making sagetv7 playback smooth

[BigSwifty]

So after installing ffdshow all is well. At this time. I thought I had it fixed once before however I ran into the pixelation issues. Last night went well without any pixelation or stuttering. Hockey playoffs tonight will be a good test. I am using CoreAVC for h.264.

Thank you so much for your help.

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by BigSwifty

So after installing ffdshow all is well. At this time. I thought I had it fixed once before however I ran into the pixelation issues. Last night went well without any pixelation or stuttering. Hockey playoffs tonight will be a good test. I am using CoreAVC for h.264.

Thank you so much for your help.

No problem.

[BigSwifty]

Well my problems persist. Things were fine initially or so it seemed. I include a snapshot of my details page and a graph. Most recordings will start fine and then develop pixelation or minor stuttering. As you can see, the graph does not follow what Sage says should be happening. As usual, when these recordings are played outside of Sage they are beautiful.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...hun1/setup.jpg

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...un1/graph2.jpg

[panteragstk]

Those are sage recordings in a .mpg container. What tuner recorded that? If it wasn't an hd-pvr or colossus then it isn't h.264 and coreavc shouldn't be decoding it. Plus the graph you have has nothing to do with sage. You would have to build that yourself. Download media info and right click on the file and choose media info. I would like to see what comes up.

[BigSwifty]

Thank you for hanging in therewith me. Recordings made by Nextcom r5000. I'll post-up media info shortly.

[BigSwifty]

Here is the Media Info:

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e.../MediaInfo.jpg

Again, many thanks for the help.

[panteragstk]

NP. Since it came from your r5000 that explains the odd container. AVC in an mpeg container. I guess it is the same as a .ts or.m2ts. The ms decoder caused nothing but issues for me. I'd be more helpful if you could send me a piece of that recording.

[GollyJer]

Swifty. If you want Sage to use the same playback graph as your Windows operating system (which is what your graph shows) you'll need to set everything but the Renderer to "Default".

Step 3 of my smooth playback post shows the required settings.

However, sometimes the settings don't stick. Set everything to Default, close Sage, reopen Sage and verify everything is still on Default. If they aren't you'll need to close Sage and go into your .properties file and verify that the playback settings aren't "hard coded". If this happens post back and I can walk you through it.

[BigSwifty]

Thanks for the patience guys!

PANTERA
I'm working on sending a snippet. Flying solo with kids while SWMB0 (she who must be obeyed) is away.

GER
Indeed, the settings did not take; I'll have to edit the client's property file. The file plays SO PERFECT in windows media player. Very pixilated in VLC.

[GollyJer]

You need to check these settings in your properties file.

videoframe/audio_decoder_filter=Default
videoframe/audio_render_filter=Default
videoframe/video_decoder_filter=Default
videoframe/video_render_filter=EVR

[Flips]

Years ago when I was trying to get Sage to use direct show on my server I had the setting set to always use dshow in the properties file, but it wasn't obeying it. I finally found the fix was to also change the setting in the client.properties file as well.

But now that I think about it you were on a client. Jer didn't mention the always use dshow property should that be set to true?

flips

[BigSwifty]

GER
I have set the properties file on the client as described. Perhaps slightly better. Still sutters every so often. The PQ is way superior through WMP. Crystal clear without stuttering/pixelation. How can I get sage to use that playback codecs/graph?

FLIPS
Dshow always true has been constant.

PATERA
I'll get a clip this W/E.

[GollyJer]

Originally Posted by BigSwifty

GER
I have set the properties file on the client as described. Perhaps slightly better.

I'm starting to think you're just screwing with us. If you don't do things exactly as suggested how can anyone help?


Anyway... here's what I think is going on. Your default graph in Windows does not play back stutter free and this is why Sage isn't playing back stutter free.

Windows Media player, by default, does not use the default graph. The only way to get it to use the default graph is to disable Media Foundation and the Microsoft Codecs. Step 4, part 1 (SWAP tab) on 4 Steps to Perfect Stutter Free Playback for SageTV are the settings that disable all that stuff.

Using FFDShow for audio provides a very cool context menu interface that shows the decoders and muxer being used for playback. It makes it much easier to troubleshoot if you run audio through FFDShow and then check your decoders in real time.

Maybe you can switch over to FFDShow audio, play a file that works perfectly in WMP, take a screenshot of the context menu, then play that same show in Sage, take a picture of the context menu, then post both screenshots here for me to take a look?

I'm not sure so I'll ask. Did you ever try the "4 Steps..." post exactly as written? I've done it on a couple fresh machines in the last month and it still never fails.

[BigSwifty]

Originally Posted by GollyJer

I'm starting to think you're just screwing with us. If you don't do things exactly as suggested how can anyone help?

At first I didn't understand this statement. "Perhaps slightly better" meant the playback was slightly better. Not my properties file edit. I am most definitely not screwing with you guys. And thank you for hanging in there with me.

The pixelation/stuttering develops after a few seconds or minutes after playback. That's why I've been getting so frustrated.

I did try your 4 steps... perhaps I missed a step because I am still having issues.

Originally Posted by GollyJer

...It makes it much easier to troubleshoot if you run audio through FFDShow and then check your decoders in real time... [and]
Maybe you can switch over to FFDShow audio, play a file that works perfectly in WMP, take a screenshot of the context menu, then play that same show in Sage, take a picture of the context menu, then post both screenshots here for me to take a look?

O.K. Here is a screenshot using Sage. Is this what you were asking for? I do not have FFFDShow in my system tray when using WMP.

[panteragstk]

I forget. What were your results when using ffdshow for h.264?

[GollyJer]

Originally Posted by BigSwifty

O.K. Here is a screenshot using Sage. Is this what you were asking for? I do not have FFFDShow in my system tray when using WMP.

Cool. The settings shown above the "Default" item on the context menu are the decoders being used. Sage is definitely using your default graph.

Can you now play the same file in WMP and post the screenshot?

FYI, I own and have tried CoareAVC in Sage without luck for a long time. I have not however tried their most recent release. I've never had playback issues using PVD, found for free in the Shark007 codecs.

[BigSwifty]

Originally Posted by BigSwifty

I do not have FFFDShow in my system tray when using WMP.

Suggestions?

[BigSwifty]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

I forget. What were your results when using ffdshow for h.264?

Stttuuuttterrr Citttty

[panteragstk]

Do you have the ffdshow dxva settings turned on? Mine used to do the same thing until I turned those settings on. Now it is rock solid. Although I'm not sure if it actually does anything as my cpu usage gets up to 20%, but playback is perfect.

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by BigSwifty

Suggestions?

WMP doesn't do that if I'm not mistaken. What about MPC-HC?