Few questions with RC4 (1 Viewer)

[jwdaigle]

Hi,

Just installed RC4, and so far so good! Few things dont seem right though -
Im running Vista32/SP1, installed both MP & TV-server. I have CoreAVC 1.8.5 codec installed for my mkv/264 movies. I am also using AC3 filter 1.51a. I dont have a capture card. mobo is Intel DG45ID with E8300. 1 GB memory.

- Just a nit, but when I ran the installer, I ended up with 2 Internet Explorers at the end that seem to be the same, describing what to do now after the install?
- It seems to start up kind of slowly. Im not sure what I did, but the first few times it started, it started up without much fanfare. Now while starting, it tells me things like "loading fonts", "initializing directx", etc. I think the behavior change is related to me clicking on "advanced" in the opening dialog of MP configuration. I cant seem to switch it back to normal startup now?
- While starting, Vista seems to think that MP is "broken" - I get a modal dlg box telling me that "MP has stopped working" (now thats useful, eh? ). But MP does indeed continue to work - I can use my MS remote to play movies, music, etc... Im guessing its because it starts up slowly, and Vista thinks that it is hung?
- If I use the EVR, I get mucho tearing, even in 720p low bitrate movies. If I switch back to using VMR, video plays flawlessly even at 1080p high bitrate.

 

[flokel]

Hi,

- Just a nit, but when I ran the installer, I ended up with 2 Internet Explorers at the end that seem to be the same, describing what to do now after the install?

Normally there should pop only one instance of the an IE tab showing a quick setup guide.

- It seems to start up kind of slowly. Im not sure what I did, but the first few times it started, it started up without much fanfare. Now while starting, it tells me things like "loading fonts", "initializing directx", etc. I think the behavior change is related to me clicking on "advanced" in the opening dialog of MP configuration. I cant seem to switch it back to normal startup now?

This has nothing to do with configuration mode.
Expert mode simply shows some more advanced settings.

How long are your starting times ?

 

[tourettes]

- If I use the EVR, I get mucho tearing, even in 720p low bitrate movies. If I switch back to using VMR, video plays flawlessly even at 1080p high bitrate.

Make sure that you have AERO enabled (i.e. the glassy window borders). Thats the only way to get EVR tear free.

 

[jwdaigle]

tourettes - Thank you for the info, I will try that. I am pretty sure I dont have aero enabled. Video looks damn good with VMR & CoreAVC, so maybe if it aint broken I wont fix it

flokel - Yup, you are right, nothing to do with configuration. Was a case of changing a bunch of stuff all at once, so I wasnt sure what caused the difference in startup behavior. At the same time as hitting the advanced button on configuration, I also set "start up in fullscreen mode". This is what causes the startup to be different.

Heres the problem I am having: If I set it to "startup in fullscreen mode", which seems to give me the blue background with white text saying things like "loading fonts", "initializing directx" etc, ***sometimes*** (but not always), Vista32 pops up a dlg box with a message saying "Media Portal is not working". However, I can use my MCE remote to do stuff - playing movies, playing music, etc.

If I dont startup in full screen mode, I dont seem to get that Vista error box, but not sure it never happens - havent been running it long enough yet.

Startup times are 45+ seconds I think, but I need to time it to see.

Also, just FYI, after I watch a movie, it takes a long time to bring back the skin (15-20 seconds?).

Do I need more memory? I have noticed that there is a LOT of disk activity while it is trying to bring back the skin screen. I have 1GB DDR2 memory, and an E8500 processor.

It is a dedicated HTPC, so nothing is running on it but MP (and SQL2k5 for TV server)

Thanks so much guys for your help - these problems are minor considering what we get in RC4. Good job!

Joe

 

[flokel]

45s are way too long for the startup.
Could you post log files?

General hint:
Personally I would not install Vista on a maschine that has less than 2GB of RAM installed.
With your integrated GPU you probably have around ~ 900MB available.

If it is a fresh install of Vista,
the hard disk activity can most likely be caused by Windows indexing lots of things
for e.g. Windows search. If you are using this PC only as media center I would
completely disable the indexing services.

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

I have 1GB DDR2 memory,

Is that 1gb stick or 2x512mb's, because if it just the one stick your memory will not make use of dual channel mode and be far slower than it's capable of, but agree with flokel, Vista really does need 2gb.

 

[jwdaigle]

Hi guys -

Its 2 512s, 667Mhz.

No problem, up to 2GB (2 x 1GB 800Mhz) it goes. I will upgrade, retest, and let you know in the next few days.

Im new to Vista, so still learning the ropes (in fact, biggest reason I went was because of HTPC). I will need to see if disabling a service is still similar to XP

I see a LOT of disk activity when I do stuff. Like, for instance, at the end of a movie, it takes 15=20 seconds to bring back the skin/list of videos (I timed it with a watch this time).

Thanks,

Joe

 

[Lotsofjazz]

I had this disk activity too, once I disabled Windows Indexing services, it was a lot better.

This indexing is only usefull when you use the Windows explorer search tool a lot, but if you keep your harddisks organized and able to find back your files all by yourself quick and easy you wont use this search tool anyways, so you dont need that Windows Indexing either.

A tip I came across lately and started to use:

If you have a 4 or 8Gb USB stick (USB 2.0) you can use this as the Virtual memory source! You see, beside the DDR RAM we allways talk about, Windows also makes a Virtual Memory file, which may vary in size all the time, to place short lived temp files and such, its like an extra RAM on top of what you have in DDR RAM bays on the Motherboard. Normally this Virtual Memory file is placed on the Harddrive, but you can assign (partly) a USB stick to perform this task. This is a lot better because a USB stick is solid state flash memory that can be accessed and read write a lot quicker then a Virtual Memory file on the harddrive.

Since you have only 1Gb RAM DDR, your virtual memory file will be a lot bigger, hence the extensive Harddrive activity you experience, what you see at the end of the movie could be the deletion of the movie buffer it has build on your harddrive for quick access or something, or bring back and build the MP skin that may have been stored there.

So when you have a USB 2.0 capable 4Gb or 8Gb stick laying around, I would definitely try this:

Stick the USB in your USB 2.0 port, in windows explorer, right click on the removable drive representing the USB stick. format the drive to get rid of junk that may be stored there (copy files you want to keep to your HD first), right click again and then click on Properties, and if your USB stick has the capabilities (there are some requirements to the flash memory it must comply to), a Readyboost TAB is present, click on that tab, click the radio button "Use this device" (or something similar, I have a dutch Vista) and drag the slider completely to the RH side so it allmost uses all USB memory. Click Apply and close the panels by clicking OK a few times. To be sure the USB stick is used, restart your computer.

I am sure this should help you (and may be a few others) a little to get rid of HDD activity all the time.

let us know if this has worked

Lots

 

[tourettes]

So when you have a USB 2.0 capable 4Gb or 8Gb stick laying around, I would definitely try this:

Stick the USB in your USB 2.0 port, in windows explorer, right click on the removable drive representing the USB stick. format the drive to get rid of junk that may be stored there (copy files you want to keep to your HD first), right click again and then click on Properties, and if your USB stick has the capabilities (there are some requirements to the flash memory it must comply to), a Readyboost TAB is present, click on that tab, click the radio button "Use this device" (or something similar, I have a dutch Vista) and drag the slider completely to the RH side so it allmost uses all USB memory. Click Apply and close the panels by clicking OK a few times. To be sure the USB stick is used, restart your computer.

I am sure this should help you (and may be a few others) a little to get rid of HDD activity all the time.

https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/...uttering-tv-music-video-vista-solution-48584/

 

[Lotsofjazz]

So when you have a USB 2.0 capable 4Gb or 8Gb stick laying around, I would definitely try this:

Stick the USB in your USB 2.0 port, in windows explorer, right click on the removable drive representing the USB stick. format the drive to get rid of junk that may be stored there (copy files you want to keep to your HD first), right click again and then click on Properties, and if your USB stick has the capabilities (there are some requirements to the flash memory it must comply to), a Readyboost TAB is present, click on that tab, click the radio button "Use this device" (or something similar, I have a dutch Vista) and drag the slider completely to the RH side so it allmost uses all USB memory. Click Apply and close the panels by clicking OK a few times. To be sure the USB stick is used, restart your computer.

I am sure this should help you (and may be a few others) a little to get rid of HDD activity all the time.

https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/...uttering-tv-music-video-vista-solution-48584/

Hmm, I checked the link and find this very curious, for me it helped quite a bit to get rid of excessive HDD activity, I do not have stuttering TV...

Readyboost test the stick first before it allows you to use it as a readyboost device, you can override this test and start using it anyways, and if your USB stick is not compliant with the minimum requirements I can immagine you get these kind of problems. The flash memory must comply with some critical specification, the USB version must be 2.0 or better.

It is not difficult to implement, so if you have a USB stick laying around it is at least worth a try.

Lots