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[LewinskiH01]

Hi.

I've been using JRiver 19 for a while now, but only for audio (audiophile setup). Today I tried hooking up a TV to the server and playing an mkv movie I have on a separate HDD (from where I usually watch movies connected to a smart TV). I can't get it to play well. Help please!!

The movie is 1080p. The server is based on Xeon E3 1265lv2 and S1200KPR mobo, with 8GB RAM, a SSD for OS and MC, while media sits on an internal HDD. I would think I have power to spare...

But movies don't play smoothly. Audio doesn't stutter, but seems like video is. If I set Options>Video>Video Mode: Red October Std I get playback with audio ok and video kind of like in slow motion, it plays for 1 minute and then aborts playback and a message pops up showing "something went bad with playback". And that's it...Been trying some alternatives, but I'm getting nowhere.

any ideas?

thank you!!

[Zhillsguy]

Hi.

I've been using JRiver 19 for a while now, but only for audio (audiophile setup). Today I tried hooking up a TV to the server and playing an mkv movie I have on a separate HDD (from where I usually watch movies connected to a smart TV). I can't get it to play well. Help please!!

The movie is 1080p. The server is based on Xeon E3 1265lv2 and S1200KPR mobo, with 8GB RAM, a SSD for OS and MC, while media sits on an internal HDD. I would think I have power to spare...

But movies don't play smoothly. Audio doesn't stutter, but seems like video is. If I set Options>Video>Video Mode: Red October Std I get playback with audio ok and video kind of like in slow motion, it plays for 1 minute and then aborts playback and a message pops up showing "something went bad with playback". And that's it...Been trying some alternatives, but I'm getting nowhere.

any ideas?

thank you!!

Do you have a video card installed or running onboard video? That CPU is definitely a powerhouse, but a dedicated video card is probably required for any quality video playback.

[LewinskiH01]

Hey, thanks! No video card. Just running from the onboard capability. I realize I would need an aftermarket card for optimum results...but getting just acceptable results would do for now! A better card would be a next step. But does the setup work at all?  ?

any particular settings I should have for it?

[RoderickGI]

The processor may be powerful, but it only has an Intel® HD Graphics 2500 iGPU. That is going to struggle with 1080p playback.

I use an Intel i5-3750K with an Intel® HD Graphics 4000 iGPU, which can play video pretty well using Red October Std, but struggles with ROHQ.

Search the forums for discussion of Intel iGPU performance. I don't think you will find many people using a HD2500 iGPU successfully.

[fitbrit]

The processor may be powerful, but it only has an Intel® HD Graphics 2500 iGPU. That is going to struggle with 1080p playback.

I use an Intel i5-3750K with an Intel® HD Graphics 4000 iGPU, which can play video pretty well using Red October Std, but struggles with ROHQ.

Search the forums for discussion of Intel iGPU performance. I don't think you will find many people using a HD2500 iGPU successfully.

I disagree. The HD2500 should be just fine with ROStd. In fact, my i3 530 (first gen core 13) can do that fine too. OP: Is hardware acceleration on?

[glynor]

I disagree. The HD2500 should be just fine with ROStd. In fact, my i3 530 (first gen core 13) can do that fine too. OP: Is hardware acceleration on?

+1

Something is borked on that system.

One question...

The server is based on Xeon E3 1265lv2 and S1200KPR mobo

Is it running a Server OS?  Because Windows Server is not simple to get configured for realtime multimedia playback.

To start with, you have to have Desktop Experience enabled.  However, that may not be enough.  The drivers aren't optimized for it, and there are quite a few fiddly bits around the edges.  It is unsupported territory.  I suspect you might be able to get it to work with a bit of elbow grease, but it is certainly not "out of the box", and you're largely going to be on your own.

That's what you live with if you try to use Windows Sever as a workstation.  Better be ready to be a constant IT diagnostician.

If that isn't the case... Then we'll need more detail.  Please review and provide further details including a log package and what steps you've taken to eliminate the basic common causes:
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_Guide

I'd also review all of your drivers (especially checking dxdiag for trouble), and check your disks and OS for trouble before proceeding.

[RoderickGI]

I disagree. The HD2500 should be just fine with ROStd. In fact, my i3 530 (first gen core 13) can do that fine too. OP: Is hardware acceleration on?

Excellent. Then I shall watch with interest as you and Glynor solve LewinskiH01's issues.

I've read a lot of threads on the topic and my conclusion was that on balance a HD4000 was required to really use RO Std and a range of video formats, and get reasonable results, without lots of tweaking. I did run ROHQ for a while but got too much stuttering, particularly on Blu-rays from memory. Also note that the OP is playing MKV files, which I find tax the Intel iGPU a bit more.

But if you guys can solve LewinskiH01's issues, I can probably improve video performance on my system with the solutions you come up with.

[glynor]

and check your disks and OS for trouble before proceeding.

I should explain why I mentioned this...  One possibility that could explain that kind of behavior is if the disk is too slow, or too messed up, to serve the video file fast enough.  This would be particularly true if the file has a high bitrate.

A good test, since you have a SSD as the system drive, would be to copy a video file over there and try again.  If the problems vanish, then you know it is disk performance in some way that is causing it.

External disks (particularly older USB2 ones) may not be fast enough to provide adequate performance for video playback.  It IS possible (I do this fairly regularly with USB2 disks), but you're always going to be running "near the edge".  There are also other things that can degrade USB performance, including other devices attached to the same bus (which can slow down all devices connected to the same root hub), driver issues, or just if the volume is quite full (or fragmented).

For the record, ROST should support video playback on even very low-end hardware.  Some high-quality sources may require a more powerful machine, and it is impossible to say what might be wrong without further details on this particular source.  But, I think an Ivy at 2.5Ghz can almost certainly handle "normal" 1080p sources in 1080p.

I have a Core2Duo system here that can handle 25mbit H264 1080p videos all day long without trouble in ROST.  It can't play them at all in ROHQ, of course, but unless it is something like a raw BluRay rip at 50mbps then I'm skeptical that it is a general performance limit of that machine.

But... Again, all of this assumes you aren't using Windows Server.  If not, then I'd guess that it is likely to be covered in the articles I linked above (anti-virus interference, disk, drivers, or DirectX trouble).

[LewinskiH01]

Guys, thanks a lot for the thoughts!

I'll try and answer all the questions:

• The hard drive with the media is an internal WD Green Caviar 1TB connected thru SATA2.
• The OS and JRiver drive is an internal SSD. Crucial V4.
• The OS is indeed Windows Server 2012 R2. That might be it.
• I had hyperthreading disabled on the BIOS initially (for sound quality), but later enabled it just to make sure, and the problem persisted.

If enabling the OS to do video is cumbersome or compromises sound quality, I think that will be a dead end. The server is optimized for audio, which is my primary purpose. I might need to use a regular laptop connected to the DAC and screen and call it a day...not as elegant a solution, but simpler and effective...oh...and without JRiver.

[glynor]

Configuring and managing Windows Server securely is a complex task not well suited to a discussion here.  I'll add that I'd encourage you to reconsider your design goals for the system.  Not everything you read on the Internet is well considered or true.  It is extremely likely that you are achieving essentially the exact opposite of your goals right now, and doing so at substantial risk and cost.

If you enable the Desktop Experience in Windows Server, you may have some better luck.  Aside from that, as I said, you're pretty much on your own.  However...

I might need to use a regular laptop connected to the DAC and screen and call it a day...not as elegant a solution, but simpler and effective...oh...and without JRiver.

That is certainly a possibility, though I don't understand why you wouldn't be able to use MC for this.  It seems like MC would be ideal for that kind of setup, since you could run MC on the laptop and connect to the server and browse everything in one Library.

[fitbrit]

Excellent. Then I shall watch with interest as you and Glynor solve LewinskiH01's issues.

I've read a lot of threads on the topic and my conclusion was that on balance a HD4000 was required to really use RO Std and a range of video formats, and get reasonable results, without lots of tweaking. I did run ROHQ for a while but got too much stuttering, particularly on Blu-rays from memory. Also note that the OP is playing MKV files, which I find tax the Intel iGPU a bit more.

But if you guys can solve LewinskiH01's issues, I can probably improve video performance on my system with the solutions you come up with.

Your issues might be different from the OP's. Would you care to start a new thread with some details of exactly what was wrong? We could take a look. BTW, mkv files per se are no more difficult to play than any other - it really depends on the audio and video codecs contained within the files, eg. AC3 and h264.
Any i-core series C/GPU can handle these files, and most of the celerons released in the same time frame too. We should be able to get you up and running, depending on how your system is configured, and how much you're willing/able to change.

[sillibil]

Hi, you got 8Gb Ram, did you give your Internal GPU enough Ram.
That should be an option in your BIOS setup, maybe this will help

[glynor]

Hi, you got 8Gb Ram, did you give your Internal GPU enough Ram.
That should be an option in your BIOS setup, maybe this will help

I'm about 98% sure his issue is that he has a bunch of services disabled on Windows Server, and doesn't have the Desktop Experience enabled.

There is a company out there selling some kind of so-called "audiophile configuration" tool for Windows Server that disables a whole bunch of stuff and essentially "breaks Windows" (for an ungodly amount of money as well).  It is ill-advised to set it up this way unless you are a Windows Server administrator with years of experience (of course, if that were the case, you wouldn't need their tool that simply disables things you could disable yourself in Services.msc and the Server Administration tool).

At the very least, it is absolutely unsupported by anyone other than that company.

[RoderickGI]

Your issues might be different from the OP's. Would you care to start a new thread with some details of exactly what was wrong?

Ill take you up on that offer Fitbrit, but not just at the moment. I am running RO Std now and getting reasonable results. I ran ROHQ previously and saw some issues, but didn't document them. I need to do that before asking for assistance with improvements. Or I will just get myself a decent discrete graphics card. I'm looking at that option again with some interest, as the HD4000 is at its limits with ROHQ. See http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=90529.0

I really should try to get the best out of the HD4000 first though... Time is the enemy.

[BryanC]

I really should try to get the best out of the HD4000 first though... Time is the enemy.

Just a preview of what you might be getting yourself into...

http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=80253.0

[RoderickGI]

Yes I know Bryan. I have read (well, scanned) that thread previously. Hence my reluctance to get started. Although to be honest I would prefer to stick to the controls that MC supplies, rather than really getting my feet wet and start tweaking madVR. 

As Jim said, that is the point of Red October.

[LewinskiH01]

I'm about 98% sure his issue is that he has a bunch of services disabled on Windows Server, and doesn't have the Desktop Experience enabled.  

How do I check if Desktop Experience is enabled? A search on the help function did not return any hits.