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MediaPortal 1
MediaPortal 1 Talk
My guide to elminating juddering/stuttering play back (plus an upscale guide!)
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<blockquote data-quote="AlexanderIanHall" data-source="post: 882688" data-attributes="member: 111305"><p>As I've spent many months battling playing blu-ray ISO without stuttering. I've included the results of my investigation and solution below. Having spent countless hours on many forums (MP, AVSForum, TMT etc) I saw many recommendations which seemed odd, or perhaps ill-informed. I can't say my recommendations are necessarily any better however I do get consistent results and have rebuilt my HTPCs multiple times now and every time they have worked well.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I have now played > 50 blu-ray ISOs without any stutter including concurrent blu-ray ISOs to both HTPCs. So from my perspective my setup has passed my stress tests and I'm comfortable having my family/friends/visitors watch Blu-Rays on multiple HTPCs without the dread feeling of 'Is it going to work?'</p><p> </p><p>For clarity - my setup is included below</p><p> </p><p>HTPC-01</p><p>Motherboard: Gigabyte GA880GMA-UD2H v2.2</p><p>CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955</p><p>RAM: 4 Dimm 8GB</p><p>Hard Drive: 60GB Solid State</p><p>GPU: ATI 5570 1GB</p><p>MediaPortal 1.2.3 with StreamedMP (Moving Pictures, MyTVSeries)</p><p>Arcsoft TMT5.3.x (note: 5.3.x has just been released, although I was working fine with 5.2.xx.119)</p><p>DaemonTools Lite (although I was using Virtual Clone Drive)</p><p>AMD Catalyst 12.6 - for chipset/ahci</p><p>AMD Catalyst 11.4 - for graphics card</p><p>Onboard Audio - disabled in BIOS and no drivers installed</p><p>OS: Windows 7 64bit Ultimate</p><p> </p><p>HTPC-02</p><p>Motherboard: Asus M4A785TD-M-EVO</p><p>CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955</p><p>RAM: 2 Dimm 4GB</p><p>Hard Drive: 60GB Solid State</p><p>GPU: ATI 5570 1GB</p><p>MediaPortal 1.3.0 alpha with StreamedMP (Moving Pictures, MyTVSeries)</p><p>Arcsoft TMT5.3.x (note: 5.3.x has just been released, although I was working fine with 5.2.xx.119)</p><p>DaemonTools Lite (although I was using Virtual Clone Drive)</p><p>AMD Catalyst 12.6 - for chipset/ahci</p><p>AMD Catalyst 11.4 - for graphics card</p><p>Onboard Audio - disabled in BIOS and no drivers installed</p><p>OS: Windows 7 64bit Ultimate</p><p> </p><p>note: The I am using <u><strong>11.4</strong></u> of Catalyst for the Graphics Card.</p><p> </p><p>Server Storage:</p><p>UnRaid 5.0rc5 plus a few 5400rpm HDDs</p><p><em>note: If you are looking for a good, cheap solution for storing Terrabytes of multimedia then check out UnRaid. I've been running it now for > 1 year and have to say I remain impressed.</em></p><p> </p><p>Network:</p><p>Gigabit wired (including switches - DLink DGS-108</p><p> </p><p>note: I kept thinking it was a network related issue and changed Network Switches, Cables, even switched between Virtual Clone Drive & Daemon Tools Lite. In the end in my circumstance there was no hardware issue causing the stuttering, however from checking the bandwidth usage it was all ok. With my current setup my CPUs are at around 5-6% usage when playing ISOs (using hardware acceleration or around 20% when not)</p><p> </p><p>If you are able to reformat your PC and start again it will provide a consistent baseline, otherwise make sure you make use of CCleaner and other utilities to clear out the old drivers (particularly ATI). There are plenty of instructions on the WWW.</p><p> </p><p>My approach for an AMD/ATI platform:</p><p> </p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">If using HDMI output for audio/video then disable on-board audio for motherboard and don't install the drivers</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Install Windows 7 and sp1 and update via Windows Update (<u>except</u> for audio/video device drivers)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Only install the minimum drivers needed. i.e. AMD AHCI/Chipset (12.6), AMD Catalyst/Vision Control (11.4). Network driver (e.g. Realtek 7.058)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Change the following registry key to ensure that Windows (I assume 7) doesn't throttle ISO network throughput as it doesn't recognize ISO as a valid multimedia format<br /> <p style="margin-left: 60px"><span style="color: blue">[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile\]<br /> "NetworkThrottlingIndex"="FFFFFFFF"</span></p> You can read more here: <a href="http://support.microsoft.com/kb/948066" target="_blank">http://support.microsoft.com/kb/948066</a></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Once OS installed, with correct drivers, then install TMT and check whether everything is working (i.e. no stutter). If it is working fine then take a backup of the system - I usually use the "Create a System Image" that comes with WIndows 7.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">note that for TMT you want to have (and note that there are separate settings for TMT standalone and the TMT MCE player):<br /> a) Hardware Acceleration On<br /> b) SimHD set to CPU as other it probably will crash - but try and see. SimHD is used for Standard Definition e.g. DVDs</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">The last part of the puzzle is to look at refresh rates. I'm assuming you are outputting to a flatscreen TV - if so then:<br /> a) open up screen resolution (right click on desktop background), click "Advanced Settings", select "Monitor Tab" - you should see a list of refresh rates in a drop-down combo box<br /> b) open up catalyst control center and go to the Scaling section (should be under My Digital Flat Panels if you have a TV connected). <br /> c) Go back to a) and select the first refresh rate in the dropdown - this may be 23; go back to b) and select the scaling to be 0% so the picture is fully taking up the screen. click Apply<br /> d) repeat c) for each refresh rate - note: You should check your tv manual to ensure the modes listed are supported</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">For now revert back to the default refresh rate (for me this is 60); however you'll be able to play with refresh rate switching later on to ensure that blu-rays are optimized to either 23Hz or 24Hz</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Once the system image has been created, you can then fiddle to your heart's content, and if you mess it up just revert back to the original system image</li> </ol><p>note: Do not install codec packs for now e.g. Sharks etc. If you are using TMT then they are not needed. While codec packs work for many people I find they can introduce a lot of unknowns. The only codecs I install by default these days are LAV Filter (v 0.50.5) as they now come with MediaPortal. LAV filter works fine for bitstreaming Hi-Def MSTR audio etc.</p><p> </p><p>In my setup <u>Non</u> blu-ray ISO material (e.g. DVD ISO, mkvs, avis etc) play within the inbuilt MediaPortal player (including 1:1 MKVs of blu-rays e.g. for TV Series which I keep as MKVs rather than ISOs); while Blu-Ray ISO movies play are played in TMT MCE which is launched by MediaPortal.</p><p> </p><p>note: I am also testing MP 1.3 alpha and 2.0 and all seem to work fine without stuttering, including using the inbuilt blu-ray player. I am however using TMT for now as I like my menu's and bonus material.</p><p> </p><p>I'm by no means an expert - however I have now built/rebuilt my HTPCs multiple times and played > 50 blu-ray ISOs in the last few weeks due to family visiting without any stutter. I narrowed down my original issue to drivers/codecs rather than anything hardware related and am pleased it has all been resolved.</p><p> </p><p>hth</p><p> </p><p>Alex</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="AlexanderIanHall, post: 882688, member: 111305"] As I've spent many months battling playing blu-ray ISO without stuttering. I've included the results of my investigation and solution below. Having spent countless hours on many forums (MP, AVSForum, TMT etc) I saw many recommendations which seemed odd, or perhaps ill-informed. I can't say my recommendations are necessarily any better however I do get consistent results and have rebuilt my HTPCs multiple times now and every time they have worked well. I have now played > 50 blu-ray ISOs without any stutter including concurrent blu-ray ISOs to both HTPCs. So from my perspective my setup has passed my stress tests and I'm comfortable having my family/friends/visitors watch Blu-Rays on multiple HTPCs without the dread feeling of 'Is it going to work?' For clarity - my setup is included below HTPC-01 Motherboard: Gigabyte GA880GMA-UD2H v2.2 CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 RAM: 4 Dimm 8GB Hard Drive: 60GB Solid State GPU: ATI 5570 1GB MediaPortal 1.2.3 with StreamedMP (Moving Pictures, MyTVSeries) Arcsoft TMT5.3.x (note: 5.3.x has just been released, although I was working fine with 5.2.xx.119) DaemonTools Lite (although I was using Virtual Clone Drive) AMD Catalyst 12.6 - for chipset/ahci AMD Catalyst 11.4 - for graphics card Onboard Audio - disabled in BIOS and no drivers installed OS: Windows 7 64bit Ultimate HTPC-02 Motherboard: Asus M4A785TD-M-EVO CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 RAM: 2 Dimm 4GB Hard Drive: 60GB Solid State GPU: ATI 5570 1GB MediaPortal 1.3.0 alpha with StreamedMP (Moving Pictures, MyTVSeries) Arcsoft TMT5.3.x (note: 5.3.x has just been released, although I was working fine with 5.2.xx.119) DaemonTools Lite (although I was using Virtual Clone Drive) AMD Catalyst 12.6 - for chipset/ahci AMD Catalyst 11.4 - for graphics card Onboard Audio - disabled in BIOS and no drivers installed OS: Windows 7 64bit Ultimate note: The I am using [U][B]11.4[/B][/U] of Catalyst for the Graphics Card. Server Storage: UnRaid 5.0rc5 plus a few 5400rpm HDDs [I]note: If you are looking for a good, cheap solution for storing Terrabytes of multimedia then check out UnRaid. I've been running it now for > 1 year and have to say I remain impressed.[/I] Network: Gigabit wired (including switches - DLink DGS-108 note: I kept thinking it was a network related issue and changed Network Switches, Cables, even switched between Virtual Clone Drive & Daemon Tools Lite. In the end in my circumstance there was no hardware issue causing the stuttering, however from checking the bandwidth usage it was all ok. With my current setup my CPUs are at around 5-6% usage when playing ISOs (using hardware acceleration or around 20% when not) If you are able to reformat your PC and start again it will provide a consistent baseline, otherwise make sure you make use of CCleaner and other utilities to clear out the old drivers (particularly ATI). There are plenty of instructions on the WWW. My approach for an AMD/ATI platform: [LIST=1] [*]If using HDMI output for audio/video then disable on-board audio for motherboard and don't install the drivers [*]Install Windows 7 and sp1 and update via Windows Update ([U]except[/U] for audio/video device drivers) [*]Only install the minimum drivers needed. i.e. AMD AHCI/Chipset (12.6), AMD Catalyst/Vision Control (11.4). Network driver (e.g. Realtek 7.058) [*]Change the following registry key to ensure that Windows (I assume 7) doesn't throttle ISO network throughput as it doesn't recognize ISO as a valid multimedia format [INDENT=3][COLOR=blue][HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile\] "NetworkThrottlingIndex"="FFFFFFFF"[/COLOR][/INDENT] You can read more here: [url]http://support.microsoft.com/kb/948066[/url] [*]Once OS installed, with correct drivers, then install TMT and check whether everything is working (i.e. no stutter). If it is working fine then take a backup of the system - I usually use the "Create a System Image" that comes with WIndows 7. [*]note that for TMT you want to have (and note that there are separate settings for TMT standalone and the TMT MCE player): a) Hardware Acceleration On b) SimHD set to CPU as other it probably will crash - but try and see. SimHD is used for Standard Definition e.g. DVDs [*]The last part of the puzzle is to look at refresh rates. I'm assuming you are outputting to a flatscreen TV - if so then: a) open up screen resolution (right click on desktop background), click "Advanced Settings", select "Monitor Tab" - you should see a list of refresh rates in a drop-down combo box b) open up catalyst control center and go to the Scaling section (should be under My Digital Flat Panels if you have a TV connected). c) Go back to a) and select the first refresh rate in the dropdown - this may be 23; go back to b) and select the scaling to be 0% so the picture is fully taking up the screen. click Apply d) repeat c) for each refresh rate - note: You should check your tv manual to ensure the modes listed are supported [*]For now revert back to the default refresh rate (for me this is 60); however you'll be able to play with refresh rate switching later on to ensure that blu-rays are optimized to either 23Hz or 24Hz [*]Once the system image has been created, you can then fiddle to your heart's content, and if you mess it up just revert back to the original system image [/LIST] note: Do not install codec packs for now e.g. Sharks etc. If you are using TMT then they are not needed. While codec packs work for many people I find they can introduce a lot of unknowns. The only codecs I install by default these days are LAV Filter (v 0.50.5) as they now come with MediaPortal. LAV filter works fine for bitstreaming Hi-Def MSTR audio etc. In my setup [U]Non[/U] blu-ray ISO material (e.g. DVD ISO, mkvs, avis etc) play within the inbuilt MediaPortal player (including 1:1 MKVs of blu-rays e.g. for TV Series which I keep as MKVs rather than ISOs); while Blu-Ray ISO movies play are played in TMT MCE which is launched by MediaPortal. note: I am also testing MP 1.3 alpha and 2.0 and all seem to work fine without stuttering, including using the inbuilt blu-ray player. I am however using TMT for now as I like my menu's and bonus material. I'm by no means an expert - however I have now built/rebuilt my HTPCs multiple times and played > 50 blu-ray ISOs in the last few weeks due to family visiting without any stutter. I narrowed down my original issue to drivers/codecs rather than anything hardware related and am pleased it has all been resolved. hth Alex [/QUOTE]
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My guide to elminating juddering/stuttering play back (plus an upscale guide!)
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