Choppy recorded TV playback

[doucettea]

My recorded tv playback is choppy. It seems to skip forward at small random
intervals and is subsequently garbled and undecipherable. This happens in
media center and in media player. DVDs play just fine. Live TV is fine if I
don't pause or rewind.
I've upgraded to the nvidia purevideo codec and used the switcher program
(forget the name) to change MCE to use it. Did not help.
Other info:
System is a new q6600 with 4GB RAM and 2x 500GB sata hdds (no raid, plenty
of room left) built on a gigabyte GA-EP45 board running vista ultimate from a
clean build about 2 weeks ago. switched video cards after the build from an
evga 8400gs to an asus 8400gs with the latest drivers from nvidia. I've
installed and uninstalled the vista codec pack with no change. I recently had
some tuner confusion and deleted all the tuner and guide files from the ehome
folder and ran mce setup again to let it rebuild.

TIA,
Ari

[Curious]

When you play a DVD in VMC do you also get stuttering if you pause or back
up the DVD?
Does your audio also stutter?
The XP Purevideo package is not recommended for use in Vista by NVIDIA.
How much virtual memory do you have setup?
Is this the utility you used?

http://mediacenterexpert.blogspot.com/2006/07/vista-media-center-decoder-utility.html

"doucettea" <A...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:911852B2-42D4-43EC...@microsoft.com...

[Fuzzy Logic]

=?Utf-8?B?ZG91Y2V0dGVh?= <A...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
news:911852B2-42D4-43EC...@microsoft.com:

Do you have Windows Defender running? I found this caused stuttering issues
on my Vista system.

[Curious]

Good catch Fuzzy,
Certainly if you have anti-virus software running which thoroughly checks
every block of data being read from disk that could cause stuttering
problems due to delays that do not occur when watching Live TV or DVDs

"Fuzzy Logic" <b...@arc.ab.caREMOVETHIS> wrote in message
news:Xns9B9989E8D9...@207.46.248.16...

[Ari]

Thanks for the replies, I still experience the choppy playback.

The choppiness is the video and the audio together. I do not have the choppy
playback with DVDs.
I've switched back to the Microsoft Mpeg decoder, and yes that is the
utility I used.
I have 4GB of RAM and 3.3GB of virtual memory with Windows set to manage
that automatically.
I do have windows defender running, but it is not antivirus AFAIK. Are there
specific settings to avoid with Windows Defender? Such as real-time
protection for "Services and Drivers" or "Application Execution"?
My antivirus is Eset Nod32 v3.0.684.0

Thanks,
Ari

[Curious]

Make sure that you have the latest drivers for you audio card/chip from the
manufacturer.
You have to check with any antivirus or other protection software to be sure
that it is not the cause of the problem. You may start by just turning it
all off to see if that solves your problem.

"Ari" <A...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:47678FFD-DE47-4877...@microsoft.com...

[Fuzzy Logic]

=?Utf-8?B?QXJp?= <A...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
news:47678FFD-DE47-4877...@microsoft.com:

I have Windows Defender completely disabled. It's anti-malware software.
While my Media Center is connected to the Internet it's not used for
surfing/email or much of anything except Media Center so I feel confident
that it's not required.

Consider disabling your antivirus and Windows Defender for testing purposes
to see if ther is any improvement.

[Ari]

I've updated to the latest drivers for my audio chipset with no change in the
choppy playback of recorded TV. Sometimes it seems to skip and other times it
seems like it's stuck on fast-forward (of course I d/c'd the remote to make
sure it isn't the culprit).
I've looked at the process manager and haven't seen antivirus or windows
defender taking up much CPU or disk r/w during TV recording. But I've
excluded RecordedTV from my antivirus' protection with no change. I'll
disable windows defender's real-time protection next, but I doubt this is the
issue either...
Also, there's nothing out of the ordinary in the event viewer.
Is there a way to find out what is causing this?
Thanks,
Ari

[Curious]

What resolution are the program recordings?
With a 8400 card I would expect you to have dropped frame/stuttering
problems with 1080i HD programs and even possibly with 720p recordings. I
would not expect you to have any problems with SD 480i programs.

"Ari" <A...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:CE9D9573-D849-48B3...@microsoft.com...

[Ari]

Oh? I wasn't aware of that. I assumed my video card would be fine... If not,
then some important questions follow.
How do I determine what the resolutions are?
How can I determine if this is in fact the problem?
Can I reduce their resolutions as they're recorded if neccessary?
What (silent, fanless) card would you recommend for higher resolution
recordings?
Thanks,
Ari

[Curious]

What make/model tuner card are you using?
If you are recording Channel 2-67 you are recording SD 480i resolution which
is the same resolution DVDs are recorded in.
If you are recording OTA digital channels such as 2-1. 4-1. 5-1 etc you are
recording HD resolution channels. NBC and CBS and most PBS channels
broadcast in 1080i, FOX and almost all ABC channels broadcast in 720p.
You can not change the recorded resolution.

"Ari" <A...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:7BBF563D-E627-4E33...@microsoft.com...

[Ari]

I'm using a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1600 MC-Kit for the tuner card, with the
antenna on the DTV input. I'm outputing to a VGA LCD monitor (primary) and
S-Video to a 42" CRT TV (secondary). MCE uses the TV on the S-Video.
Yes, the problem is mostly with NBC, CBS, PBS, etc. Less problems on ABC.
Is this neccessarily the video card? Or drivers (using the latest)? Or a
codec (using built-in MS MPEG-2 codecs)?
If the issue is the card, what are the minimum specs for NVIDIA and ATI
cards to handle the playback?
If the codec, which should I use?
Thanks for any help, I would really like to resolve this issue.
Ari

[Curious]

For processing of 1080i HD video such as from NBC, CBS etc an 8600GS with
128MB of memory is usually recommended for a single display system for a
dual display 256 MB of memory is recommended.
You might look for a 9500GT with 256MB. I don't know if there are any
passivity cooled models.

"Ari" <A...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:0B89DA3D-E510-4E90...@microsoft.com...

[Ari]

I've disabled all antivirus and antispyware with no change.
Thanks for the suggestion Fuzzy.
Ari

[Ari]

Curious,
I've taken the advice and have upgraded to a passively cooled silent 9600gt
card.
Here's the card:
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=2200&l1=2&l2=6&l3=651&l4=0
After some initial issues getting it to output to the TV properly, I have it
up and running.
Unfortunately, I still have the same choppy playback.
It is still on the channels you told me are 1080i and not on the channels
that are 720p.
I'm still running the MS MPEG codecs.
I still have the latest drivers for my video card chipset.

Is there something else I should be looking into?
Thanks,
Ari

[Curious]

If recorded 1080i programs are choppy and Live 1080i programs are not then
we need for disk related issues such as disk cache disabled, disk needing
defragmentation etc. Check the event logs for possible disk read or write
errors.

"Ari" <A...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:FBA86C4D-0CC4-420E...@microsoft.com...

[Ari]

Curious,
You really are on top of things - you reply so quickly!
No, I haven't seen any r/w errors anywhere in the event viewer.
The drives are set to defrag automatically in Vista. I'll try
double-checking them with jkdefrag to see if Vista might be missing something.
How can I tell if the cache is enabled or not (the drive RecordedTV saves to
is a Seagate Baracuda 7200.something 500GB with 16MB cache connected with
SataII).
Thanks Curious,
Ari

[Curious]

Right click on the drive in device manager and select properties to check
caching.
If you have another drive available you might move the recording file to it
as a test.
Is the SATA controller built into your MOBO or is it on a separate card. If
on a separate card make sure it is not next to your graphics card.

"Ari" <A...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:FDCAF45C-F8A3-4672...@microsoft.com...

[Ari]

Thanks, Curious.
The drives already were caching. Running "defrag c: -a" at the command
prompt showed me the drive was only <2% fragmented.
Copied a 1080i recorded TV file to the other hard drive and played it - same
results. The video even stutters at the same times.
Also tried changing power settings to high performance - no change.
What else should I be looking into?
Thanks,
Ari

[Curious]

Apparently the problem then is in the recording and not in the playback,
The Nvidia XP purevideo codec is not recommended for use in Vista.
You did not respond to my question about the configuration of the SATA
controller.
If the problem is happening with the recording transferring the recordings
to another drive would not solve the problem. You have to try a new
recording to the other drive.

"Ari" <A...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:0C3E381C-6CF8-46B8...@microsoft.com...

[Ari]

I copied one of the recorded TV programs to another computer, my notebook. It
has the same choppiness and in the same spots on the video.
So. Maybe that means that the recorded TV file is bad?
How could it go bad?
Could it be the signal from the antenna? The antenna monitor says the signal
is great.
Could it be the TV tuner card? It's a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1600 MC-Kit:
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hvr1600mckit.html
Could it be how it gets written to the disk? The event viewer has no entries
from the disks.
I don't know.
I guess I should contact Hauppauge and see if they have anything to say
about it.

Do you have any ideas what I could try next?
Thanks,
Ari

[Ari]

The sata controller is on the motherboard.

[Curious]

As I stated before try making a new recording to a different disk drive
since it is apparent that the problem is with the actual recording.

"Ari" <A...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:737B2A07-AA3A-4823...@microsoft.com...

[Ari]

I've been making the recordings to the other disk (also a seagate 7200 sata2)
with exactly the same choppiness.
I watched the superbowl without using media center last night b/c of the
choppiness. At least I know that the OTA antenna signal is just fine...

[Fuzzy Logic]

=?Utf-8?B?QXJp?= <A...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
news:37AD9450-545B-4BCC...@microsoft.com:

Maybe a video driver issue? I have an ATI card and recently updated to the
9.1 drivers and had choppiness issues with playback of recorded material. I
went back to the 8.12 drivers and the problem went away.

[Ari]

Would this still be the case if the videos are also choppy when played from
another computer (my laptop, different setup entirely) and are choppy in the
same spots?

[Fuzzy Logic]

=?Utf-8?B?QXJp?= <A...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
news:E678775F-39F0-4D4F...@microsoft.com:

That would imply to me the choppiness occurred during recording.

[Ari]

I've been working on this one off-and-on for a while now (busy with school)
and still have the same problem.
I've recorded to different hard drives (some SATA, some USB) with no change.
Now recorded TV and temp cache are on a dedicated SATA2 7200 drive -
frequently defragged.
I've reformatted and rebuilt Vista. And installed the TV pack.
I've also just replaced the TV tuner card -- twice -- from Hauppauge tech
support. And updated drivers.

Still have the same problem.
What can I do to fix this?
Thanks again,
Ari

[Curious]

Is your LiveTV also choppy?
Choppy or stuttering playback is normally caused by a systems' graphics card
and not by it's tuner card.
What resolution programs are you recording from what source?
What resolution are you outputting over what interface to your display/TV?
It may not be a good idea to have your recordings and temp cache on the same
drive
Do you also have choppy/ stuttering if playing a standard DVD in VMC?

"Ari" <A...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:254FFBD1-D50A-46F5...@microsoft.com...

[Curious]

I don't have all of the older posts in this thread currently on my system.
A graphics card has to do more work to process 1080i (NBC, CBS etc) then it
has to do to process 720p (ABC, FOX) since the content uses bigger buffers
and requires de-interlacing). With your graphics card this should not be an
issue. Have you tried using 480i instead of 480p to your CRT TV over the 7
pin adapter to component adapter with your card I suggest this since your
older CRT TV probably only scans at 480i regardless of the input.
Recorded TV appears to be suffering from a reading from disk problem as you
have surmised. You should have both disk caching and DMA transfers enabled,
these are the default settings so unless you changed them they are probably
ok.
How much RAM do you have? How is your virtual memory setup?
Is your system BIOS up to date?
What CPU do you have?

"Ari" <A...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:BA575F33-84EE-424A...@microsoft.com...
> Live TV is not choppy unless I let it pause for a long time and play back.
> It
> is choppy on the 1080i shows, not on the 720p. I only have an ASTC OTA
> antenna. So, NBC news is very choppy. ABC news is not.
> I'm outputting 420p via the s-video to component adapter on my nvidia
> 9600gt
> video card to the component inputs on my old CRT tv.
> I'll try moving the temp cache to a third drive and leave the recorded tv
> on
> its dedicated drive.
> I do not have stuttering playing a standard DVD in VMC.
>
> The rest should be in the posts above.
>
> I'm really frustrated by this. The only parts that I haven't replaced on
> my
> new computer to try to resolve this issue are the motherboard, ram and
> processor. Hard drive, ram and processor benchmarks look good, though.
> When
> recording or playing back tv, my processor rarely goes above 2%.
>
> What else should I be looking at?