Audio failure with live playback of HD-300

[timg11]

I'm seeing a problem where attempting to play "live" video from the HD300 will result in no audio, which becomes a permanent condition until the SageTV server is rebooted.

Once audio fails all HD-PVR2 audio is missing, including the channel setup preview.

The issue only applies to TS video recorded from HD-PVR2. OTA video from HD-homerun is unaffected and always plays audio+video. TS video displays while live, but without any audio.

Recorded TS video plays correctly with audio.
The issue occurs if moving to the end of a recording to "live" or entering live playback from the program guide.

When the audio fails at the HD300, the same program can be played in the Sage Client on the SageTV server and the audio works.

Where should I look to debug this?

[timg11]

This a broader issue than just live play. It is also affecting normal recordings.

For a recording that will not play audio, if I look at the "view recording detail", it shows the format as "MPEG2-TS[H.264] 16:9 1080p@29.77fps"
No audio is seen by the HD300 recording detail


When I look at the program saved on disk on the SageTV server, I see:
Format : MPEG-TS at 8 266 kb/s
Video #0 : AVC at 7 470 kb/s
Aspect : 1920 x 1080 (1.778) at 29.970 fps
Audio #0 : AC-3 at 384 kb/s
Infos : 6 channels, 48.0 kHz

I can play the video file on the server in VLC and it has video and audio.

I can run the SageTV client on the server, and "view recording detail", is the same: "MPEG2-TS[H.264] 16:9 1080p@29.77fps". But the audio does actually play on the computer.

Another recording of the same show from a few days ago will play audio and video normally on the HD300. The "view recording detail" shows the format as "MPEG2-TS[H.264] 16:9 1080p@29.77fps, Dolby Digital/384kbps@48khz 5.1"

When I look at the program saved on disk on the SageTV server, I see:
Format : MPEG-TS at 8 299 kb/s
Video #0 : AVC at 7 501 kb/s
Aspect : 1920 x 1080 (1.778) at 29.970 fps
Audio #0 : AC-3 at 384 kb/s
Infos : 6 channels, 48.0 kHz


From the perspective of the file on the server, they seem identical. But for one, the HD300 does not see the audio track.


I have dumped all the details of the good and bad TS files from mediainfo into a text file and done a text comparison on them.
Other than minor differences in length and bit rate, the only notable difference is "audio delay relative to video".
The file that plays on the HD300 has an audio delay of 54 ms.
The file that will not play audio has an audio delay of -6 ms.

Could that break the HD300?

[wayner]

I think I have seen this problem happen before, or something similar. I believe I was able to fix my problem by doing a power cycle of the HD300.

Did a power cycle of the HD300 work for you or did you have to restart the entire server?

[timg11]

My normal practice is to power cycle the HD300, HDPVR2, and reboot the computer when strange things happen.

I changed the HDPVR2 input from HDMI video and SPDIF audio to HDMI for both video and audio in the Hauppauge Capture program, and changed the Input Type in the HDPVR2 Video Source Setup from HDMI+SPDIF to HDMI.

After powercycle and restart everything, the audio still did not work when I fast forwarded to the newly recorded section of the show that was recording.

Then I changed to a different channel and audio worked. Went back to recording the original channel and it didn't.

While debugging the failure, I was attempting to record bits of the same show and testing playback. SageTV had a scheduled recording, and I kept shutting down the SageTV server and rebooting. This left segments of the recording on the drive in multiple TS files. It seems if there are "fragments" of "bad" files, the HD300 will get confused - maybe looking only at the first segment.
Once I deleted the show that was recording, SageTV deleted the fragments. Then started a new recording on the same channel, and the audio was back.

So I'm not sure if the change of audio on Hauppauge Capture to HDMI fixed it, or whether it was just the file fragments that were confusing the HD-300. Given that it took deleting files on the server, I'm less confident it was an HD300 issue alone, but it could be something interrelated.

[KryptoNyte]

This is a known issue with the HDPVR2 and media extenders. I have never been 100% successful playing LIVE TV (for example, selecting a random program from the guide and hitting play). If I see a random program in the guide that I want to watch, I have learned to set it to record, then wait about 15 seconds, and then start to watch it.

As you noticed, the HDPVR2 is not doing a good job initiating the recording file, and I don't believe anyone has ever dug into this deep enough to determine why and how (or if) it could be fixed.

I do not have this problem with a newer network encoder that I purchased a little while ago.

[timg11]

Originally Posted by KryptoNyte

... a newer network encoder that I purchased a little while ago.

Please tell more! What is the newer network encoder that works with SageTV?

[wayner]

Krytponyte probably means something like this: https://www.amazon.com/URayCoder-Str.../dp/B07CP3G86L

Look for a thread about the BM-1000. This is essentially the same thing.

[TGsell]

I wonder if this device:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098J5F81T/ref=emc_b_5_t?th=1

would be recognized by Sage - it's USB3.0 not IP.... not too expensive - might be worth a try as an improvement to the HDPVR2

[KryptoNyte]

I have this device working finally (4 encoders). No splitters.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TKMPCZH/

You would probably have a similar experience with the 1 channel encoder units.

[Striker:WG]

Originally Posted by KryptoNyte

I have this device working finally (4 encoders). No splitters.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TKMPCZH/

You would probably have a similar experience with the 1 channel encoder units.

It doesn't specifically say in the Amazon features/specs. Is that a 2 channel stereo audio feed or a 5.1 audio feed that you get?

[wayner]

Originally Posted by KryptoNyte

I have this device working finally (4 encoders). No splitters.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TKMPCZH/

You would probably have a similar experience with the 1 channel encoder units.

Any issues getting it going? What format/resolution do you record in - H.264/1080p or have you tried H.265? Have you tried any 4k content? Does the audio come over the HDMI or do you use the stereo jacks for audio?

[TGsell]

KrytoNyte - interesting encoder - similar questions - I assume you had to use OpenDCT? Would this still allow tuning through WMCLive EXEMulti? I just want a better encoder - LAN connected and multi-input sounds like the right direction and better picture quality of course. thanks

[KryptoNyte]

This is the thread on the encoders. I start getting into the 4 encoder unit about post #265.

Original thread:
https://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63177

Post 265:
https://forums.sagetv.com/forums/sho...&postcount=265

<Yes, I still tune the same way as I did with the HDPVR2's, I use OpenDCT with it.>
EDIT: The above statement is not correct, I use the tuning features (executable) provided with OpenDCT in the Generic HTTP Capture.

[KryptoNyte]

The 4k does work (on the first 2 inputs only), but isn't quite as interesting in my opinion, unless you're a videophile that doesn't really care about the stereo audio.

I'm starting to move away from my traditional idea of having my own video library (DVD's, Blurays, digital versions of my blurays, stuff I record from streaming). Nobody else in my family cares anymore. They get whatever content they want, whenever they want it, from some streaming service.

After purchasing the device, I begged the support folks to send me a beta firmware that would enable pass-thru audio (to get 5.1 channel primarily), something I could test, and they insist it doesn't exist.