Slow Mini Guide Channel Changing using Client

[gonzo90017]

Changing channels using the mini guide is really slow. I click Enter, then after 2 seconds I can hear the audio of the channel i'm switching to but no video. The audio only lasts for 2 seconds. NPVR finally switches to the channel after about a minute. It then takes around 10 seconds for the video and audio to sync up.

If I select a channel using the regular Guide I do not experience any delays. Channel changing takes around 2 seconds.

[sub]

When you say mini-guide, are you talking about what you get when you press the up/down keys while watching tv?

What do the logs show you doing?

[johnsonx42]

yeah, he means the guide you get when you press the up/down keys. I get the same effect here on my client: select channel with up/down, hit enter. after a second or two I get a couple blips of sound, picture still frozen on old channel. after about ten seconds, video shows up but goes slow motion for a bit, then speeds up, slows down, finally everything synchronizes after about ten more seconds. For me it's only this bad on the first channel change; on subsequent changes it works a lot better. Changes via the full overlay guide (F1 during livetv) work much better even the first time.

(edit: I did this test using channels on the same tuner and same physical channel, to eliminate anything else that might slow the channel change)

[gonzo90017]

Exactly as he described. Although for me it takes more then 10 seconds for the video to show up. And I still get the same behavior after subsequent changes.

[mvallevand]

For me it isn't quite as fast on a PC client as the NMT, here are my logs using wifi and this locations isn't optimal and I'd expect better wired, but no stuttering either. The first one is slowest right from the EPG because it is the first run after I sent the server a WOL, but the others are seven seconds or so from the mini guide and they play right away.

Code:

2012-08-15 21:31:21.596    [DEBUG][1]    StartLiveTV@1
2012-08-15 21:31:35.578    [DEBUG][1]    GetEventCode() returned: 0x8102
2012-08-15 21:31:35.578    [DEBUG][1]    Aspect ratio now: 16x9
2012-08-15 21:31:35.578    [DEBUG][1]    Resolution is now: 1280x720
2012-08-15 21:31:35.581    [DEBUG][1]    Source Aspect Ratio: 16x9

2012-08-15 21:32:00.294    [DEBUG][1]    StartLiveTV@1
2012-08-15 21:32:07.909    [DEBUG][1]    Aspect ratio now: 16x9
2012-08-15 21:32:07.909    [DEBUG][1]    Resolution is now: 1920x1080
2012-08-15 21:32:07.911    [DEBUG][1]    Source Aspect Ratio: 16x9
2012-08-15 21:32:07.911    [DEBUG][1]    GetEventCode() returned: 0x8101


2012-08-15 21:32:51.258    [DEBUG][1]    StartLiveTV@1
2012-08-15 21:32:58.264    [DEBUG][1]    GetEventCode() returned: 0x8102
2012-08-15 21:32:58.309    [DEBUG][1]    Aspect ratio now: 16x9
2012-08-15 21:32:58.309    [DEBUG][1]    Resolution is now: 1280x720
2012-08-15 21:32:58.309    [DEBUG][1]    Source Aspect Ratio: 16x9
2012-08-15 21:32:58.309    [DEBUG][1]    GetEventCode() returned: 0x8101

If you are running North American digital do you have PreferAC3=1 in the registry?

Martin

[johnsonx42]

If you are running North American digital do you have PreferAC3=1 in the registry?

Martin

I've seen that mentioned many times, but have never understood whether or why I should set it. Where does that Value go?

[mvallevand]

In either HKLM\Software\NPVR or HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\NPVR depending on 32/64 bit O/S otherwise NextPVR tries to start with m2a which takes a bit of data to correct.

Martin

[johnsonx42]

I'm assuming PreferAC3 is a DWORD value?

[gonzo90017]

Hope i'm not speaking too soon. Adding PreferAC3 DWord to the registry and setting the value to 1 seems to have done the trick.

Edit: Seems to work great the first few channel changes but reverts to the old behaviour afterwards.

[johnsonx42]

changed nothing for me, in fact it might have made it worse. When I test now, channel changes from the F1 guide do the same thing, and now more than one change is affected.