LAV Filters help

rbk123

Senior member
Aug 22, 2006
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I'm trying to setup my HTPC to just bitstream audio output from my MKV files. I'm following Assassin's guide on WMC set up using LAV Filters (don't need Shark007 for just bitstreaming). After installing and checking all of the formats for bitstreaming, it will pass DTS and DTS HD but it won't pass TrueHD. When I check the MKV's with TrueHD in them, via Graph Studio, LAV doesn't show up in the flow chart. When I check the DTSHD MKV's, via Graph Studio, LAV shows up in the flow.

Any ideas on what I need to do?
 

LoveMachine

Senior member
May 8, 2012
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I'm not a pro on this, but no one else has chimed in. Take this with a grain o' salt.

Dolby Labs is kind of finicky with their codec. For example, Handbrake won't directly handle TrueHD tracks because it would require the developers to pay a license, which they aren't willing to do. In a similar realm, LAV may not pass through the high level TrueHD portion of the audio track if the source has been transcoded from something else, and just ignores it. DTS-HD MA has been easier with all the various software/hardware combos I've used.

How are you generating the mkv's?
 

poofyhairguy

Lifer
Nov 20, 2005
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One piece of advice: install XBMC and make sure it can passthrough TrueHD (it should if you force the audio to HDMI passthrough in settings). Then you know if its a driver issue or software issue.
 

rbk123

Senior member
Aug 22, 2006
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I had it working prior with FFDShow, an older version of LAV, and a media player. I wanted to switch to WMC along with Media Browser like Assassin has in his blog and since I always output to a receiver or processor, I just need it to bitstream, no need for codecs.
I uninstalled the older LAV as well as FFDShow and then proceeded to follow Assassin's instructions. I downloaded the newer LAV, installed it and then loaded Graph Studio to check it. I also downloaded Media Browser and setup WMC as well, even though LAV isn't showing up for the TrueHD tracked files.

Now here's an interesting piece of info - WMC/Media Browser will show all the files and the cool metadata, etc... It will play the MKV's with TrueHD (but not pass it via bitstream to the processor), howevever it will not play the DTSHD MKV's and gives me a "File not found, it must have been moved" error (or something similar). To me this points to LAV not working correctly but not sure why.

I uninstalled the LAV and re-installed the prior older version (but not the FFDShow) and still no luck, so I'm kind of stuck. I could re-add FFDShow and see how that goes but I don't want/need the codecs so I was hoping I could just get the simple/pure setup that Assassin detailed working.
 

rbk123

Senior member
Aug 22, 2006
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How are you generating the mkv's?

I Demux out the TrueHD track, use Handbrake to generate a video only MKV file with the quality I want and with no audio track. Then I merge the TrueHD track into the video-only MKV file I created.
 

poofyhairguy

Lifer
Nov 20, 2005
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Wow, for that much work you could just go the extra step and decode the HD audio tracks into multichannel FLAC and add those to the mkv. No quality loss then.
 

nickbits

Diamond Member
Mar 10, 2008
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fwiw, as long as truehd is turned on in the filter properties, i've always had it work
 

LoveMachine

Senior member
May 8, 2012
491
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Also FWIW, I had very similar issues and error messages using the Assassin guide for WMC/MB (these guides are awesome, just not 100% foolproof). Had slightly better luck with the Shark007 pack, but still had lots of errors and playability issues. There are likely just certain hardware/driver/OS combos that don't like to work with each other. I wouldn't doubt that with all the tweaking I've done, Win7 probably has some registry glitch that's screwing everything up for me.

As XBMC evolves and it's ecosystem expands, I've increasingly turned more to it as my go-to HTPC interface. There is now a very usable netflix plugin, and PVR is improving, all controllable with a remote.
 

poofyhairguy

Lifer
Nov 20, 2005
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As XBMC evolves and it's ecosystem expands, I've increasingly turned more to it as my go-to HTPC interface. There is now a very usable netflix plugin, and PVR is improving, all controllable with a remote.

Agree 100%. Sure you aren't going to get that 10% quality boost MadVR provides. But you get the best skinable interface period that is completely remote driven in such a simple way that the dumbest member of your family could still use it.
 

rbk123

Senior member
Aug 22, 2006
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Wow, for that much work you could just go the extra step and decode the HD audio tracks into multichannel FLAC and add those to the mkv. No quality loss then.

?? It just adds 2 more steps and is pretty simple. I use TSMuxer to split out the audio track and then mkvmerge to put the track back in to the video only file from Handbrake. Not much too it and I retain the TrueHD track. 3 steps vs. just the 1 step for DTSHD MKV's.

Note, I only have to do that since Handbrake doesn't pass thru TrueHD. Since 90+% of BR's are DTSHD it's not much more hassle.

I've never used XBMC; how does it compare to WMC? I was starting to dig the look and feel of how WMC works via the Assassin way but I'm not married to it as I don't use it for anything else.
 
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