Strange memory/handles leak with Nvidia and 29/59 content

[th83]

I've been tearing my hair out with an apparent memory leak/runaway handles growth issue in Media Center. Throughout the day, the 'handles' count for the ehshell.exe process would grow to ridiculous numbers (upwards of 20,000,000), resulting in an eventual crash of Media Center. I noticed that when Media Center is streaming 29/59 content, the handles count would very quickly rise and never go down (there is no such issue when streaming content that stays at 59fps). I thought this was a bug in media center, but had not noticed this until recently so I finally tried removing my new GeForce GT 730 graphics card from my HTPC. Upon reverting back to the built in Intel 4600 graphics driver, the handles for the process go up to about 1400 and stay there. With the Nvidia card & drivers, the handles would rapidly rise into the millions within just a few minutes of watching 29/59 content. To verify this is an issue, I have tried both the 730 and 740 cards in 3 different PCs with the same results. With the card installed (with any available driver version for the cards) the handles increase rapidly (at times about 20,000 per second) and memory usage slowly rises, eventually resulting in a crash. Removing the Nvidia card and uninstalling the driver resolves the issue 100%, so I'm assuming this is an issue in the GeForce driver. Do the ATI cards/drivers handle this type of content better? I'm thinking of picking up a new ATI card to test.

This has not fully resolved the occasional crash when changing channels on my Ceton tuner, but has certainly helped with overall stability.

EDIT: Additional note, I also tested using the Shark007 codec pack and was able to get an alternate codec to work with live TV (as long as it was unprotected content). This actually fixed the issue as well, resulting in the handles for the process staying around 1400 even with the GeForce card. Unfortunately that wasn't a good fix since we have both Starz and HBO. The issue seems to be between the Microsoft MPEG-2 decoder and the GeForce card and/or driver.

[kmp14]

Wow, amazing that you were able to track that down. I can say that my HTPC stays on 24/7 and I watch content mostly from the PC itself, and rarely have a problem. I am running an AMD (ATI) HD 6850 based card with the 13.9 driver version and it handles the 29/59 with no problems. I did have some issues with driver versions after 13.9.

[th83]

Wow, amazing that you were able to track that down. I can say that my HTPC stays on 24/7 and I watch content mostly from the PC itself, and rarely have a problem. I am running an AMD (ATI) HD 6850 based card with the 13.9 driver version and it handles the 29/59 with no problems. I did have some issues with driver versions after 13.9.

Do you notice any strange pixilization/bouncing issues with logos & text when viewing 29/59 content on the ATI card? That has been the most annoying issue with the newer Intel and Nvidia drivers. The Intel 4600 actually seems to handle this a bit better than the Nvidia did (besides the fact that it doesn't crash media center), but I can still see strange issues with pizilization on text and logos and some moire at times. My older PC with an intel 2000 graphics driver and older drivers had no issues at all.

[webminster]

Boy, I've been fighting those issues on my Nvidia cards for a long time. Seemed the 340.52 genre drivers fixed some of them. Except they broke the drivers to the point of instability.

[th83]

Anyone who's also having this problem, please use the link below to submit a bug report to NVidia. To see if you're having the issue, go to Task Manager when live TV is playing, go to View, Select Columns, enable Handles. Watch a channel with 29/59 content (verify by pressing 411+info or 411 CTRL+D, arrow over to the right until you see the frame rate, it will be switching between 29 and 59 fps). Once watching 29/59 content, keep an eye on the handles for the ehshell.exe process in task manager. If they rise rapidly while watching 29/59 content, please submit this info in a bug report so maybe it will get fixed in the drivers. Note that if you watch 29/59 content for an extended period of time, the handles will eventually grow to the point that media center will crash. You'll need to click the Bug Report button on the page linked below, then set up an account to submit the bug. Make sure to also mention the pixilization/moire issues you're seeing on screen when viewing 29/59 content.

http://nvidia-submit.custhelp.com/app/answers/list

EDIT: My best workaround for this issue was to switch back to the internal Intel GPU, bypassing my NVidia card entirely. With the NVidia card disabled and the latest Intel drivers, no more crashing issues or crazy handles growth.

[kmp14]

Do you notice any strange pixilization/bouncing issues with logos & text when viewing 29/59 content on the ATI card? That has been the most annoying issue with the newer Intel and Nvidia drivers. The Intel 4600 actually seems to handle this a bit better than the Nvidia did (besides the fact that it doesn't crash media center), but I can still see strange issues with pizilization on text and logos and some moire at times. My older PC with an intel 2000 graphics driver and older drivers had no issues at all.

YES! I see the darn bouncing (great name for it) on some logos and text with my ATI. I wonder if it is just an artifact of something deeper in windows that a video card cant solve, especially since you see it on Intel and Nvidia graphics, and I see it on ATI. It is totally bizarre that when that bouncing occurs, sometimes, during the same show, it happens constantly in the channel logo, but other text on screen does not do it even while it is happening on the logo. I have tried pretty much every setting in the ATI settings to solve it with no progress at all.

[SoNic67]

In NVidia Control Panel, un-check "Inverse Telecine" setting under "Adjust Image Settings.

Also, select the Content Type Reported To the Display to "Full Screen Videos".

See pics attached.

[th83]

In NVidia Control Panel, un-check "Inverse Telecine" setting under "Adjust Image Settings.

Also, select the Content Type Reported To the Display to "Full Screen Videos".

See pics attached.

This does nothing unfortunately. With the exact settings you posted, the handles continue to grow for the ehshell.exe process (see screenshot after 2 minutes of watching, handles have already grown above one million and continue to grow). I have tested this on 2 PCs this morning and it had no effect, bouncing text and pixelization of text/logos in 29/59 content is still the same as well. Switched back to the internal Intel GPU and the handles/crashing issue disappeared again, and the bouncing text is not as bad. Definitely a driver issue on the Nvidia cards (at least the 700 series cards). I have seen this behavior on 3 different PCs so far, one with a 730, one with a 740, one with a 760. The bouncing text issue I can handle, but the fact that it causes Media Center to crash after just a few hours of watching 29/59 content is the real issue.

[th83]

After just a few more minutes of watching 29/59 content, handles now above 7,000,000 and growing.

[tzr916]

We will never ever get rid of the "bouncing text and pixelization of text/logos in 29/59 content" (in WMC). Other players/decoders can be setup to solve the symptoms,

What version nvidia driver are you using? Do you really have to use the latest driver? Most people here find a version that works (has the least bugs on their system) and stick with it. I personally use v332.21 WMC never crashes for me, and I have A LOT of 29/59 content.

[webminster]

The principal issue with "other players/decoders" is the inability to support protected (PlayReady encrypted) content, unfortunately... If you have premium channels on most cable systems, you're pretty limited on your options to swap out the MS video decoder.

I found the "inverse telecine" option to be a little helpful. So far, as said, it's a process of finding the right combo of driver/card. The Nvidia 750Ti has a fairly short list of supported drivers, and the last 2 releases are badly broken (as noted on other threads here and at the Nvidia forums). Although, for the short time I ran the 340.5 drivers, empirical perception was the PQ was better than most drivers I'd used before (moire shimmering, etc.) - at least before the drivers crashed. Am hoping the next release finds a way to maintain the PQ of that release (even if imaginary) and mitigates the stability issues.

th83, have you tried to open a case with Nvidia to report and push the handles issue?

[th83]

The principal issue with "other players/decoders" is the inability to support protected (PlayReady encrypted) content, unfortunately... If you have premium channels on most cable systems, you're pretty limited on your options to swap out the MS video decoder.

I found the "inverse telecine" option to be a little helpful. So far, as said, it's a process of finding the right combo of driver/card. The Nvidia 750Ti has a fairly short list of supported drivers, and the last 2 releases are badly broken (as noted on other threads here and at the Nvidia forums). Although, for the short time I ran the 340.5 drivers, empirical perception was the PQ was better than most drivers I'd used before (moire shimmering, etc.) - at least before the drivers crashed. Am hoping the next release finds a way to maintain the PQ of that release (even if imaginary) and mitigates the stability issues.

th83, have you tried to open a case with Nvidia to report and push the handles issue?

I opened a case last week and have not heard anything from them.

[stuartm]

I do not have a handle leak when viewing heavy 29/59 content on a Nvidia GT630 and driver 335.23
I went to this card after extensive searching for cards that could handle 29/59 content since Comcast
has a ton of 29/59 content on many channels. So far this is the best solution I have come across for
my HTPC's.

[SoNic67]

I don't see that issue either, it might be related to something else. GeForce GT610... last driver from nVidia. I don't think a Media Center needs anything more than a GT610...

[th83]

The 700 series cards require the newer drivers, I don't believe I can use a driver below 337.

EDIT: It looks like the 730 and 740 cards require the 337.88 drivers at a minimum, and those are the cards I have (because I wanted lower power consumption). Dang it. I guess I'm stuck with these crappy drivers until then. Could somebody with a 600 series card try the newest driver version (340.52) and see if the handles issue appears? If not, it's probably an issue with the driver only on the 730 and 740 cards.

[th83]

I don't see that issue either, it might be related to something else. GeForce GT610... last driver from nVidia. I don't think a Media Center needs anything more than a GT610...

Are you running 340.52?

[th83]

I have a 610 lying around that I could try, but it seems kind of pointless since my built in Intel 4600 GPU does about 430 Gflops, while the 610 only does about 150 Gflops.

EDIT: Well, thought I had a 610 lying around, but all I can seem to find is an old 210. Oh well. I guess the Intel GPU will have to do for now.

[th83]

Anyone with a 700 series card aside from the 730 or 740 and the latest drivers who could test this for me? NVidia doesn't seem interested in responding to my emails and bug report.

[SoNic67]

I don't see that issue either, it might be related to something else. GeForce GT610... last driver from nVidia. I don't think a Media Center needs anything more than a GT610...

Are you running 340.52?

Yes, in 32 bit Win7 with the Intel on-board deactivated (it has the well known intel OpenGL bug). GeForce GT 610 is a repackaged GT 520 (Fermi core) with 48 CUDA cores and an 29-watt power draw.

[th83]

Maybe this will fix it! Just found this on the MS Support website, it describes a handles leak due to playing videos over and over, and I assume the rapid frame rate switching may be triggering this same issue for some reason. The strange thing is it only happens with specific NVidia cards, but the issue sounds the same. I'll apply the hotfix and post my results.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2704372

EDIT: Nevermind, it says the update is not applicable to my computer.