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[LetsGetSilly]

When watching downloaded episodes of Downton Abbey I get a complete black screen approximately every 3 seconds I allow the video to continue.

This happened after I received a very quick message that indicated (I think) something along the lines of "cannot play video at this rate...need to adjust to xxx...". It was brief because I quickly hit the "ok" button.

Ever since then, with every single video file, there has been a black screen every 3 seconds in every video file I have.

I am a new user to MC 18 and have been trying before buying. I've completely uninstalled, updated video drivers, done everything I can think of, but this problem persists after a clean install. I've turned on and off the "auto adjust video" rates in the options menu. I've searched through every option that I could find, minus the specific LAV and MadVR filter settings.

Can anyone suggest what to do? I don't know what I should be looking for. But, this behavior is unacceptable.

[JimH]

In video settings, choose Red October Std.  If that works, try RO HQ, but that takes a better machine.

[glynor]

Can anyone suggest what to do? I don't know what I should be looking for. But, this behavior is unacceptable.

Clearly.  Something has gone wrong, as that's not at all normal (or acceptable).

Can you describe your settings and setup a bit more?

What CPU?
What GPU?
What OS?

And, most importantly, what settings in MC (and, yes, ROHQ or ROST, as Jim mentioned)?  Does it happen with both?

That sounds like a Refresh Rate problem, maybe trying to play at too high (or low) of a framerate or something?

[LetsGetSilly]

Hi there,

I've uploaded some screenshots to give an overview of my Windows 7 x64 configuration. They are located here:

http://imgur.com/a/2TwC9

Please let me know if you need any more information.

I have not had any change in behavior from adjusting to Red October High Quality or Standard.

I want to re-emphasize that the software was performing admirably until I received this "pop up" message when attempting to launch a particular episode. And, also, I don't know for certain what that message said, but after I accepted the suggestion from the pop up, this error started occurring.

I can watch the same episode(s) in MPC-HC or VLC without issue.

Thanks for your help!

[glynor]

Thanks.

Can you also take one of the Audio settings under Options, and the Output Format settings of the DSP Studio?

FYI... That system is probably pretty "iffy" for running ROHQ.  I'm not sure how much extra legroom the GT 430 will give you (someone else with more low-end Nvidia experience than me would have to comment), but the CPU certainly isn't up to it itself (not that it is a bad CPU at all, ROHQ is just pretty high-end).

Nothing in the Options > Video screenshot you took looks out of place, though, so I think the problem must lie elsewhere.  Probably audio.

So, Options > Audio, and DSP > Output Format.  If you have any custom settings under Options > Audio > Output Mode Settings, that would be good to explain too, as well as any other complex DSP settings.

[LetsGetSilly]

Thanks for the quick replies.

I suspected from the beginning that ROHQ wouldn't be an option until I get an upgrade. That may happen down the road, but for now I'm happy just using the LAV filters (which, is what I assume is happening behind the scenes).

I've updated the imgur album to include my audio settings. I am pretty helpless when it comes to understanding these settings. My only intention is to bitstream out to my denon receiver via HDMI. I've been able to verify that the receiver is receiving the digital surround sound, but that's about as far as I can tell.

http://imgur.com/a/2TwC9 (scroll to the bottom for the new audio images)

[glynor]

Thanks for the quick replies.

I suspected from the beginning that ROHQ wouldn't be an option until I get an upgrade. That may happen down the road, but for now I'm happy just using the LAV filters (which, is what I assume is happening behind the scenes).

I've updated the imgur album to include my audio settings. I am pretty helpless when it comes to understanding these settings. My only intention is to bitstream out to my denon receiver via HDMI. I've been able to verify that the receiver is receiving the digital surround sound, but that's about as far as I can tell.

http://imgur.com/a/2TwC9 (scroll to the bottom for the new audio images)

Try changing WASAPI under Options > Audio > Output Mode to WASAPI Event Style.  This is generally preferable and more stable for most hardware than "vanilla" WASAPI.

[LetsGetSilly]

I will give it a shot tonight when I am at home.

Thanks for your replies, I appreciate the support. I am sincerely hopeful that I find your product worthy of buying at the end of my trial.

[glynor]

I will give it a shot tonight when I am at home.

Thanks for your replies, I appreciate the support. I am sincerely hopeful that I find your product worthy of buying at the end of my trial.

No problem.

Though, just FYI... I don't work for JRiver.  Just another user like you.  I do hope you stick with it, though, as it is easily the most flexible and powerful media system out there right now (especially if you care about quality).  And support around here is usually pretty good if you explain your problem well and provide the things asked for.  If you ever post something and it gets no response in a couple days, just bump the thread (and maybe think about how to rephrase it, because people just might not "get it").

[LetsGetSilly]

Oh, ok. I assumed you were part of support. Thanks for being a generous contributor to the forums.

For me, video quality is of the utmost importance. That's what I'm looking for in JRiver as well. I don't understand everything that needs to go into the LAV or madVR filters in order to make them work, but I can definitely notice a difference when they are not working.

Assuming your suggestion solves my issue at home, I did have one more thing that was bothering me. I was going to post a new thread about it, but considering I have your ear (which is most generous of you) I'll post a quick note about it here.

So far the video quality has been good, but it is much darker than my MPC-HC install that comes along with the K-Lite Codec pack. In scenes of The Dark Knight Rises, it's difficult to find any detail in the darker areas when using JRiver Media Center.

I assume that there are two paths to resolve this: dig into the depths of the filters themselves (which is daunting) or adjust my television using something like AVSForum's AVS calibration software using JRiver. Have you had any experience with this type of scenario? What would you suggest?

[JimH]

Is it this problem?

[glynor]

Is it this problem?

Yep, probably related.

We need Inflatable or jmone to comment.  There IS an issue with Nvidia hardware and proper IRE levels causing this, aside from needing to color-balance your set, but I don't know the details.  They do.  Read the thread Jim posted (which may or may not be that helpful), and maybe this one too:

http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=74997.0

[glynor]

Assuming your suggestion solves my issue at home

If not, please let us know.  Everything else in your settings looks "normal" so we should figure it out.

The only other thing I can think of is... Did you ever get in there and mess with any of the MadVR settings manually?  Anything you change in LAV gets automatically "reverted" when you restart Playback using Red October.  However, MadVR does not entirely reset, and there are some things you can change in those settings directly.  If you never opened the MadVR settings UI up and played with stuff while in ROHQ, though, it shouldn't have happened (even if you messed around in other applications, the MC "install" of both LAV and MadVR is separate from anything else on the system).

I don't understand everything that needs to go into the LAV or madVR filters in order to make them work, but I can definitely notice a difference when they are not working.

That's, honestly, exactly the point of ROHQ and ROST.  The system was designed to "make it easy" to get good results without fiddling so much.

The JRiver folks work directly with both nevcairiel (LAV) and madshi (madvr) to integrate those filters directly (and they get the inside-scoop on the "best" settings directly from the "horse's mouth" quite often).  Also, many of us beta team members who were well experienced with "doing it manually" have contributed a lot to selecting proper settings for those modes.  Particularly jmone, who was really helpful in collecting info on these systems in the early days.

[LetsGetSilly]

Just wanted to give a heads up that I haven't been able to resolve this issue. Adjusting the audio output type did not affect anything.

I'm not sure what I should be troubleshooting next. I've tried switching ROHQ to ROST, changed all the audio options. Nothing has had an effect. The random black screens persist.

It's important to note that this isn't on all episodes of television, but it does seem to occur, seemingly randomly, between different series. It's really bumming me out.

Any other suggestions on what to adjust for this? I did update to the latest (beta) version. Thanks in advance!

[JimH]

Did you take a look at this thread?
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=77540.0

I don't believe this is an MC problem.

[glynor]

It's important to note that this isn't on all episodes of television, but it does seem to occur, seemingly randomly, between different series. It's really bumming me out.

Any other suggestions on what to adjust for this? I did update to the latest (beta) version. Thanks in advance!

Can you describe in more detail exactly what you're seeing?  Do you mean that the video playback itself is "strobing" between black and working?

I'm, honestly, with Jim.  I can't imagine what this could be that would be from within MC itself.  Perhaps a video driver problem?  Cabling?  This is not something I've ever seen reported before...

[LetsGetSilly]

I'll do my best to describe this issue.

Let's say I load up an episode of Parks and Rec, or of Downton Abbey. About 80% of my episodes work fine, but then one comes along that behaves as follows:

Video starts; immediate full screen black (audio continues). Black lasts for about 1 full second. Then video returns, approximately 1-3 full seconds, then there is black, same as described before.

It's interesting that you suspect cabling problems, but then I would expect to experience the same type of behavior when playing with VLC, MPC-HC, or any other app at least some of the time.

I did adjust the registry to display the full 256 colors, as described. Other than that, I have the video drivers updated, and the Nvidia settings all point defer to the playing software. I'm contemplating doing a complete reinstall of windows, but I'm not sure that will do anything, as my current install is only a few months old.

[glynor]

Are the files where this happens, specific?

In other words, is it reproducible with specific files over and over, and the ones that are fine, are always fine?

Also, where did these files come from?

[jmone]

The black level posts are different (more about issues on colour space and format issues).  I'm on the road for the next two weeks with only an Andriod Tablet so it is hard to help but.... these 3 sec black screens are very odd, some ideas/comments:
- RO Std is the most suitable with this config
- Try toggling the HW Accelleration in the Video Settings
- Try turning off bitstreaming (eg decode the Audio)
- What is the Refresh Rate of the Monitor
- Does it happen with all video or just some (and is there a pattern on video / audio format or type)?

[Jong]

This sounds like LGS's screen resyncing to a new refresh rate. Just a thought, but in build 125 Matt changed Videoclock so it repeatedly checks for a change in frame rate during playback. It is possible that badly encoded videos might be switching between progressive 24fps and interlaced 30fps repeatedly, or at least tricking MC into thinking they do.

LGS, do you have your video display settings set to automatically change the display's refresh rate? if so, try disabling it.

Also make sure you do not have any display modes setup in MadVR's settings, because it is also possible MadVR might be causing refresh rate switching.

[glynor]

This sounds like LGS's screen resyncing to a new refresh rate. Just a thought, but in build 125 Matt changed Videoclock so it repeatedly checks for a change in frame rate during playback. It is possible that badly encoded videos might be switching between progressive 24fps and interlaced 30fps repeatedly, or at least tricking MC into thinking they do.

Good thinking!  It is easy enough to see if this change is causing it without messing with the TV at all.

Download and install this build:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=77666.0

See if it goes away.  If so, then we might have a winner.