Really slow to load tv and change channels (1 Viewer)

[Wart]

Hi,

I'm new at this, trying to get a simple HTPC setup on which I can reliably watch TV. But the time it takes to start live TV or change channels has risen from about 4-5 seconds when I first started using Mediaportal (about 2 weeks ago) to about 12 seconds, and today it is now taking about 55 seconds to load a TV channel or switch channels. Not great for channel surfing...

The log files are attached. At 18:13 I turned the TV on to ABC1. After it tuned in (with a bit of stuttering) I waited about 10 seconds or so before changing to SBS1. It even took about 12 seconds just to close. I don't really understand the log files - I don't really know what to look for.

My system is: Dual core Intel Atom 1.8Ghz, ATI Mobility Radeon HD5430 512mb, 4GB RAM, Windows 7 (32-bit). I am using an Avermedia Twinstar Dual DVB-T USB tuner and the Cyberlink 10 Mpeg-2 codec.

Can anyone help?!

Thanks!

 

[mm1352000]

Hello Wart

Something is not right on your system.
There have been a couple of reports like this recently.
Check your CPU and HDD utilisation.
I suspect you may find Windows Defender or MS Security Essentials... or whatever security software you use... is scanning the MP and TV Server applications and/or timeshifting and recording folders.
Either that or something else is hitting your CPU and HDD *really* hard.

mm

 

[JimCatMP]

Additionally, you may want to look at using RAM Disk for timeshift to reduce HDD traffic, and provided you keep RAM disk only for timeshift you can safely exclude the drive within security software settings.

Cheers - JCMP

 

[Arturas1976]

THank you!! I also has this problem on Windows 8 with Defender. In the settings put the timeshifting folder not to scan and now all delay is gone.

 

[Wart]

Thanks for the replies - turning MS Security Essentials off did the trick - I was running AVG and had turned that off, didn't even realise MS Security Essentials was still doing its thing!

 

[improwise]

I've had the same problem as OT with MediaPortal for several years, going back to Windows Vista via Windows 7 and now Windows 8. It is not a performance issue (outside of MediaPortal that is) and it is now related to Antivirus software. Usually, I can change the channel in MediaPortal, then start DVBViewer and in 9 out of 10 times DVBViewer will show the new channel before MediaPortal (even if I have to change it in DVBViewer). Have tried Windows Media Center (several editions) and that to has always been WAY faster than MediaPoral. When starting the client (TVService already running) and tune the first channel, that can usually take up to a minute to tune. Further channel changes takes about 10 seconds in general.

 

[mm1352000]

@improwise: if you want help then please post logs, otherwise we don't have the information that we need in order to help you.

 

[improwise]

@improwise: if you want help then please post logs, otherwise we don't have the information that we need in order to help you.

Well, I've been through to many installations on different computers and different versions of windows, and spent countless hours on it, so I just don't think it is a configuration issue. Seems like Mediaportal have a especially hard time with encrypted channels (DVB-C, CONAX), which take forever to switch between. Often it seems to be some kind of timeouts, so I get a message about "No card inserted" from MediaPortal, despite the channel finally playing in the background.

 

[AaronH1234]

I've been using mediaportal for about 5 years and always had issues with Slow Zap. Black Screens intermittantly. Freezing and sometimes jerky TV.
I found Firewalls cause this. Comodo and AVG. I did the following

1. Put the the entire media portal folders. Programs and settings folders as exclude from Virus scanning and Defence and mediaportal.exe and the server
excluded from Firewall Checking. This took me from 12 sec to 3 Zap and I have had no Black screens or jerky TV since.

2. Put the time shift buffer to 128mb and 5 seconds and put the zap in the overlay to 0

3. put extra memory in the server and put the timeshift buffer to ramdrive.

Perfect now after 5 years of intermitant issues and slow changes.

The firewall is what I believe is the issue in the actual slow Zaps, not so much the timeshift buffer. With the timeshift on the ramdrive time shifting
is faster than HDD when using it to go back or forward in a program.

I also found ArcSoft to be the best decoder for stability. I have not been able to use LAV video without stuttering. Nvidia PureVideo and CoreAVC
caused the TVServer to freeze intermittantly. I use LAV Audio which is stable and Fddshow as a filter