[mythtv-users] MGM HD recordings play back inconsistently

[Yeechang Lee]

A few months ago my local cable provider (which I record from via
FireWire) added MGM HD to its lineup. Since I love movies, this is a
big boon.

Two recent recordings exhibit strange behavior on some, but not all,
playbacks. For example, half the time when I play these movies, I see
the likes of the following from mythfrontend:

2008-12-19 13:03:57.335 Audio 37676978 ms behind video but already 75
video frames queued. AV-Sync might be broken.
2008-12-19 13:03:57.347 Audio 37677011 ms behind video but already 75
video frames queued. AV-Sync might be broken.
2008-12-19 13:03:57.379 NVP: Video is 30 frames behind audio (too
slow), dropping frame to catch up.
2008-12-19 13:03:57.381 NVP: Video is 30 frames behind audio (too
slow), dropping frame to catch up.
2008-12-19 13:03:57.387 Audio 37677012 ms behind video but already 75
video frames queued. AV-Sync might be broken.
2008-12-19 13:03:57.397 Audio 37677046 ms behind video but already 75
video frames queued. AV-Sync might be broken.
2008-12-19 13:03:57.410 Audio 37677047 ms behind video but already 75
video frames queued. AV-Sync might be broken.

As the log messages indicate, audio is unsynchronized with video,
which stutters. The other half the time, though, playback of said
recording is fine.

Rebuilding the seektable
(<URL:http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/236245#236245>)
doesn't help, but doing a lossless transcode did fix the issue on one
of the recordings; I've kept the other untouched as a control sample.

I have not seen this issue on other MGM HD recordings. The two
recordings are old movies from the 1940s and 1950s; however, other
vintage MGM HD recordings do not exhibit the issue.

-- 
Frontend:		P4 3.0GHz, 1.5TB software RAID 5 array
Backend:		Quad-core Xeon 1.6GHz, 6.6TB sw RAID 6
Video inputs:		Four high-definition over FireWire/OTA
Accessories:		47" 1080p LCD, 5.1 digital, and MX-600