[Preparations and Software] Download and install the latest:

-MPC-HC (32bit version as the 64bit version of any MPC-HC build is not compatibl
e with madVR. JanWilliem32's builds. You
want the builds with SSE2 or opt
ionally AVX if your processor is of the Sandy Bridge architecture of newer) To r
ead
more about this MPC-HC fork see the rest of the thread. If you're not kn
owledgeable enough to follow along there
just know this MPC-HC fork gives
significant subtitle engine improvements among other things. If these two
circumstances were to change about the fork (frequent updates and stability) the
n this guide would be updated accordingly.)
-MadVR
-LAV filters
-Haali Media Splitter (Ordered chapter support in MKVs)
-madFLAC
Anything less than the latest versions are unacceptable, and can additionally ca
use unaccounted problems.
The installation order is Haali > LAV Filters (Or CoreAVC) > madFLAC > madVR.
MPC-HC can be installed before or after.
Installing the player: Simply extract the 7z to a stable location of your choice
such as the 32bit Program Files folder or the top level of a drive. Run it and
set it to handle all video related file associations under "Player > Formats".
Installing Haali: Go through the installer, and make sure the only options check
ed are ""Disable MPC internal Matroska splitter", and "Disable Gabest's Matroska
splitter". Very straight-forward.
Installing LAV Filters: Simply run the linked installer, and make sure all 64bit
versions are unchecked.
Installing madVR and madFLAC: Extract them to a folder location that you won't b
e changing, and run the respective "install.bat" files in each folder as an admi
nistrator.
[Initial MPC-HC Core Configuration]
Run MPC-HC and access the options dialogue, and go to the Output section.
Set renderer as madVR, and bring up the Internal Filter options.
Note: Some MPC-HC builds may not have internal filters. This is fine because the
purpose and ideology of a guide like this is to not use internal filters in the
first place. Proceed as normally if you're build is like this.
Disable all internal filters. The reasoning for this is in the encoding communit
y we all tend to rely on external filters for the sake of consistency across pla
yers. Not to mention that they're generally superior hence this guide.
Next bring up the External Filters options.
Add external filters in this order:
1. Haali Madia Splitter
2. madFlac source
3. File Source
4. LAV Splitter
5. madFlac Decoder
6. *CoreAVC Video Decorder
7. LAV Video Decoder
8. LAV Audio Decoder
*Optional if you want to use CoreAVC as opposed to the LAV Video Decoder;
in the past it at one point had slightly faster 8bit decoding than the L
AV Video Decoder, but this doesn't seem to
be the case anymore. Both suppor

t 10bit decoding, but CoreAVC is less comprehensive overall and slower.

Set all of these filters to "Prefer" .
Return to the External Filters section and double-click the LAV Splitter to invo
ke it's configuration window.
Go to the "Input Formats" tab and make sure "matroska" is unchecked. This is bec
ause, as stated above, we want to make sure Haali is splitting our MKVs and LAV
Splitter is handling everything else.
[Subtitle Configuration in MPC-HC]
Ever since a relatively-recent-but-I'm-too-lazy-to-look-up-exactly-which version
of madVR... support for MPC-HC's internal subtitle engine has been added. This
means we don't have to rely on something (very) shitty like directvodsub. Someth
ing unique about the internal subtitle engine is an architectural difference in
that it imposes subtitles essentially after all other rendering work has been do
ne. This was brought to light to me by a commenter "CV" and an encoder at Aftern
oon Naps Empire. This is good in theory, but not in practice because of some sca
ling issues that mess with typesetting, an issue with anamorphic video scaling b
ecause the internal subtitle engine imposes subtitles after the video is re-size
d to display resolution, and some bugs with color-space conversion because SD co
ntent and HD content use two different color-matrices and if the subtitles are n
ot rendered with the video then a slight difference can occur depending on how t
he subtitles were typesetted. xy-vsfilter, a more recent fork of vsfilter, fixes
most of these issues however it should be noted that because vsfilter applies s
ubtitles before display resolution resizing occurs the subtitles will have a low
er resolution to compared to the internal subtitle engine -- this is why this gu
ide has been updated to use JanWillem32's builds of MPC-HC AND NOT XY-VSFILTER (
I'm reiterating this here because people not familiar with the internal subtitle
engine were misinterpreting this explanation as instructions to use xy-vsfilter
. It's only mentioned because I'm debunking the idea that it's the best solution
.) which fixes, in my opinion, the worst of these issues with the internal subti
tle engine in default builds while retaining crisp high-resolution subtitles. La
stly what do you do if you have flashing subtitles on certain karaoke scenes? Th
is is a rare bug and is something can be usually be fixed by setting sub-picture
s to buffer to either 0 or 10; alternatively you can simply install xy-vsfilter
as this won't break the setup, however you will lose out on desktop resolution s
ubtitles.
Access the MPC-HC options dialogue.
In the Subtitles main section we can play with a couple configurations.
-Set sub pictures to buffer to 5. (see below)
-Enable "Limit the subtitle frame to keep the same aspect ratio as the video fra
me"
-Enable "Allow animation when buffering" Tweak as necessary if your CPU lacks po
wer.
[Hardware Acceleration]
Once again 10 bit encodes cannot be GPU decoded, though it works out because bot
h the LAV Video Decoder and CoreAVC will fall back to software decoding if you t
ry to play hi10p. In any case to configure GPU acceleration:
Double click the LAV Video Decoder filter to return to settings dialogue we used
a bit earlier;
under the "Hardware Acceleration" section set the correct decoder.
* nVidia CUVID if you have an nVidia GPU.
* DXVA2 (copy-back) if you have an AMD GPU though this decoder may also work wit
h other brand GPUs as a secondary option
* * Intel QuickSync if you have an Intel Sandy Bridge CPU with on-die graphics.
DXVA (native) cannot be used in this guide as it is incompatible with madVR.

Note: If you're using CoreAVC in order to configure it for hardware acceleration

simply access it's setting dialogue in the same way and tick the relevant optio
n under "Acceleration" based on the criteria I wrote above.
Note 2: (*) You may experience dropped frames with DXVA2 in copy-back mode if yo
u're running a 6000 series or below card; if this situation occurs you will want
to use LAV Video Decoder's software decoding instead.
[Advanced MPC-HC + Filter Core Configuration *3 part section]
Though this section is labeled advanced it is not optional. Here at the legendar
y BP w- ah.. you know the rest.
I. Optimizing madVR for the absolute best quality.
(Configuring it specifically for your device. Because I "care" about you. You're
there too.)
Access the madVR settings dialogue by playing any file, right-clicking, and sele
cting "filters".
Once in the settings access the "devices" section.
MPC-HC madvr settings Identification: Select the type of monitor this device is.
Properties: General rule of thumb is that monitors use PC levels (0-255) while t
elevisions expect 16-235 so pick accordingly. TN displays can use 6 or 7bit disp
lay bit-depth (latter preferred) while 8bit and higher is for IPS panels like th
e glorious U2410.
Calibration: Calibration is unnecessary unless you have spectrophotometer and a
high-end display (IPS). If this is the case then simply select the option that a
pplies to your calibration needs, otherwise ignore.
Display Modes: Leave this default except for checking "switch to matching displa
y mode.." with the first sub-option. Don't worry about Display Mode Switching un
less you know your display supports it.
Color & Gamma: Enable gamma processing if you aren't going to be calibrating, as
it helps. Use "pure power curve", and set the value between 2.20 - 2.40 dependi
ng on the lighting in your room. (use higher values for lower lighting)
Access the "processing" section.
Decoding: Leave everything unchecked.
Deinterlacing: Under the "Deinterlacing" section check the 1st and 4th selection
s.
Under the 1st selection select the first option of the two sub-choices.
Access the "scaling algorithms" section of the madVR settings.
Under "Scaling Algorithms" set "Crome Upscaling" and "Luma Upscaling" to 4 tap S
pline, while setting "Luma Downscaling" to Bi-Cubic 50. This allows for consider
able sharpness, and the closer the resolution of the video is to your display th
e less pronounced ringing will be, so it is not an issue with double 4 tap splin
e. You shouldn't be playing anything that has a resolution less than your Deskto
p, otherwise you don't belong at the BP.
Nothing in this section is negotiable considering that, however results may very
, and different people will like different things, so I can accept that much. It
should also be noted that if your GPU is not up to par you may have issues with
a double 4 tap spline. As such you can modify the algorithm to something less i
ntensive, or play with the settings under "rendering" in the next section.

Access the "rendering" section of the madVR settings.

General Settings: Up to your discretion.
Windowed Mode Settings: We want 8 back-buffers, and "flush, "flush & wait (sleep
)", "don't order", and "don't flush" in that order.
Exclusive Mode Settings: Only applies if you're going to use full screen exclusi
ve mode which is pretty shitty.
Trade Quality for Performance: If you have a considerably weak GPU such as somet
hing with less than 265mb dedicated graphics memory, or a low-end Laptop integra
ted graphics solution... you may need to enable some of these features. The last
option on this particular page only applies if you calibrate your monitor.
II. Additional LAV configuration and optional CoreAVC configuration Access the L
AV Audio Decoder settings. The default for everything on the "Audio Settings" ta
b should be fine.
Access the "Formats" tab.
MPC-HC Lav Audio Decoder Disable FLAC.
This is because we want to make sure madFLAC is decoding our FLAC because it has
better metadata support.