Recordings stuttering on playback (24 Viewers)

[Infidelus]

TV-Server/troubleshooting-streamtest - MediaPortal Wiki Documentation

Should have pointed you to above, oops

I followed the link provided and tried with VLC. Can't seem to get a stream through VLC with that though. I did try live TV within MP this morning, and that seemed to be working from a very quick test (really can't be arsed to watch daytime TV ).

I'm not as worried about live TV as I am about stable and stutter free playback of recorded TV as that's what this box's main purpose is at this moment in time.

 

[Infidelus]

Well, I think I've finally cracked it, and in doing so I must make an apology.

I never saw (and for this I must be blind) the codec selection under "Movies" in MP Configuration. Once I changed that, I've stopped seeing stuttering (touch wood). I'm guessing the problem was the software decodong was too much, and the PowerDVD codec is doing it on hardware?

While saying "I must be blind", I think the layout for these options could do with some work.

Look at the three (hope there's only three and I'm not missing more) places you can choose the codecs.

Television - Right there, first place you look. Easy to find.
DVD - Second row, but nicely labelled DVD Codecs. Again, easy to find
Movies - Fourth row down, under Movie Player. Not obvious. If I hadn't been desperately trying to sort out this particular problem, I might never have noticed it.

Just a suggestion anyway. Make these things easier to find, and better labelled

Rant over

One final question relating to PowerDVD (which I'm sure has been asked before). I'm assuming that the codec will continue to work after the software trial expires? I don't fancy paying out for 3 licences for software I'm never going to use.

 

[tourettes]

One final question relating to PowerDVD (which I'm sure has been asked before). I'm assuming that the codec will continue to work after the software trial expires? I don't fancy paying out for 3 licences for software I'm never going to use.

If I remember the audio codec will stop working after it expires... btw. if you are using the codecs you definately should be paying the lisence. No matter how small portion the software is used its still requires paying the lisence, unless using free software like MP

 

[Infidelus]

One final question relating to PowerDVD (which I'm sure has been asked before). I'm assuming that the codec will continue to work after the software trial expires? I don't fancy paying out for 3 licences for software I'm never going to use.

If I remember the audio codec will stop working after it expires... btw. if you are using the codecs you definately should be paying the lisence. No matter how small portion the software is used its still requires paying the lisence, unless using free software like MP

I've no problem paying for software and supporting developers, but as MediaPortal only seems to be working when using someone else's codec, if I have to pay for that, then it's a bit pointless to me. I'll be back to square one of having an unusable system. At this point in time, I can't afford to spend that much money on a software package I'm never going to use just to make a *free* solution work

 

[tourettes]

One final question relating to PowerDVD (which I'm sure has been asked before). I'm assuming that the codec will continue to work after the software trial expires? I don't fancy paying out for 3 licences for software I'm never going to use.

If I remember the audio codec will stop working after it expires... btw. if you are using the codecs you definately should be paying the lisence. No matter how small portion the software is used its still requires paying the lisence, unless using free software like MP

I've no problem paying for software and supporting developers, but as MediaPortal only seems to be working when using someone else's codec, if I have to pay for that, then it's a bit pointless to me. I'll be back to square one of having an unusable system. At this point in time, I can't afford to spend that much money on a software package I'm never going to use just to make a *free* solution work

Our team wont ever provide a "self made" MPEG2 (or any other video / audio format) decoder. That would be just a huge task and wasting huge amount of our resources. So we have to deal with the reality and use such codecs that just work For example Cyberlink has put many man years (hundreds maybe) into creating the MPEG2 & h264 decoders. We just dont have similar amount of resources on our disposal.

 

[Infidelus]

Our team wont ever provide a "self made" MPEG2 (or any other video / audio format) decoder. That would be just a huge task and wasting huge amount of our resources. So we have to deal with the reality and use such codecs that just work For example Cyberlink has put many man years (hundreds maybe) into creating the MPEG2 & h264 decoders. We just dont have similar amount of resources on our disposal.

I'm quite sure you're right, and I don't really want to start an argument about pay software vs free software Just trying to put my point across.

You guys do a great job, for which we're all grateful.

As for the trial, I'll just have to see if the video codec continues to work, or find an alternate solution/fix. I'm not fussed about the audio codec with my home setup.

Cheers

 

[Infidelus]

Ok, so MPEG files now work fine with the PowerDVD codec, but xvid files are now stuttering. Obviously they're not using Cyberlink's codec and are therefore decoded in software.

Once again, if I play the files through VLC, everything works as expected, no stutters at all, but with MP, there are random stutters (nowhere near the scale they were on MPEG files, but still there).

Codecs installed: Koepi's xvid codec and ffdshow. Any recommendations for settings that might sort this out?

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

PowerDVD installs the Divx codec, chances are it may be playing your avi's, not xvid or ffdshow.

Grab graphedit from halfway down the page here, and just drop a video file into open graphedit window, this will show which codecs are used.

Remove both the xvid and ffdshow codecs, run filmerit (link in signature), repair any codec errors by unlocking the padlock, reboot

Reinstall above codecs, checking that they are not set to run the same formats in their individual configs.

Should now override the divx codec if it was being used, gave me stuttering on a recent install, so hope so, if not, change merit by using filmerit\display\edit merits to change the divx codec to a non preferred option.

or if you get really bored with above, uninstall xvid\ffdshow and install the Vista codec pack after a reboot, that corrects many windows\codec settings and still gives you ffdshow\xvid\haali media splitter\ac3 codecs.

Regards


Regards

 

[Infidelus]

Thanks again PD. I ran the checks. Looks like it was ffdshow being used to playback the xvids. Ran Filmerit and fixed a couple of problems, then just reinstalled the xvid codec and left ffdshow off.

Just watched a program that's about 1 1/2 hours long with no stutters. Fingers crossed

Cheers