[confirm] MP locks up on tuning a weak TV Channel (1 Viewer)

doveman

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February 12, 2008
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MediaPortal Version: v1.1.0 RC2
MediaPortal Skin: Blue3Wide
Windows Version: XP Pro SP3
CPU Type: P4 2.8Ghz Northwood
HDD: 500GB WD SATA
Memory: 1.5GB DDR
Motherboard: Gigabyte 8i848-PM
Video Card: 2600XT 256MB
Video Card Driver: 10.2
Sound Card: onboard Realtek AC97 (ALC655)
Sound Card AC3: no AC3
Sound Card Driver: 5.10.0.6300
1. TV Card: Hauppauge Nova-T 500
1. TV Card Type: DVB-T
1. TV Card Driver: 4.3.27240
MPEG2 Video Codec: Cyberlink Video/SP Decoder (PDVD9)
MPEG2 Audio Codec: ffdshow
h.264 Video Codec: ffdshow DXVA
Satelite/CableTV Provider:
HTPC Case: Custom
Cooling: Nexus 120mm Intake Fan, Accelero S2, Mini Ninja
Power Supply: DELL DA-2 AC->12v DC, mCubed EF28 DC-DC board
Remote: Nova-T 500
TV: Sony XBR800 36"
TV - HTPC Connection: DVI

I know my reception of the Mux that carries BBC4 and the BBC radio stations is poor (ScanChannels BDA shows Strength 34, Quality 20%, whereas the other Muxes are around Strength 50, Quality 100%), but nonetheless I don't think that MP should completely lock up on attempting to tune into BBC4. When I started TV Server config, it then said that TV Service wasn't running, so it appears to have shut itself down.

If I Start TimeShift on BBC4 from within TV Server config, I see the Tuner Locked constantly switching between Yes and No, but it doesn't cause any problems there.

So it looks like we still need better error handling of poor TV signal in MP please.
 

doveman

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Hmm, that doesn't seem to work.

I created the file dumprawts.txt in the root of C: then started TV Server Config and started timeshifting from Manual Control, but no rawpaketdump.ts was created.
 

Paranoid Delusion

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    Doing this from memory as not at MP installation.

    if you open TVServer config goto the timeshift settings, there are 2 wait settings, one is 5 seconds the other 20, change these to 3 and 5, this is to speed up the recognition of poor\no signal\channel off air, then maual control, stop and restart TVService.

    Now if you try tuning to cbbc or cbeebies after 7pm or BBC3\4 before 7pm does MP still crash, this should prove if its codec or MP related, this is always a possibility, as I can remove my aerial and not get a crash, also I would double check your local transmitter frequencies and aerial connections to see if we can get the signal up a bit :)
     

    doveman

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    Not bad from memory! My settings were at 5 and 15 seconds.

    MP still freezes on attempting to tune into BBC4 after the changes you suggested. Strangely, MP still responds in that I can press buttons on my keyboard or remote and the text in the MP taskbar icon (on my primary monitor, MP runs on my seconday monitor/TV) changes from "MediaPortal - Live TV" to "Mediaportal - TV/Guide" or "MediaPortal - Home" but the display remains frozen on the EPG.

    MP is making timeshift files whilst it remains stuck like this. If I go to Home and press right on my keyboard and then Enter, I can close MP.

    Attempting to tune into CBBC/CBeebies results in a "No audio/video detected" message after about 15 seconds, which seems far too long but at least it doesn't crash. I've attached the TsWriter log from attempting to tune into these two channels.

    I've also attached the ScanChannelsBDA log, which shows that Mux B has poor Strength and Quality. The frequency shown, 530000kHz, is the correct one for Mux B on the Crystal Palace transmitter as far as I can tell.
     

    Paranoid Delusion

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    My settings were at 5 and 15 seconds.

    Attempting to tune into CBBC/CBeebies results in a "No audio/video detected" message after about 15 seconds,

    On those settings it would :)

    Whats comin through on that mux must be so garbled, it just cannot be read correctly, TV side should handle this better and not cause the crash on a weak signal.

    That is not going to change your ability to watch those channels involved, if they are that bad, I would just disable them, until you get your signal improved.
     

    doveman

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    No, it was taking 15 seconds AFTER I changed the settings to 3 and 5 as you suggested.

    I've just tried it again after a cold boot on BBC4 (not currently transmitting) and it still takes about 15 seconds.

    I will avoid trying to watch Mux B for now. I find it strange that my aerial can pick up all the other muxes OK, just not Mux B but I guess I don't really understand how these things work.
     

    Paranoid Delusion

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    Thats weird why it takes so long to not tune, will check out this later for RC2 and see if anything has changed since I last tested this.

    Regarding signal check here, because I cannot understand 529800 shows full power currently, not sure if this will make a difference, but if the dvb-t tuning details have 530000, could be mistuning, try editing the file (notepad) with the exact frequency and let us know how you get on.
     

    doveman

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    I had a look at that page and noticed that not only is Mux B shown as 529.8Mhz, but all the other muxes are shown on different frequencies to the ones in MP's UK.Crystal Palace.xml, and testing with SCBDA shows that it doesn't make any difference which of the two frequencies is used, so that seems to be a red herring.

    The ScanChannelsBDA log shows the following for Mux B:
    Frequency (Scanned) = 530000kHz
    Frequency (Actual) = 529833kHz

    All the other muxes (that are working fine) also show a different scanned and actual frequency, so that seems normal. I would have thought if Mux B was on another frequency, this would be picked up by SCBDA.

    I scanned with SCBDA with each tuner and for some reason I get slightly better signal, on Mux B at least, with tuner1 than tuner2 (see attached logs).

    Testing in MP TV Server config currently gives me an OK (30/100) and locked signal on Mux B channels but it's using tuner1 and I can't force it to use tuner2. I'll have to try again tonight and see if it changes and whether BBC4 is the same.

    Incidentally, with dual-tuners is it necessary to scan for channels with each one or is it sufficient to just do so with the first one?
     

    Paranoid Delusion

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    Incidentally, with dual-tuners is it necessary to scan for channels with each one or is it sufficient to just do so with the first one?

    I tune both, its a lot quicker than manually combining them.

    The frequencies make sense because of of the 167 offset used.

    I thought London would be one of the first places to go digital completely, surprised to see its 2012, that may well be part of it, as we are completely digital and on the 8k modulation, signal strenght rose straight after the full switchover was done.
     

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