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[Beamer]

Is anyone else having issues with MC16 crashing and leaving you with a grey screen and a PC that is dead to the world?

I have a dedicated high end Intel processor based HTPC that seems to be unable to get through most movies without crashing.  All my content is in MKV containers and all are HD with sound being directed through the HDMI port.  Some times I can run for more than an hour and others less than 15 minutes.  My configuration is dual screen with the main screen having a native 1080 resolution at most frame rates. MC16 is configured for Red October HQ and my quad processor never exceed 50% load.  Since the content is 1080p native, the loading on the GPU is less than 2%.

Prior to attempting to move over to MC16 I have been using MPC-HC with madVR renderer.  This configuration works fine as does Windows Media Centre and has run faultlessly for more than a year. I have an AMD 5670 display adapter running the latest release of driver.  Unfortunately when the crash happens, Windows event manager does not appear to know much more than it lost power.  This is of course when I hit the reset button.

I have some logs and have captured the last crash as a separate log file.  If someone would like the files, please let me have an email address and I will forward them.

[JimH]

Try Red October Standard.

[glynor]

Is anyone else having issues with MC16 crashing and leaving you with a grey screen and a PC that is dead to the world?

No, I have not seen this kind of issue at all.  However, my Core 2 Quad Q9550 at 3.5GHz can't quite handle Red October HQ (it stutters and drops frames when playing back high-bitrate 1080p H264 content, though for basically everything else it is fine).  For comparison, my Core i5 750 runs ROHQ just fine.  ROHQ just really likes Nehalem or newer on the CPU front.  ROHQ is more than just adding madVR to the mix.  It really cranks up the deinterlacing and other quality settings and pushes on the system pretty hard.  So, unless you're sure that it works in MPC-HC with madVR and all the same exact settings in the decoder/renderer, I don't know if the comparison to MPC-HC is relevant (it might be, but might also not be).

That said, it sounds like the video card driver is likely crashing/borking up here (gray screen), and not that you're hitting a CPU wall (which would just drop frames).  That, or something is happening with the power management settings in Windows.  One other hardware thing to try, just to be sure, is to try disabling hybrid sleep in Windows' power management settings.  I've seen Hybrid Sleep cause problems with my AMD 6870 card connected to my HDTV.  An interesting test to see what might be going on would be to try connecting via VNC (you'll have to install a VNC server and you'll need another computer/tablet/phone with VNC Viewer capabilities).  When I had the Hybrid Sleep problems, I would not be able to get the display to respond, but if I'd remote in, it would be running just fine (and I could "force" the display to wake back up by opening Catalyst and redetecting displays).  This was totally solved by either disabling S3 sleep in the BIOS or by disabling Hybrid Sleep in Windows.  I suspect it is actually some sort of weird BIOS-level power management incompatibility with my motherboard, because I tried the exact same video card on my Core i5 box, booted to the exact same hard drive, and I couldn't reproduce the issue.

Could you post exactly what settings you're using under Options -> Video?  Does the same thing happen with ROST (Red October Standard)?  Also, just to check, can you run the machine through a pass of FutureMark 3DMark just to test the video card for general stability?  Basically, I'd like to see if you can push on the video card and cause it to happen NOT in MC.

[Beamer]

I think I am on to this issue but first let me clarify a few things.

My hardware is beyond reproach as it works 100% perfectly all day every day with CoreAVC + ffdshow + madVR.  The video card rarely if ever goes above 48 degrees due to the heat pipe cooling and aside from the bugs in various releases of AMD drivers offers a silky smooth ~23.976 frame rate.

Although I have not tested MC16 standard mode yet, I have every reason to believe it will work fine since to the best of my knowledge it does not use madVR.

Putting hardware aside, we now need to focus on MC16 since it is this player that causes the crashes (MPC-HC configured with CoreAVC + ffdshow + madVR runs perfectly as do all other players that I have tested). 

I have a theory that MC16 has problems handling more than one monitor when madVR is in the equation. To test my theory I ran MC16 in single monitor mode this evening for about 4 hours. 

Surprise Surprise MC16 worked perfectly, smooth as silk

So what is the difference in how madVR is handled between MC16 & MPC-HC?  Could it be that MPC-HC switches both monitors to Win 7 basic display mode and MC16 does not?

FYI my monitors are set up with a 1024 x 768 as console and a 1920 x 1080 as the display device

Has anyone tested this configuration?

[glynor]

I run Red October HQ every day on a machine with three monitors and an AMD Radeon HD 5850.  I also use MC16 on a machine with 8 monitors and multiple detached displays and multiple zones playing video simultaneously, and it works fine.

[glynor]

That said, it sounds like the video card driver is likely crashing/borking up here (gray screen), and not that you're hitting a CPU wall (which would just drop frames).

What I mean here is:  If your video display is lost completely (gray screen) and you have to reboot to get it back, then by far the most likely cause is that the display driver is crashing or getting "stuck" in some way.  Otherwise, when you exit MC (Alt+F4) you should get your display back and not need to reboot.  We need to find out why the display driver is crashing and what is causing it.

One possible cause, of many, is that either the hardware or the driver has a problem, and you've never stressed the graphics subsystem in quite the same way before to cause the issue to manifest.  This is NOT the only possibility, but it is one of the most likely possibilities.  In this circumstance, MC pushes the GPU on the card much more like what a game does than most other video players do with default settings.  That's why I suggested testing 3DMark.  It is a good way to stress both the CPU and the GPU in a way similar to what a high-end game would do, and see easily if it completes.

If you can't get 3DMark to complete, your system has a problem, and we can stop looking at MC.
If it does complete, then I'm more confident that something specific to the interaction between the way MC with ROHQ is using your graphics subsystem is causing the problem, rather than a general all-around problem.

Then, we'd also like to see if ROST works, and if so, how well.  Not because that is necessarily a solution, but because that will teach us something about the problem and eliminate possibilities.

Then, lastly, we can go in to ROHQ + Additional Filters, and slowly tweak the stuff one thing at a time to see where the problem crops up.  We need to test with a variety of different file types, to see if it is specific to one particular "breed" of file, or just happens with seemingly everything you throw at it.

The multi-monitor testing was a good start, but that by itself doesn't tell us much.

[glynor]

Lastly, what kind of GPU do you have in that thing?

Nevermind.  I'd thought previously that you'd mentioned an AMD adapter, but then I couldn't find it when I posted that (but now I see it clearly).  This should certainly work for you.  Like I said, I have an AMD 5850 in this PC that I'm on right now, and it has three displays attached.  Of course, I do typically use MC on my main display (the nicest one) which is set as primary, so I figured it was worth testing tonight.  So I just ran 3 hours of video on one of my secondary monitors, and everything went fine (except it looked crappier).

I also deleted my cranky rant above, if you saw it.  That was not productive, or really helpful, so nevermind on that too.  Sorry.

But... Just for the record, what CPU are you running?

[Beamer]

Glynor

I did not read your rant but I guess we are all guilty of it occasionally

1. Have you ever looked at the loading of the GPU?
2. Have you tried running GPU-Z while the application is running 1920 x 1080 @ ~23.976
3. Have you really read my posts where I stated GPU loading is minimal, madVr barely even loads the GPU when non interleaved HD is viewed!
4. If the application works fine on a single monitor why on earth would you go back to questioning CPU or GPU loading?  I have already stated that the quad core never exceeds 40% load and no single core ever goes above 50%, the CPU is irrelevant as is the GPU end of story.

What is relevant is how MC16 is configured to launch into full screen and the content (HD) / container MKV.

Can you set your system to emulate mine? I have 768 x 1024 60Hz and a high quality HD monitor running @~23.976 (other frame rates also possible of course)

The MC16 is launched on the console monitor and setup to start full screen on the HD monitor in Theatre mode.  The content is then played from .MKV container.  This is not the same as simply moving the open MC16 application to the HD screen, just in case this is how you did your test.

As you can probably appreciate, having multiple monitors is irrelevant unless MC16 is using both of them albeit only initially during the launch process.

[glynor]

1. Have you ever looked at the loading of the GPU?
2. Have you tried running GPU-Z while the application is running 1920 x 1080 @ ~23.976
3. Have you really read my posts where I stated GPU loading is minimal, madVr barely even loads the GPU when non interleaved HD is viewed!

GPU load in GPU-Z is notoriously unreliable.  It measures, roughly and somewhat in the dark, only a subset of the execution units on the video card.  But, even assuming it is reliable in this case, GPU load has absolutely no bearing on hitting a driver bug or instability.  I've certainly had unstable video cards crash (almost always due to a flaky driver, but a handful of times due to hardware) seemingly randomly with low-load conditions.  This can be caused by a flaky driver (either buggy or just a messed up installation), a flaky power supply, motherboard incompatibilities (sometimes down to the BIOS versions), or just a plain flaky card.  But, often in these cases by pushing on the card, you can make it crash by "exercising" the different execution units on the card.  Pushing on it hard.

I'm assuming that because you have a lower-end GPU there, that you don't do a lot of high-end gaming, and so may not have ever really pushed on that card with something like Metro 2033 cranked up.  3DMark is just a convenient way to test it and cross that possible item off the list.

If you're reluctant to try, then we might not ever find the solution for you, if it happens to be that.  Of course, it might not have anything to do with the GPU at all.  It could be some other system on Windows that is crashing and taking down the display output at the same time.  Or, it could actually be MC locking the display, I suppose.  But this doesn't make a bunch of sense if you've tried exiting out of MC completely and the display doesn't come back.  It really sounds like the video card driver is crashing or locking up.  MC certainly might be causing it, but it could be some other factor (or some weird combination of your settings and hardware).

I use MC with a variety of 1080p monitors, and with multi-monitor setups (some way more complex than yours) all the time.  For example, this system runs a 1080p detached display on an external monitor 24/7.  It does crash occasionally (I suspect memory leaks in ffdshow), but it usually lasts WEEKS of 24/7 running before crashing.  My HTPC is a 60" Panasonic plasma, and yes, I run it at 24p all the time.  I haven't played with MC's auto-refresh switching stuff yet though, so there could be something buggy in that if you're using that.  I also have my basement system which has three displays: 1080p @ 60Hz, and 2x 1280x1024 @ 60Hz.  Until I smashed my laptop, I ran it connected to HDTVs and Projectors in a very similar model to what you're doing all the time, with Theater View on the laptop and the display on the external screen (though the laptop did have an Nvidia GPU).  I have a LOT of systems at my disposal, being in charge of the AV systems at a medium-sized corporate campus.

I can certainly drop the resolution on one of my basement monitors down to 1024x768 and test it, though I can't run that display at 24p (even my "nice" one down there is still fairly crappy).  Theater View on one display with a detached display on another certainly works perfectly fine here.  Are you using a detached display fullscreen on the TV, or are you sending Full Screen Display View to the other monitor (I haven't tried that in a long while, I always use detached displays)?

But, if you want to actually solve the problem, we're going to need to start testing different things.  You can't just say "this is the way I want it to work, and it is broken, fix it" because they don't know what is causing the crash, so there is nowhere to start looking for the bug (if it even is in MC).

We need to start systematically trying different things, one at a time, and find the problem.  Then, they'll fix it if it is on their end.

But we do NOT have a huge rash of AMD GPU owners with gray screen crashes here (including the developers themselves who have similar hardware), so there absolutely is something different/strange/broken/wonky about your setup in some way that is causing it.

[Beamer]

Glynor: My background is a failed electronics design engineer turned support engineer, it actually pays more so I fully understand the approach required to get to the bottom of this kind of issue, I have simply been trying to get you to move off the subject of hardware due to my confidence factor I have in my hardware and the fact that you seem to be ignoring MPC-HC is working just fine with a similar configuration and the same renderer. In fact I probably push my CPU much harder than MC16 with my ffdshow config.

If the GPU was failing it would IMHO fail with MPC-HC! That said I have no wish to appear lazy and will run the GPU exerciser and let you know how it goes.  By the way my displays are set up in extended desktop mode!

[glynor]

Not ignoring you, I just don't accept this statement as directly relevant, so we disagree:

you seem to be ignoring MPC-HC is working just fine with a similar configuration and the same renderer. In fact I probably push my CPU much harder than MC16 with my ffdshow config.

You're assuming it has something to do with the video decode, and not a combination of factors.  Unless your config in both ffdshow, lav audio, and madVR is EXACTLY IDENTICAL to what is being used by MC this point is irrelevant.  Plus, MPC-HC has all sorts of workarounds implemented to avoid buggy filter and driver implementations.  J River is adding these as they need to (or asking the kind filter authors to do so), but we haven't found everything yet.  So, yes, as you're seeing, one can fail while the other works, and it can STILL be the driver at fault, or hardware, or power supply, or who knows what.

Likewise... Theater View pushes the video card in a much different way than MPC-HC ever would, and you're using that.  Theater View is a fullscreen 3D application, which runs in a Direct3D mode, and uses anti-aliasing and ansiotropic filtering, along with some fancy Direct3D effects.  It isn't the same as a high end game like Metro 2033 or whatever, but it is roughly of the "class" of something like Portal 2.  It is entirely possible that the problem you are encountering is being "caused" by Theater View, not by the video decode, or by the combination of Theater View and the video decode.  This means the 3D stability of the system is relevant.  You can certainly believe that your system is rock solid.  It probably is.  But I've felt that way tons of times in the past and thought "there's no way it is that" and then been proven wrong when a power supply replacement fixes a problem with a otherwise-perfectly working DVD-ROM drive failing to rip a CD in MC (this actually happened to me once).  Trust, but verify.  

One last thing though... You didn't answer my question:

How are you getting the video playback to appear on the 1080p display while keeping Theater View on the small screen?  Are you using a Detached Display or Display View somehow?  I assume you're using a Detached Display, but since you haven't specified, I want to make sure (and you could be pulling some sort of fancy driver trick to get the video window over to the HDTV/monitor, and that could be part of the problem).

Also, are you using the auto-refresh rate switching now built into MC?  I don't know if that feature is stable.  I know Nathan has a list of bugs in the current implementation, and I don't think it has been highly refined yet.

What about bitstreaming?  Or, if you're not bitstreaming, VideoClock and Normalize volume?  Sync correction and the DSP settings?  Can you describe the details of your setup in MC that might be relevant and then try with things on and off?  Perhaps Matt or someone can chime in with ideas for things to try once you post what you're currently using?

But, again, this SHOULD work (maybe except the auto-refresh rate switching).  Here's a screenshot of MC running in Theater View on one monitor, while running a Detached Display on the other 1080p monitor.  This is on an ancient dual-core Pentium D with an ATI x1900XT video card.  It, obviously, drops frames badly in ROHQ mode, but runs this setup fine in ROST mode.  I literally just left it playing like this at my desk for 2 1/2 hours before I posted this:


Click for fullsize.

[JimH]

...but runs this setup fine in ROST mode.  

ROSTA, Mon.

[glynor]

ROSTA, Mon.

Mi deh yah sah, mon. 

[JimH]

 

[Beamer]

3DMark06 3 passes OK
3DMark 11 V102 3 passes OK Benchmark P1462
VideoStability Tester 1 Hour OK

I do not play games and have no interest in using my HTPC for that purpose as mentioned earlier it is dedicated to my home cinema, consequently the benchmark is probably poor as a result of setting up the display adapter for High Quality.

The PC is loaded with: Win 7 Ultimate, Firefox, MPC-HC, MC16, CoreAVC 2.55, madVR, LAV Audio, LAV Splitter

Per my earlier post the monitor config is 1024 x 768 as console and a 1920 x 1080 as the display device.  Since the resolutions are not the same they are setup for extended desktop. When the MC16 application is launched on the console, it is configured to play full screen on the extended desktop.

Forget about the Theatre View, it is not relevant since the crash will also happen when films are launched from the Standard View.  Please remember the crash does not happen if MC16 is launched and played from the HD monitor in fact I have just watched a two hour film in that very mode.

To be clear: I open MC16 on the console and then move the MC16 window to the HD monitor and then select and play the film, this works fine.  It also works if I start MC16 using /monitor 2.

The crash only happens when the film is launched from the console and it totally random when it happens.  I have actually experienced the crash right at the end of a 2 hour film and also in the first 10 minutes!

[JimH]

... it sounds like the video card driver is likely crashing/borking up here (gray screen) ...

This is also my guess, even though you've said you have the latest driver.

[glynor]

Okay, that helps.  Thanks!

Per my earlier post the monitor config is 1024 x 768 as console and a 1920 x 1080 as the display device.  Since the resolutions are not the same they are setup for extended desktop. When the MC16 application is launched on the console, it is configured to play full screen on the extended desktop.

Forget about the Theatre View, it is not relevant since the crash will also happen when films are launched from the Standard View.  Please remember the crash does not happen if MC16 is launched and played from the HD monitor in fact I have just watched a two hour film in that very mode.

To be clear: I open MC16 on the console and then move the MC16 window to the HD monitor and then select and play the film, this works fine.  It also works if I start MC16 using /monitor 2.

Could you describe this process in more detail, including exactly what settings you're using in MC to control where the video playback occurs?

I think I'm missing something in there.  It sounds like you are NOT using a detached display (maybe you don't know about that option or it isn't what you need), but I'm not sure of the exact process you're using.

I'm wondering if you're hitting some unknown bug related to starting playback on one monitor and then moving it in concert with refresh rate changes or something...

If you describe it, I may be able to test on my HTPC with an external monitor.  I'll have to drag one upstairs, but I could do it.

[Beamer]

This is also my guess, even though you've said you have the latest driver.

I have regressed to Cat 11.4 and have the same issue, I then cleaned up and installed 11.6 and am presently using a beta of Cat 11.7 and still experience the same issue.

[Beamer]

Could you describe this process in more detail, including exactly what settings you're using in MC to control where the video playback occurs?
The MC16 is launched on the console monitor and setup to start full screen on the HD monitor in Theatre mode OR setup to play a film from Standard View.  The content is then played from .MKV container.  This is not the same as simply moving the open MC16 application to the HD screen or launching MC16 and using it within one monitor, just in case this is how you did your test.

I think I'm missing something in there.  It sounds like you are NOT using a detached display (maybe you don't know about that option or it isn't what you need), but I'm not sure of the exact process you're using. I say again I am using extended desktop mode NOT detached assuming your referring to the /monitor command line

"Per my earlier post the monitor config is 1024 x 768 as console and a 1920 x 1080 as the display device.  Since the resolutions are not the same they are setup for extended desktop. When the MC16 application is launched on the console, it is configured to play full screen on the extended desktop with the default setting of detached mode"

I'm wondering if you're hitting some unknown bug related to starting playback on one monitor and then moving it in concert with refresh rate changes or something... Under display options you can select the full screen monitor that plays films when launched

If you describe it, I may be able to test on my HTPC with an external monitor.  I'll have to drag one upstairs, but I could do it.
I really don't think I can offer additional information, please take the time to read my earlier posts as to how I launch MC16, if you are not running extended desktop or are perhaps not familiar with it, you will definitely not be able to re-create the environment

Please see my bold insertions mostly cut and pasted from earlier posts, The object of my desire is to select and launch on my console and watch on my HD monitor.
I hope that goes some way to clearing up any misunderstanding.

In respect monitor 'detached mode' I use the default which I believe to be detached mode.

[Beamer]

Not sure if it is pertinent since I did not get the grey screens on this occasion:

Faulting application name: Media Center 16.exe, version: 16.0.128.0, time stamp: 0x4e176fa9
Faulting module name: madvr.ax, version: 0.66.0.0, time stamp: 0x4e088161
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x00004227
Faulting process id: 0x12ac
Faulting application start time: 0x01cc4144f66f25fa
Faulting application path: C:\Program Files\J River\Media Center 16\Media Center 16.exe
Faulting module path: C:\Users\Chris\AppData\Roaming\J River\Media Center 16\Plugins\madvr\madvr.ax
Report Id: 4de27cd2-ad38-11e0-8593-001fd080d22b

[glynor]

Please see my bold insertions mostly cut and pasted from earlier posts, The object of my desire is to select and launch on my console and watch on my HD monitor.
I hope that goes some way to clearing up any misunderstanding.

In respect monitor 'detached mode' I use the default which I believe to be detached mode.

No.  Detached displays are something you have to manually activate in MC.  I think they are actually what you want, but it doesn't sound like you're using it.

I want you to tell me the settings you enabled in MC to get the display to show up on your 1080p monitor while keeping the UI on your little monitor.

I read all the stuff you wrote before, but you haven't explained in detail how you are currently accomplishing this goal, and I think it might be relevant.  Literally, I want to know what settings in MC you tweaked to get it working the way it is now (unless, of course, the stuff below solves it for you).

There are a few different ways you can do this, and I'm not sure what you're doing right now.  The BEST, in many circumstances is to use Detached Displays, though there are some UI considerations that may make this not work depending on the specifics of your setup.   It has nothing to do with Extended Desktop (though that would be the right mode to have Windows set to, of course) or any of that stuff, and the /Monitor switch isn't relevant either.  Try this:

0. If you've messed with it, reset the Full Screen playback monitor back to "Nearest Monitor" (the default) rather than specifically to a display.  Go to Player -> Display Options -> Display Settings and switch it back there.  If you weren't doing that, weren't using a detached display, and weren't moving it manually then I don't know what you were doing to get the display moved.
1. In MC, set Options -> General -> Jump on Play (video) to None or Playing Now (NOT Display View as it will be useless).
2. Options -> Theater View -> Jump on Play (video) to either None or Theater View Playing Now (again, NOT Display View).
3. Put MC on the little monitor.  Start a video playing back.  Switch manually to Playing Now in the tree.  You should see the video playing in the window on the little monitor.
4. Right click on the video itself and choose Detach Display.  This will "unhook" the video playback window from the rest of MC's UI.  You can also do this using the Action Window playback display if you want.
5. Drag THIS window over to the 1080p display and double-click it to make it fullscreen (or just maximize the window).

Now, with it set like that, you will have your fullscreen playback on the big screen, and the full MC UI (including Theater View if you want) will stay on the little screen.  The Detached Display will remember its size and position, even when you close and restart MC.  If you close the Detached Display, it will "reattach" back to MC's UI, but next time you detach it, it'll go right back to where it was (including fullscreen status).

The OSD works in Detached Displays, but the mouseover scrub bar does not (you already have that function in the other part of MC's UI though).

Detached Displays are remembered and configured per-zone, so you could even have 10 zones with 10 different detached displays all running at once on different monitors (assuming your computer can handle the decode).  They'd all be controlled by a single instance of MC's UI, and MC will remember the settings, size, and position for each of them independently.  I have a machine that does exactly this.

Trust me.  You have the person here who is probably among the MOST experienced using MC with multiple displays of the active forum posters.

[Beamer]

Sorry if I have also missed something since I have assumed all along that the only intended way to use dual monitors with MC16 was to use the built in option.

Display Options>Fullscreen Display #2, Detached Window Always on top, Desktop Resolution (contention here since the two displays have a different resolution).

Display #1 is my console

If there is a setup file that I can email to you just let me know, that would probably be the only way to cover everything but for the most part it is standard except perhaps having music set for my HQ audio card and video set for HDMI

I have not yet digested your last post but thought I would post this info in the meantime in case it was relevant.

Any thoughts on the crash?

[glynor]

Sorry if I have also missed something since I have assumed all along that the only intended way to use dual monitors with MC16 was to use the built in option.

Display Options>Fullscreen Display #2, Detached Window Always on top, Desktop Resolution (contention here since the two displays have a different resolution).

Display #1 is my console

Okay, that's what I thought you were probably doing.  That really might not be the best way to set it up in your case.  When you get the chance, try out the steps I suggested above.  I bet you might like it much better, and who knows... It might just solve your crashing problem too.

But... The way you are doing it still SHOULD work without crashing the video card driver.  Now that I know what you're doing, I can try to replicate it and see if there is some sort of bug in this system.  Does your 1080p monitor run 24p full time, or do you have MC automatically switch it when you play a 24p video file?

PS. Do you have Ultramon (or something similar) installed on that system?

[Beamer]

Okay, that's what I thought you were probably doing.  That really might not be the best way to set it up in your case.  When you get the chance, try out the steps I suggested above.  I bet you might like it much better, and who knows... It might just solve your crashing problem too.

But... The way you are doing it still SHOULD work without crashing the video card driver.  Now that I know what you're doing, I can try to replicate it and see if there is some sort of bug in this system.  Does your 1080p monitor run 24p full time, or do you have MC automatically switch it when you play a 24p video file?

PS. Do you have Ultramon (or something similar) installed on that system?

I change frame rates manually when using WMC,  I use madVR to automatically set the refresh rate in MPC-HC.  That's a very nice facility if you have not tried it.

I will be very interested to know if you can watch say a couple of films without the crash I experience using my setup.

I do not have ANY additional programs installed other than those listed earlier and do not use the auto frame rate function within MC.  I believe in a lean mean HTPC machine and the philosophy has worked just fine until now

I will try your suggestion and get back with the results.

Seriously though if it was not for the great Theatre View I would stay with MPC-HC until things stabilised, that said, if we don't work together it will take that much longer

[JimH]

I will be very interested to know if you can watch say a couple of films without the crash I experience using my setup.

glynor said this above:

...So I just ran 3 hours of video on one of my secondary monitors, and everything went fine ...

[glynor]

I do not have ANY additional programs installed other than those listed earlier and do not use the auto frame rate function within MC.  

Okay.  Just checking.

Ultramon is convenient, but one feature of it can cause weirdness occasionally with multi-monitor video playback, so I wanted to check.

I'll try to replicate your specific setup at some point and see if I can get it working.  However, the setup I just explained above (with the Detached Display) DOES work.  As I mentioned, and Jim just quoted, I've run video like that for hours on a very similar system.  I do it all the time.

I also have a machine that runs a playlist of 6 videos in a loop on a secondary display (1080p off of an Nvidia card) that runs continuously 24/7 and regularly runs for weeks and weeks without any issues.  It is running like that right now, and has 3 weeks or so of uptime currently.

And, even my basement machine where I tested specifically with a detached display, I also regularly just move the MC window over to the other displays and send it fullscreen by double-clicking and that works fine.   I did this again last night so I could watch a show with one eye while I work on my main monitor.  I do it quite regularly.  The main difference is that my video card is a bit better (same gen though), and my 1080p display is a 60Hz one.

It would be nice to test your system at 60Hz to see if the crashes stop.  But I'm more curious to see if they stop when you use the detached display method instead.

[Beamer]

glynor said this above:

Indeed he did, he also said that he did not use my method of launching films full screen and that he would try my standard method 'that should work' and I have stated I will try his dual screen scenario.

What is the point you are making? I am not aware of any duplication!

[Beamer]

Okay.  Just checking.

Ultramon is convenient, but one feature of it can cause weirdness occasionally with multi-monitor video playback, so I wanted to check.

I'll try to replicate your specific setup at some point and see if I can get it working.  However, the setup I just explained above (with the Detached Display) DOES work.  As I mentioned, and Jim just quoted, I've run video like that for hours on a very similar system.  I do it all the time.

I also have a machine that runs a playlist of 6 videos in a loop on a secondary display (1080p off of an Nvidia card) that runs continuously 24/7 and regularly runs for weeks and weeks without any issues.  It is running like that right now, and has 3 weeks or so of uptime currently.

And, even my basement machine where I tested specifically with a detached display, I also regularly just move the MC window over to the other displays and send it fullscreen by double-clicking and that works fine.   I did this again last night so I could watch a show with one eye while I work on my main monitor.  I do it quite regularly.  The main difference is that my video card is a bit better (same gen though), and my 1080p display is a 60Hz one.

It would be nice to test your system at 60Hz to see if the crashes stop.  But I'm more curious to see if they stop when you use the detached display method instead.

I have just finished watching just over an hour of content running at 50Hz and everything worked just fine.  At this juncture I don't think we can read anything in to that as I have run 23.976 for nearly two hours and it crashed right at the end of the film. I do remember one aspect that I have not mentioned, when the grey screens happened last time , I tried putting the machine to sleep so that the display driver would be reset. Unfortunately I was unable to get  the processor to acknowledge the sleep button request!

I will try and get some more hours logged tomorrow.

[Beamer]

Well I have good and bad to report.

Due to the fact that I am unwilling to leave my 60 inch plasma on for hours on end for test purposes, I have installed a 1080p desktop display that will only work with a refresh of 60Hz.  Since playing on this monitor (in both detached and normal mode) I no longer experience the grey crash screen but do still get this crash error once or twice in a 7 hour period:

Faulting application name: Media Center 16.exe, version: 16.0.128.0, time stamp: 0x4e176fa9
Faulting module name: madvr.ax, version: 0.66.0.0, time stamp: 0x4e088161
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x0000622d
Faulting process id: 0xea0
Faulting application start time: 0x01cc425d8d04c1af
Faulting application path: C:\Program Files\J River\Media Center 16\Media Center 16.exe
Faulting module path: C:\Users\Chris\AppData\Roaming\J River\Media Center 16\Plugins\madvr\madvr.ax
Report Id: 08fcb8cf-aeae-11e0-9435-001fd080d22b

One other point is that I have noticed that madVR defaults to the version pre-installed on my system and not the one integrated within MC16.  Normally this would not be an issue, however if someone is using the earlier version 0.65, the configuration might conflict if MC16 cannot force its own madVR setup!

[madshi]

Is there any way to reproduce those crashes on my PC? Or does it only occur on Beamer's setup? I fear with just the information I have right now, there's not much I can do.

Does anybody know a way to get a full crash dump from a simple Windows crash dialog?

[Beamer]

Is there any way to reproduce those crashes on my PC? Or does it only occur on Beamer's setup? I fear with just the information I have right now, there's not much I can do.

Does anybody know a way to get a full crash dump from a simple Windows crash dialog?

Hi Madshi

My set up is pretty vanilla and the machine is clean and modern  If you know how to analyse the full crash dump I am more than happy to forward it to you.  I also offered to supply the MC16 log but got little interest.

I am more than happy to work with you as I would love to resolve the issue and I guess if anyone know whats going on with madVR , you do right

[Beamer]

Is there any way to reproduce those crashes on my PC?

Madshi, If you would like to reproduce the error try this:

Set up a two monitor configuration with the console (Mon 1) set for 1024 x 768 @ 60Hz and the HQ monitor 1080p @~23.976hz (This is a MUST)

Set MC16 to launch Fullscreen on Mon 2 (HQ monitor)

Set MC16 to HDMI bitstream (Not sure if this is relevant standard hdmi is probably sufficient since I an not using HD audio for testing)

Play an MKV container film that is true 1920 x 1080 (size may be irrelevant but this is how I test) and set for repeat.

That should do the trick.

Please be aware that unless you run the display monitor #2 at true film refresh you will not experience the problem.  So far I have been able to run for 12 hours on a single 1080p @~23Hzmonitor without error.  I can also run Dual Monitor it seems without error if I replace my Pioneer 60 inch Kuro with a 1080p monitor that only supports 60Hz refresh. I say it seems, because I started this test early this morning and it is still running after 5 hours.

[glynor]

I will try this test for you (just as you described above).  It'll just take me a couple days because I'm incredibly busy at work right now.  I should have time later this week.  Hopefully you're right and the problem is reproducible, because that'll make it easier to track down the bug.

[Beamer]

I will try this test for you (just as you described above).  It'll just take me a couple days because I'm incredibly busy at work right now.  I should have time later this week.  Hopefully you're right and the problem is reproducible, because that'll make it easier to track down the bug.

Since MC16 runs perfectly well in all modes when madVR is disabled, I'm guessing that this might be a madVR issue, time will tell.

Further to my earlier post, after running for over 12 hours without error on a dual monitor configuration with a refresh of 60Hz I can only assume that the frame rate is key to the problem!

BTW
Have you ever exited MC16 while playing a film with madVR in exclusive mode on dual monitor configuration even with 60Hz refresh? If not, please give it a try when you get a moment!

[Beamer]

Perhaps it is too early to celebrate but it looks like release 136 has fixed the dual monitor 23.976 Hz issue.  I have just tested two passes of a 90 minute film without a crash

Congratulations to all involved and fingers crossed I am not being premature

[Beamer]

Alas my congratulations were premature

Seems that the new version of MC ships with madVR set to run in non exclusive mode, it also shows a Dell monitor ? I do not have one!

After setting madVR for exclusive mode I no longer get the grey screen of death, the system just seems to crash after a random period

So I guess its back to running at 60Hz frame rate or only running with one monitor

[Beamer]

I will try this test for you (just as you described above).  It'll just take me a couple days because I'm incredibly busy at work right now.  I should have time later this week.  Hopefully you're right and the problem is reproducible, because that'll make it easier to track down the bug.

Glynor: Did you find time to try the test?

[glynor]

Glynor: Did you find time to try the test?

Not yet.  Sorry.... Bad timing.  The last two weeks of July are my busiest weeks at work, so I've been slammed.  I'd hoped that I'd have time later last week, but I ended up being so tired that all I could do was lay on the couch with a glass of wine in my hand.

This week isn't much better, but I'll try.  If not, next week should be golden though.

[Beamer]

Not yet.  Sorry.... Bad timing.  The last two weeks of July are my busiest weeks at work, so I've been slammed.  I'd hoped that I'd have time later last week, but I ended up being so tired that all I could do was lay on the couch with a glass of wine in my hand.

This week isn't much better, but I'll try.  If not, next week should be golden though.

When you do find the time, could you please ensure you have madVR set for exclusive as the default shipping is now non-exclusive which unfortunately leaves a water mark effect at the very bottom of the screen on my system. Probably almost imperceivable on a 42" monitor but stands out on a large cinema screen.

BTW
I'm homing into the issue and now believe that problem is caused by madVR in exclusive (at least on my system) as I have been able to reproduce the anomaly with MPC-HC.  The problem is still present with the latest release of MC except my monitors simply go blank and the PC is totally dead to the world, no remote access either, which means that it is not simply the display adapter dying.

[JimH]

the PC is totally dead to the world, no remote access either, which means that it is not simply the display adapter dying.

No.  I don't think you can assume that.  If the driver takes the hardware down, the hardware is down.

[Beamer]

Since I started this thread, I guess it is appropriate that I put this issue to rest.

Despite carrying out all sorts of tests on my hardware without finding any problems, I finally decided to replace my AMD 5670 display adapter for an AMD 6670.  I wanted to upgrade in the future to achieve HDMI 1.4 compatibility and with this issue dragging on it seemed a good time to make the change.

The result is that the problem is no longer present! So I guess the morale of this experience is that the only way you can discount your display adapter is to actually replace it!

Thanks to glynor for working the issue with me.

[glynor]

That's funny because I literally drug out my 1024x768 monitor tonight to try to rig up the test after my wife goes to bed.

[BradC]

Hi

I am also experiencing this grey screen of death. I am able to Alt-tab out of the grey screen of death, but have to kill MC.
Upon the next running of MC, it partially reinstalls itself.
This reinstall screws up the video levels of the desplay requiring reset to a prior restore point or OS image.

I have an intel i5 2600, AMD 5750
Display is Sony Hw10 projector
Running ROHQ

I have tried Cat 11.7 and 11.4 both with the same problem

the problem didn't occur with build 128, only with 145 (and the previous release  - can't rememebr the number)
I have only tried bluray rips (iso format)

The crash seems to occur when skipping chapters or fast forwarding. However, I have not tried to let an entire movie play.

[Beamer]

Try running in non HQ mode or run HQ mode and disable madVR exclusive mode. Your results will help give an idea of the problem area.