[mythtv-users] random livetv stalls

[Mike Thomas]

On Wed, 12 Feb 2014 12:48:57 -0800
Mike Carron <jmcarron at starstream.net> wrote:
> 
> On 2/10/2014 8:05 PM, Kevin Johnson wrote:
> > Seems I have further improved the system by reducing the hd
> > ringbuffer size on the backend down to the min of 4700.
> > I had it set much higher at around 37000.  Cant remember why i had 
> > altered it.
> > I still get a pause at the top and bottom of the hour, but only
> > about 1 second or less.
> >
> ***
> I can't seem to find out what that hd ringbuffer is actually for or
> what conditions would indicate changing its size. Can anyone offer
> some advice?

Data is slapped into the ring buffer from the tuner cards. From there
it is sent to disk, examined for timing information (which goes to the
recordedseek table) and also transmitted to any clients who are
watching really up-to-date TV. It serves to smooth out the jerkiness
inherent in a non-real-time task.

My experiences are that 4700kB is too low and it can overflow at times
of increased activity, thereby damaging the recorded data stream. If you
are recording HD channels then it is probably way too low. Anything from
10MB upwards works nicely for me.

Yours

Mike