New Spectrum AVC causing playback issues - wilme2

[wilme2]

Product - HDHomerun Prime

I just recently updated to firmware 20230713 from firmware 20230505. No other system changes were made. Just the firmware update.

The new firmware has created frame skipping and jitter on scrolling tickers on 1080 video. The issue did not happen on the old firmware.

Thank you

I came here to report what I thought was Macroblocking on the Prime after the latest 20230713 firmware for Prime. After reading this post I do think it is more fame skipping or other jumping instead. Happens mostly at commercials, when a banner or scrolling text appears. I enabled 'Send diagnostic information' information on 1312CA1A and 1323E340. Happens on every cable channel on commercials, then on some regular programming on select channels.

[nickk]

We are getting diagnostic information from your HDHomeRun but not the HDHomeRun app. Can you please turn on "send diagnostic information" in the HDHomeRun app.

[wilme2]

We are getting diagnostic information from your HDHomeRun but not the HDHomeRun app. Can you please turn on "send diagnostic information" in the HDHomeRun app.

I rarely use the HDHomeRun app, as I have a strong dislike for its navigation. I ran it on one PC with "send diagnostic information" on a problematic channel this afternoon to give you readings.

My troubleshooting so far:

• The frame/video problems are only when directly using W7 WMC PC for cable channels on the two previously listed Primes (10801300/1323E340) .
• The problem has not appeared when watching OTA channels on this same W7 WMC PC via Connect 4K (HDHR5-4K/10801300).
• This problem also does not appear when watching those same cable channels via Ceton Echo extenders connected to the W7 WMC PC.
• This problem also does not appear when using the HDHomeRUn app to watch those same cable channels.

[nickk]

Ok, so the problem is specific to WMC... wondering if it might have been a GPU driver update or your cable provider changing something. No change to the monitor/resolution correct?

Simple things first - check you have the latest video driver installed from AMD/Intel/Nvidia. Next try changing WMC to be a window and making it 1/4 the screen size to see if the problem persists.

Nick

[wilme2]

Ok, so the problem is specific to WMC... wondering if it might have been a GPU driver update or your cable provider changing something. No change to the monitor/resolution correct?

Simple things first - check you have the latest video driver installed from AMD/Intel/Nvidia. Next try changing WMC to be a window and making it 1/4 the screen size to see if the problem persists.

Nick

The problem is specific to WMC + Prime. No issue with WMC + HDHR OTA. The PC plays Blu-rays like a champ, I just tested. No monitor or resolution changes. All updates are disabled and nothing other than EPG123 has been updated in 2023. I wonder if it could be a PlayReady issue, but that would in theory extend to the extenders?

Can you tell me if the signal on the Primes is too high? We still can only see 100%.

[wilme2]

I can't replicate the problem on my W8 desktop with WMC. Tonight I will find a recording that displays the problem on the W7 WMC, then test the 1/4 window, and then bypass the HDMI switch and take it directly to the TV.

[jasonl]

It looks like you're on Spectrum. Spectrum is going region by region and switching the video encoding from the old MPEG2 standard to H.264/AVC. Looking at the log data, you are in one of the areas that is now using AVC. It's very likely you will see different performance on AVC than on MPEG2, especially if you're on an older GPU, and especially on 1080i channels because of the need to deinterlace. Most Blurays also use AVC, but the vast majority are 1080p24 so there is no deinterlacing needed, and there are just fewer frames that need to be displayed. What CPU and GPU are in the PC?

[wilme2]

It looks like you're on Spectrum. Spectrum is going region by region and switching the video encoding from the old MPEG2 standard to H.264/AVC. Looking at the log data, you are in one of the areas that is now using AVC. It's very likely you will see different performance on AVC than on MPEG2, especially if you're on an older GPU, and especially on 1080i channels because of the need to deinterlace. Most Blurays also use AVC, but the vast majority are 1080p24 so there is no deinterlacing needed, and there are just fewer frames that need to be displayed. What CPU and GPU are in the PC?

Ah, that sounds like it could be the issue! Unfortunately I don't see where the HDHomeRun tuners or app show the encoding, nor do I see it in WMC.

Intel Core2 Duo CPU E7200 @ 2.53 Ghz
AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series Driver 13.152.1.8000 (date 10/8/2013)

[signcarver]

with wmc you would type in 411 ctrl+d then hit the right arrow to the page with such info (I believe about 8 times). If using a remote ctrl+d is the info button and make sure to press that button or ctrl+d before it tries to tune channel 411

Edit: Also if you do a channel scan on the device, its lineup will have AVC listed for h.264 channels and yes your equipment will have trouble with h.264 particularly interlaced and/or protected h.264 channels.

[wilme2]

Edit: Also if you do a channel scan on the device, its lineup will have AVC listed for h.264 channels and yes your equipment will have trouble with h.264 particularly interlaced and/or protected h.264 channels.

I just rescanned one of the Primes, and it started populating AVC down the whole channel list. So yes, a change to AVC at least since the last channel scan. Thanks for the reminder about the scan-

Note one thing I realized is the channel I was watching last night where I saw no problems - Discovery - is AVC but is also one of the few without DRM. So narrowing down to AVC + DRM being the problem.

[jasonl]

I'm thinking you might be hitting a CPU limit there. Check Task Manager while playing one of the AVC DRM channels and see what it looks like.

[wilme2]

I'm thinking you might be hitting a CPU limit there. Check Task Manager while playing one of the AVC DRM channels and see what it looks like.

I checked that early on, and the processor is less than 10% while watching a AVC DRM channel. Even when watching a commercial that causes the video stuttering, the processor does not flinch - it does not seem to know there is a problem.

Do I upgrade the video card, or start with an upgraded driver for the Radeon? I think this motherboard is an ASUS P5E-VM HDMI that has integrated graphics, but I added the external video card at some point, likely when I added the solid-state drive and installed Windows 7 (originally Vista 64).

[jasonl]

If you do the 411 Ctrl+D and go to that page with the info, when you're on something that has problems, does the framerate change back and forth between 29.97 and 59.94?

[wilme2]

If you do the 411 Ctrl+D and go to that page with the info, when you're on something that has problems, does the framerate change back and forth between 29.97 and 59.94?

On my test recording I briefly see it change back and forth between 60 and 23.976.

[jasonl]

Might be related to the old 29/59 issue that tended to plague Intel and AMD systems on premium channels in the MPEG2 days. Basically, WMC issues some sort of reset to the GPU any time the framerate changes, and that would cause problems for AMD and Intel in particular with some of the video processing they were doing, resulting in flickering or stuttering playback. NVIDIA seemed to be relatively impervious to it. What GPU is in the Win8 PC that doesn't have the issue?