[SOLVED] TV Stream stuttering - both Video and Audio (1 Viewer)

Stephen O'Kane

Portal Member
October 27, 2015
35
4
Home Country
Ireland Ireland
Hi,

My MP install has been flawless for ages, but has just started stuttering this last few days.

I rebooted, but it made no difference, then I upgraded to the latest version - 1.25-Summer 2020 - but the issue still persists.

No issues with the signal, etc, and a rescan picked up all the channels, but the issue remains.

Issue only affecting latest recordings and live TV - previous recordings have no issue.

I have attached the watchdog logs, and it looks like there are a lot of Continuity errors reported for both audio and video.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
SteveO
 

Attachments

  • MediaPortalLogs_10_09_20__21_45.zip
    137.2 KB

Stephen O'Kane

Portal Member
October 27, 2015
35
4
Home Country
Ireland Ireland
I can't see where my system spec should be set - they used to be visible under the avatar

But they are as follows:

Windows 10
16GB Ram
PCTV 290e USB tuner

Issue happens with live tv and time shifting.
 

joecrow

Test Group
  • Team MediaPortal
  • August 9, 2012
    2,528
    1,880
    Home Country
    Germany Germany
    It could be your tuner on its way out or problems with the antenna/sat dish. How does it look if you direct connect, i.e use the tuner in your TV?

    Sadly the system specs have gone with a recent upgrade to the website software.:(
     

    Stephen O'Kane

    Portal Member
    October 27, 2015
    35
    4
    Home Country
    Ireland Ireland
    Hi Joe

    Not sure how I can plug a USB tuner directly into the TV - is that what you meant?

    The TV signal is good during tuning, with good quality and signal strength, and all other TVs in the house are good and are fed from the same antenna on the roof - so I think that is ok

    I decided to try out a few things - I tried MP2.2.3 and the issue was still prevelent there - probably no surprise as it's the same TV Server in MP1 / MP2.

    Then I tried the Tuner on my wifes laptop - single seat install of MP2 - using the same tuner and antenna socket, and that all worked.

    So that would indicate the tuner and antenna signal are all good.

    Next I applied the latest Windows updates to the laptop as I recalled an update to my desktop this week an Hey Presto! I get the same stuttering on the laptop.

    So to me it looks like the issue appears after the last Windows 10 update - Win 10 2004 I think it was called.

    So what can be done to further diagnose / fix the issue?

    Anyone else had any issues since that Windows update?

    Not sure what to try now?
     

    CyberSimian

    Test Group
  • Team MediaPortal
  • June 10, 2013
    2,849
    1,771
    Southampton
    Home Country
    United Kingdom United Kingdom
    So to me it looks like the issue appears after the last Windows 10 update
    Allegedly it is possible to uninstall Windows updates, but that may not be possible for the twice-yearly "new version" of Windows 10 that Microsoft insists on installing whether you want it or not.

    Allegedly, Windows introduces problems in two areas, but I have never suffered from either, as I use Windows 7:

    (1) Changes to anti-virus or anti-malware scanning. I think that you need to exclude from scanning the folders that MP uses, not just the MP folders in "Program Files" and "ProgramData", but the other folders that you use for recording and (for good measure) video. I don't know how to do that.

    (2) Changes to the networking. Remember that MP uses a client/server setup, even when the MP client is on the same system as TV Server. If Windows is now imposing more-stringent rules, that might cause problems. You need to enable free access to the ports that MP wants to use. I don't know how to do that.

    If you cannot discover how to fix these things yourself, perhaps someone else knows what needs checking and (if necessary) fixing.

    Once again it seems that Windows 10 is a menace for stable systems, and you might want to consider downgrading your HTPC system to Windows 7.

    -- from CyberSimian in the UK
     

    joecrow

    Test Group
  • Team MediaPortal
  • August 9, 2012
    2,528
    1,880
    Home Country
    Germany Germany
    Not sure how I can plug a USB tuner directly into the TV - is that what you meant?
    No I meant plug in your antenna cable direct to the TV. (i.e. use the integrated TV tuner, not use your USB tuner in the TV, sorry my wording was not too clear).
    Regarding the comments by @CyberSimian I am running Win 10 pro x64 and had no problems with the latest (2004) update, but could be some hardware dependencies there. Have you updated to 2004 (around May/June time) and did your problem begin then? Also what graphics card do you have and has that been updated recently?
    BTW I use MS Defender as the only AV software and run a single seat (server and client) setup.
     

    CyberSimian

    Test Group
  • Team MediaPortal
  • June 10, 2013
    2,849
    1,771
    Southampton
    Home Country
    United Kingdom United Kingdom
    No I meant plug in your antenna cable direct to the TV. (i.e. use the integrated TV tuner, not use your USB tuner in the TV, sorry my wording was not too clear).
    Connecting the aerial directly to the TV is OK at a gross level, but the problem with TV cards for PCs is that the tuners seem to be much less sensitive than the tuners in TV sets. I am not sure why this is -- possibly they have to be less sensitive in order to avoid receiving interference from the high-frequency signals zooming around the motherboard, memory, and other circuitry inside the PC case. Anyway, the result is that a signal may be OK for the TV, but too weak for the tuner card.

    A more-useful test would be to try completely-different media-center software, since this would use the same aerial, co-axial connection, and TV tuner card as MP:
    • If that software works, the problem is an MP config problem.
    • If that software does not work, it is a hardware problem (e.g. bad aerial or co-ax connection), or a Windows config problem.
    NextPvr might be a good choice for this alternative software (free for personal use).

    -- from CyberSimian in the UK
     

    Stephen O'Kane

    Portal Member
    October 27, 2015
    35
    4
    Home Country
    Ireland Ireland
    Hi Guys,

    The update for for Windows 10 was only updated on my machine this week.

    It was around that time that the issue seems to have started, but I can't say for sure as I didn't use MP for a few days after that.
    It says on my system that Win 10 Pro version 2004 was installed on the 7th of September - so it ties in with the timing of the issue starting.

    Regarding network issues - I see the issue even on the preview in MP TV Server config - so I guess that takes that out of the picture
    Also, for AV, I have exemptions set, and even when the AV is disabled the issue is there.
    I used the same antenna socket, cable and tuner (USB stick tuner) when I tested on the laptop, where it worked (pre windows update)
    So the hardware should be good - again good signal reported during tuning.
    I don't have a graphic card - just the onboard graphics on the moterboard.

    Also I don't want to rollback to Win 7 - the desktop is my main computer - it's not just used as dedicated HTPC.
    It is a constant issue - making watching or recording TV impossible at the minute.

    I will try that Next PVR and see if the same issue is present there.

    Thanks for taking the time to reply.

    Regards
    Steve O
     

    Stephen O'Kane

    Portal Member
    October 27, 2015
    35
    4
    Home Country
    Ireland Ireland
    Just tried the NextPVR and the issue exists there too.

    What's the next step?

    Any suggestions of what to try, or were to look to try to resolve?

    Also if I rollback the windows update - will I have to reinstall all 3rd party programs, or will it maintain the ones I have?

    Or do I get a new tuner? The model I have is ~8 years old?

    Is the Hauupage PCTV ok? It's basically a new model of what I have.
    Any other recommendations?

    Thanks
    SteveO
     

    Users who are viewing this thread

    Top Bottom