually anymore.
    • Removed dependence on Macromedia Flash completely.
  • 1.5.2 - 11/3/2003
    • Fixed a problem with resumes not happening with certain DVD's.
    • Fixed a problem with ISO's not working correctly.
  • 1.5.1 - 10/30/2003
    • Fixed error with settings not being saved.
    • Fixed an error with the resume not working.
  • 1.5 - 10/29/2003
    • Added the ability to mount DVD ISO's on the fly using DaemonTools by just passing in the /ISO= parameter. See the Parameters section above for more details. You don't have to do any calls to Daemon Tools before calling simpleVideo using this parameter. It mounts the ISO that you pass in and away it goes.
    • Added ability to resume a DVD in progress at last known location.
    • Can now set the delay for the display to 0 so that the title/time bar at bottom stays shown all the time instead of fading away.
    • Now if a button on the actual DVD menu is highlighted by the mouse it changes the cursor to a hand.
    • Added a setting to set the Display mode between Default, Fill Screen, 4x3 Chop, and Pan & Scan video modes. The Fill Screen option will make the video take up the entire screen real estate within the simpleVideo window, so it can be used for widescreen displays effectively.
    • Added offset parameters under the 'Advanced' screen in the Settings box. They are only used when in the Fill Screen mode. They can let you specify exactly where you want the video to be displayed within the simpleVideo window. For example, you could set the left offset to 50 to only make the video appear on the right side of the display if you so desired.
    • Added new settings to the Settings screen for each Key in simpleVideo. You can now specify which key function to use from your myHTPC keys for each action in simpleVideo. Also added another key to Close simpleVideo with one button.
    • PC Friendly is turned off by default.
    • Added some error trapping in a few locations for certain users having problems.
    • Debugging features: The filter graph that is being used for playback can now be looked at using Graphedit->File Menu->Connect To Remote Graph while simpleVideo is running. Hopefully this will allow us to see what is going wrong with certain users systems. Also each filter in the filter graph is added to the Log.txt file if the 'UseLogFile' entry in the settings.xml file is set to true.
    • A couple of interface tweaks

     

  • 1.4 - 10/18/2003
    • Now can read ripped DVD's on your hard drive! They need to be in the form of .IFO and .VOB files. Use the /drive= parameter described in the Parameters section of the readme file. Does not have the problem with nested folders anymore.
    • Tweaked On-screen display: now uses a 'cooler' looking progress bar and got rid of the top,right status display because it was redundant info.
    • Added a slow-motion feature that if you pause playback, then press FFW or REW it will play in slow-motion until you hit play again. The frame step is still available, but instead of hitting FFW, hit the right arrow key to frame step one frame at a time if video playback is paused.
    • Can now right click the window to bring up the menu.
    • Can click on the progress bar at bottom to skip to a particular spot in the current DVD title.
    • Most of the strings used in simpleVideo are now in the settings.xml file within the simpleVideo directory. Change the text in the 'Strings' section to match what you want to say. Make sure they are relatively the same size, otherwise there might be display problems. Change the text between the tags. For example, one looks like this: <Resume>Resume Playing DVD</Resume> . You could replace the 'Resume Playing DVD' with whatever you want it to say there instead.

     

  • 1.3.2 - 10/9/2003
    • Fixed a problem with starting up simpleVideo in some cases.
    • Fixed a problem with menu and setting screens making the display lose focus for an instant.
  • 1.3 - 10/4/2003
    • Added a new Settings screen to change program settings.
    • Menu will now wrap top/bottom and vice versa
    • Added customizable size's for menu and toolbar
    • Added a splash screen.
    • Added the ability to change the subtitle, audio track, and angle during DVD playback.
    • Can now single step frame-by-frame while you have playback paused.
    • Will now handle if there is not a DVD in the drive.
    • Completely changed the DVD playback code underneath the covers. Should now handle things better.
  • 1.2.1
    • Made the onscreen buttons for the button bar a little bigger. Also tried something different to get rid of the error on exit.
  • 1.2
    • New parameter: /desktop=x to set which display desktop to display simpleVideo on. The number used is the number that is displayed in Windows in Display Properties for the desktop you want to use. So to use desktop 2 as the display for simpleVideo, use this as the parameter: /desktop=2
  • 1.1.2
    • Tried another fix for users having problems getting it to run properly
    • New command line parameter: /Delay= to set the delay time the title/time bar is visible before hiding. For example to set the delay time to 15 seconds before hiding, use this as a parameter: /Delay=15
    • New command line parameter: /Fontsize= to set the font size used on the title/time bar. For example to set the font size to 20 , use this as a parameter: /Fontsize=20
  • 1.1
    • Now only uses the Flash Player if you use the on-screen toolbar for mouse users.
    • Also simpleVideo may work with just DirectX 8. Try it out and let me know.
    • All fonts are now anti-aliased so they look more professional
    • Now uses the overscan settings from myHTPC
    • Mouse support is now available. A new navigation toolbar is available via a command-line parameter.
    • New command line parameters - /CC to turn closed captioning on, /Drive= to specify which drive should be used, and / Toolbar to show the on-screen toolbar.
  • 1.0
    • Initial Release

 

Troubleshooting

  • No video, sound only - Could be a video card driver problem. I have seen this with a NVidia card, and it was fixed by upgrading my Nvidia drivers.
  • Nothing seems to work- Try the DVD Decoder setting on the other settings. You will have to restart after changing it to have an affect. If this doesn't work, if you have multiple DVD players/Codecs installed , then there may be a conflict between some of them. Look at the Log.txt file for clues as to the problem.
  • I can't run a DVD from my hard drive - This should work if the directory has a.IFO file(s) and the associated .VOB files. If you are using the ISO files, then make sure you have Daemon Tools installed and that you are passing the correct parameter to it, lncuding the virtual drive Daemon Tools uses for Device 0.
  • My remote doesn't seem to work - simpleVideo reads the keys from myHTPC. simpleVideo needs to be either installed in a directory directly underneath myHTPC, or myHTPC needs to be installed at C:\Program Files\myHTPC for this to work.
  • I can't get 5.1 sound or S/PDIF to work - Here are some things to try
    1. Try each of the Audio devices in the Settings screen under DVD. You will need to restart simpleVideo after changing it to take effect. Also make sure you have selected your DVD decoder (WinDVD, PowerDVD, etc.) to use in that screen also instead of just the Default Decoder.
    2. Try setting the 'AudioProperties' setting in the Settings.xml file in the simpleVideo directory to 1instead of 0, and then save the file and launch simpleVideo again. This will allow you to select the sound decoding method for your DVD decoder to S/PDIF.
    3. If this doesn't work, you can try the AC3Filter program from sourceforge. Once it is installed and setup for S/PDIF pass'through then simpleVideo will use it to decode the sound.
    4. Lastly if none of the above work, you can try changing some registry settings to see if they can work.
      • WinDVD (Intervideo) -
        • [HKLM\Software\Intervideo\Common\AudioDec]
        • "AUDIO"=dword:00000006

        and then try the following registry entry also

        • [HKCU\S-1-5-21-(...)\Software\Intervideo\Common\AudioDec
        • "AUDIO"=dword:00000006
      • PowerDVD (Cyberlink) -
        • [HKLM\Software\Cyberlink\PowerDVD]
        • "DSAUIF"=dword:00000004

        and

        • [HKCU\Software\Cyberlink\PowerDVD]
        • "DSAUIF"=dword:00000004

 

Enjoy,

Kenny