Stuttering after channel change and when recording

[jamiro]

TV-Server Version: 1.0 RC 2
MediaPortal Version: 1.0 RC 2
MediaPortal Skin: Blue Two
Windows Version: XP SP3
CPU Type: AMD Sempron LE 1150
HDD: 2x 400g Western Digital
Memory: 2GB DDDR800
Motherboard: Gigabyte
Video Card: ATI 2400
Video Card Driver: Catalyst 8.3
Sound Card: on board realtek
Sound Card AC3:
Sound Card Driver:
1. TV Card: Leadtek DVT2000
1. TV Card Type: DVB-T
1. TV Card Driver: Latest
MPEG2 Video Codec: Nvidia or ffdshow
HTPC Case: Silverstone
Remote: MCE
TV: Standard TV
TV - HTPC Connection: S-Video

I am trying once again to get the latest version of MP working. This is my problem and it is interesting to note this happens when I use the tv server and also if I use the old inbuilt tv engine.

My Tv works fine until I change channels, after 1-2-sometimes 3 successful channel changes, (it varies) the channel I have changed to starts stuttering (video and audio). If I turn TV off using the using the "TV on" button on the left menu and then turn it back on the channel comes back up and performs perfectly.

Recording TV just doesn't work. As soon as I start recording the same stuttering occurs and the recording is useless.

I have tried many things and with no luck. Totally confused why this is happening. If I go back to stable version 0230 it is fine. I would like to use the new version and would like to start exploring the network options of the tv server, but I can't even get it to perform as single seat.

Any help would be a greeted with open arms.

[pilehave]

Hi

I don't know much about TV-Server or MediaPortal in all, but just from looking at your tvserver_error.log it looks like there is a problem connecting to your SQLEXPRESS server.

Besides that, tvserver_TsWriters is FULL of lines like these:
28-08-2008 21:11:33.515 Pid 501 Continuity error... b ( prev 1 )
28-08-2008 21:11:33.515 Pid 501 Continuity error... 4 ( prev d )
28-08-2008 21:11:33.515 Pid 504 Continuity error... b ( prev 9 )
28-08-2008 21:11:33.546 Pid 501 Continuity error... 6 ( prev b )

What are you using as timeshift-storage?

[jamiro]

Thanks pile,

Any ideas what I can do about the connection to the SQL server? What settings should I be checking?

I'm just using a folder on one of my hard drives for timeshift storage I have an IDE 200gb Western Digital drive, which is partitioned into c: and d:, and I have a Western Digital SATA 500gb drive as e:\

I usually have c: as the system drive, d: to store photos and music and e: for videos and recorded TV.

I have tried changing the timeshift folder to these different drives with no improvements.

I forgot to mention if I use the "TV Channels\preview" button in TV Server configuration all the channels work great. Only when I'm in MP it behaves badly.

[jamiro]

Replaced the Leadtek TV card with a Twinhan 3028. The Twinhan cost half the price of the Leadtek card, but everything seems to be working fine now. I think I may have solved the problem. See how it goes after some daily use from the wife and kids, but I'm pretty confident it was the Leadtek DVT2000 causing the problems.

[jamiro]

Well the TV server didn't stand up to the daily use. I'm giving up on the TV server until a stable version is released. I have tried several times now with different versions of the TV server and have had no success. I'm using 1.0 RC2 with the old built-in TV engine and everything appears to be working OK.

The TV server seems to be a complex beast, difficult to install correctly and with lots going, SQL server, TVservice and MP on top of that. The networking features of the TV service are interesting, but I am just curious and have no real NEED for these features. I hope the developers can continue to strive towards a stable version that is easy to get installed and working. For now I vow never to go near the thing until a stable/final version is released. I have wasted enough time struggling with this thing.


Thanks.

[splatterpop]

These problems were discussed and solved a long time ago. The solution is to put the timeshift and recording folders on dedicated disks or partitions with system restore turned off.

[Paranoid Delusion]

Also do not use (example) E:\ directly as a storage\timeshifting folder as there are hidden system files.

Should be E:\Recordings, E:\Timeshifting, this guarantees there can be no impact on any system files for that drive.

[jamiro]

Thanks paranoid for the tips,

I do remember reading in the manual that having a dedicated disk will improve performance, but I didn't realise it was crucial. Also the first time I've read anything about system restore effecting performance. I must have missed that somewhere.
Very useful information, thanks.

For the moment I will stick to the old inbuilt engine on 1.0 RC2. It's been running for over a week now with some heavy use from the family and has hardly missed a beat. When the next stable release is out I will give the TV server another shot, your tips might be the clue I need to get it working. I'll set aside a dedicated disk this time or maybe even consider making a ram disk for timeshifting.

This software still rocks, hopefully I can get the magic combination of setup and settings correct next time I try out the tv server.

[ronnie_t]

Originally Posted by splatterpop

These problems were discussed and solved a long time ago. The solution is to put the timeshift and recording folders on dedicated disks or partitions with system restore turned off.

I also have stuttering, but the above solution did nothing for me. I have a seperate very fast WD Raptor 10000 rpm harddisk (also defragmented), but the stuttering still excists. Not only is the video stuttering, also Modiaportal itself. The program description scrolling is stuttering together with the video.

I can fix it (easy, but still annoying) by pausing the live TV stream and resume immidiately. Then there is no stuttering anymore

[splatterpop]

Perhaps the stuttering is not coming from the disk at all?