nPVR is very non-responsive

[mvallevand]

The video controller is the Intel GM965 (integrated GPU) on a single monitor. Navigating around with the keyboard seems acceptable. Although using the remote it is bad and using the mouse a lot worse.

I have the desktop equivalent G965 card and it is certainly responsive with the keyboard and mouse. Given that you seem to using a laptop, are you running wifi to a share or is it all local?

Martin

[Lao Pan]

I see you are using XP x64 - do you have XP 64bit drivers for the TV Tuner. Not many manufacturers bothered with 64 bit back in the XP days as they had to be certified by MS or they would not install. Also quite a few people are finding problems with NPVR and XP which the DVB-Fix from Media Portal fixes - sometimes.

Also reinstall of the complete Jul 2010 directX (not the web installer) could help - it sometimes gets corrupted.

[Channel4]

I've been working on my own trying to isolate the problem. With scarce luck.

Firstly, I should respond to all the suggestions which have kindly been provided.
The system is XPx64 and is running all 64bit drivers. The system is clean and running perfectly. As the application is x86, so all x86 components (.Net, DX, Codecs/Decoders) are installed and running perfectly on top through WoW64. I know this because I have other x86 and x64 DVB apps running concurrently on the system without any issues of any kind. Client-Server is entirely local.

Perhaps the app is not optimised to work in Desktop mode using a mouse. I recall GB-PVR being similar in feel to an extent.

Input devices (Keyboard, Mouse, IR) aren't the problem. I've hardly got around to using the IR to any great extent as the features on the RC are rather limited and most buttons don't even work anyway.

I imagine all this leaves is the slow channel changing. 1.5-3.0 sec is still a very long time even for DVB-T SD. My suggestions are:

-- Application needs to operate more fluidly on screen
-- Channel changing needs quickening up
-- PVR/Timeshifting features need to be easier to access. Ideally on-screen.

The great thing about n/GB-PVR is the great image quality. So I would not like to give up on this.

[sub]

Perhaps the app is not optimised to work in Desktop mode using a mouse. I recall GB-PVR being similar in feel to an extent.

There is some things you cant do with the mouse, but it's definitely no slower using the mouse vs keyboard etc. The main focus of the application is users sitting across the room controlling the application with a remote control.

I imagine all this leaves is the slow channel changing. 1.5-3.0 sec is still a very long time even for DVB-T SD. My suggestions are:

-- Application needs to operate more fluidly on screen
-- Channel changing needs quickening up

To be honest, I doubt you're going to see it any faster than this. Most of that time is waiting for the tuner hardware, then waiting for the channel descriptor in the stream, then waiting for the next I-Frame in the stream so that a first picture can be displayed. Most digital set top boxes take 2-4 seconds to change channels, so I think nextpvr isn't doing too badly.

If you're changing to a channel on the same frequency, then can end up with a channel change that is a bit quicker, since the tuning step is not required.

-- PVR/Timeshifting features need to be easier to access. Ideally on-screen.

This is the one area where mouse control is weak. As mentioned - mouse control has not been the main focus. You can use all the timeshift features easily from your remote control, pause/play/skip etc. There is some limited mouse features available - clicking on the timeline to skip to that time, or right click context menu for pause/play/stop, but other than that you're out of luck.

I do intend to add some more mouse control in this area, but it's lower priority so hasn't been done yet.

[mvallevand]

Perhaps the app is not optimised to work in Desktop mode using a mouse. I recall GB-PVR being similar in feel to an extent.

I don't know how the main code but in plugins the key processing loops wouldn't be as optimized as a "pure" Windows program might be especially with key logging but it really doesn't slow done mousing in my environment.

All buttons work on my MCE and Hauppage remotes.

If you consider channels changes @ 1.5 seconds too slow, you might want to for alternatives.

Martin

[kappa__2]

I agree partialy with channel4.

Comparing with some other tv aplications that i have tried (i.e Dvbviewer, vdr and other - even GBPVR) NPVR is a bit sluggish to a operate.
I was hopping that would change with time (with the program more mature) but, to be honest, i dont see any improvements on that.

And that's keeping me from using NPVR on a daily basis, and forcing me to have my MVP's on the hold > except when i use VDR.
My main complain is the slow channel change, (i guess because the temp file writing to the HDD - does it have to be like this?) and the frequent hangs of the recording service.

But I'm always hopping to see some improvements on the next release :-)

[sub]

And that's keeping me from using NPVR on a daily basis, and forcing me to have my MVP's on the hold > except when i use VDR.

Do you mean slow on an MVP? Yes, the UI and changes are definitely slow on an MVP clients and that wont ever change. Its just slow hardware, and a slow communication protocol.

My main complain is the slow channel change, (i guess because the temp file writing to the HDD - does it have to be like this?) and the frequent hangs of the recording service.

If you're not referring to the MVP, how long are your channel changes taking?

Where exactly are you finding it sluggish? If its just "everywhere", then it's probably down to a slow CPU, since the only thing that happens every where is the generation of bitmaps for displaying the UI.

For any hangs of the recording server, you should post the logs and a description so I can look into the issue and fix it.

[Reddwarf]

My main complain is the slow channel change, (i guess because the temp file writing to the HDD - does it have to be like this?) and the frequent hangs of the recording service.

But I'm always hopping to see some improvements on the next release :-)

Would be interesting to know what server hardware you are using, I'm running npvr on an Athlon 64 3GH< dual core with 4 gig ram and a raid 0 array, and I am quite satisfied with the channel changing speed.

[Channel4]

Testing phase doesn't really inspire any confidence. Diametrically opposed views on this subject.

I don't really use the media center. I use just the TV. So a completely stripped down, sole TV app to debug might be beneficial.

[sub]

Testing phase doesn't really inspire any confidence. Diametrically opposed views on this subject.

What do you mean? We're all using different hardware (from very old slow up to very fast), different capture devices, different amounts of memory, different versions of software (operating systems, OS patchs, drivers etc), different video cards etc - you're kidding yourself if you think everyone should get the same results.

I don't really use the media center. I use just the TV. So a completely stripped down, sole TV app to debug might be beneficial.

It sounds like you've probably picked the wrong software then. That said, there is a very cut down tv-only mode, which can be selected on the Settings->General screen. It'll basically show you a black screen instead of the menus etc, and you can right click and select 'Channels' to view a channel.