Having video stuttering issues

[bros]

So I set up a new Windows 7 PVR last month - it was working fine with no issues, until Saturday when some recordings and some live TV started to stutter (audio normal, but the video sometimes drops from the normal FPS to like 5 FPS). Sometimes it is fixed by a restart of the computer, other times it is not. WMC also slows down.

I checked drive health with Crystal Disk Info and both drives are in good health. Anyone have an idea of what could be up? I can take a video of the issue if need be.

specs:
i5 3570k
16 GB RAM
1050 Ti

Using an HDHomeRun PRIME 3 tuner, connected to the router over ethernet. The PC is connected over wifi

[bros]

Something I just noticed is that it seems to have the issue if two or more tuners are recording. It also happens when watching a recording that is currently being recorded.

Things that have changed since then:
1. Blu-ray drive was installed
2. PVR was moved from the floor into the entertainment center

[bros]

Never mind - I fixed it. Thermal paste needed to be reapplied - CPU was overheating. Got a new heatsink w/ fan & tube of arctic silver.

[sanjosanjo]

It's interesting. I have a very similar set up and I'm seeing video stuttering occasionally over the last few months. I have an i5-4570S, with onboard Intel 4400 graphics, running Win7 and the same tuner as you, but with ethernet connections between everything. It seemed to have gotten worse when I bought a new TV (a 4K Sony) to replace my old TV (a 1080p Vizio). I force the PC to stay in 1080p (although it automatically switched to 4k when I first connected the TV).

I wasn't sure if the tuner was dying, but I've used the native HDHomeRun app running on another PC and I see clean video on this app at the same time that I'm see choppy video on my main Win7 HTPC. So there is something definitely wrong with my Win7 machine.

I'll have to check the temperature and see if there are any issues.

What was the temperature before and after your solution?

[bros]

It's interesting. I have a very similar set up and I'm seeing video stuttering occasionally over the last few months. I have an i5-4570S, with onboard Intel 4400 graphics, running Win7 and the same tuner as you, but will ethernet connections between everything. It seemed to have gotten worse when I bought a new TV (a 4K Sony) to replace my old TV (a 1080p Vizio). I force the PC to stay in 1080p (although it automatically switched to 4k when I first connected the TV).

I wasn't sure if the tuner was dying, but I've used the native HDHomeRun app running on another PC and I see clean video on this app at the same time that I'm see choppy video on my main Win7 HTPC. So there is something definitely wrong with my Win7 machine.

I'll have to check the temperature and see if there are any issues.

What was the temperature before and after your solution?

it was spiking to 103C (idling at 70-80C)


afterwards it idles at 30-40C, spikes at 50-60C

[sanjosanjo]

My four CPU core temperatures are around 50C while watching TV on WMC, so I'm not seeing anything extreme like you are seeing.
I'm seeing CPU utilization at 25% an GPU utilization at 50%. I wonder if I should get a graphics card. Are you using integrated graphics?

[bros]

My four CPU core temperatures are around 50C while watching TV on WMC, so I'm not seeing anything extreme like you are seeing.
I'm seeing CPU utilization at 25% an GPU utilization at 50%. I wonder if I should get a graphics card. Are you using integrated graphics?

I am using a 1050ti - use something like CPUID HWMonitor or CPU-Z/GPU-Z to log how your hardware is doing?

How is your RAM?

[sanjosanjo]

I have 8G of RAM. I just start logging with HWMonitor to see how it looks over time.

[bros]

I have 8G of RAM. I just start logging with HWMonitor to see how it looks over time.

Try something like memtest to stress test your RAM.

Have you used Crystal Disk Info to check the health of your drive?

[sanjosanjo]

Looks like I might have a problem with my 3TB drive. Crystal Disk Info shows some yellow icons for it:
https://i.imgur.com/38KnUA4.png

I wonder if this might be causing the problem? The "power on" time is 6.7 years (59116 hours), so maybe it's time.

The other info looks okay:
https://i.imgur.com/GdBR4jd.png

[bros]

Yeah - replace 3 TB and see how it does.

[sanjosanjo]

I will try a new drive. Also, something interesting - I ran the HDHomeRun app on the same Win7 machine as my WMC. I had WMC in non-fullscreen mode, and had the app running right next to it, tuned to the exact same channel. I saw the video stuttering on the WMC window but the app video feed was perfectly clean. So my computer and onboard video seems fully capable of displaying the video. I'm assuming that WMC is always writing and reading to the disk while it's showing the video, to support realtime pausing of the video. So that reinforces the possibility of a harddrive problem.

[bros]

I will try a new drive. Also, something interesting - I ran the HDHomeRun app on the same Win7 machine as my WMC. I had WMC in non-fullscreen mode, and had the app running right next to it, tuned to the exact same channel. I saw the video stuttering on the WMC window but the app video feed was perfectly clean. So my computer and onboard video seems fully capable of displaying the video. I'm assuming that WMC is always writing and reading to the disk while it's showing the video, to support realtime pausing of the video. So that reinforces the possibility of a harddrive problem.

I hope it ends up being a simple fix like the HDD!

[sanjosanjo]

Do you have any recommendations for the proper HDD to use for a DVR purpose like this? I assume I want 7200 RPM, but there are so many "colors" of drives and people talk about CMR being better than SMR, but I'm not sure what is optimized for DVR purposes.

[bros]

Do you have any recommendations for the proper HDD to use for a DVR purpose like this? I assume I want 7200 RPM, but there are so many "colors" of drives and people talk about CMR being better than SMR, but I'm not sure what is optimized for DVR purposes.

I think I have a WD Purple - I believe it is designed for continuous recording?

[d00zah]

Do you have any recommendations for the proper HDD to use for a DVR purpose like this? I assume I want 7200 RPM, but there are so many "colors" of drives and people talk about CMR being better than SMR, but I'm not sure what is optimized for DVR purposes.

Have you checked the system log for drive errors? Run 'chkdsk [letter]:' to see what the OS thinks?

I think the answer to the replacement ? is largely subjective. I've read claims that an SSD is the only solution. Others, a 7200RPM 'spinner' is a must. Opinions will always vary. Choose the capacity you think you need, within your budget.

Also, consider the speed of the interface you connect the drive to... an older SATA II controller will limit bandwidth, although I'm not convinced that's the root of the stuttering.

I use a 2.5" 2TB 'green' drive (SATA III i'face) for my recordings (on 2 different PCs) & experience no issues w/ 6 simultaneous recording streams, while watching something else previously recorded. YMMV

Note: SSD 'system drive' & 'storage drive' mounted in a 2-in-1, 3.5" carrier to save space in a SFF case.

[sanjosanjo]

Have you checked the system log for drive errors? Run 'chkdsk [letter]:' to see what the OS thinks?

I think the answer to the replacement ? is largely subjective. I've read claims that an SSD is the only solution. Others, a 7200RPM 'spinner' is a must. Opinions will always vary. Choose the capacity you think you need, within your budget.

Also, consider the speed of the interface you connect the drive to... an older SATA II controller will limit bandwidth, although I'm not convinced that's the root of the stuttering.

I use a 2.5" 2TB 'green' drive (SATA III i'face) for my recordings (on 2 different PCs) & experience no issues w/ 6 simultaneous recording streams, while watching something else previously recorded. YMMV

I haven't checked the log, but I will. Is that the output of Event Viewer? Like this example? https://www.majorgeeks.com/content/page ... _disk.html

Regarding the drive, I worry about using an SSD because of the constant read/write activity. It seems like that would wear out an SSD faster than a magnetic drive, but I don't know if this is an issue with modern SSD's.

I notice you are using a 2.5" HDD. Is that for power or sound purposes? I hadn't considered those.

[d00zah]

I haven't checked the log, but I will. Is that the output of Event Viewer? Like this example? https://www.majorgeeks.com/content/page ... _disk.html

Regarding the drive, I worry about using an SSD because of the constant read/write activity. It seems like that would wear out an SSD faster than a magnetic drive, but I don't know if this is an issue with modern SSD's.

I notice you are using a 2.5" HDD. Is that for power or sound purposes? I hadn't considered those.

It would be under 'System' in the event viewer... periodic disk 'Error' reports. If a disk is (going) bad, log events will show up. & 'chkdsk d: /f' SHOULD flag something, even if it cannot repair it.

I wasn't suggesting an SSD, just mentioning some do. IMO overkill & a potential issue for the reason you mention. But opinions/advice vary.

I use the 2.5" drive for power (hence heat)/space considerations. As being 'green' is not advised per 'conventional wisdom', the point was more that it still works (well, on a PC w/ more modest specs than yours... gen 2 I5). Performance problems are often due to something else.

[stademock]

I think the answer to the replacement ? is largely subjective. I've read claims that an SSD is the only solution. Others, a 7200RPM 'spinner' is a must. Opinions will always vary. Choose the capacity you think you need, within your budget.

[o2cats]

I have been working on a similar issue for a while, without any luck. My system had an AMD A6-6400K, using the built in graphics, 8G RAM, 500G SSD OS drive, 1G 7200 rpm HDD data drive, 6 HDHomerun tuners, everything using hard wired ethernet connections. The system had been working perfectly for years, before it started stuttering both video, and audio, even while watching or recording a single show. I have not noticed the problem with non-HD programming, even though the signal strength is slightly lower on those stations, but obviously less data.

I thought it was the WMC PC not being able to keep up encoding the video to the local disk, since the playback has the stuttering in the same spot. I effective doubled the CPU speed by upgrading to the A8 Pro 7600B, without a notable difference. I added an AMD R5 430 add-in card, no difference. I switched the recording destination to the SSD, but the stuttering is still happening.

The video strength is pegged excellent. CPU usage low, 5% - 20%. The CPU temps are good., 36 - 38 degree C. There does not appear to be an issue on another lower level PC with a WiFi connection, using the same tuners.

I do not know if my history will help anyone, since I still have the problem. I would appreciate any additional suggestions for me to try.

Thanks