MP nearly un-usabale (sometimes!) (1 Viewer)

[edgedemon]

TV-Server Version: Version3
MediaPortal Version: 1.0 final
MediaPortal Skin: blue 3 4:3
Windows Version: XP SP3
CPU Type: AM2 Athlon 64 X2 4200
HDD: Samsung 250Gb
Memory: 2 Gb DDR2
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H
Video Card: Ati X1300
Video Card Driver: Catalyst 8.11
Sound Card: Onboard Sound
Sound Card AC3:
Sound Card Driver: latest motherboard drivers
1. TV Card: Hauppauge PVR500
1. TV Card Type: analog
1. TV Card Driver: latest
2. TV Card: Nova T (not used)
2. TV Card Type: N/A
2. TV Card Driver:
3. TV Card:
3. TV Card Type:
3. TV Card Driver:
4. TV Card:
4. TV Card Type:
4. TV Card Driver:
MPEG2 Video Codec: Nvidia Pure video
MPEG2 Audio Codec: MPA default
h.264 Video Codec:
Satelite/CableTV Provider:
HTPC Case: Silverstone
Cooling: 4 fans
Power Supply:
Remote:
TV: Delll 22" TFT
TV - HTPC Connection: Composite

Ok, Im having major stability problems which started in RC3 and have gradually got worse until at times MP is unusable and I hook up the STB direct to the TV.


First problem - the tv service does not start up automatically when I boot the machine, despite being set up to start automatically. I Have to exit out of MP manually start the TV service and then go back into the GUI. When selecting My TV it can take upto 3 minutes for My TV to start up, if it doesn't start, I get an message about timeshifting being unable to start, I have tried 3 re-installs, but the problem is still there. I have posted my event logs for viewing - they complain about a corrupt install, but I have removed and re-installed so Im not sure what is causing this? The install was done with the default options selected.

Secondly, once I can get a TV picture, it takes ages to work properly, the picture and sound keep freezing, only for a second, but its like trying to watch a slow fast forward, very judderry.The weird thing is that it does settle down after a while, but it takes multiple stop/starts to get TV running smoothly. When the TV 'freezes' I do not lose any TV, it restarts exactly where it froze which makes me think that has something to do with the timeshift function??

I ahve posted the last crash logs I have, where MP just froze and the PC rebooted itself, If I get a really bad incident, the PC reboots before the error tool can complete report. Any pointers or help greatly appreciated

 

[chemelli]

Hi,

looking at your logs (in particoular error.log) I really think you messed up the whole MP install:

2008-12-20 08:11:32.375000 [ERROR][SplashScreen]: Error during splashscreen handling: Could not find a part of the path 'D:\Program Files\Team MediaPortal\MediaPortal\Skin\BlueTwo\references.xml'.

Simone

 

[TVmecken]

Hi Simone,
Looks like a similar problem I experienced from RC2 or 3 and onwards.
For me it was a corrupt installation, but it is not fixed by simple remove/re-install.
For me, I had to remove manually:
-Cache files of the setup, these are really hard to find, especially if you are using one user to install (admin) and another to watch, best is to search for "cache" in the forum. for your OS version, I think this is the most critical step. For me using Vista I found them somewhere under User/"current user"/ then look for folders "cache".
-All MediaPortal entries in Regedit (not sure if this is critical)
-All files from the normal MP files under Programs
and of course make a total removal.

After a truly clean install, all those problems were gone!

(By the way, even if you make a export/import of your TV channels, do a re-scan, it seems like some settings need to be updated)

Good luck

 

[edgedemon]

Ok Progress has been made

I completely uninstalled TV server, TV client and MP, went through the registry and cleaned the cache folder, I also uninstalled SQL as well.

TV service now starts OK - I think it was something to do with my antivirus as once I un-installed that, it was OK

Still getting the TV picture freezing/juddering. My usual fix is to go back one screen and stop the 'TV On' and then restart it. If I do this then usually it fixes it eventually. Sometimes I try this and I get a pop up window stating "Unable to start timeshifting, no video/audio detected" - click OK and then I can start TV fine!

Im suspecting that it is something to do with timeshifting as when I stop the TV, I still get 20 seconds or so of picture before it stops, I remember that it always used to be instant. I have tried upping the TV service priority to high, but no difference noted. It is frustrating as it really is making TV unwatchable right now..

Im still seeing lots of errors in the event viewer for SQL, and it was a clean install this morning..
I also had the picture becoming very blocky with green blocks until I retsrted the TV??!!??

I have posted my application logs as well as the media portal logs, bear in mind that everything was re-installed this morning..

Any suggestions for places to look next, settings to tweak?

What diagnosing can I do to see why my TV is so bad, especially as I have performed a complete re-install of everything today

 

[edgedemon]

OK - things got so bad, I ended up staying up all night and completely rebuilding my machine in an effort to get a working TV solution for today. Clean XP install and all patches applied and all the latest drivers EXCEPT for the ATI onboard 3200 card, where I have installed the latest drivers of the gigabyte site which I think is 8.5, only because when I first built the machine it was fine and Im trying to get back to a working solution.

Fired up MP and within 5 mins I had the picture freezing until the whole program crashed (logs attached).

Please please help as I am at my wits end on how to solve this and it couldn't be happening at a worse time with the xmas hols :-(

 

[edgedemon]

Can anyone tell me what Ati Drivers they are using with the HD3200 on the Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H. Im using the latest one listed on their website because they are marginally better then 8.12.
I have installed nvidia purevideo as well as an alternate decoder, to try and get stable TV but no better still. I have VM9 and pure video at default settings, what settings are others using with this board?
Tv is only watchable for 5 mins before freezing beyond anything but a reboot :-(

Any advice welcome

 

[edgedemon]

More logs attached!!!

Still getting the freezing picture, but with slightly different symptoms now.

when the TV freezes, I lose control of the whole MP program, and then audio is the first thing to come back and I have a 50/50 chance of the picture returning. Sometimes it stays frozen with the audio continuing to run, other times it comes back, but vision and audio are out of sync. This is different to before I completely rebuilt the machine, as before audio and picture would freeze and then both come back at the point they froze at. Don't know if this provides a clue?

The logs posted are from MP in debug mode...
I am going to try and update the ATI drivers to the latest version as I was hoping that the older ones would help as they were part of a working set up, but now I have set up the machine with a fresh install of windows I know that the 8.12 catalyst divers are not the issue any more.
Its typical that with the xmas holidays and everyone off, the TV plays up when its most needed.
Has anyone got a copy of MP 0.2 lying around, as I know that worked OK as I ran it for ages with no problems at all :-(

Attached are the debug files, I can post more if needed as it is happening everytime I use the TV now.

 

[User 04]

Has anyone got a copy of MP 0.2 lying around, as I know that worked OK as I ran it for ages with no problems at all :-(

Don't know whether UR serious, but here is the link;

SourceForge.net: MediaPortal: Downloading ...

Probably a good idea to go back to an earlier version, and then make and check changes as you go, good luck .

 

[sloty32]

Hi,

see my specs, same board, using ati 8.12 and powerdvd8, downloaded as trial.
Audiocodec MPA, because other Audiocodecs often causes problems with different Videocodecs. MPA is the only one working for me.

sloty

 

[edgedemon]

Ok, I will give 8.12 a try, and see what I get.
sloty32 - what have you set the memory of the graphics card to in the BIOS, I have it changed from Auto to 256MB, just wondering if that was an issue?
Im deadly serious about 0.2 as I have a 10yr old child who cant watch Disney Channel properly! Another game of snakes and ladders or monopoly will kill me

tsreader.ax is giving me issues, I have errors and the microsoft tool is trying to send an error report for tsreader.ax off to microsoft if that helps with any diagnosing. I will look and and see if I can get the report for posting..