[no Bug] EVR and Stutter with nVidia ION (1 Viewer)

[SimondusMaximus]

Hi everyone.

A few days ago I started a previous thread here -[no Bug] RC3 TV Menu losing graphics - MediaPortal Forum- pointing out a problem with skin graphics disappearing when using RC3 that didn't occur with RC1, and I'm not the only one. However, it turns out this is most likely caused by my utilising the VMR9 option rather than EVR. I've since learned that VMR9 is not supported with Windows 7, so this has led me to a totally different problem, which I will share with you here.

Basically, watching standard definition TV streams whilst using EVR on my windows 7 clients (both exactly the same hardware as detailed in my system specs), with my 32" TV running at 1080p resolution, I get really bad stuttering, low fps, loads of dropped frames and an unwatchable experience. Using VMR9 with the MPC codec and BOB deinterlace method I get perfect playback every time.

With EVR I've tried all the standard codecs and different deinterlace methods with no improvement. I've tried SAF 4 and 5, Shark007, CCCP and other packs, all with no joy. With my TV set to 720p it's almost watchable, though I still have dropped frames so it's not perfect.

Both clients are clean Windows 7 builds, MP 1.1.0 RC3 and no plug-ins installed, the TV server is also win 7 with MP 1.1.0 RC3.

I've attached debug-mode logs from the client and screen shots showing the shift+1 stats, each at different resolutions, each using the MS DTV codec. It's pretty much the same with every codec I've tried. I haven't attached TV Server logs as I don't think it's relevant due to VMR9 playback being perfect, though if it helps I'll get more logs if necessary.

Hopefully I've supplied enough info but let me know if anything else would be useful.

As always, thanks in advance for any help and assistance.

Cheers
Si

 

[tourettes]

With 720p resolution the screen refresh rate was wrong (60hz). But in general ION shouldn't have any trouble with SD content.

Can anyone else reproduce the issue? I have no HW to test so I cannot do currently anything about the issue, sorry.

 

[robyf]

I have an ION (ASRock 330) with windows 7 x32 and 2GByte RAM (the same client I suppose). I use it as a client and have no problem with 720p resolution playing 50hz pal tv.

The TV is really fluid with no frame dropped.

I use the following codecs:

- MPEG2: microsoft
- Audio: microsoft or ffdshow
- H.264: microsoft

I will check the NVIDIA driver version I'm currently using and let you know...

 

[joystick]

AW: Re: EVR and Stutter with nVidia ION

I have an ION (ASRock 330) with windows 7 x32 and 2GByte RAM (the same client I suppose). I use it as a client and have no problem with 720p resolution playing 50hz pal tv.

The TV is really fluid with no frame dropped.

I use the following codecs:

- MPEG2: microsoft
- Audio: microsoft or ffdshow
- H.264: microsoft

I will check the NVIDIA driver version I'm currently using and let you know...

same here; almost no frames droppes (fluid SD/HD Picture),
I am using PDVD 9 and AC3 filter for everything.
HW: eeebox Atom330/Ion

even on my low-spec system (eeetop without ION) SD over Wlan is working nicely.

 

[SimondusMaximus]

Hi folks, thanks for your replies.

You're right, my bad - 720p @ 50Hz is much better (nVidia control panel doesn't always make the correct selection!).

But have any of you tried this hardware at 1080i or 1080p? I'm certain the ION is capable of it because it works smoothly with VMR9, so why it doesn't work with EVR I have no clue.

 

[nikos1671]

hi guys,i also own the asrock ion 330, sd work perfect, hd matrosk work perfect with no drop frames or glits but in hdtv 1080i refresh rate cant go more than 42 as result i have micro stuter and glits.
i have try a lot combination of codes with no luck.

 

[robyf]

From the above images also on 720p you have a lot of dropped frames and this is not normal in my opinion.

As for 1080i/p I've never tried this resolution as I output to a 720p TV but I suspect, as I said in the other thread, that the NVIDIA 9400 is not sufficient in particular for 1080i output (1080p should be OK). It's true that specifications says that it should be sufficient but MediaPortal has a way of rendering video which is more heavy than other softwares.

 

[joystick]

AW: Re: EVR and Stutter with nVidia ION

From the above images also on 720p you have a lot of dropped frames and this is not normal in my opinion.

As for 1080i/p I've never tried this resolution as I output to a 720p TV but I suspect, as I said in the other thread, that the NVIDIA 9400 is not sufficient in particular for 1080i output (1080p should be OK). It's true that specifications says that it should be sufficient but MediaPortal has a way of rendering video which is more heavy than other softwares.

jep, there are a lot of reports in the forum that says that 1080i is not working the way it should. some only report failure of deinterlaceing some report stutter. However 1080p IS working, at least in my setup.

 

[SimondusMaximus]

Sorry Robyf, the 720p screenshot above was actually taken with the wrong refresh rate as mentioned by tourettes.

I've attached screenshot and logs at the correct refresh rate. It does play very smoothly until I activate the screen stats, at which point it drops quite a few frames. You'll notice in the evr.log that there is only 1 dropped when playback starts, then a good few seconds with no dropped frames until I turn on the stats when many frames get dropped. Same happens when I turn on the OSD - dropped frames and stutter. I think I can live with that, unless you have any ideas why it happens/how to improve it?

Playback of PAL 50Hz at 1080 resolution is certainly the primary concern. It means if I want to watch a full 1080p H264 video to get the full benefit, I have to change the TV's resolution every time. Admittedly on a 32" the difference is not that noticeable between watching H264 vids on 720p or 1080p, but if I want to get a larger TV then this would be a serious drawback.

Any further thoughts? Can we definitely say that the hardware is simply not up to the task? What makes ION struggle to play standard definition TV, but is absolutely fine when playing HD videos? This doesn't make sense to me, but my understanding of how MP works is not brilliant!

Thanks again.
Si

Edit: Joystick - 1080P is working eh? I see you have a 50" screen and I wonder if the TV size might actually makes any difference to playback?

 

[jameson_uk]

Re: AW: Re: EVR and Stutter with nVidia ION

jep, there are a lot of reports in the forum that says that 1080i is not working the way it should. some only report failure of deinterlaceing some report stutter. However 1080p IS working, at least in my setup.

1080i is actually a lot harder to deal with than 1080p as there is a need for possible de-interlacing source and then interlacing output. When output is 1080p you don't get this extra step so it actually needs to do less work.