Winamp has slow /skipping video playback on Windows 7

I have Windows 7 x64 (7600 90-day trial version) and Winamp 5.6 installed. When I play a video in Windows Media Player, the video plays smooth, however when I play a video in winamp, the video is mostly ok when played back at the original size (but not completely), but if I play it back in fullscreen, the playback gets really slow. The video's audio track plays just fine.

I have a DELL XPS 420 computer (8GB of RAM) with a Nvidia GeForce 8800 CTS 512 video card. I've updated to the latest drivers. I have the default Windows 7 codecs, and the CCCP codec pack which used to be all I needed under Windows XP to play all types of videos. Are the codecs needed for Windows Y the same? What's going on?

UPDATE:

As suggested, I turned off Aero and winamp ran just fine again. So I just have to wait for winamp to be rewritten to work with the way Vista/Windows 7 runs?

UPDATE 2:

Winamp has updated their player, and it works great with Windows 7 now.

Roy Rico

Posted 2009-09-15T06:44:46.267

Reputation: 4 808

What does the video look like in VLC? If it's smooth, then it's the codecs you're using. – None – 2009-09-15T08:27:53.717

In VLC, the video is smooth playing, but pixelated when running in fullscreen mode. VLC doesn't have the key commands available when running in fullscreen mode either. – Roy Rico – 2009-10-22T22:49:32.723

Answers

It's not necessarily the codecs, could be the implementation of how Winamp displays video frames. If it's using old-school 2D pixel updates than moving from a small output window to a large full screen window dramatically increases the number of pixels being written.

Similarly, are you going "full screen" or "maximized window"? These are two discrete concepts, the latter probably means that too many pixels are being written.

If you set VLC to not use the Direct3D display mechanics the performance for it goes to poo also. Checking to see what options Winamp has here would be appropriate.

If the video plays okay in Windows Media Player than it's probably not the codecs, as IIRC WMP and WinAmp use the same codecs at runtime ( VLC has them built in ).

ted_j

Posted 2009-09-15T06:44:46.267

Reputation: 151

I looked at the hardware settings in Winamp, and as usual, they indicate that they are using hardware acceleration. :( – Roy Rico – 2009-09-15T15:24:28.690

IIRC "hardware acceleration" on older code was to use "DIB Sections" or DirectDraw surfaces, I forget which. Sadly, since Vista and Windows going to a composite display that is not the same thing.

Occurs to me you could test this theory by setting the display to non-aero mode, maybe. – ted_j – 2009-09-15T18:58:07.870