Playback stutters using HDHomeRun

[PredatorVI]

Not sure if this should be asked in the hardware forum, but the tuner works and plays back fine using the HDHomeRun Setup utility and VLC Media player.

When I watch or record live TV, the feed for about 5 of the 54 channels are choppy, stutters, pixelates (sp?) and is unwatchable. If it was QVC I woudn't mind, but there are a couple of channels I want to watch/record.

If it works fine using the HDHomeRun tools, then I would suspect a configuration issue in SageTV Media Center but I've tried all I can think of and no change. It also happens via the SageTV Client running on a faster machine.

I'm running on WinXP sp3, Dell Optiplex GX280, P4 3.2 GHz HT, 2 GB Ram, Intel 82915G/GV/910GL Graphics.

Memory and CPU utilization don't seem very high (spikes to 50% at times).

Any suggestions?

[davephan]

How often does the choppy, stutters, and pixelation occur? If it rarely happens, you might catch it with VLC, then it is just a weak signal on those stations. Does it happen when it is raining? I have some pixelation when I tried using an indoor antenna when it was raining. An outdoor roof top antenna solved that problem for me.

How much of your Eithernet bandwidth is being consumed? If the bandwidth is high, maybe another network card dedicated for the HDHomeRun would help.

Are you running a software firewall? If so, try disabling it to determine if that might be causing the problem.

Dave

[PredatorVI]

The problem is almost constant. It will play for a second, then stutter for a bit and continue the cycle with pixelation thrown in. It is impossible to follow any dialog.

I have a 1 Gbps wired Ethernet connection to/from the SageTV Media Center Server using less than 1% with 2 recordings going. The HDHomeRun is only 100Mbps.

I did have a mapped drive on the SageTV server pointing to my NAS (ReadyNAS NV+) but switched it to a local drive to eliminate the network.

VLC is rock solid in playback. SageTV (both Live TV and recordings) on the affected channels is unwatchable.

I have one HDTV (Samsung 22") and the questionable channels look/work great. It gets its signal feed from the same splitter/amplifier that all my TV's and the HDHomeRun uses. See it here: http://www.mjsales.net/items.asp?Fam...1ID=&Cat2ID=61

I have Comcast Extended Basic cable service so no antennas are involved. I used to lose signal when it rained, but I made them run a new line and it's been great for over 18 months now.

I've disabled all firewalls.

[gplasky]

Your built-in Intel graphics is not up to the task. Look for a video card with hardware acceleration like the ATI HD4xxx series cards or the nVidia 9600GT. And as fast as your P4 is it is still a single core and you may want to look at a dual or quad core further on down the road. VLC has it's own built-in decoders while Sage relies on DirectX more heavily and 3rd party decoders for its video playback.

Gerry

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by PredatorVI

I've disabled all firewalls.

What firewall do you have installed? If it is ZoneAlarm, disabling it isn't enough; it must be uninstalled & the PC rebooted afterwards. That's what happened to me.

See the Troubleshooting Guide on the SiliconDust site for that info & more; there is a link to it on their instructions page. There is also a Security Software link below it.

- Andy

[PredatorVI]

I just have the windows firewall, which is disabled. I will try to find a different video card. I need a half-height card for that GX280 pizza box case...sometimes not easy to find and though it is a P4 it is hyperthreaded if that matters.

If it is the reliance on DirectX, why are only 5 or so channels affected?

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by PredatorVI

I just have the windows firewall, which is disabled. I will try to find a different video card. I need a half-height card for that GX280 pizza box case...sometimes not easy to find and though it is a P4 it is hyperthreaded if that matters.

If it is the reliance on DirectX, why are only 5 or so channels affected?

If I had to guess, the channels you are having problems with are 1080i HD channels. Your SD channels you are picking up are easy to decode so integrated graphics should be fine. You might even be having luck with 720P, but deinterlacing 1080i can really show which graphics chips are upto the task...

[PredatorVI]

You are probably right. My next question is, why does a video card affect recordings? If I record it via SageTV and play it back using some other method, shouldn't it still play back okay?