Video Troubleshooting Guide

[simplevr]

Troubleshooting video playback issues can usually be resolved with a few simple steps.

Full docs here: http://simplevr.pro/videoplayer/docs

1. Find Out the Video Codec

The first step to troubleshooting playback issues is to know the codecs used in your video (ie. AVC/h.264/x264, MPEG4 Part2, HEVC/h.265/x265). This will help determine why your particular video won't play properly. A common misconception is stating that a file extension such as ".mp4" will not play. File extensions such as .mp4 and .mkv are just video "containers" and can use different types of compression methods within these files.

To know the actual codec used in a video, I recommend using a MediaInfo tool to examine the video file such as https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo

2. Try Playing the Video in Standard Windows Media Player or Movies & TV App

The second step to diagnose playback issues is to play the video file in standard Windows Movies & TV or Windows Media Player app that comes with Windows and see what happens. The built in video player in Windows uses the same video decoders (Media Foundation) that Simple VR Video Player uses by default.

To open, right clicking the video file in File Explorer, Open With..., and choose Movies & TV App or Windows Media Player.

If the video struggles playing or stutters, that means that your version of Windows doesn't support that codec out of the box or your computer just can't playback the video properly. This is especially the case with high resolution 4k HEVC videos.

3. Use DirectShow w/LAV

Simple VR Video Players supports multiple video decoding engines that you can configure in the app to maximize compatibility. One of the most popular video engines is DirectShow.

You can set Simple VR Video Player to use DirectShow as its rendering engine under Super Advanced Settings. See the docs for more information:
http://simplevr.pro/videoplayer/docs

Many modern media players such as MPC-HC uses DirectShow as their video backend because it allows for advanced third-party decoders and splitters such as LAV and ffdshow to be used in its renderer.

LAV Filter is the best decoder for video out there now. It supports many more codecs than built into Windows and is faster than LibVLC. To use, first change the video engine in Simple VR Video Player to DirectShow and then download LAV from the internet and install it.

If you don't have it installed already, the easiest way to install LAV is through a "codec pack" such as K-Lite, Shark007, or Community Codec Pack (CCCP).

LAV Filter is maintained and updated regularly adding new codec support and fixing issues very often. https://github.com/Nevcairiel/LAVFilters/releases

Once installed, LAV will automatically start once you play a video with DirectShow enabled. You can see it working by seeing the LAV icons in the Windows systen tray on the bottom right corner of Windows.

4. Try LibVLC

LibVLC is an free open source project with an ambitious goal to decode every modern codec in use today. It's main advantage is that LibVLC relies completely on its own internal plugins to handle all decoding without outside dependencies or codecs. That means it can work on any operating system such as MacOS, Linux, and Windows which is why it's front-end app, VLC Media Player, is so widely adopted today across multiple platforms. Only downside is that VLC's main goal is compatibility across platforms so it's not the fastest decoder out there.

Known AC3 Audio Issues

There are known issues with videos containing AC3 audio (aka Dolby 5.1 surround sound). This is mostly due to licensing restrictions. Simple VR Video Player can't play Dolby surround audio out of the box unless your OS supports it since it requires licensing rights to decode. For example, if you try to play a video with AC3 audio in standard Windows 10 Media Player, it typically won't play the audio because Microsoft only licensed the codec for Metro or browser based streaming apps such as Netflix. Microsoft dropped DVD/AC3 playback after Windows 7.

As a result, most users end up using third party filters such as LAV audio decoder with DirectShow.

[unacerveza1]

No Super Enhanced since Steam 1.10 update