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[timwtheov]

Using MC 27.0.21, 64 bit.

I have an HTPC with two displays: a DVI-to-HDMI for my monitor at my desk and HDMI to HDMI Dr. to HDMI to Marantz SR5010 AVR to an LG 1080p TV. When the AVR is off and Media Network is on (it's always on), MC works fine, is speedy, no lags, etc. However, when I turn the AVR on, even if I'm not switching to it or extending/duplicating displays in the Nvidia control panel, MC will typically work fine for awhile and then get laggy and start hanging, sometimes fairly quickly (within a couple of minutes), sometimes after a little more time (maybe 10-15 minutes). The CPU load when it's laggy/hanging is around 15-20% with "Very High" power usage.

I've been pulling my hair out with this for months, as I like to listen to music through the AVR while I tag my audio files. I had assumed there was some unholy conflict between the AVR, an MC setting or two, and maybe also the video card (Nvidia GTX 970), or even something with the HDMI Dr.; I even thought I might have had it fixed after a Wer suggestion made me notice a conflict between MC interal Display Settings and those in MadVR, which helped a little bit but not enough. But after going yet again through the forums with various searches, I found this thread

https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=95064.0

which suggested turning off Media Network as a test. Presto! That did it: no more 15-20% CPU loads when idle, no more "Very High" power usage, back to speedy and quick.

But: why is there a Media Network problem with the AVR on?

In terms of antivirus, I only use Windows Defender and have it tamed as per the instructions in the Wiki. All media files + the drives they're on are excluded in Defender's settings. I tried things like turning off lyrics look-up and sending cover art to the database with Media Network back on, but none of these did anything.

So can I/should I send in a log, or is there anything I should check on my PC? I guess I could turn off Media Network when the AVR is on, as I never use it then, but it's a bit of a pain because inevitably I'll forget to turn it back on and then want to stream to my phone later and be irritated.

Thanks for any help!

[wer]

But: why is there a Media Network problem with the AVR on?

Perhaps because your Marantz is connected to the network (either wired or Wifi) and is acting as a DLNA device, and is apparently doing something that really irritates MC.  Without using a protocol analyzer to examine the traffic between the two devices, I couldn't say what.  It's an unusual symptomology, but I suggest this because of your claim about Media Server.

If you disconnect the HDMI link between the PC and the Marantz, and the problem persists when Media Server is running and still disappears when Media Server is not running, then the above is proven.  On the other hand, if the problem totally disappears with the HDMI cable disconnected, it's not a DLNA/Network issue, it's a display related issue.

If it's proven to be DLNA related, then you could address it as follows.

Since you are directly connected to the Marantz via HDMI, you probably don't need DLNA on the Marantz.

You could:
1. Disconnect the Marantz from the network (pull the ethernet cable or disable its wifi) or
2. Disable DLNA on the Marantz or
3. Block the IP address of the Marantz in the Windows firewall

Any of these will prevent MC from seeing whatever the Marantz is doing that offends it so.

I've not seen people complain of this problem before. Could be an IP address conflict, but I doubt that very much.  As I said, it sounds unusual.

If you want to put the problem behind you without spending a bunch of time investigating, do one of the above.  #3 Will allow the Marantz to do DLNA with other devices, just not your PC running MC.

Regarding 15-20% CPU usage, that is not particularly illuminating without identifying the process causing it.  You could take a screenshot of the process manager when this is happening, so we can see which process is using all those cycles.

[timwtheov]

Thanks, Wer, for the extensive reply + instructions.

Looks like it is DLNA related. I unplugged the HDMI cable as you suggested, and with Media Network enabled, it got laggy and had the high CPU and "Very High" power usage.

I checked the process manager and found "JRiver Web Application" in play multiple times, which seems to reaffirm the DLNA issue.

However, in the meantime, I did do #3 in your suggestions and it seems to be working now; and that's fine as I never use the Marantz's DLNA anyway, except when I've unsuccessfully tried to bitstream DSD to it.

[timwtheov]

Thought I'd provide an update on this issue, even though no one's waiting with baited breath; still, it might help someone down the line.

So Wer was on the right track here, but the specific solution was not quite it, as it turned out to be not the Marantz but the LG TV's built in DLNA.

As I said in my last reply, I did disconnect the Marantz from the internet, and while it seemed to help/work initially, eventually the lags started again. I just gave up for a while but after looking at an older post wherein RoderickGI mentioned downloading the Windows Process Manager, I did so yesterday and eventually noticed one of the addresses on my LAN keep popping up, which turned out to be the LG TV. Once I disconntected it from the network, I haven't had any lags when connected to it as a monitor through the Marantz. I hadn't even noticed that the TV had DLNA and that there was a dynamic zone in MC for it.

I permanently deleted said dynamic zone in MC to be on the safe side, and now everything seems to be working well, with no CPU spikes, and has been for at least an hour (previously, it would start getting laggy after 2-10 or 15 minutes).

Hopefully this is it and likewise, hopefully this can help someone else in the future. Thanks again to Wer for his good suggestions!

[wer]

Interesting. I have an LG TV and it causes no such trouble.

In (perhaps unnecessary) defense of my analysis, if your conclusions are all correct, then the problem would not have occurred even when the Marantz was on, if the TV was off. Perhaps you didn't test that. But your description established a false parity between the power state of the Marantz and the appearance of the problem, and I proceeded from that.

Testing with the TV on/off while the Marantz remains on would establish whether the problem is only with the TV, or if you're actually having an interaction with both devices.

Glad you're sorted out...  Usually I avoid DLNA questions, because there is an endless stream of them and it's more trouble than it's worth. But yours was very unusual.

[timwtheov]

It is an older LG TV (5-6 years old? maybe 6-7?), so that might account for it; or some weirdness with it in the context of my network.

I read Rod's post yesterday but didn't end up unplugging the TV from the network then, as I got distracted by something. At any rate, today, I turned on the TV without the Marantz, and MC almost immediately got laggy when I was tagging at my desktop monitor; then I remembered to try unplugging the network cable from the TV as I'd read about in Rod's post, and after doing so, all laggy behavior stopped.

I'm not sure if I ever had the TV off and the Marantz on and noticed any laggy behavior, as I rarely use it that way, since my room correction does't really work with where my desktop monitor is (in front of a side speaker); so almost always, if the Marantz is on, the LG is on too, as the monitor for the PC, since that's where the surround sound centers.

Anyway, I'll try it later tonight with the TV off and Marantz on and see what happens. I'm pretty happy now, so long as the laggy behavior stops.

[timwtheov]

Am testing now: sitting at my desk, with the AOC desktop monitor, Marantz on, LG TV off (and the latter not connected to the network): no laggy behavior in MC/no CPU spikes. Am now playing to the Marantz's 5.1 zone with no issues. I also tried playing to the desktop zone (2.1 computer speakers there) with the Marantz on and the LG TV off (and again with the latter not connected to the network): no lagging.

Just for testing purposes, I turned the LG back on, hooked the network cable back up while sitting at the desktop but playing to the Marantz, and within about 2 minutes I had CPU spikes and MC lagging again. When I unplugged the network cable, without changing anything else, everything's smooth, no CPU spikes, MC fleet.

So for whatever reason, I'm (cautiously) optimistic it was/is the LG's network connection/DLNA that somehow conflicted with MC. Maybe something on the TV wasn't set up right? I don't know. I never used it for DLNA and only had it connected to the network for updates, though I did notice most or maybe all of these were for the LGwebOS, the apps on which I don't and have never used anyway, since I have an Nvidia Shield hooked up to the Marantz, along with the HTPC. Weird, but so long as it works . . . .

Edit: used MC for hours last night on the Marantz and LG TV with the latter's networking disabled and no lags, no CPU spikes: all smooth; and this has continuted today! So great to be able to tag and listen to music using 5.2!