[mythtv-users] HDTV Woes

[Brandon Beattie]

On Fri, Apr 01, 2005 at 10:41:16AM -0600, Mat Kyne wrote:
> After 5 attempts to get myth running correctly on FC3, I tried (for the 3rd 
> time) to install Knoppmyth.
> I am pleased to report that after much online research, the drivers were 
> loaded for my pcHDTV 3000, and eventually, my nVidia 5200 FX. So, after 
> calling my wife at work and demanding that she cross her fingers, I 
> selected the option "Watch TV"  . . . And there it was! GLORIOUS HDTV !!! . 
> . . . For about 2 seconds. Then it froze and crashed.  :(
> 
> Well I had heard that HDTV live was not all that great, So I set it to 
> record Lost in ABC.
> 
> -I had to schedule a manuel recording, because the myth guide times were 
> off by several hours- I will ask about that in a later post.-
> 
> Well, while I was watching the show on SDTV, I saw my HDD light start to 
> blink, so I knew it was recording. Yeah!
> 
> So after my wife went to bed, when I am allowed to "Play with my stupid 
> computer" I tried to watch the show I recorded.  --You can probably tell 
> that this is not going to end well --
> 
> Well the picture was amazing, but the playback was choppy/jittery. If I 
> tried to fast-forward or skip a commercial, The system would just hang. I 
> was able to Ctrl-Alt-Esc out ant try again. Then I remembered reading 
> Jarod's Guide (You da man!), and what he had written about giving Myth root 
> privileges (I think it's called suedo-root). So I did that, and tried 
> again. No real improvement, and when I tried to skip a commercial, the 
> system crashed. I couldn't even ssh in to do a nice reboot.
> 
> So my question that I lay before the all-knowing Mythtv guru's is this, 
> What am I doing wrong. Do I just need a faster processor (I currently have 
> a 2.4 Ghz Celeron that I bought just for this)? Or are there other things 
> that I can try first. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks -Mat

Got logs? Are you sure you're _not_ using XvMC? XvMC causes more of
these lockup problems than it helps.  A slow CPU causes stuttering, not
crashing.  What version of MythTV are you using?  What size is the file
for lost that you recorded?  If it's over a couple GB then it probably 
recorded fine, and it's playback only.  What happens if you try to use
mplayer on the file it recorded?  What if you select to use libmpeg for
decoding instead?  What de-interlace filter are you using?

--Brandon