Frame drops/audio drops/gray video + .h265 handbrake

[KeanuKirk]

Using Handbrake in Linux, I'm encoding video into .h265. Playback has several issues:
- non-constant framerate
- frame drops
- after complete momentary frame stutter, the video window turns to a embossed gray looking output with video data there and as it catches up decoding, it gradually replaces parts of the gray display with the actual properly colored video.
- audio will occassionally stutter in sync with video artifacts.
- Stuttering occurs at variable intervals... sometimes it'll play up to 30 seconds without issues, sometimes it stutters every few seconds. Sometimes it goes gray and recovers within a few seconds.
- I suspect scene complexity has something to do with it.

For reference, MPC-HC plays the same video back perfectly. Seeks instantly to selected point in timeline... no stutters, no framedrops, no gray video sections, no issues whatsoever.

CPU: AMD A4 PRO-7300B APU w/ Radeon HD Graphics 3.80 Ghz
Video: AMD Radeon HD 8470D
RAM: 8 GB
Windows 10 Pro v 1809

Logfile: [url]https://pastebin.com/2MimwGRJ[/url]

[Lotesdelere]

Is it any better if you use DirectX audio output ?
You need to exit and restart VLC after changing this setting.

If not, then upload a short sample of a problematic file to Zippyshare.com (200 MB max) or to WeTransfer and then post the link to the file here.
http://www.zippyshare.com
https://wetransfer.com

If needed cut it with DGsplit and read here about how to do it:
http://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=57724&p=193335#p193335
100 MB max should be enough.

[KeanuKirk]

Is it any better if you use DirectX audio output ?
You need to exit and restart VLC after changing this setting.

If not, then upload a short sample of a problematic file to Zippyshare.com (200 MB max) or to WeTransfer and then post the link to the file here.
http://www.zippyshare.com
https://wetransfer.com

If needed cut it with DGsplit and read here about how to do it:
http://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=57724&p=193335#p193335
100 MB max should be enough.

I had tried using all the various audio output modules. I also tried using various video output methods as well (e.g. OpenGL). Incidentally, OpenGL worked a little better but not as perfect as MPC-HC and the cursor and status bar w/ timeline at the bottom disappeared.

Unfortunately due to the copyright of the video, I can't upload it. However, if you take in most any Blueray source, use Handbrake, select .h265, set encode speed to slow or slowest, use Q=21, and generally select all settings that result in a higher quality. I noticed that the higher the optimizations, the higher the CPU use during playback. Playback seems to have gotten marginally better if I encode at the fastest encode speed. I'm using 1080p sources and does not seem to be limited to any one disc. Everything I try has the same issue in VLC, but consistently not in MPC-HC.

[Lotesdelere]

A 30 second sample file is tolerated for fair use.
Please upload a cut of your file because the way it has been encoded can differ from computer to computer.

Anyway, your Radeon HD 8470D surely can't do HEVC hardware decoding so it's all about your CPU decoding in software mode.
And I'm afraid the poor AMD A4 PRO-7300B, even though it has a high frequency, has only two cores and will struggle to decode a 1440*1080 video in software mode.
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+A4+PRO-7300B+APU&id=2439

[KeanuKirk]

A 30 second sample file is tolerated for fair use.
Please upload a cut of your file because the way it has been encoded can differ from computer to computer.

Anyway, your Radeon HD 8470D surely can't do HEVC hardware decoding so it's all about your CPU decoding in software mode.
And I'm afraid the poor AMD A4 PRO-7300B, even though it has a high frequency, has only two cores and will struggle to decode a 1440*1080 video in software mode.
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+A4+PRO-7300B+APU&id=2439

Copy all. I'll make a cut of the file in the future.

If the current hardware can't do it, why can MPC-HC do it flawlessly? Is there any cheap video card that will do HEVC in hardware that will not require replacing the whole computer? I don't play games on this computer - I just watch videos on the TV with it.

[Lotesdelere]

That's why we need a sample file, for testing purposes!

About the graphics card, that's what I found on the GeForce.com forum:

https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/981372/geforce-basics/which-gpus-support-hevc-a-k-a-h-265-/

Q: I am wondering which GeForce GPUs support H.265.

A: Any "GTX" class 600,700,900,or 1000 series Nvidia GPU.

[KeanuKirk]

This problem was solved by upgrading the video card to something that supports hardware decoding.