HDHomerun Dual - Stutter/Live TV Issues

[Beradon]

I've googled this issue but I'm not sure of what to do to rectify this, I only see mention of stuttering with the Homerun Prime.

Anyways, when viewing livetv (and when recording) the playback will be silky-smooth then I'll get about 1-2 seconds of stutter/macroblocking then back to silky smooth playing... The stuttering only occurs once every 2-5 minutes, sometimes more or less frequently.

Any recommendations on how to clear up the issue?

It's currently plugged in one switchport over from the HTPC on a TRENDnet Gigabit TEG-S80g 8 port switch.

The only things on the same switch are the HTPC, the HDHomerun Dual and the Windows Home Server, and the uplinks to the router and the powerline adapter to the XBox 360 extender.

[Scallica]

Does the stuttering happen if you use the QuickTV application?

[Beradon]

I will look into that, I'm at work currently.

But how will that make a difference? I use 7MC with an InfiniTV4 and a Hauppauge WinTV 850 without any issues. If QuickTV functions properly what would the next steps be to correct 7MC playback?

[Tracer]

This could also be a power supply issue for the HDHomeRun, when the power supply starts to go bad you can get the issues you are describing. If you order a replacement power supply they will send you a d-link power supply, I don't remember which one it is but, if you find out you can usually get it cheaper from Amazon. Also, sometimes Silcon Dust will replace it for free, if not it isn't very expensive to buy a replacement directly from Silicon Dust.

[Scallica]

Well, if the issue does not occur using QuickTV, your HDHR is probably working properly, as well as your network.

Have you opened a ticket with SD support?

Do you have another Windows 7 system that you can configure the HDHR with and see if the issue happens there?

I would also check the health of the hard drives using HDSentinel. I know your other tuners are working properly, but another member here had stuttering issues and HDSentinel revealed the health of the drive was 14%. Replacing the drive resolved his issues.

[barnabas1969]

Have you tried doing the network packet loss test? Here are the instructions on how to do the test:

http://www.silicondust.com/forum/viewto ... 2283#62283

[Beradon]

I appreciate the suggestions, I will look into them as soon as I am able.

As for D-link power supplies, I have many, I'll see if the power specifications on any of them line up with my HDHR Dual.

Would be somewhat of a bummer though, this unit is not quite a month old, just received it from Newegg.

[Beradon]

Well this is the result of the packet loss test:

................................................................................
................................................................................
.............ts...........................................................tt....
.......................ts.......................................................
................................................................................
...................................
-- Video statistics --
547700 packets received, 0 overflow errors, 0 network errors, 272 transport errors, 17 sequence errors

Looks like my network is fine, looks like I have cable signal issues. I find it odd that neither of my other tuners of 2 different makes one of which is also a ClearQAM/ATSC tuner displays this issue. All of them are plugged into the same line.

[Tracer]

If the unit is fairly new then it probably isn't a power supply issue. One of the silicon dust utilities will show you the signal and symbolic levels. Check those as well.

[Beradon]

I located the portion of the HDHomerun software that reports signal strength/quality/etc.

What I see while it is running is that signal strength is usually 88-92%, Signal Quality is 100% and Symbol Quality is 100% but occasionally the Symbol Quality drops to 0% for a split second then pops back to 100%... about as frequently as the stutters in the TV or as with the trace I posted above.

[sammyk77]

Any update on this? I have had the exact same issue for years and have tried every configuration possible with my antenna/amp. It only happens on 1 station and does the exact same thing you describe. I only get transport errors, though. No sequence errors. I've only been told that it must be multipath interference from SiliconDust, but I'm convinced it is not. I have never had this issue with any TV tuner, and all the transmitters are within a few hundred feet of each other. I switched the power supply with a Dlink that I had available, but issue still remains.

[barnabas1969]

Any chance that the problem station is UHF and the good ones are VHF?

Have you registered at the www.tvfool.com forums and asked for help there? There are lots of people there who can help you with reception problems.

[sammyk77]

No, it's VHF and it's a station that I can easily pick up. Some of my TVs will pick it up with just a run of coax. So I tend to blame the hdhomerun unit.

[mcewinter]

Did you try reading the info in the link barnabas posted (#6) above? ...especially network packet loss.

[sammyk77]

Yes, I have run that test many times with no network errors. Only Transport and occasional sequence errors.

[barnabas1969]

Every tuner is different. Each tuner will have different sensitivity and selectivity for each frequency band. There is a distinct possibility that your setup has some kind of signal leakage. Every component in your system can affect the signal. That includes the antenna, the cables, the connectors, the splitters, and the amplifier. Even sharp bends in the cable can affect it. Try going to tvfool.com. There is lots of helpful info there, and many helpful people too.