Windows Entertainment and Connected Home

Forum Post: Re: Question: Ceton InfiniTV 4 with Time Warner Cable Card

erkotz — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 23:50:00 GMT

Most likely these TAs aren't actually bad, but they are mis-provisioned.

Forum Post: No Infinitv found and WMC

bad caddy — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:58:00 GMT

I have a Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB installed on a PC used in htpc configuration that worked intermittently for about a month before eventually not responding anymore. At first I was having severe pixelation, with the device and WMC both saying they were getting weak signal even though the Comcast HD stb's I still had operated perfectly. Comcast came out 4x to try to make certain all was well on their end. Ceton support kept shooting 'fixes' at me that solved the pixelation trouble but the device still wouldn't hold onto the channels. With increasing frequency I was forced to reinstall the channels because WMC kept detecting the CableCard over and over no matter how many times I went thru the WMC set-up process. No I get the message "No InfiniTV Found" on the Ceton Diagnostic Tool and WMC doesn't see the device either. I've installed Ceton recommended Microsoft "hot fixes" for WMC and my PCs USB ports. A host of driver upgrades to all the devices on every computer. I changed the power settings so the pc connected directly to the device and router/modem won't sleep. I removed all the PCs from the Homegroup network set-up just in case. I forget everything I've tried the list is very long. Nothing works.

I have replaced the CableCard 3x, the cable modem 1x, and trying my 2nd InfiniTV USB device. All but the first CableCard on suspicion. I've tried it on three different Windows 7 64-bit machines running quad-core Intel chips, two are running 8gb of ram and one is running 4gb of ram. One uses MSE, one uses AVAST and another uses Norton 360. I was hoping a remote take over on the Norton 360 machine by a Norton tech might provide some insight on the network issue but he was as baffled as I am. I have the same problem on all machines. All the machines are using coax ethernet (MoCa) and I have reliable 25gb+ internet speeds from a Comcast Arris cable modem (it has CVoip). At first I had luck uninstalling then re-installing the Ceton software and with every 'fix' I got thru Ceton support things got worse. I RMA'd the first device and just installed the new one about 6 hrs ago. Same result.

Windows Network Diagnostic on all the machines report that the Local Area Connection for Ceton InfiniTV USB Network Device has an invalid (I'm assuming non-static) IP address and the troubleshooter cannot repair the trouble. Clearly the Ceton device has no received IPv4 internet connection/traffic and miniscule sent traffic. Mind you three different machines from two different manufacturers running Windows 7 HP 64 and different AV, all report this identical issue. I'm still working with Ceton support which is a true hassle over email.

I'm all but certain there is a common network settings problem relating to the InfiniTV device itself as Windows Network Diagnostic is agreeing, but I can't figure it out. You would think the device would show up on a network map but it doesn't.

Does anyone have a definitive fix for this issue?

Forum Post: Re: Guide Tool Re-number / re-map Channels

barnabas1969 — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:30:00 GMT

You need to merge the two channels. To do this in GuideTool, follow the instructions in the post linked below:

experts.windows.com/.../401455.aspx

Then, you will need to assign the tuner priority in Media Center. Here's how:

Open the Guide in Media Center, scroll to the newly merged channel, move left to select the channel name/number in the left column of the guide. Click on the channel number/name. Now, I can't remember exactly what the menu option says, but it's something like "Edit channel". Choose this. Then, choose "Edit Sources". Here, you will be able to move sources up and down in priority. Make the HD channel the top priority, and the SD channel the bottom priority (or disable it by unchecking the box) for each of your tuners.

Save the settings.

Forum Post: Re: Microsoft please fix the 29/59 bug!

mkanet4 — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:07:00 GMT

Richard, no offense, but it seems all you did was "try" to argue semantics. Whether it should be called a bug or not. Seriously? I agree though, the 29/59 framerate bug could have been named better. It looks like you didnt not understand what I meant by mixed soft/hard telecine content; if you did, you wouldnt spent all the effort trying to explain what "mpeg2 headers" are. You might want to read up on what soft/hard telecine content is; and, re-read my original post. I also put a more detailed explanation of what's going on "under the hood" below.

Older GPUs like my old GT8500 dont bother IVTCing the hard telecine portion of the mixed content (59.940 interlaced fields per second); so, it only has to worry about deinterlacing it to 29.97fps. These older generation GPU without IVTC capabilities can easily do this without worrying about switching IVTC on and off. The content still switches between 23.976fps and 29.97fps; but, that's still okay. With newer display cards, they do IVTCing of hard telecine instead of deinterlacing in the hardware; reconstructing perfect progressive frames at 29.97fps. They don't do decimation (removing of duplicate frames); so, the "hard" telecine portion of the content stays at 29.97fps instead of reducing it to 23.976fps. IVTCing of hard telecine content in itself isn't the cause of the problem; its when trying to turn IVTC on and off when switching between hard and soft telecine mixed mode content; which apparently most GPU with IVTC dont do too well. It's not a matter of stronger or weaker GPU. You're right that adding additional post processing features such as dynamic contrast does add to the switching delay; which can exaggerate the stuttering effect. I haven't seen any ATSC broadcasts with this type of mixed mode content; at least not in my area.

It is possible to fix this issue by IVTCing via software; instead of leaving it up to the GPU. This can be done one of two ways:

1. dscaler mpeg2 IVTC mod decoder It's really old; but still does the job. The only problem is it only has bob/weave deinterlacing. The great thing about this solution is it not only handles IVTC correctly, it also performs the addition decimation step to convert the full TV recording to a stable/consistent 23.976fps without any framerate change or deinterlacing. With Reclock, you can go one step further by by restoring the original 24.000fps camera framerate of the full TV show or movie without any quality loss. You can even play it back on a TV at 24.000fps/24.000Hz. I know this, because this is what I currently do now. The only drawback to this method is there's no deal deinterlacing in this mpeg2 decoder; just basic bob or weave. So, for video based content; such as Jay Leno TV show, News, etc... it will lose data when blending. I tried to convince the creator of dscaler to add deinterlacing; but, unfortunately he lost interest a long time ago.

2. Use MadVR video renderer instead of EVR. With this option you get best of both worlds, both full deinterlacing for video content and IVTC. The only downside to this is Windows Media Player's builtin player can't use a different video renderer; so, playback needs to be done via an external player such as MPC-HC. So, for practical purposes, this isn't even a real option for anyone.

The downside to both solutions is they can only handle content without DRM content protection restrictions. For people who use R5000 TV tuners with SageTV (such as me), they can at least use the first solution (dscaler mpeg2 IVTC decoder). I use R5000 TV tuners + sageTV. However, sageTV cant use an external media player like the way Windows Media Center can. Plus, I wouldn't want that anyway since I'd lose all video overlay/OSD effects. That's how I was able to witness this problem long before it was ever reported by people using cablecards on Media Center.

This issue does need to be addressed by display card manufacturers. It's too bad they dont test this kind of content before releasing newer generation display cards.

[quote user="richard1980"]

[quote user="mkanet2"]Actually, it looks like you have it backwards richard; and, completely wrong information.[/quote]

What part is backwards/wrong? I understand this issue completely, perhaps better than most.

[quote user="mkanet2"]The actual problem was caused by introducing additional hardware decoding capabilities (more advanced IVTC/deinterlacing) in newer display cards when trying to handle mixed soft/hard telecine mpeg2 encodings. It was NOT because of a "weak GPU"; in fact, it was clearly the other way around.[/quote]

It has been pointed out several times that the actual problem is with the content. Specifically, the MPEG headers contain information about each picture in the stream, and that information is what determines whether a specific picture should be treated as interlaced or progressive. The switch from processing content marked as interlaced to processing content marked as progressive is what causes the various symptoms, such as stuttering, screen flashing, and screen blanking. Do not confuse the symptoms with the problem.

As for the words "weak GPU", I don't know how else to describe it. For this specific issue, the stuttering is the result of dropped frames; the frames are dropped because some GPUs can't change the state of the deinterlacer fast enough to keep up with the incoming video stream. Additionally, it has been proven that a GPU may stutter when certain post-processing options are enabled, but doesn't stutter when those post-processing options are disabled. It has also been proven that there are certain GPUs that are powerful enough to play the 29/59 content without stuttering, even with post-processing options enabled. So I don't know what you would call it, but when something isn't powerful enough to do what it is being asked to do, I call it weak. And clearly, there are many GPUs that are not powerful enough to play 29/59 content smoothly. Therefore, they are weak. How else would you describe it? Would you prefer I use the word "slow" instead of "weak"?

[quote user="mkanet2"]It actually takes relatively little GPU power to decode these videos; which is why any old school GPU/standalone STB can decode these video streams with no stuttering.[/quote]

Except that is not true at all. There are actually very few GPUs that are powerful enough to play the content smoothly.

[quote user="mkanet2"]Later down the road, another bug was introduced in the nvidia drivers which causes the "white-flash" symptom. Unfortunately, people on the forum started incorrectly referring to this as the "29/59 bug" as well; which caused a lot of confusion for many people.[/quote]

I think your definition of "29/59 bug" is what is incorrect. First, it's not a bug. WMC's reaction to the MPEG header flags is as expected. Second, as I stated above, the 29/59 issue is a problem with the content, and there are several different symptoms that are caused by this problem. You are saying that "29/59 bug" is the correct term to use to describe stuttering, when that is not correct. "Stuttering" is the correct term to describe stuttering. "29/59" just describes the frame rate change that can be observed from the "Debug: Presentation" screen in WMC. But don't stop there. What does it mean when the listed frame rate changes? It means the flags in the MPEG picture header are changing. And that is the root problem. Stuttering is not the problem. Stuttering is just a symptom of the problem.

[quote user="mkanet2"]Part of the reason the original problem still exists today is because of all the confusion introduced along the way. In fact, there's so much confusion now that people who have any kind of video stuttering under Media Center; even on local OTA ATSC channels, refer to their problem as the 29/59 bug! I have a feeling its going to be near impossible for vendors to fix the problem due to all the confusion introduced by newcomers. If I was trying to understand the original real problem (without seeing it), I would be confused too if I did a google search for "29/59 bug".[/quote]

I agree. And part of the problem is the discussions from the early days. "Stuttering" is a symptom of "29/59 content", yet there are tons of posts where people have incorrectly used the term "29/59 bug" to describe the stuttering. A more appropriate phrase would be "stuttering due to 29/59 content". Simply put, the symptom was mislabeled as the problem, and that mislabeling still exists today. One of my points has been that the symptom and the problem are NOT the same thing. People want the stuttering fixed, but they fail to see that stuttering is not the only symptom. As I explained to Carl, fixing the stuttering doesn't fix the problem. Specifically, when the header information that accompanies each picture doesn't actually match the picture, that causes the picture to be processed incorrectly. If you want to see for your own eyes, grab one of the GPUs that are known to play smoothly, and play Grimey's first Invention of Lying clip (see here). Pay specific attention to the windows and lettering on the building. You'll notice combing, and if you examine the MPEG headers, you'll also notice that the pictures are incorrectly flagged at the points where combing is evident. The incorrect flags cause WMC to send the wrong instructions to the GPU, which causes the GPU to process those pictures incorrectly. It doesn't matter if the GPU plays stutter-free, the content still isn't being processed correctly because the flags are still set incorrectly. I have repeatedly said that the only way to fix the problem with the incorrect flags is to go back to the entity that encoded the content, give them a technical explanation of what is happening, and try to get it resolved.

Even if we were to get to a point where the flags always match the pictures, it is still possible for the content to contain a mix of field pictures and frame pictures, and the rendering instructions could require changing the state of the deinterlacer in order to play the video correctly. And as you (should) know, not all GPUs are capable of doing this without dropping frames (which means there will be a visible stutter). And again, there is an answer to this. There are a few GPUs that are known to play 29/59 content without dropping frames (which means no stutter). Combined with the previous solution, this should result in perfect playback.

Unfortunately, there are people that don't like either of those answers. There are people that think there is nothing wrong with the content (and to be fair, it is entirely possible that nothing is wrong with the content they have seen, but Grimey's clips have been here long enough that there's really no justification in anyone denying the fact that the flags in the picture header are not always correct). Additionally, there are people that think there's nothing wrong with the GPUs, despite the fact that multiple people have stated that switching GPUs fixed the stuttering. The popular answer among those deluded people is to blame Microsoft, and they use faulty logic to justify their position (I'm reminded of all the people that use "it plays smoothly on a cable box" as justification, despite the fact that the cable box has a completely different graphics processor than their computer, or people that say "it plays smoothly in (insert application here)", despite the fact that the application they reference utilizes the CPU for deinterlacing, not the GPU, or that it ignores the flags altogether, rendering truly mixed content incorrectly.)

Here's a perfect example of somebody that thinks there's nothing wrong with their GPU:

[quote user="Quatrix"]

[quote user="richard1980"]There's more to this issue than just stuttering on weak GPUs.[/quote]

[quote user="richard1980"]Expecting WMC to run well on poor hardware is foolish.[/quote]

Sorry, but blaming this on "weak" hardware is ridiculous. The 29/59 stutter is still obvious on a $1,000 GTX 690, the fastest GPU (actually dual GPU) available.

[/quote]

If your $1,000 GTX 690 is the fastest GPU available, why are other GPUs able to switch the state of the deinterlacer faster than the GTX 690? Clearly the GTX 690 is not the fastest GPU available when it comes to switching between interlaced processing and progressive processing.

[quote user="mkanet2"]even on local OTA ATSC channels[/quote]

If you are implying that 29/59 content does not exist on ATSC broadcasts, you are incorrect. I have seen the 29/59 issue on my ATSC NBC broadcast. Again, this goes back to the early days, when it was thought this issue only occurred on premium channels, when in reality, it occurs on non-premium channels as well.

[quote user="mkanet2"]If I was trying to understand the original real problem (without seeing it), I would be confused too if I did a google search for "29/59 bug".[/quote]

As I pointed out earlier, it's not a bug, so obviously any search for a bug would turn up BS results. Luckily there is a wiki that gives a "technical explanation for dummies" here.

[/quote]

Forum Post: Re: DVD Playback and Storage Spaces

Rumblebee5161 — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:31:00 GMT

I had looked at that thread as well. The same solution was proposed there about creating the storage pool in Server 2012. I will need to scrounge up so extra drives to try this out.

Forum Post: Re: Net User ID and Net Password - Log in Fail?

Tony 211 — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:31:00 GMT

erkotz,

Thanks again. I'll make the changes and let you know if they help.

Forum Post: Re: MC-TVConverter - converting WTV, DVR-MS, MPEG and TS

LaurieH — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:24:00 GMT

Hi @Hundi - I was using the MPEG2 HQ. On examining the files they have a 6 channel audio stream which I assume is 5.1 surround and I guess my TV does not support that! I'll fiddle with the profiles and probably try the DVD Profile too. I'm sure I'll get it sorted OK..

Cheers for now!

Forum Post: Re: Incomplete Recordings

Pj1 — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 05:57:00 GMT

Hey... me too! I have Win7 Pro with Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 (Software WinTV v7.2 Version 2.0 on CD). I have not updated this since I got my computer back in Nov 2010. These 'split' recorded programs have been happening for many months. I do not remember how far back this started, anymore. I do not think it was always like this. It is somewhat rare but often enough that it bugs me.

I have always had WMC7 lockup on me since day one. I usually get away with playing a few recordings at time, then close/restart WMC if I will play more recordings. The other day, I removed the WinTV software for the first time (rarely used it). While it is too early to say the freeze/lockups have stopped, I have played 7 or 8 recordings in a row, so far. (I think it is an all-time record!) Ha!

However, when I did a fresh scan of channels (Analog & Clear QAM setup) the other day, all but a few Clear QAM channels did not show up. Was it due to removing the WinTV software? (I will reinstall WinTV, updated, at some point.)

For now, I just manually added all of the Clear QAM channels (...plus mapping and listings). I will keep an eye open for any more 'split' recordings. I do not know about the hotfix... it appears to be for only not being able to play or record - - - not this SPLIT recording problem.

Forum Post: Re: WMP 12 Script error when trying to manually get or update Album info

rasta11 — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 01:52:00 GMT

I solved the problem by enabling several add-ons in ie 10, including Windows Live ID sign-in helper.

Forum Post: Re: Analog TV that I connect to my laptop displays completely blue screen once Windows loads

Confused5066 — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:41:00 GMT

Thanks very much for responding to this question.

The fact that the computer's image does appear on the TV up until the point at which Windows loads seems to indicate to me that it is Windows Vista that is doing something to change the way in which the otherwise good signal is being sent to the converter. Apart from the 'Display Settings' window, I can't find anything that allows me, let alone informs me, as to what the signal is that Vista is sending...

That said...

In terms of the input resolution for the converter, using the options in the 'Display Settings' window, the lowest resolution I can pick for the second monitor (the TV) is 800x600. Doing this, however, doesn't resolve the problem. I note that the manual for the converter says the 'HDMI video input format' is 480p/576p/720p/1080i/1080p - this isn't in the format of a YxY, so I'm not sure what to make of it. Nor can I find anything on my computer or its user manual to tell me what its HDMI output is, so I can't check whether it matches the converter's input format.

In terms of the output resolution for the converter, the manual says there are two options (composite video output format): NTSC/480i and PAL/576i. Neither of these resolve the problem. I can't find the user manual for the TV, so I don't know what its input resolution is.

Forum Post: Program Not responding

Crankygeek01 — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 05:04:00 GMT

Hello,

I am new here and have read quite a few of the posts trying to find an answer to why my ARnC is suddenly not working anymore. (Well it worked excellent for DVD's but Blu Ray was causing my PC to blue screen after the compression started, which left me with a full copy of the movie, uncompressed. If I ran that file through handbrake to compress it, it was fine. It was only when I let it run through ARnC that I would blue screen.)

Anyway.....

As soon as I open MCE and click on ARnC, I immediately get a message stating the "The AutoRipNCompress program has stopped responding and you will be returned to Windows Media Center.

I have tried some of the solutions found in the thread but have had no luck at all. I have re-installed the software, deleted temp files and a few other things I found here. The only thing that has changed since it was working, is that I purched makeMKV and a program called Serviio (a media serving application for DNLA)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

If you need log files posted, just let me know what ones and where they are located and I would be very happy to post them.

Thanks!

CrankyGeek01

Forum Post: Re: New channels (most likely h.264) problem

darekd — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:55:00 GMT

When I had windows 8 installed, I only installed Media Center and Nvidia latest driver for GT430 - no other codecs.

Forum Post: Re: Recommendations for a WMC Remote Control for Linksys Media Center Extender DMA2200

erkotz — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:21:00 GMT

Any official Windows Media Center remote (with a "green button") will work. Also most universal remotes will also work (I use a Logitech Harmony 880)

Forum Post: Re: Retrieving Metadata....

marvin-miller — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:19:00 GMT

Yeah, it's a tough one. I'm very surprised that, after all these years, it seems no-one has created a solution to this. If a person is recording/archiving a series and the series only has generic metadata, then you're pretty much stuck.

I did find a utility called MetaGenerator, it allows you to look up Movies and Series on theTVdB and then choose the season/episode. It then allows you to save an .xml file that TiVo will understand containing the metadata. So it's very close - if only applied the metadata to the .wtv file it would just be a matter of pointing/clicking/looking up episodes.

Forum Post: Re: WMC crashes with BSOD 100% of time when viewing VHF channels on HP Digital Entertainment Center

Jimnar — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 17:51:00 GMT

I believe I have solved my problem by completely reinstalling Windows 7 Ultimate. I then hid the Nvidia display adapter driver update that Windows Update said I should install. The system has not crashed since then.

Forum Post: Re: Windows 7 RTM concurrent remote desktop patch

stickplayer — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 01:42:00 GMT

As I said in the post, I already fixed it with a restore. It's still a bug that the removal doesn't work.

Forum Post: Re: Multiple Hauppauge Colossus Cards in one PC

Octavean — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:31:00 GMT

Sorry I'm only using one Hauppauge Colossus card.

I also have two Hauppauge HD PVR units and I'm trying to get them working in one system. In my case I'm using DVBLink for Hauppauge HD PVR software and while I havent quite got it going (only one works) I feel the DVBLink software is more functional and reliable then the Hauppauge Media Center software.

Forum Post: Re: windows media center 8 netflix app function limited

BadElbow — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 05:56:00 GMT

Anyone?

Forum Post: Acer Revo R3610 Choppy Playback with MC7

PitCritter — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:30:00 GMT

For three years, I've been using a Revo 3610 as my HTPC. It's handled everything I've thrown at it with grace and ease. I'm running Win7 Ultimate 64 bit. I run SABnzbd, Couch Potato, Sick Beard and XBMC. It handles 1080p mkv without missing a beat or breaking a sweat. I output 1080p video via HDMI to an H/K AVR and then a Samsung 50" DLP.

The system has been upgraded to 4GB RAM. I access all my recorded media from a Pogoplug Device with 2 X 2TB Caviar drives via a Gigabit network.

Everything was peachy until I received my new (new to me) HDHomerun. It's one of their older units that has two co-ax inputs. I installed everything and I was up and running in 15 minutes. One of my inputs is ATSC, the other is clear QAM. I've previously used both sources with my TV.

The HDHomerun setup went flawlessly. All my channels were detected perfectly. The channels play 100% fine when I use the HDHOmerun preview player. The problem comes when I fire up WMC.

At that point, Live TV stutters and lags badly. It is absolutely unwatchable. I've ugraded BIOS directly from ACER and my video drivers directly from nVidia.

MC7 plays Live TV perfectly via wireless N on two other low powered machines. Network is not the issue. I'm completely at a loss.

Any suggestions?

Forum Post: Executable to "force" a channel change using the standard MCE IR blaster

danny6869 — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:16:00 GMT

I am trying to get a second Hauppauge Colossus card setup in windows media center, and my last problem appears to be that the configuration utility that comes with the colossus cannot support the second colossus card's IR blaster. What is doe have is the ability to use an "external" IR blaster, where it will run an executable whenever a channel change is required, so I was wondering if anyone out there knows if there's an executable that can be run that will IR BLAST for me?

If I could find something like this, then my problems would be over...otherwise, I may have to jump ship to mediaportal.

(By the way --- shame on microsoft for constantly botching Windows Media Center...one of their best creations in the last 10 years)