how to measure the dropped frame number

[owlpen]

hi guys,

i've seen many people talking about the average frame number and the number of droppped frame when they are profiling the performance of a video decoder on, e.g., HD streams. could someone tell me how i can get these numbers, using what software? thanks.

 

[xtknight]

Firstly, welcome to the forums...

There's one main method with which people measure these. Among all media players, it will show you the same info. In other words, all media players are equal in terms of playback performance, except under some rare conditions. That doesn't mean all containers or codecs will provide equivalent performance however (quite the contrary with various codecs).

In Windows Media Player, you can access the Statistics dialog via the View menu. This will show you dropped frames, actual FPS, and optimal/expected (encoded) FPS. Changing the used video mixer can have a dramatic effect on your performance (and compatibility). If your video card has HD H.264 acceleration support (only GeForce 7800GTX via PureVideo at this moment), then the Video Mixing Renderer will be faster ("high quality mode" under Tools->Options->Performance->Advanced). If not, the "overlay" mode will give you a little boost. Of course, this is only true providing H.264 is what you're using. Most of the Radeon X800 line and some of the GeForce 6 line of cards also feature WMV HD acceleration if you have the right supporting software and configuration. Hope this helps.

 

[owlpen]

xtknight, thanks. i didn't notice the view->statistics of WMP. then is it possible to change CODEC in WMP? i know we can do that in Zoom Player or Theatertek but never found how to do that in WMP.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: owlpen
xtknight, thanks. i didn't notice the view->statistics of WMP. then is it possible to change CODEC in WMP? i know we can do that in Zoom Player or Theatertek but never found how to do that in WMP.

Unfortunately, not easily. Windows Media Player invokes DirectShow, which you have to change accordingly. What the DirectShow Filter Manager does is search for filters (codecs) with the highest merit that are compatible with the media. So you have to increase the merit of the wanted codecs and/or lower the merit of the unwanted ones. Here's a good utility for doing that: RadLight. You may have to reboot for the merit changes to take effect. I'd just use Zoom Player if I were you though.

 

[rbV5]

Originally posted by: owlpen
xtknight, thanks. i didn't notice the view->statistics of WMP. then is it possible to change CODEC in WMP? i know we can do that in Zoom Player or Theatertek but never found how to do that in WMP.

For MPEG-2 decoder useWindows XP Video Decoder Checkup Utility