Terratec H7 DVB-C random freeze (1 Viewer)

[Kossu]

Dunno if you got it solved, but did you try checking the option to not drop discontinued packets?

 

[hassegubben]

No. Is that option somewhere in the TVserver setup? Remember I´m still on MP1.0.2. And XPproSP3. I will look for it tonight. Thx.

Because I'm on a production system I don't want to go to any of the 1.1 RCx candidates. I have installed the Terratec Home Cinema and the drivers from the CD on a crappy PC and verified that everything works smoothly, so the hardware is OK. But the Home cinema solution is awful-it is buggy as hell, freezes, missed recordings, awkward interface. The list is long. I am really awaiting MP1.1 final, but I'm trying to find out if the 1.1RC5 can be upgraded to 1.1 final. In that case I will risk an installation of 1.1RC5. And possibly I can help with more feedback on the Terratec H7 DVB-C with a smartcard.

I can also conclude that the dicontinuities in my logs do not depend on a weak antenna signal. I'm on 98% strength and 98%quality with the signal quality tool in Home Cinema.

 

[hassegubben]

The option discontinued packets makes live tv play without stuttering. Instead the picture is breaking up in macroblocks every now and then.

 

[Kossu]

The option discontinued packets makes live tv play without stuttering. Instead the picture is breaking up in macroblocks every now and then.

That is rather wierd, I had stuttering now and again with the option not checked but with it checked I don't have any macroblocks nor stuttering. Then again the lowest MP setup I've tried with the H7 card was some SVN build leading up to 1.1.

Hit Shift+1 when you got live TV on, whats the feed FPS and how many frames per 10000 is it dropping?

 

[hassegubben]

Frames per 30000 dropped: 0
Jitter: 0
Sync: 0
avg fps: 50,02
last 0,00 fps (1024x768)
100backbuf X8R8G8B8
adapter X8R8G8B8 (D16) False VMR 50,00

I saw some blockiness every now and then with "not drop discontinued packets" turned on. The problem is still there. It is not in the transmission. I recorded the show on a standalone HDPVR1000C box from COMHEM while watching the same show in MP live. The recording looks good. Live TV in MP is blocky/freezing. And so is the MP recordings.

 

[CHli]

Hi,

I just wanted to point out that having an error free reception on your set-top-box doesn't mean you'll get the same error free reception on another equipment.

E.G. I have a set-top-box, a digital everywhere floppy dtv-c and a Terratec Cinergy HD PCI. They are all fed from the same wall plug but they all have different reception quality.

• The set-top-box is nearly error-free
• The floppy dtv-c has a glitch now an then
• The Terratec Cinergy is unusable to watch TV I just use it to grab EPG.

PC's are big electromagnetic noise sources, that can reduce the signal-to-noise ratio at the receiver significantly. Also PCs get hot (or have brutal temperature variations) and some analogue components in digital-tv receivers can suffer from that). I guess you're also using different cables, etc.

You see we don't live in an ideal world

 

[hassegubben]

My results after installing 1.1.0 RC5 on a 3.2GHz P4 computer: The Terratec H7 is working great! The reception is perfect and playback is silk smooth with live TV. However - I frequently get "Lost connection to TV-server" and I have to restart the TVserver and sometimes the whole PC. I am hoping this is due to the old hardware, so I am currently installing on my production system and crossing my fingers. By the way - it should be possible to use my old rig with both the TVserver and the MPclient according to the HW requirements(2.0 GHz P4). I will install on my production system and include logs as soon as I have finished the current installation.

 

[hassegubben]

I am somewhat frustrated: after 8 hours installing MP1.1.0RC5 on my production system (Clean install with FULL uninstall of previous DB and all components) I am back to square one. After the successful experiment on my low spec PC(0 dropped frames on 30000 drawn) I am back to 15 dropped on 10000 drawn frames and blockiness every now and then. My analog and DVB-T tuners all work perfect!

I am also experiencing TVservice dying for me, forcing me to restart the PC. There seems to be some kind of issue with the H7 and the TVserver.

The only difference between the two systems is that the low spec PC and MP1.1.0RC5 had Power DVD 8 codecs and HW acceleration configured. The production system has the default MPC settings. I am wondering - is the Terratec H7 only working with PDVD codecs? Kossu - is your H7 working smoothly and what are your codec settings?

 

[Motionaddict]

I have two DVB-C receivers, a Anysee E30 and a TerraTec Cinergy C HD. With the Terratec card I have exactly the same stuttering/macroblocks about 1-2 times/minute, but the Anysee receiver has no stuttering. I struggled with this a loooong time but then I just concluded that it's a Terratec problem and accepted my defeat... The Anysee card has higher priority in my settings so this problem only occurs if I have multiple simultaneous recordings or if I record one channel and watch another at the same time - I can live with that for now.

I also had the tv service dying problem, but then I disabled EPG grabbing from the Terratec card, no problem after that.

 

[hassegubben]

I'll try do deactivate the EPG grabbing and see if this fixes the sudden death of the TVserver.
I have also read about setting the Power options to Performance(=Always on for Win XP? ) may remove stuttering. Or leaving the ATI CCC open. I'll try all options until someone will agree on the fact that it is a MP bug. Or not. I'm open to suggestions.