Postprocessing Guide

ffdshow

ffdshow is an all in one filter for the playback of many media types like DivX, XviD, MPEG, H.264, MP3, AAC, Vorbis, AC3 and more. With this codec installed you need nearly no other codec or codec packs.

An additional function of ffdshow is the postprocessing. Ffdshow is able to resize, sharpen and denoise the video playback. This way you can enhance your picture quality nearly to HD for most of your media.

There are many different ffdhow versions out there, which make the decision very difficult. Personally I would recommend to download the latest ffdshow tryout.

Postprocessing

Within MediaPortal you can add ffdshow as postprocessor in the sections TV, DVD and Movies. If you use ffdhow as main codec, you do not need to add it in the movies section. Because the settings will automatically be used when the codec is activated (eg. while playing XviDs).
You will have to add the "ffdshow raw video filter" in the section of your choice. In this guide we will add the filter for DVD playback.

Filter Properties

Now hit "Filter Properties" to bring up the ffdshow properties page. First of all you have to change the Decoder at the Codecs settings to all supported formats.

Blur & NR

Now on to the interesting parts. Make a check at "Blur & NR" (Noise Reduction) and move the filter above "Sharpen" and "Resize". Make the settings as suggested. The dnoise setting is especially useful for analog TV input.

Sharpen

Make the next check at "Sharpen" and move the filter between "Blur & NR" and "Resize". Make the settings as suggested. These settings will make the picture more crisp. Sitting near to the monitor it may look to crisp. But this effect is reduced on a normal distance.

Resize & aspect

Make the last check at "Resize & aspect" and move the filter below "Sharpen". These settings depend on your screen resolution. The settings shown are for a monitor with a resolution of 1280 x 1024. Important is the setting "Resize if..". If the source material already has a HD resolution a resize is not necessary anymore. Especially because this consumes much CPU power. You may ask, why I have chosen a higher resolution as the monitor supports. This is because of a natural soften effect on the downsizing, which gives a much smoother picture. On the settings page you can select the resize algorithm. Lancos gives you the best picture quality, but uses much CPU power. Just play around with these settings.

Final words

These settings are just suggestions. Play around with those and you may get a better picture. For your testing I would recommend to check OSD. This way you can see the CPU consumption. Postprocessing needs much CPU power, especially the resize part. But imho the result is worth the effort.