HD Programming freezes on HD Media Extender

[dadams]

This has been mentioned before, but I never saw any resolution. I have 2 HDHR's and 1 HD-PVR that performs most of my recording. Sometimes after fastforwarding or rewinding while watching the picture will freeze, the audio will continue for 4-5 seconds then the audio quits. If I stop, then restart the video then it is seems okay for awhile. If I happen to be watching a recording in progress and it happens, then when I restart it the counter skips to the end of the program. This freezing only appears to happen on HDHR recordings and once on my HD-PVR recordings. This only happens when watching the recordings through the HD media extender. On a computer it is fine. This has become very frustrating to say the least. I am running the lastest drivers and firmware for the HDHR's. I am also running the latest version of SageTV. Anyone else having these issues?

[dmiraclejr]

I had this same problem for months and months (probably about 6 months or so). There are even a couple of old, long threads about it with no solution ever found. For me it would occur in the situations you describe except for all recordings, not just my HDHR. It would occur about 1 or 2 times a day but was very managable for me because I was unwilling to give up my auto commercial skip by using anything else. Then about 1 month ago it happened again and I was so sick of it and put my mind to fixing it. It occurred to me that it might have something to do with that pretty and fancy "animation" of the time line, screen saver, etc. So I went in and did the following. Hopefully it will fix you too.

On your HD100 extender go to Setup>Detailed Setup>General>Animation Options>Configure>Animation system and set it to "Disabled". This one little tweak has kept me freeze free for the past month. Not one single freeze and I was getting a couple a day before. Now I don't have the pretty diving time bar anymore (it just disappears without the dive) but I also have no more freezes and have improved the WAF greatly.

Just another note of appology. I guess I have been guilty of not coming back here to the board with a solution after I found it. I have received so much help and guidance here that in the rare event I find a fix/work around I should do a better job of coming back here to share.

I really hope this fixes your problem. My system has been rock solid in every way for the past month.

[valnar]

I turn off all menu videos and animation too. But I always have, so I never encountered any problems with my extenders. I'd prefer to have my extenders as snappy as possible, even if the eye candy gets turned off.

[dadams]

Thanks for the help! It is much appreciated. I will give it a try.

[jhkoenig]

Woo-hoo! I have suffered with this problem for months and this animation=OFF adjustment seems to have cured it! Has anyone told tech support? They have been working with me, but they're looking for log files and such, having never asked about this setting.

WAF jumped 30 points tonight!

Thanks!
--John

[dadams]

Originally Posted by dmiraclejr

I had this same problem for months and months (probably about 6 months or so). There are even a couple of old, long threads about it with no solution ever found. For me it would occur in the situations you describe except for all recordings, not just my HDHR. It would occur about 1 or 2 times a day but was very managable for me because I was unwilling to give up my auto commercial skip by using anything else. Then about 1 month ago it happened again and I was so sick of it and put my mind to fixing it. It occurred to me that it might have something to do with that pretty and fancy "animation" of the time line, screen saver, etc. So I went in and did the following. Hopefully it will fix you too.

On your HD100 extender go to Setup>Detailed Setup>General>Animation Options>Configure>Animation system and set it to "Disabled". This one little tweak has kept me freeze free for the past month. Not one single freeze and I was getting a couple a day before. Now I don't have the pretty diving time bar anymore (it just disappears without the dive) but I also have no more freezes and have improved the WAF greatly.

Just another note of appology. I guess I have been guilty of not coming back here to the board with a solution after I found it. I have received so much help and guidance here that in the rare event I find a fix/work around I should do a better job of coming back here to share.

I really hope this fixes your problem. My system has been rock solid in every way for the past month.

dmiraclejr, this totally solved my problem!!!!! It was getting very frustrating. Thank you!!!

[dmiraclejr]

Glad to have been of service. I have received so much help here myself I really like it when I get a chance to give a little back. Now to just keep myself from tweeking anything!

[mistergq]

I can't get mine turned to disable. I can disable everything but the Animation systems.

I click on Animation Systems, it brings up a window, click disabled with ok, it goes back to screen with animations system still enabled. Any ideas?

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by mistergq

I can't get mine turned to disable. I can disable everything but the Animation systems.

I click on Animation Systems, it brings up a window, click disabled with ok, it goes back to screen with animations system still enabled. Any ideas?

So when you click on the window and it shows disabled, are you clicking it again to re-enable on accident?

[mistergq]

Originally Posted by paulbeers

So when you click on the window and it shows disabled, are you clicking it again to re-enable on accident?

apparently I am just dumb. when it disabled, the window decreases, I was thinking it pulled a new window up. But it was not, so I was reenabling it. Simply put, after it says disabled, you need to go down to close. opps...

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by mistergq

apparently I am just dumb. when it disabled, the window decreases, I was thinking it pulled a new window up. But it was not, so I was reenabling it. Simply put, after it says disabled, you need to go down to close. opps...

If it makes you feel any better, the reason I knew what you were doing wrong is that I did it wrong the first time too. Hehe.

As a side note....I was only having issues with my HDHomerun recordings, and I haven't had a lot of shows to test this change on (since it was the week of Thanksgiving, many of my shows were reruns); however, what testing I have done...I have not had the bail out issue yet. Previously I couldn't watch a show without it bailing out. Maybe this really is the trick! I also like the way it feels so much snappier...even if it isn't as pretty.

[mistergq]

Originally Posted by paulbeers

If it makes you feel any better, the reason I knew what you were doing wrong is that I did it wrong the first time too. Hehe.

As a side note....I was only having issues with my HDHomerun recordings, and I haven't had a lot of shows to test this change on (since it was the week of Thanksgiving, many of my shows were reruns); however, what testing I have done...I have not had the bail out issue yet. Previously I couldn't watch a show without it bailing out. Maybe this really is the trick! I also like the way it feels so much snappier...even if it isn't as pretty.

I am only recording with HD Homerun or HD PVR at this point. My one extender that never failed started to freeze. I was about ready to run a new ethernet cable to the switch to see if that was the problem when I saw this thread. So far, I had a momentary freeze but it corrected itself when in a second or 2, I can live with that.

I have another extender that we are having problems with. I am about ready to replace it with a client, but we are going to try that to see if it fixes the problem. if so then I am going to move it master bedroom since the Wife is harassing me about not having a tv in the Master Bedroom (we moved into our new place over 6 months ago and I finally finished the upstairs ethernet project and ethernet is run to the Master bedroom.