Topic: TV Recording Using .TS Bad quality (Read 39718 times)

Chris.s · « **on:** February 09, 2017, 02:18:47 pm »

I'm new to JRiver and these forums, so if there is a topic out there for this already, I apologize for duplicating it.

I am still evaluating whether to purchase a license for JRiver because I am having some issues with the TS format on television recordings. The video is VERY choppy. I've verified I have good OTA signal and I checked multiple channels using different tuner cards I have (different brands) and I have the same problem..

I ran across an article about the problem started after version 22.0.21. I downgraded to that version and all my TV recording issues went away. I have excellent high quality TV recordings now. My primary use for my media center is to record shows for me, my wife and kids, and I don't want to be stuck on an old version because anything newer has issues. So before I purchase a license I want to see if there is fix for this problem.

Has this issue be addressed or talked about? Is there a solution to this problem?

Yaobing · « **Reply #1 on:** February 09, 2017, 03:54:23 pm »

Can you remind me what problem was introduced in build 22.0.21? A link to the article that you read would be great. What version did you try that was problematic?

imeric · « **Reply #2 on:** February 09, 2017, 05:24:14 pm »

I use ts and everything is fine. I would check Video playback settings.
Are you using Red October Standard or HQ in your video settings? switch etween the 2 and see if it helps

Chris.s · « **Reply #3 on:** February 09, 2017, 09:18:57 pm »

I tried to relocated the article I came across, but couldn't find the exact one. I did, however, locate a post on the forum regarding the same issue with .ts playback in version .32 and newer. I have tried .59 and .71 and the issue is there in both.

https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=107543.0

imeric: I've used both Red October and HQ and the issue is there in both. The playback issues are there with .ts files recorded in versions higher than .21 that I am on, even if I attempt to watch the recordings outside of MC or even on different computers. However, recording and playback on version .21 both in and out MC and on different computers is great! No issues!

Yaobing · « **Reply #4 on:** February 10, 2017, 10:50:34 am »

There was an important change in 22.0.32:

Code: [Select]

22.0.32 (9/30/2016)

5. Changed: Internal changes in television recording in transport stream format.  Users should not notice anything different.  Please report any unexpected behaviors.

Can you confirm that the problem started in this version? What are the specs of your computer? I am wondering if my change in that build caused too much resource usage.

Chris.s · « **Reply #5 on:** February 10, 2017, 11:07:07 am »

I can download .32 when I get back home and test to see if the problem exists in that version and let you know..

My MC Specs:
Intel 2nd Gen Quad Core i5 (3.2gig)
Windows 7 - 32 bit
4 Gigs RAM DDR3
Video: ATI Radeon 5550 HD HDMI

Chris.s · « **Reply #6 on:** February 10, 2017, 03:24:34 pm »

I loaded 22.0.32 and confirmed the problems exist.

Yaobing · « **Reply #7 on:** February 10, 2017, 04:19:49 pm »

Thanks. I will do more testing.

tzr916 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 10, 2017, 05:41:51 pm »

Quote from: Chris.s on February 10, 2017, 03:24:34 pm

I loaded 22.0.32 and confirmed the problems exist.

I have always used TS with MC, never ever had any issues.

Are you recording to LOCAL disk SATA on the Server? or network or NAS or?

Can you record a short clip and upload to google docs or something, so others can try and play it?

Chris.s · « **Reply #9 on:** February 10, 2017, 08:11:43 pm »

Sure! I'm recording to a local SATA disk.

I've attached links to several clips. I've tried to play these on multiple computers and devices, and tried multiple TV tuners, brand and different channels. I have a powered ATSC antenna on my roof and have very good signal with most channels. That was the first thing I checked. Playing Live TV with any version of JRiver worked without an issue, only recording was where I ran into issues.

Bad Recordings:
(This one REALLY freaks out about half-way through) https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6opD7WxamP7ckIzclNKMmY0MVk
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6opD7WxamP7ZHR1cW56TUdEd1k

Good Recording: (22.0.21)
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6opD7WxamP7WnpkTnpvaXV3T3c

If more example are needed, I can quickly load a new version and do some recordings. The results are easily reproducible.

tzr916 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 10, 2017, 10:22:47 pm »

Quote from: Chris.s on February 10, 2017, 08:11:43 pm

....I have a powered ATSC antenna on my roof and have very good signal with most channels....

Maybe too much "signal"? Yes there is such a thing as too much amplification. I would go with a non-amplified high quality uni-directional antenna over an amplified multi-directional.

I also noticed the good recording is a completely different channel than the bad recording. When testing, might be best to stick to one channel, to rule out signal quality differences.

imeric · « **Reply #11 on:** February 11, 2017, 07:24:21 am »

Quote from: tzr916 on February 10, 2017, 10:22:47 pm

Maybe too much "signal"? Yes there is such a thing as too much amplification. I would go with a non-amplified high quality uni-directional antenna over an amplified multi-directional.

I also noticed the good recording is a completely different channel than the bad recording. When testing, might be best to stick to one channel, to rule out signal quality differences.

This won't affect recording quality. If it plays fine when watching live and is only choppy when recording or watching recordings I would suspect video playback settings or system performance.
Chris this is correct right? Playing live TV trough MC is OK?

Chris.s · « **Reply #12 on:** February 11, 2017, 08:00:57 am »

Correct on the live TV. System performance is excellent as this is the ONLY playback issue I have, and with that, the playback issue show up ONLY after I upgrade MC above version 22.0.21 with changing nothing else. I've experienced playback issues with these recorded files on multiple computers and multiple devices so I can rule out system performance on my server. Anything I record and play from 22.0.21 plays great, I have no issues at all there....

tzr916: channel makes no difference. I'll upgrade MC and do some records from the same channel today for you to see.

Chris.s · « **Reply #13 on:** February 11, 2017, 08:52:05 am »

Here are some more examples. This was recorded this morning, within 10 minutes. I did a recording on the SAME channel, using 3 different versions. This is recorded to the local disk.

Channel 24.1 - 22.0.21 - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6opD7WxamP7YXk0aHV2dGJPSjQ
Channel 24.1 - 22.0.32 - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6opD7WxamP7d1FLcjd1LUZTZFU - random distortion lines and audio distortion
Channel 24.1 - 22.0.71 - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6opD7WxamP7aDUybGw2ekpTWEU - random distortion lines and audio distortion
Channel 24.1 - 22.0.21 Once Again - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6opD7WxamP7UUJ5T25fM3NQZ1U

In my opinion, this is not a signal issue, this is an encoding issue.

CountryBumkin · « **Reply #14 on:** February 11, 2017, 10:40:13 am »

Tell us about your equipment.

What computer (CPU/Mem, drive size (free space), OS)

What Tuner Brand (internal, USB, etc).

You are recoding over-the-air, right?

Chris.s · « **Reply #15 on:** February 11, 2017, 10:54:49 am »

Intel 2nd Gen Quad Core i5 (3.2gig)
Windows 7 - 32 bit
4 Gigs RAM DDR3
Video: ATI Radeon 5550 HD HDMI

OS Disk: 500G (225G free)
TV Disk: 1TB (425G free)
Movie Disk 500G (182G free)

All disks are SATA 7200RPM

Tuners: ATI TV Wonder 650 PCIE, ATI TV Wonder 750 USB, HDHomeRun dual ATSC Network Tuner (OTA yes)

CountryBumkin · « **Reply #16 on:** February 13, 2017, 05:04:12 am »

Sorry, I see you already posted your specs once. Not sure how I missed that.
Your system should not be a problem with regards to recording TV, but your video card may be a little weak if you're playback with RO+HQ (madVR) in anything more than its default settings. But that would affect all playback not just .ts recordings. There are also a couple of posts here about madVR problems with the ATI video cards.

I record only to .ts format. I have not noticed any problems with the current MC version. I don't think it is the software as much as the hardware causing your problem. But it might be worth a try to uninstall and reinstall MC. Be sure to back up your library first.

Do you see the problem when recording with both tuners?
Try just with the USB Tuner. IMO, the network tuners have a lot more trouble than the non-network ones.

Chris.s · « **Reply #17 on:** February 13, 2017, 09:32:15 am »

I have attempted to isolate tuners but the results were the same. I can record multiple shows simultaneously without any issues on version .21.

I do not have ANY issues recording, or playing back anything recorded on version .21. Any version higher than that, I start to have issues. I do not believe it's a hardware or tuner issues with these results from my testing.. I can playback any other format perfectly on MC.

I show the same playback issues on MULTIPLE computers other than my MC, as well as on multiple devices (iphone, ipad) when I record a show with a version higher than .21.

Anything recorded on version is perfect, as shown in the examples I've posted.

Yaobing · « **Reply #18 on:** February 13, 2017, 11:23:28 am »

I have done a lot of testing and can partially confirm that there may be a problem. But I am not sure we are looking at the same problem though. On my work computer there is no problem at all. On a laptop, I see problems when recording is started. I can not explain why you have no problem with build 22.0.21 since I can not identify anything changes after that build that might cause the issue. In my testing, the quality issue exists even in builds 20 and 21.

Chris.s · « **Reply #19 on:** February 13, 2017, 04:00:00 pm »

So after doing some more testing and playing around some more. I installed VLC and AC3 filters and loaded .71. So far I have not experience any recording issues. I know that VLC installs some additional codecs. Gonna continue testing and will update later.

tzr916 · « **Reply #20 on:** February 13, 2017, 06:14:20 pm »

Strange stuff.... I wonder if it's a Windows 7 32bit thing? I run Windows 10 64bit on my MC Server and don't have VLC or any extra codecs/filters installed.

lowwhistler · « **Reply #21 on:** February 13, 2017, 07:34:54 pm »

I'm getting something similar with 22.0.59 - just about every recording has a pixelation glitch with a loss of a second or two of recording. Ceton card, Win 10 x64 recording to SSD system drive. Never seen it watching live, it's only recording to disk. Is there any kind of priority setting I can use to give the recording process higher priority? Should I try recording to a separate drive instead of the system drive?

Yaobing · « **Reply #22 on:** February 15, 2017, 05:39:51 pm »

Do you have antivirus software monitoring the TV recording folder?

Anyway, I made some changes in an attempt to make recording more efficient. Not sure whether it will make any difference (and I certainly hope it will not be worse). Please install the latest (build 71) first, then download, unzip, and copy JRTelevision.dll into MC installation folder.

tzr916 · « **Reply #23 on:** February 16, 2017, 08:41:25 am »

Quote from: Yaobing on February 15, 2017, 05:39:51 pm

..... I made some changes in an attempt to make recording more efficient. Not sure whether it will make any difference (and I certainly hope it will not be worse). Please install the latest (build 71) first, then download, unzip, and copy JRTelevision.dll into MC installation folder.

Installed yesterday afternoon and all recordings look good.

Is this special .dll included in version .74?

Yaobing · « **Reply #24 on:** February 16, 2017, 08:59:42 am »

Quote from: tzr916 on February 16, 2017, 08:41:25 am

Installed yesterday afternoon and all recordings look good.

Is this special .dll included in version .74?

No. It will be in .76.

tzr916 · « **Reply #25 on:** February 16, 2017, 02:36:05 pm »

Quote from: Yaobing on February 16, 2017, 08:59:42 am

No. It will be in .76.

STOP. Do NOT do it....

I just reviewed ALL the recordings from last night and 5 out of 24 of the recordings came out really FUNKY:
- The DURATION of these 5 shows are reported as extremely long, like 26 hours or 19 hours.
- Playing the show back works (picture and sound is good), as long I don't try to rew or ff, then it seems to go back to beginning of the show.
- Tuners started and stopped fine.
- size on disk appears normal.
- Comskip did not detect/create any commercial skip points in the 5 shows.

Let me know if you need logs.

I will be removing this custom .dll from my system immediately and recommend everyone else do the same.

Yaobing · « **Reply #26 on:** February 16, 2017, 03:43:39 pm »

If you still have the log, please share with me. Can you also share a recorded TS file that has the problem?

tzr916 · « **Reply #27 on:** February 16, 2017, 06:16:34 pm »

Logs may have been cleared after installing latest version, but TV log does show these recordings all started and stopped normally. The shows that came out bad are:
NOVA
City in the Sky
Match Game
Doubt
CBS News at 10p

Log:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B82GqdDf8HSyR0l4TDBSZlBDRnM/view?usp=sharing

Copy of the bad show "NOVA":
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B82GqdDf8HSyS3ZkbVpBcHBBNFk/view?usp=sharing

tvmandan · « **Reply #28 on:** February 17, 2017, 05:49:10 am »

Quote from: Chris.s on February 11, 2017, 08:52:05 am

Here are some more examples. This was recorded this morning, within 10 minutes. I did a recording on the SAME channel, using 3 different versions. This is recorded to the local disk.

Channel 24.1 - 22.0.21 - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6opD7WxamP7YXk0aHV2dGJPSjQ
Channel 24.1 - 22.0.32 - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6opD7WxamP7d1FLcjd1LUZTZFU - random distortion lines and audio distortion
Channel 24.1 - 22.0.71 - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6opD7WxamP7aDUybGw2ekpTWEU - random distortion lines and audio distortion
Channel 24.1 - 22.0.21 Once Again - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6opD7WxamP7UUJ5T25fM3NQZ1U

In my opinion, this is not a signal issue, this is an encoding issue.

I am having this exact problem. I've tested it on two separate computers and same issue exists.
Also, if I am in Theatre View and record a show from the guide, when the recording finishes or I manually cancel it and then try to watch the resulting recording I get an error popping up saying that a tuner is not available. This is strange since I'm trying to watch the recording not live TV.

I need a fix for this asap.

Chris.s · « **Reply #29 on:** February 17, 2017, 10:39:53 pm »

Tvmandan,
I installed VideoLAN and AC3 filters and it has appeared to have fixed the issue I was having. I've been running on .71 all this week and all my recordings have been good! Might give that a try.

tvmandan · « **Reply #30 on:** February 18, 2017, 12:59:15 am »

Quote from: Chris.s on February 17, 2017, 10:39:53 pm

Tvmandan,
I installed VideoLAN and AC3 filters and it has appeared to have fixed the issue I was having. I've been running on .71 all this week and all my recordings have been good! Might give that a try.

Thanks for the info Chris. JRiver was working fine for me in previous versions. Something must have been broken in a new version. I'd rather not install third party software and codecs to fix it.

tvmandan · « **Reply #31 on:** February 19, 2017, 05:00:06 am »

Today I reverted back to version 22.0.21 and recording is working again. Any recordings done on newer versions are corrupted and un-watchable.
Is there a fix for this yet? It is clearly a problem introduced after 22.0.21.

JimH · « **Reply #32 on:** February 19, 2017, 07:40:37 am »

We're looking into the problem.

Yaobing · « **Reply #33 on:** February 22, 2017, 01:22:56 pm »

For those who experienced bad TS recordings, please try the following:

1. Download and install MC22.0.75, if you have not already done it.

2. Download, unzip, and copy JRTelevision.dll into MC installation folder.

3. Try recording in TS format, and let me know how it goes.

tzr916 · « **Reply #34 on:** February 23, 2017, 08:43:36 am »

So far so good. 24 recorded shows with v75 + dll. None of them have strange long duration, played back about 5 shows and they are all good.

Yaobing · « **Reply #35 on:** February 23, 2017, 09:27:37 am »

Did you play those shows in their entirety, or at least 10 minutes into them?

tzr916 · « **Reply #36 on:** February 23, 2017, 10:54:49 am »

Yes, I have now watched 7 full shows and they played good all the way to the end.

Yaobing · « **Reply #37 on:** February 23, 2017, 12:58:26 pm »

That is good news. Thanks.

How about other users? Are you all able to record in TS without glitches?

imeric · « **Reply #38 on:** February 23, 2017, 01:21:29 pm »

Quote from: Yaobing on February 23, 2017, 12:58:26 pm

That is good news. Thanks.

How about other users? Are you all able to record in TS without glitches?

Yaobing I wish I could help as I'm using TS but I don't think I never got the issue so I can't really help. I do get very minor stutter here and there but I know it's not the file since the stutter never happens at the same place (probably due to my MADvr settings...)

Can you give us a bit more details as to what changes were mad so it may help with the troubleshooting?
Any clues as to why some of us are having issues and not others?
As an FYI I often record 2-3 even 4 shows at the same time without issues....

Yaobing · « **Reply #39 on:** February 23, 2017, 02:33:51 pm »

Thanks Eric for offering to help. If you did not have problem recording shows in post-.32 builds, you are not likely see anything different. So this is mainly for users who reported problems and said rolling back to early builds was the only solution.

I may post another updated DLL later today.

Yaobing · « **Reply #40 on:** February 23, 2017, 03:50:15 pm »

Here is another attempt:

Please download, unzip and copy the DLL. Does this work better than the one I posted a few posts before this?

Chris.s · « **Reply #41 on:** February 23, 2017, 11:56:21 pm »

Unfortunately, it didn't make a difference for me. Running .75 with the updated DLL. My recordings are the same. Also, just an update to my last post where I installed videoLAN and AC3 filters and saw an improvement. With no changes to my MC, the issues returned a few days later. I'm baffled as to what happened..

Playing around with this DLL you sent out, I grabbed the DLL from .21 and my recordings were crystal clear again. Although attempting to play live TV crashed MC, was forced to load back the newest DLL to watch live TV.

I can upload some examples if needed. Thanks for working hard on this.

Yaobing · « **Reply #42 on:** February 24, 2017, 08:43:23 am »

Can you share a log recording a show using the last DLL I posted (downloaded file is "JRTelevision 2-23-2017 14-44.zip")?

Chris.s · « **Reply #43 on:** February 24, 2017, 09:49:09 am »

Sure, I'll get that posted this afternoon.

Yaobing · « **Reply #44 on:** February 24, 2017, 02:45:30 pm »

Quote from: Chris.s on February 24, 2017, 09:49:09 am

Sure, I'll get that posted this afternoon.

If you have not started yet, please wait. I will post another DLL, which will be the most promising so far.

Yaobing · « **Reply #45 on:** February 24, 2017, 03:40:34 pm »

Please try this DLL with the latest MC build.

Chris.s · « **Reply #46 on:** February 24, 2017, 05:46:36 pm »

I think you nailed it with this last DLL. Initial recordings are crystal clear. Going to do some more recordings throughout the evening. Will let you know.

Just out of curiosity, what is it that you changed?

Yaobing · « **Reply #47 on:** February 24, 2017, 06:01:52 pm »

Quote from: Chris.s on February 24, 2017, 05:46:36 pm

I think you nailed it with this last DLL. Initial recordings are crystal clear. Going to do some more recordings throughout the evening. Will let you know.

Just out of curiosity, what is it that you changed?

I introduced a stupid bug in build 32 which I had a hell of time finding for the last couple of weeks. Once I found it, I feel like slapping myself. Thanks for helping me nail this one.

tvmandan · « **Reply #48 on:** February 24, 2017, 10:07:28 pm »

Quote from: Yaobing on February 24, 2017, 06:01:52 pm

I introduced a stupid bug in build 32 which I had a hell of time finding for the last couple of weeks. Once I found it, I feel like slapping myself. Thanks for helping me nail this one.

Just tried with version .75 and the updated dll. TS Recording now seems to be working fine. Thanks for your work on this.

tzr916 · « **Reply #49 on:** February 25, 2017, 06:30:16 pm »

Quote from: Yaobing on February 24, 2017, 03:40:34 pm

Please try this DLL with the latest MC build.

Working good on my system too.

INTERACT FORUM

Author Topic: TV Recording Using .TS Bad quality (Read 39718 times)