[mythtv-users] FE Stop/Restart for Smooth Playback
Stephen P. Villano
stephen.p.villano at gmail.com
Sat Mar 28 17:20:34 UTC 2015
On 3/28/15 1:17 PM, jim wrote:
>
>
> On 03/28/2015 12:51 PM, Stephen P. Villano wrote:
>>
>> On 3/28/15 12:29 PM, jim wrote:
>>>
>>> On 03/28/2015 11:51 AM, Mike Perkins wrote:
>>>> On 28/03/15 14:41, jim wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> On 03/28/2015 08:48 AM, Mark Perkins wrote:
>>>>>>> On 28 Mar 2015, at 11:03 pm, "jim" <jim_32766 at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On 03/27/2015 10:21 AM, jim wrote:
>>>>>>>> Occasionally, usually after the system has been running 24/7 for
>>>>>>>> a few days,
>>>>>>>> playback of recorded television shows is no longer smooth, with
>>>>>>>> visible
>>>>>>>> stutter where there should be smooth panning motion. Stopping and
>>>>>>>> restarting
>>>>>>>> the FE returns the playback to smooth operation. Has anyone else
>>>>>>>> experienced
>>>>>>>> this scenario?
>>>>>>>> I have experimented with sync, cache drop, and swap stop/restart
>>>>>>>> to achieve
>>>>>>>> smooth playback without the FE stop/restart, but only the FE
>>>>>>>> stop/restart
>>>>>>>> seems to work. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly
>>>>>>>> appreciated. Thanks.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> System Info:
>>>>>>>> 4 GB Ram
>>>>>>>> i3 4330 CPU
>>>>>>>> MythTV Version : v0.27.4-41-gf1115fc
>>>>>>>> MythTV Branch : fixes/0.27
>>>>>>>> Network Protocol : 77
>>>>>>>> Library API : 0.27.20141016-1
>>>>>>>> QT Version : 4.8.6
>>>>>>> Based on receiving no answers it may be that nobody else
>>>>>>> experiences this
>>>>>>> problem. Please confirm if you do not.
>>>>>>> My system is very modern, and has plenty of RAM. I wonder what
>>>>>>> causes this
>>>>>>> issue?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> I do not have this problem, my FE can be on for weeks or months at
>>>>>> a time. But
>>>>>> I have nvidia graphics, where I assume you use VAAPI.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I would recommend starting by comparing the log file for a
>>>>>> recording that
>>>>>> plays fine with that of one that does not to see what the
>>>>>> differences are.
>>>>>>
>>>>> If the difference were vaapi wouldn't the problem be present all the
>>>>> time? I
>>>>> wonder if something else running on my system contributes, or if the
>>>>> OS (Mint
>>>>> 17.1) is involved. What OS are you running?
>>>>> I will also check the log file for a recording playback pre/post FE
>>>>> start/stop.
>>>>>
>>>> Any problem like this doesn't automatically have to be continuous.
>>>> For example, different programs may have different bit rates/frame
>>>> rates/screen formats. These can impose differing demands on the video
>>>> driver and hardware.
>>>>
>>>> The same also goes for audio, incidentally. If the audio encoding
>>>> changes mid transmission - say for a commercial break - then that
>>>> might cause buffering problems which could affect the vodeo.
>>>>
>>>> As Mark wrote above, your best bet is to look at the logs, a segment
>>>> which works and a segment which is bad.
>>>>
>>> I use recorded Jeopardy! episodes for testing as the panning of
>>> categories in Jeopardy! makes for a great test of smooth motion in
>>> playback. When I test I use the same exact recording, pre and post FE
>>> stop/start. The FE stop/start completely fixes the problem for some
>>> inexact period of time. I've not done a good log comparison between a
>>> smooth playback and a jerky one, and will do so as soon as the
>>> problems appears again.
>>>
>>> I've never noticed a situation wherein the smoothness is better/worse
>>> before/after a commercial break. I've experimented with SD and HD and
>>> the full range of standard frame rates. None of that seems to stress
>>> the system. If the FE has been recently stopped/started all
>>> combinations are good. The problem behaves more like a buffer/cache
>>> issue that builds over time and eventually causes a problem. Why FE
>>> stop/start helps I do not know.
>>>
>>> I really appreciate the time people contribute on this mail list
>>> answering questions. It really helps. Thanks.
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>> Try running top during the post restart of the FE and during the poorly
>> performing ones. That also might give you a clue.
>> I've had to do that many times, a couple of times, process hogs turned
>> up. Tuning or stopping unnecessary ones fixed the issue I was having
>> (non-mythtv system, but the troubleshooting remains the same).
>>
>>
> I removed MediaBrowser and Mono to see if that would help. I noticed
> that Mono was high on the list from "top" most of the time, plus I've
> read that there have been memory management issues with those
> programs. I am still waiting for the problem to reappear so I can do a
> log comparison pre/post. Thanks!
> _______________________________________________
If you're a lazy sysadmin, like I am, try htop. You can renice the
processes that are offending to see if that helps.
Of course, my ultimate laziness is more along the lines of scripting
tedious chores. :)
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