SoftReel Version History

New in 2.30 beta 4

NEW: "Display stream format" setting enables the display of basic stream information for a few seconds during video playback. The stream information includes the MPEG and chroma formats, the video resolution, the aspect ratio and the frame rate.
FIX: Improvements to installation program
FIX: In trial version, logo and trial overlays would sometimes appear distorted

New in 2.30 beta 3

NEW: "Enable VMR7 deinterlacing for third-party applications" setting fixes deinterlacing in TransEdit Preview window. However, because of potential side-effects on other apps, this setting is disabled by default. (thanks to Ed Rios)
FIX: Some non-intra streams displayed a black video output

New in 2.30 beta 2

FIX: Some non-intra streams displayed a black video output (thanks to Photoman and Chris)
FIX: Display mode setting implemented in version 2.30b1 was not working properly with EM2V/PIM2 AVI files
Performance improvements:
- Increased maximum number of supported threads from 4 to 16
- Tweaked processor detection to avoid using CPU features when they decrease performance (please report any significant performance drop from version 2.20, especially on Pentium M (Banias/Dothan), Core Solo/Duo (Yonah) and Pentium 4 (any NetBurst) processors)
- FIX: Number of runtime threads is now dependent on each application's configuration (process affinity)

New in 2.30 beta 1

NEW: Display mode setting allows undistorted viewing of the left/right image of a side-by-side 3D video
NEW: Support for Windows 7
NEW: Added support for non-intra streams (thanks to Photoman)
NEW: Added support for field pictures
NEW: Improved support for non-standard MPEG-1 frame rates
FIX: Improved performance on AMD Geode GX processors
FIX: Some streams could cause a rare first-chance exception inside the debugger on multi-threaded systems

New in 2.20

NOTE: The DVD input format must be enabled for DVD playback (this option is disabled by default to avoid potential conflicts with third-party DVD applications)

Multiple fixes related to DVD playback:
- FIX: Crash with third-party DVD Navigator filters when "Drop frames to keep audio and video synchronized" setting was enabled
- FIX: DVD still pictures (menus) would not get displayed
- FIX: Possible video corruption when using Overlay Mixer
- FIX: DVBViewer 4.1.0.0 freezes when starting DVD playback
- FIX: MyTheatre 4.00 beta 11 freezes when starting DVD playback
- FIX: VCD/DVD playback with CyberLink DVD Navigator fails the first time but works afterwards
- FIX: Video freezes or remains black with DVD Navigator
FIX: Picture slideshow VCD/SVCD discs would not play properly
FIX: Improved frame rate change detection
NEW: Implemented support for various picture aspect ratios (5:4, 3:2, 8:5, 5:3 and 17:9)
FIX: Aspect ratio settings other than 'Automatic' would not work properly
FIX: Aspect ratio setting change now takes effect on-the-fly
FIX: Improved support for MPEG-1 streams
NEW: Experimental support for Windows 7 RC1
Minor performance optimizations

New in 2.10

NEW: In registered version, maximum number of simultaneous video streams that can be played is now unlimited for all v2.x user licenses
NEW: Enabled picture-in-picture (PiP) in third-party applications that support this feature, for all v2.x user licenses
NEW: SoftReel now works with ProgDVB
REGRESSION FIX: Seek while playing, seek while paused, or play after stop was broken in v2.10 beta 1, resulting in choppy video playback
To allow users to better evaluate the video quality, the bottom watermark in the trial version is now briefly displayed periodically (once every few minutes) instead of being permanently visible
Improved playback of unencrypted DVDs (but no menus yet)
Improved support of third-party DVD Navigator filters
Added DVD input format (MEDIATYPE_DVD_ENCRYPTED_PACK) to configuration settings to support Microsoft DVD Navigator (disabled by default to avoid breaking playback of encrypted DVDs)
FIX: Improved smoothness of video playback
FIX: In rare cases, loss of A/V sync was slow to recover
FIX: Start of playback was sometimes slightly jerky
FIX: Some pictures at start of playback were not being displayed
FIX: In DVBViewer Pro, Preview and Mosaic views would not work with single-stream licenses
Improvements for stability and robustness
Improved compatibility with third-party filters
Improved handling of non-standard streams
Renamed input/output pins to "MPEG In" and "Video Out" respectively

New in 2.10 beta 1

Numerous fixes and improvements for DVB applications (DVBViewer, DVBDream, MyTheatre)
Added deinterlacing support (performed by graphics cards) - NOTE: Deinterlacing is CPU-intensive
- FIX: Horizontal bands and artifacts around moving objects in interlaced video when viewed on progressive display screens (thanks to Chris)
Added configuration setting to toggle deinterlacing (default is enabled)
Implemented 3:2 pulldown (telecine) support
- FIX: Various playback problems (A/V sync, choppy video, video played too fast or too slow, stuttering audio) with some streams (including VOB files)
Microsoft MPEG-2 Demultiplexer is now supported (connection no longer fails)
- FIX: Improves playback of captured DVB files
Improved video timing locking and accuracy
- FIX: Intermittent black flash in DVBDream
- FIX: A/V sync could drift over a long period of time in DVB applications
Added support for changes to the stream format (such as resolution):
- FIX: In MyTheatre, audio plays but video remains black
- FIX: Changing channels in DVB applications was not functioning properly
- FIX: Video corruption (upside-down picture, wrong colors, slanted video, video wrapped around from bottom to top of window, video scaled incorrectly, video in top-left corner of window, duplicated image, etc)
- FIX: Frame rate changes caused various playback problems (A/V sync, choppy video, video played too fast or too slow, temporary video freeze)
FIX: DVBDream crash when tuning some HD channels
FIX: Access violation with some channels in MyTheatre
FIX: Improved handling of non-standard streams

New in 2.01

CRITICAL FIX: On multi-processor systems (includes processors with Hyper-Threading Technology, processors with 2 or more cores, or multi-socket systems), a buffer overflow condition can occur with some MPEG streams, causing stack corruption and unexpected termination of the application

New in 2.00 final

FIX: Disabled "Use Overlay Mixer" setting in Windows Vista (playback would fail in Windows Media Player)
FIX: SoftReel license would immediately expire in a user account without Administrator privileges
FIX: A new installation of SoftReel would immediately expire if a prior version was not uninstalled properly
REGRESSION FIX (introduced in 2.00 beta 5): On Windows Me/98/95, playback could not resume after stopping
SoftReel setting "Use advanced video display (Overlay Mixer)" has been renamed to "Use Overlay Mixer"
Various improvements to install program

New in 2.00 beta 6

FIX: Improved image quality of interlaced frame pictures
Improved performance and stability on multi-processor systems
Enhanced robustness to corrupted streams
Improved compliance with MPEG-2 video standard
Eased debugging for developers by eliminating first-chance exception messages during playback
FIX: Rare memory access violations with some streams

New in 2.00 beta 5

Optimized for multi-processors (includes Hyper-Threading Technology, dual-core and quad-core processors), up to 4 cores total
FIX: In applications that use IAMMultiMediaStream, video played in a separate ActiveMovie window instead of the client window

New in 2.00 beta 4

Increased maximum resolution to 1920x1152 to support DVB streams
Implemented playback of MPEG-2 4:4:4 video streams
New input media types (MPEG-1 packet, MPEG-2 PES and MPEG-2 pack)

New in 2.00 beta 3

FIX: Video display corruption with JVC Everio camcorder files
New setting to select playback aspect ratio (useful when the wrong aspect ratio is encoded in a stream)
Redesigned Settings property page UI
Additional performance optimizations

New in 2.00 beta 2

FIX: Processor-specific performance regression introduced in beta 1
Implemented additional MMX/SSE performance optimizations for YUV output formats
Enabled optimizations for processors without SSE support (up to 20% faster)
Added support for any resolution with an even width (previously, the width had to be a multiple of 16)

New in 2.00 beta 1

MPEG-2 high-definition (HD) support (resolutions up to 1920x1080)
Support for all 18 ATSC formats (SDTV, EDTV, HDTV)
Up to 3 times faster performance than version 1.x
New MMX, SSE and SSE2 optimizations
Reduced CPU usage
Smoother video playback
Real-time playback of 1920x1080 HD streams
Support for 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio
Support for any resolution with an even height (previously, the height had to be a multiple of 16)
Improved handling of corrupted MPEG-2 streams
Improved decoder stability
Improved seeking
Improved support for a wide range of CPUs (Intel, AMD, VIA, Transmeta)
MPEG-1 video decoding support
Experimental Windows Vista support
Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) compatible
Simple one-click installation
Improved install/uninstall
Settings are now configurable per user
New configuration settings:
- MPEG-1 video input
- RGB output formats (RGB32, RGB24, RGB565, RGB555)
- NV12 output format
- Display frames with errors
Numerous fixes and improvements, including:
- FIX: Unable to playback after seeking in some files
- FIX: Various cases of bad/corrupted blocks
- FIX: Potential deadlock with corrupted streams
- FIX: Video was sometimes slanted when using RGB output formats
- FIX: Standard user accounts can now modify configuration settings
- FIX: End of playback issues