Codecs Radio Channel Previews OK But No Sound In MP (1 Viewer)

[stirlinghart]

Hi Guys,

I have a strange one. I have 4 radio channels, 2x SBS and 2x ABC....When previewing in TV SERVER config, they all play sound no problems. When i play in Mediaportal, only the SBS ones have sound, the ABC channels appear to play as i can see the seconds counting by but no sound at all.

I am using all the codecs that come with the latest MP. I have not installed any other codecs. All video/TV work perfectly except the ABC radio channels.

Do you have any ideas?

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[mm1352000]

Hi stirlinghart

Preview in TV Server configuration uses the codecs with the highest merit/priority on your machine that are able to decode the stream format. The codecs it chooses are not necessarily the same as the ones that you have chosen in MediaPortal configuration. That is to say that it is entirely possible that one situation may work and the other may not as you have said. It all depends on the codecs that are used. Please try different values in the "MPEG/AC3 audio" field on the "TV" tab in the "codecs and renderer" section of MP configuration and see if that makes any difference to the playback in MP.

mm

 

[stirlinghart]

Hi mm,

Thank you very much for your advice. I will try this as soon as i get home. Can i ask what your recommend are the best codec so choose for the TV tab and Video Tab? I have been using whatever comes with MP. I think its the Microsoft codecs or MPC ones off memory.

Another issue i have had for ages is micro glitches every now and then, i don't belive its signal as when i watch live tv, it is flawless, its only when i watch a recorded tv show. You will be watching it and then it will have a slight freeze for a fraction of a second and then can be good for another 5-10 mins before happening again. I have tried power dvd codecs in the past and its the same.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated

Thanks agian!

 

[mm1352000]

Hi again

Thank you very much for your advice.

You're very welcome.

Can i ask what your recommend are the best codec so choose for the TV tab and Video Tab? I have been using whatever comes with MP. I think its the Microsoft codecs or MPC ones off memory.

In my opinion there isn't really an absolute best - choose the ones that work the best for you. The ones that can reliably decode all (or as many as possible of) the files and channels that you view/record without decoding quality or technical issues. Many people here favour the Cyberlink codecs for their reliability, versatility and picture quality; the LAV codecs are also gaining a big following because they can do pretty much anything very well and they are free; FFDShow has been popular for a long time; Microsoft is also commonly used because they come pre-installed on W7.

Keep in mind that the Microsoft audio codec can't decode AC3 (Dolby Digital) outside of WMC.
Also, the LAV codecs are very convenient to install with no bloat. The LAV filters package can be found in the MP Extensions Installer (shortcut on your desktop or in the Team MediaPortal folder in your start menu). Install that, change your MP configuration to use LAV video or LAV audio for everything and you're hopefully set for good. Two minute task.

Another issue i have had for ages is micro glitches every now and then, i don't belive its signal as when i watch live tv, it is flawless, its only when i watch a recorded tv show. You will be watching it and then it will have a slight freeze for a fraction of a second and then can be good for another 5-10 mins before happening again. I have tried power dvd codecs in the past and its the same.

The first thing to determine when debugging such a problem is to determine whether the flaw is recorded into the file or is a temporal glitch in decoding. Next time you see it, skip back 15 or 30 seconds and see if you have a glitch in the same place. If you do then you can guess that there is a small corruption in the recording. You can investigate reception, wiring, HDD/network load, and computer environmental (eg. heat, interference) things. Otherwise if the issue is playback related then investigate HDD/network load, processor load, heat, codecs and renderer. I know it can be tricky to reproduce such problems but you'd be welcome to post logs for us to at least check.

Log Files - MediaPortal Wiki

If you see a flicker then you can close MP immediately and follow the instructions for non-reproducible problems on the page linked above to get us the information we would need.

mm

 

[stirlinghart]

Hi mm,

Thanks again for your great advice and time. You explain things very clearly

I will try those LAV codecs tonight. I noticed in the latest MP release they mentioned that it had added Power DVD 11 codecs? I couldnt see them in there anywhere. If i want to test those aswell as LAV, do you know where i can get those codecs and how to install them?

Lastly, I can confirm that when i have glitches, if i rewind back, they are repeated in the same spot, so they are definately recorded in the video file..... The only thing i would ask aswell is that i have 2 partitions....C: has MP on it.....and E: has all the video files on it plus the timeshift folder. Do you think that having mediaportal on a separate partition could cause the hdd to make glitches in live tv/recording?

Thanks again

 

[mm1352000]

Hi again

I noticed in the latest MP release they mentioned that it had added Power DVD 11 codecs? I couldnt see them in there anywhere. If i want to test those aswell as LAV, do you know where i can get those codecs and how to install them?

I think you must have misread. Sebastiii (one of our developers) added the ability to configure certain settings for the latest versions of those codecs. As a team we can't and don't advocate infringing on Cyberlink's IP so if you want to get those codecs then you should really buy them legally. Practically speaking, many people do get the codecs illegally. I'm sure if you search the forum you will find comments about it. Sorry I can't be more helpful on that topic but I hope you understand that we would be cannon fodder for Cyberlink's lawyers otherwise.

Lastly, I can confirm that when i have glitches, if i rewind back, they are repeated in the same spot, so they are definately recorded in the video file.

Okay, well that is a good starting point. If you have the TV Server logs from when the recording was created then I can check for signal corruption.

The only thing i would ask aswell is that i have 2 partitions....C: has MP on it.....and E: has all the video files on it plus the timeshift folder. Do you think that having mediaportal on a separate partition could cause the hdd to make glitches in live tv/recording?

Having separate partitions is not generally an issue. In fact, we often advocate that people use a second [physical] drive as it allows Windows to do whatever it likes with the first drive while the second drive keeps recording smoothly. The key point is that HDD load can cause glitches in recordings and playback. You want to minimise the load on the timeshifting/recording HDD as far as possible. Running a defragmentation on it may help; make sure it is not getting too full; if you use real-time scanning software (virus and spyware protection like Windows Defender and Microsoft Security Essentials etc.) then ensure that they are configured not to scan your timeshifting and recording folders.

mm

 

[stirlinghart]

Hi again mm

Thanks for your reply.

1. I thought the PDVD codecs may have been free. No problems at all.

2. It would be so fantastic if you could confirm it i have signal corruption as i dont know how to do it. Would you be able to tell me the steps in finding the log file and what to do...EG..if i have a 1 hours program with glitches, i will tell you the exact time it glitches in the file. All i need to know is where to find the log file and what to do and how to send the log file directly to you or do i just attach in here.

Thanks again

 

[mm1352000]

Hi again

It would be so fantastic if you could confirm it i have signal corruption as i dont know how to do it. Would you be able to tell me the steps in finding the log file and what to do...EG..if i have a 1 hours program with glitches, i will tell you the exact time it glitches in the file. All i need to know is where to find the log file and what to do and how to send the log file directly to you or do i just attach in here.

Sure, I can do that. I should be clear though: I can tell you if there is corruption in the stream from the tuner, however I can't be 100% certain of the cause. All of the factors that I mentioned previously still apply. In any case, I'm happy to have a look - I may spot something that may help you track down the problem.

So, if you have a recording with corruption then you need to still have the TV Server logs from when the recording was made.

1. Open TV Server configuration.
2. Click "open log directory" in the top left hand corner.
3. Check if you have a TsWriter-YYYY-MM-DD.log file matching the date of the recording.
4. If you do, [and assuming you have a singleseat install] please follow the instructions for gathering logs for non-reproducible problems -->here<--. There are instructions explaining how to attach files to your posts in that same link.

mm

 

[stirlinghart]

Hi mm,

I have attached the log for the non-reproducible error. I normally delete recorded tv straight after watching it. I will watch a recording tonight and make not of the glitch times and then send the times and log for that recording to you.

Hopefully you may be able to see something in the attached file?

Thanks again for all your help.

Stirling