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VLC versus MPC-HC

post #1 of 69
7/26/12 at 8:51am
Thread Starter 
I see a lot of info on this forum about using MPC-HC but not about VLC. Yet just about anywhere else VLC is usually recommended because it can play most anything.

What I’m thinking is that MPC-HC is preferred for home theater because of certain things it can do in that environment. And VLC is preferred for playing most other video files such as VIDEO_TS and .avi. Would that be a fair assessment of when to use these?
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post #2 of 69
7/26/12 at 9:17am
MPC-HC plays those too. As a matter of fact I don't think there's anything it cannot play and with the addition of LAV you can get HD Audio too.

mpc_options_formats.jpg

I find no reason whatsoever to use VLC for a HT or even on my desktop PC because when I'm testing things on my PC I want to use the same player I use on my HTPC. MPC-HC allows complete control. You can add in or take out support for just about any format you want. There's nothing that I have tried to play with it that has failed to play.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Video/Video-Players/Media-Player-Classic-Home-Cinema.shtml
http://opensource.about.com/od/desktopapps/fr/Media-Player-Classic.htm
Edited by Sammy2 - 7/26/12 at 9:22am
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post #3 of 69
7/26/12 at 9:19am
MPC-HC allows you to choose which fliters/renderers to use, i.e. LAV filters, MadVR, etc. VLC I believe is self contained, uses it's own internal versions and can't be customized.
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post #4 of 69
7/26/12 at 9:21am
I have VLC on my desktop and I've often wondered about using it with an HTPC given that it has all the codecs built in. It seems to me though that the picture is not as good in VLC though. It always seems a bit 'blockly' for lack of a better word. Maybe someone else knows what I am talking about and can explain it better.
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post #5 of 69
7/26/12 at 9:26am
Bottom line and is that VLC is a college project on lock down and MPC-HC is open source and user adjustable. With MadVR it is absolutelly stunning. Every bit as good as my stand along Blu-ray Player that has not been used for nearly a year now. VLC is crap. Leave it behind and you will never miss it.
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post #6 of 69
7/26/12 at 2:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

Bottom line and is that VLC is a college project on lock down and MPC-HC is open source and user adjustable. With MadVR it is absolutelly stunning. Every bit as good as my stand along Blu-ray Player that has not been used for nearly a year now. VLC is crap. Leave it behind and you will never miss it.

I could not agree more. In my experience mpc-hc/lav/madvr is the superior player in every way. Except one. Ease of use. I cringe trying to imagine explaining mpc-hc set up to any of my non-computer savvy acquaintenances. Just take a look at the advanced mpc-hc set up sticky thread. How many pages has that gone now? If somebody tells me they have a video file that they can't play, probably because they are still using wmp or qt, I'll just tell them to get vlc. Done.

Now on the other hand, if I know someone is trying to get the most out of their video files or isn't afraid to spend some time in configuration I'd send them right here to avs and the aforementioned advanced mpc-hc thread in a heartbeat. It is worth it if you're willing to put forth the effort.
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post #7 of 69
7/26/12 at 8:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

...VLC is a college project on lock down and MPC-HC is open source...
Umm... what???

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-sources.html

To answer the OP's question, it all comes down to personal preference and features. I find myself using VLC a lot more than I do MPC-HC. VLC allows me to easily do things some things that you can't (easily) do with MPC-HC like remuxing TS streams to remove errors.

MPC-HC is a DirectShow based program and quite honestly, there are other DirectShow players that I prefer for my media needs. Don't get me wrong, MPC-HC is a terrific player, just not my preference although I've made a couple of small contributions to the project over the years.

VLC is a good troubleshooting tool to have when you run into problems playing a video in any DirectShow player. If it plays in VLC, the problem is with your DirectShow filters and/or configuration and not with the video file.

Anything that MPC-HC can play can also be played with any other DirectShow player using the same filters/decoders. So then it just boils down to featureset and preference.
Edited by vladd - 7/26/12 at 8:25pm
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post #8 of 69
7/26/12 at 8:21pm
mpc-hc, lav, madvr for me as well.
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post #9 of 69
7/26/12 at 10:24pm
i find myself using VLC 90% of the time. i guess it comes down to ease of use and set up. i basically turn on hardware acceleration and thats it.

MPC-HC is an ok player on its own but you have to add stuff to it and set that up to get what people here consider 'good quality'.
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post #10 of 69
7/26/12 at 10:38pm
Thread Starter 
I want to put a separate video player on the HTPC. I have no plans to play Blu-ray on the HTPC since I have a stand alone Blu-ray player.

I do have both MPC-HC and VLC on my desktop. Every time I run MPC-HC it wants me to install a newer version of some DirectX End-User Runtime program. I already have the latest version of DirectX & from what I recall I needed some other large file to download. I thought that was lot to do just to play a video so I usually use VLC

I don’t have a problem putting MPC-HC on the HTPC, but it almost seems like a bit of overkill to also install another version of DirectX (or whatever it takes), plus a library of filters, plus madvr. Previously I did start reading through the Advance MPC-HC Setup Guide thread, but then thought why not just use VLC. I’m not challenging anybody, I just don’t fully understand all the pros & cons of these 2 programs.
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post #11 of 69
7/26/12 at 10:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcantu1 View Post

i find myself using VLC 90% of the time. i guess it comes down to ease of use and set up. i basically turn on hardware acceleration and thats it.
MPC-HC is an ok player on its own but you have to add stuff to it and set that up to get what people here consider 'good quality'.

You assume that "good quality" on MPC-HC is equivalent to VLC, it is not, it exceeds it.

VLC and MPC-HC can work just as well as each other if all you want is a player to play back most video files. I'm sure there may be some differences in what formats/codecs/containers etc. one can play that the other can't, but in general, MPC-HC is chosen more here because it is more customisable, you can update the codecs etc. at your own pace rather than having to wait for when VLC does.

At the end of the day, they both serve their purpose well and it is up to the individual to decide what they will end up using. Both being free means you can just install both anyway.
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post #12 of 69
7/26/12 at 11:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hdkhang View Post

At the end of the day, they both serve their purpose well and it is up to the individual to decide what they will end up using. Both being free means you can just install both anyway.
Quoted for emphasis.

Bottom Line: Use what works for you, whatever it is.
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post #13 of 69
7/27/12 at 4:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

Bottom line and is that VLC is a college project on lock down and MPC-HC is open source and user adjustable. With MadVR it is absolutelly stunning. Every bit as good as my stand along Blu-ray Player that has not been used for nearly a year now. VLC is crap. Leave it behind and you will never miss it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by vladd View Post

Umm... what???
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-sources.html
To answer the OP's question, it all comes down to personal preference and features. I find myself using VLC a lot more than I do MPC-HC. VLC allows me to easily do things some things that you can't (easily) do with MPC-HC like remuxing TS streams to remove errors.
MPC-HC is a DirectShow based program and quite honestly, there are other DirectShow players that I prefer for my media needs. Don't get me wrong, MPC-HC is a terrific player, just not my preference although I've made a couple of small contributions to the project over the years.
VLC is a good troubleshooting tool to have when you run into problems playing a video in any DirectShow player. If it plays in VLC, the problem is with your DirectShow filters and/or configuration and not with the video file.
Anything that MPC-HC can play can also be played with any other DirectShow player using the same filters/decoders. So then it just boils down to featureset and preference.

I know it is open source now but it started as a college project. I told a "half-truth".

As far as remuxing TS streams that is a good feature, but frankly, I've never had to do that. A little more information as to what conditions would cause a need to do that would be great. Thanks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcantu1 View Post

i find myself using VLC 90% of the time. i guess it comes down to ease of use and set up. i basically turn on hardware acceleration and thats it.
MPC-HC is an ok player on its own but you have to add stuff to it and set that up to get what people here consider 'good quality'.

Which is where VLC fails.. IE: No HD Audio. If it was user adjustable it would make for a better player, I'm sure of it.
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post #14 of 69
7/27/12 at 6:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

I know it is open source now but it started as a college project. I told a "half-truth".
Ah gotcha. Most open source programs start as just a project though, college/personal or otherwise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

As far as remuxing TS streams that is a good feature, but frankly, I've never had to do that. A little more information as to what conditions would cause a need to do that would be great. Thanks.
Which is where VLC fails.. IE: No HD Audio. If it was user adjustable it would make for a better player, I'm sure of it.
I have recorded TV shows that have glitches in the stream that choke every single DirectShow source filter out there. With one particular channel (local FOX affiliate), anything I record on it loses seek capability whenever they switch between the national and the local feed (like ads for the local news). I have to fix the recordings with either VLC or VideoRedo to regain seek capabilities.
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post #15 of 69
7/27/12 at 6:48am
Okay.. using WMC for DRM recodring with a CableCARD tuner results in good quality *.wtv files.

I was looking at the VideoLAN site earlier today. I haven't looked there in a while. Looks like the project has really moved along. Has anybody used the Movie Maker? And what about the format changer. The information is sparse as to what formats one can change to/from. Is there a wiki I didn't see (didn't spend too much time looking).

Thanks. My interest is peaked.
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post #16 of 69
7/27/12 at 7:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike99 View Post

I want to put a separate video player on the HTPC. I have no plans to play Blu-ray on the HTPC since I have a stand alone Blu-ray player.
I do have both MPC-HC and VLC on my desktop. Every time I run MPC-HC it wants me to install a newer version of some DirectX End-User Runtime program. I already have the latest version of DirectX & from what I recall I needed some other large file to download. I thought that was lot to do just to play a video so I usually use VLC
I don’t have a problem putting MPC-HC on the HTPC, but it almost seems like a bit of overkill to also install another version of DirectX (or whatever it takes), plus a library of filters, plus madvr. Previously I did start reading through the Advance MPC-HC Setup Guide thread, but then thought why not just use VLC. I’m not challenging anybody, I just don’t fully understand all the pros & cons of these 2 programs.

A fully configured MPC-HC setup doesn't even take 10 minutes to have all of the features working. You only need to read the first page of that big thread, and mostly the first post, and the instructions are always updated. I just re-did it with all of the latest things a week ago, and it works perfectly. Like others have said earlier, the quality is outstanding, and the full support of all hd-audio codecs are a must-have for me.

VLC is a great utility program to play obscure formats quickly. I used to use VLC for randomly downloaded video clips back in the day, but while it would play everything, it wouldn't play them all well. Just a bare-bones MPC-HC with a LAV install (without any additional configuration) played all of the same files, and with less issues. (at least for what i was trying to play) But this being a forum which really is focused on audio/video or home theaters in general, I don't think it's really a product best used on an "HTPC" but rather just a "PC'.
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post #17 of 69
7/27/12 at 8:41am
I don't ever recall being asked to d/l directX. Maybe because I installed it on my machine as part of the initial set up so it was already there. MPC-HC loads flawlessly each time as an external player from w/in MB for me. Now watch, because I said that it'll fail next time!

Like damelon, I have VLC on my PC but usually just use the MPC-HC on my PC to test playback of rips after they're done. I am interested in some of the other features of VLC, though.
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post #18 of 69
7/27/12 at 8:21pm
I think you read people everywhere else using VLC as they mostly are just using it on a desktop pc to watch something on a monitor. Here you have people
using their player with a Home Theater so they want a little more than "it plays anything".

MPC seems to have more customization. Plus it had HD audio bitstreaming way before VLC (does VLC now?)

If you like VLC then by all means use it though.
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post #19 of 69
7/27/12 at 10:11pm
VLC is my player of choice if I am not running windows on a PC (Mac, Linux etc)

MPC-HC with MadVR is not my first choice, it has intermittent problems shutting down cleanly, meaning it has to be killed from task manager before another file can be played. The older 0.81 version seems to work better, not sure if it is a MPC-HC or MadVR problem
I have gone back to using JRiver Media Center with MadVR.

http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/mpc-hc/ticket/2287
http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/mpc-hc/ticket/2253
http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/mpc-hc/ticket/2312
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post #20 of 69
7/27/12 at 10:59pm
Thread Starter 
I have MPC-HC build 1.5.2.3456. When I play a video I get a message “The installed DirectX End-User Runtime is outdated and to install the June 2010 release or newer in for MPC-HC to function properly.” I click OK & the video does play anyway.

I ran the DirectX Diagnostic Tool and it said DirectX 11 is on my PC.

Previously I did a lot of Googling about “DirectX End-User Runtime”. From what I could find I need to download a 95.6 MB package in order to get DX9. This was quite large & I decided not to do it because MPC-HC still played videos after I clicked “OK” past the message.

I starting re-reading the Advanced MPC-HD Setup Guide. It says I need to install MadVR, LAV filters, and Reclock. And of course that would be in addition to the large “DirectX End-User Runtime” package, if indeed I really need that. This just seems like a lot of add ons in order to play mpeg2 and VIDEO_TS. Or do I just need all of these if I want to play Blu-ray or other formats?

Again, I’m not trying to challenge anyone. I have used both on my desktop but feel I don’t need both on the HTPC & am trying to make a informed choice which one to use.
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post #21 of 69
7/27/12 at 11:09pm
Quote:
Previously I did a lot of Googling about “DirectX End-User Runtime”. From what I could find I need to download a 95.6 MB package in order to get DX9. This was quite large & I decided not to do it because MPC-HC still played videos after I clicked “OK” past the message.
95.6MB? Large package? Are you running on an Android tablet or something? I haven't considered 96MB large since Win 95.
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post #22 of 69
7/28/12 at 12:12am
I always install the direct x thing. It's not that serious. You don't need all the other filters it should play everything without them. That's for added customization.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
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post #23 of 69
7/28/12 at 2:49am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by olyteddy View Post

95.6MB? Large package? Are you running on an Android tablet or something? I haven't considered 96MB large since Win 95.

It’s all relative. The whole MPC-HC folder is only 15.0 MB, and the .exe file is 11,363 KB. Previously I thought I had DirectX 10 and 11 and they were something like 5 or 10 MB each. So 95 MB seemed a lot, & some people had problems after installing it. And if I already had the latest then why install DirectX 9. Of course now I cannot find where the heck the DirectX files are located.

That being said, I had installed the 64 bit version of MPC-HC. But I notice the Advanced MPC-HC Setup Guide says to install MPC-HC x86. Could that possibly be the reason why I get that DirectX Runtime message?

Or is the 32 bit version recommended because the other programs (MadVR, LAV, Reclock) are 32 bit?
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post #24 of 69
7/28/12 at 5:10am
You don't need MadVR, LAV or Reclock to use MPC-HC unless you are trying to do other things with it. It will work with its own codec set
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post #25 of 69
7/28/12 at 6:17am
I used to use VLC but switched to MPC because of better video playback. With VLC, if I skip to a certain point, the video is chunky for some period of time for a lot of videos. Almost like VLC uses some sort of compression/optimization to not refresh every pixel. I also like the ability to pause/resume in MPC by just clicking on the video.
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post #26 of 69
7/28/12 at 10:58am
mpc-hc is probably better with upsampling and scaling, especially with MadVR. one advantage i see for VLC is speed controls. it's more convenient with keyboard shortcuts, whereas with mpc you need to use reclock
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post #27 of 69
7/28/12 at 3:26pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

You don't need MadVR, LAV or Reclock to use MPC-HC unless you are trying to do other things with it. It will work with its own codec set

Are you using the 32 bit or 64 bit version of MPC-HC?

Did you have to install the “DirectX End-User Runtime” package?

Do you have any idea where the DirectX files are located? I'm just curious where I previously found them. It's been a while but IIRC there might have been separate 32 bit & 64 bit folders.
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post #28 of 69
7/28/12 at 3:49pm
MPC always asks me for the directx install. Yes you can skip it but it was never an issue for me. If he is using madvr then he is using the 32bit MPC.

I really don't understand why you are so concerned with the directx thing. Its not like its going to slow your system down. Are you running on a 10gb hard drive?

You seem to really be wanting to stick with VLC so go for it.
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post #29 of 69
7/28/12 at 7:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike99 View Post

Did you have to install the “DirectX End-User Runtime” package?
Do you have any idea where the DirectX files are located? I'm just curious where I previously found them. It's been a while but IIRC there might have been separate 32 bit & 64 bit folders.
Free download from Microsoft:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/search.aspx?q=DirectX+End-User+Runtime (Generic search so the link does not get outdated with the next release. Just download the latest package.)

There is no x86/x64 packaging. Same one works for both.

DirectX is used in much more than just HTPC software.
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post #30 of 69
7/29/12 at 12:20am
Thread Starter 
I'm not "concerned with the directx thing". I just don't want to install stuff that's not needed.

And I don't have a preference for either program. As I've said before, I have both on my other PC.

I used to use MPC (not MPC-HC) on my older desktop & it never asked for any updated “DirectX End-User Runtime”. So I'd like to know why it's now needed, especially since the the latest DirectX is already on the PC.
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