A few questions about finetuning mediaportal

djmarzel · 2006-06-06, 21:35

Well, I finally finished my HTPC-project and It's really working great with Mediaportal !!!

This is my HTPC: http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/viewtopic.php?t=16039

I still have a few questions about some settings/problems.
Hopefully someone wants to answer them!

1. What are the best display-settings to use when your Widescreen-TV is connected to S-Video output ? I have a almost-new Philips Widescreen 100Hz CRT-TV.
The picture quality is great now, but just wondering if I use the right settings right now. I'm using Resolution of 720x480 at 60Hz.
In Mediaportal-config I have all the zoom-modes set to stretch and 16:9. (using Nvidia-purevideo-codecs)
So, my question is which settings to use best. In the VGA-card config, and also Mediaportal-settings.

With some movies and 2 TV-channels I'm still getting no full-image at my TV.... I see those annoying black lines at the upper and lower sides of the image. I can't get it to zoom the whole image-area... Is this a problem with the TV-channels ?

Having the problem with Dutch TV-channels "Talpa" and "EÃ©n" (belgium). Maybe these channels send out a wrong aspect-ratio or something ? My vable-provider is UPC. (with DVB-C tuner).

Also some movies are not fully zoomed (or how do you call that), Are these movies at 20:9 ratio or something ?

I just want to get the best and most (read full-screen) picture on my TV, with the correct aspect-ratio.

2. I have an FloppyDTV-DVB-C Tuner. Sometimes (few times a week), the tuner doens't work after standby-resume. Anyone experiences with this problem ? I have to turn off the PC completely and on again to solve the problem. Sounds like something with powersupply.

3. What is the option in the config "Use exclusive DirectX mode for Movies and Fullscreen TV" about? Now I have turned it off because I was having problems with some emulators for games I added to the My Programs-plugin.

After I've watched TV, I wasn't able to play a game anymore. Got some kind of Directdraw-error then. Only with a fresh restart of Mediaportal I was able to use the emulators again. Seems like a bug... Now that I've turned off the feature for exclusive directx-mode, I think I see some stuttering in the TV/Movies. Is that possible?

4. With widescreen-resolution (question 1), is it neccecary (?) to use a 16:9 skin then ? Now I'm using BlueTwo. Works great to me. Only the scrolling text in at TV-guide goes a bit to fast....

5. Is it normal that when using Timeshift, the changing of channels takes about 3 seconds ? With timeshift turned off, this is about 0,5 second.

Thanks to everyone who wants to answer my questions!

Jetboy · 2006-06-07, 09:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by djmarzel

Also some movies are not fully zoomed (or how do you call that), Are these movies at 20:9 ratio or something ?

I just want to get the best and most (read full-screen) picture on my TV, with the correct aspect-ratio.

Most hollywood movies have a wider aspect ratio than 16:9, so you get the black bars on top and bottom of the screen, also known as "letterbox".

Quote:

Originally Posted by djmarzel

2. I have an FloppyDTV-DVB-C Tuner. Sometimes (few times a week), the tuner doens't work after standby-resume. Anyone experiences with this problem ? I have to turn off the PC completely and on again to solve the problem. Sounds like something with powersupply.

I used to have this problem on my PVR150-MCE tuner. Since I upgraded RC4 with an SVN from may 21, it has never occured again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by djmarzel

3. What is the option in the config "Use exclusive DirectX mode for Movies and Fullscreen TV" about? Now I have turned it off because I was having problems with some emulators for games I added to the My Programs-plugin.

After I've watched TV, I wasn't able to play a game anymore. Got some kind of Directdraw-error then. Only with a fresh restart of Mediaportal I was able to use the emulators again. Seems like a bug... Now that I've turned off the feature for exclusive directx-mode, I think I see some stuttering in the TV/Movies. Is that possible?

The exclusive mode is to prevent tearing in video. I suppose the stuttering you are refering to is tearing. I don't know about the DirectDraw error, though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by djmarzel

4. With widescreen-resolution (question 1), is it neccecary (?) to use a 16:9 skin then ? Now I'm using BlueTwo. Works great to me. Only the scrolling text in at TV-guide goes a bit to fast....

No, you don't need a widescreen skin. However, if you use a 4:3 skin it will stretch to fit your screen, so graphics and text will be wider than intended. You can set the scroll speed in MP under Settings -> UI calibration.

Quote:

Originally Posted by djmarzel

5. Is it normal that when using Timeshift, the changing of channels takes about 3 seconds ? With timeshift turned off, this is about 0,5 second.

I don't know about the exact time 3 seconds, but it takes some time to change channels while timeshift is enabled. You can check your settings for zap delay in the configuration (I'm at work now so I can't check where it is), but even when that's set to 0 it will take MP some time to stop timeshifting, change channels and start timeshifting again.

Hope this helps, and that others can fill you in where I'm running out of info.

tourettes · 2006-06-07, 10:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jetboy

Quote:

Originally Posted by djmarzel

After I've watched TV, I wasn't able to play a game anymore. Got some kind of Directdraw-error then. Only with a fresh restart of Mediaportal I was able to use the emulators again. Seems like a bug... Now that I've turned off the feature for exclusive directx-mode, I think I see some stuttering in the TV/Movies. Is that possible?

The exclusive mode is to prevent tearing in video. I suppose the stuttering you are refering to is tearing. I don't know about the DirectDraw error, though.

If you aren't using latest SVN there is possibility that the directx exlusive mode is left on after a videoplayback has been stoppped. I guess this could give errors with other applications as they can access the DX properly. Latest SVN includes fix for this.

djmarzel · 2006-06-07, 19:24

Thanks for the answers guys!!

Installed the latest SVN and the problem with the directx-error is gone now. Also TV is working fine as far I've seen.

The channel "Talpa" is fine now, except for some stuttering image/sound. The black bars are gone but only this channel stutters a bit. The Channel Belgium 1 (Ã©Ã©n) does still have the black bars in it.

Are there more dutch-people here with the same problem?

Within this next SVN the zapping is also faster with timeshift enabled, so almost perfect !!!!

Someone still has some comment to my display resolution ???
Now using 720x480 for safety, but believe I can do higher but don't know wich resolution is possible on CRT Widescreen TV (Philips 100Hz / 0,5 years old)...

hansdegit · 2006-06-10, 15:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by djmarzel

The channel "Talpa" is fine now, except for some stuttering image/sound. The black bars are gone but only this channel stutters a bit. The Channel Belgium 1 (Ã©Ã©n) does still have the black bars in it.

Are there more dutch-people here with the same problem?

There are a few ways to transmit Pal+ (16:9). The Belgians do it in a slightly different way. There no escaping from manually adjusting the aspect ratio, AFAIK.

Quote:

Originally Posted by djmarzel

Someone still has some comment to my display resolution ???
Now using 720x480 for safety, but believe I can do higher but don't know wich resolution is possible on CRT Widescreen TV (Philips 100Hz / 0,5 years old)...

Well, My Philips widescreen is about 8 years old and perfectly capable of 1024x768. I use powerstrip to compose a 960x540 image. Works pretty well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by djmarzel

2. I have an FloppyDTV-DVB-C Tuner. Sometimes (few times a week), the tuner doens't work after standby-resume. Anyone experiences with this problem ? I have to turn off the PC completely and on again to solve the problem. Sounds like something with powersupply.

Nope. It must have something to do with the "robustness" of the drivers/firmware in combination with the strength of the signal.
I used to have this problem (fingers crossed) on my FloppyDTV-C. Using the latest firmware (6-jun-2006) and the latest drivers (4.2.0 BDA) this problem should go away. Don't expect your Dutch supplier to help you with this, though. Could this be Firedtv Solutions Netherlands?

Do you use a splitter somewhere in your config?

Regards and good luck,
Hans

djmarzel · 2006-06-23, 15:45

Thanks for the answer.

Monitored the problem for a couple of weeks now....
Mediaportal is working very fine with latest SVN. No more directx-problems or something like it.

The only problem is still the TV-tuner card...

At random intervals the tuner stops responding. As cause of that Mediaportal "hangs". I tried to unplug the firewire-cable and put it back again, without success....

A warm-reboot of the Pc's does not work.
Just turning the Pc completely off and on again is the solution.

Any ideas anyone ???

hansdegit · 2006-06-23, 18:46

Which FireWire chipset are you using?

My problems with the FireDTV went away after I installed a FireWire card with Texas Instruments chipset. I used a VIA chipset before that. Horrible.

Try a firewirecard from Belkin or Adaptec. Not very cheap, but it does the trick. Very stable.

djmarzel · 2006-06-24, 10:52

I'm using onboard VIA-firewire chip....

I don't have any space available in my HTPC for another PCI-Firewire card. I guess I've got a problem now?

hansdegit · 2006-06-24, 11:47

Perhaps a stupid question:
Have you tried all patches from this thread?
http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/viewtopic.php?t=8146

Do you hear the "hardware disconnected" sound when the problem occurs?

djmarzel · 2006-06-24, 20:22

I don't hear the "disconnect"-sound when the problem occurs.
When you're watching TV I can "see"the problem comming closer because then the TV is getting stuttering and when you try to change channel at that point, Mediaportal crashes (hangs).
Or when the machine is left doing nothing for a while (basis screen or radio) and you try to turn om TV, same problem.
Not always, but often ( 2 till 5 times a day).

When Mediaportal hangs, I can push ALF-F4 to close the application and I'm back at the Windows Desktop.
Restarting Mediaportal doens't work.

I just did a small test when the problem occured... I closed Mediaportal and tried to re-install the BDA-driver. But the Setup-application also hangs at the installing-point.
If I unplug and plug the firewire-cable I do hear the connect-sound from Windows, so something get's detected...

Maybe it has something to do with the use of the driver within Mediaportal ? Like the device has to be reset or something?
The only way to watch TV again is turning off PC completely. Even standby doesn't work.

I installed all Windows-patches (also using MS-update). I manually installed the Firewire and the DVB patches.

Tried to contact the dealer for some info, but they say they dont support Mediaportal. Maybe an idea to install MyTheatre just for testing? Then I can test if it's a bug within Mediaportal or just hardware-problem...

2006-06-06, 21:35	#1 (permalink)
djmarzel Portal Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 20 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	A few questions about finetuning mediaportal Well, I finally finished my HTPC-project and It's really working great with Mediaportal !!! This is my HTPC: http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/viewtopic.php?t=16039 I still have a few questions about some settings/problems. Hopefully someone wants to answer them! 1. What are the best display-settings to use when your Widescreen-TV is connected to S-Video output ? I have a almost-new Philips Widescreen 100Hz CRT-TV. The picture quality is great now, but just wondering if I use the right settings right now. I'm using Resolution of 720x480 at 60Hz. In Mediaportal-config I have all the zoom-modes set to stretch and 16:9. (using Nvidia-purevideo-codecs) So, my question is which settings to use best. In the VGA-card config, and also Mediaportal-settings. With some movies and 2 TV-channels I'm still getting no full-image at my TV.... I see those annoying black lines at the upper and lower sides of the image. I can't get it to zoom the whole image-area... Is this a problem with the TV-channels ? Having the problem with Dutch TV-channels "Talpa" and "EÃ©n" (belgium). Maybe these channels send out a wrong aspect-ratio or something ? My vable-provider is UPC. (with DVB-C tuner). Also some movies are not fully zoomed (or how do you call that), Are these movies at 20:9 ratio or something ? I just want to get the best and most (read full-screen) picture on my TV, with the correct aspect-ratio. 2. I have an FloppyDTV-DVB-C Tuner. Sometimes (few times a week), the tuner doens't work after standby-resume. Anyone experiences with this problem ? I have to turn off the PC completely and on again to solve the problem. Sounds like something with powersupply. 3. What is the option in the config "Use exclusive DirectX mode for Movies and Fullscreen TV" about? Now I have turned it off because I was having problems with some emulators for games I added to the My Programs-plugin. After I've watched TV, I wasn't able to play a game anymore. Got some kind of Directdraw-error then. Only with a fresh restart of Mediaportal I was able to use the emulators again. Seems like a bug... Now that I've turned off the feature for exclusive directx-mode, I think I see some stuttering in the TV/Movies. Is that possible? 4. With widescreen-resolution (question 1), is it neccecary (?) to use a 16:9 skin then ? Now I'm using BlueTwo. Works great to me. Only the scrolling text in at TV-guide goes a bit to fast.... 5. Is it normal that when using Timeshift, the changing of channels takes about 3 seconds ? With timeshift turned off, this is about 0,5 second. Thanks to everyone who wants to answer my questions!

2006-06-23, 18:46	#7 (permalink)
hansdegit Portal Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Schagen, The Netherlands Age: 36 Posts: 194 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country: My System	Which FireWire chipset are you using? My problems with the FireDTV went away after I installed a FireWire card with Texas Instruments chipset. I used a VIA chipset before that. Horrible. Try a firewirecard from Belkin or Adaptec. Not very cheap, but it does the trick. Very stable. __________________ If it ain't broken, DO try to fix it

2006-06-24, 11:47	#9 (permalink)
hansdegit Portal Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Schagen, The Netherlands Age: 36 Posts: 194 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country: My System	Perhaps a stupid question: Have you tried all patches from this thread? http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/viewtopic.php?t=8146 Do you hear the "hardware disconnected" sound when the problem occurs? __________________ If it ain't broken, DO try to fix it

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2006-06-07, 19:24	#4 (permalink)
djmarzel Portal Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 20 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Thanks for the answers guys!! Installed the latest SVN and the problem with the directx-error is gone now. Also TV is working fine as far I've seen. The channel "Talpa" is fine now, except for some stuttering image/sound. The black bars are gone but only this channel stutters a bit. The Channel Belgium 1 (Ã©Ã©n) does still have the black bars in it. Are there more dutch-people here with the same problem? Within this next SVN the zapping is also faster with timeshift enabled, so almost perfect !!!! Someone still has some comment to my display resolution ??? Now using 720x480 for safety, but believe I can do higher but don't know wich resolution is possible on CRT Widescreen TV (Philips 100Hz / 0,5 years old)...

2006-06-23, 15:45	#6 (permalink)
djmarzel Portal Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 20 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Thanks for the answer. Monitored the problem for a couple of weeks now.... Mediaportal is working very fine with latest SVN. No more directx-problems or something like it. The only problem is still the TV-tuner card... At random intervals the tuner stops responding. As cause of that Mediaportal "hangs". I tried to unplug the firewire-cable and put it back again, without success.... A warm-reboot of the Pc's does not work. Just turning the Pc completely off and on again is the solution. Any ideas anyone ???

2006-06-24, 10:52	#8 (permalink)
djmarzel Portal Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 20 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I'm using onboard VIA-firewire chip.... I don't have any space available in my HTPC for another PCI-Firewire card. I guess I've got a problem now?

2006-06-24, 20:22	#10 (permalink)
djmarzel Portal Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 20 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I don't hear the "disconnect"-sound when the problem occurs. When you're watching TV I can "see"the problem comming closer because then the TV is getting stuttering and when you try to change channel at that point, Mediaportal crashes (hangs). Or when the machine is left doing nothing for a while (basis screen or radio) and you try to turn om TV, same problem. Not always, but often ( 2 till 5 times a day). When Mediaportal hangs, I can push ALF-F4 to close the application and I'm back at the Windows Desktop. Restarting Mediaportal doens't work. I just did a small test when the problem occured... I closed Mediaportal and tried to re-install the BDA-driver. But the Setup-application also hangs at the installing-point. If I unplug and plug the firewire-cable I do hear the connect-sound from Windows, so something get's detected... Maybe it has something to do with the use of the driver within Mediaportal ? Like the device has to be reset or something? The only way to watch TV again is turning off PC completely. Even standby doesn't work. I installed all Windows-patches (also using MS-update). I manually installed the Firewire and the DVB patches. Tried to contact the dealer for some info, but they say they dont support Mediaportal. Maybe an idea to install MyTheatre just for testing? Then I can test if it's a bug within Mediaportal or just hardware-problem...