Continuity error... in tswriter.log (1 Viewer)

[mike1]

I have flickering problems to watch some encrypted channels - p.e. RTL HD.
The most HD channels including encrypted channels are ok.
Decryption is done by an Alphacrypt light.
In the tswriter.log there are errors like this while the picture is flickering:
[2017-04-23 13:25:16,509] [8ce4fd0] [1bc] - Recorderid ff Continuity error... 6 ( prev 4 ) - bad signal?
[2017-04-23 13:25:20,887] [8ce4fd0] [1bc] - Recorderid ff Continuity error... a ( prev 8 ) - bad signal?
[2017-04-23 13:25:21,446] [8ce4fd0] [1bc] - Recorderid ff Continuity error... 6 ( prev 4 ) - bad Signal?
I rescanned that transponder -> Signal Level and Quality 100% -> but no change.

I checked with DD-Viewer and DVB-Viewer -> no Problems, TransEdit shows no missing packets.

Nevertheless i disabled Windows Defender, changed SAT cables, updated DD drivers... That did not change anything.
To me it seems the problem is in TVServer, may be the communication with the CAM?

What could i try?

Thanks in advance!

 

[mm1352000]

Hello

To me it seems the problem is in TVServer, may be the communication with the CAM?

The communication with the CAM is completely outside TV Server's control.
All that TV Server does is ask the tuner driver to decrypt service X.
After that, the tuner driver handles everything.
So, if the same channels work fine in DVBViewer and other software then the problem probably has nothing to do with the CAM.

What could i try?

Please tell us more about R:\.
Is it a local drive/folder, or is it a network drive/folder?
Is it a RAM drive, SSD or HDD?
If it's an HDD, what speed (eg. 5400 rpm, 7200 rpm) is it?
How full is the drive?

For best reliability I would recommend a local drive/folder on a standard HDD with plenty of free space.

Have you checked the system's DPC latency?
Resplendence Software - LatencyMon: suitability checker for real-time audio and other tasks

Have you checked that Windows is not throttling/reducing CPU and/or power too much?

 

[mike1]

Thank you for answering!

r: is a RamDisk. But i also tried to use a "normal" hd as timshift buffer.
DPC i have forgotten to mention - yes, i tested, all green.

How could i check the throttling/reducing of CPU? If i use Preview in SetupTV - it uses about 15% CPU.
I also tried to set TVServicePriority (General) to Realtime

 

[mike1]

- tried a new DD Cine V7 Advanced (instead of mine v6) -> same problem, DVBViewer and the DD tool with timeshift no problem, MP with disconitiues.
- tried again to put timeshift to a SSD and also to a "normal" hard drive instead of ram disk -> same problem.

Any ideas to try?

 

[mm1352000]

Sorry, this week is really really busy for me.

In short: I still suspect the issue is disk/storage-related. I suspect this because one of the main differences between DVBViewer and MP is that MP always has a disk buffer for live TV and/or time-shifting whereas DVBViewer does not by default.

 

[mike1]

No problem, thank you for trying to help!

I tested to put timeshift to three different hard disk types to test, all with enough free space. I also turned on time shift in options of DVBViewer an DD tool to that disks. If you nevertheless assume it is a disk based problem - is there a possibility to turn of time shift in MP to test?
And - the problem in MP appears just on some channels - so disk Problem would be really strange.

 

[mm1352000]

is there a possibility to turn of time shift in MP to test?

No.

And - the problem in MP appears just on some channels - so disk Problem would be really strange.

Consider the possibility that the issue may only affect channels with bit-rate greater than or equal to a certain value. Such an explanation could neatly explain the symptoms.

P.S. When you tested the DPC latency, you definitely used LatencyMon didn't you? Other software - particularly DPC Latency Checker - doesn't support Window 8 or newer properly, so if you used that other software, the results you saw may have misled you.

 

[mike1]

So - i took a new pc from work, installed Win10/64 + MP from scratch.
I pulled out DD Card + Cam from my pc and used in the new built pc.
Result is exactly the same. Most of channels work - without scrambled channels from RTL Group.
The DD Tool does it well again without errors.

Checked again with LatencyMon 6.5.1 -> no Problems.

If you have any ideas what i could test/try i would really appreciate!

 

[mm1352000]

Did you have these same problems with MP 1.15 and other earlier versions of MP?

 

[mike1]

1.15 had same problem.
Earlier versions i did not check - the possibility to decrypt that channels with AlphaCrypt Light came in fall 2016...