[mythtv-users] mythfronend stuttering

[Raphael Pooser]

Chad wrote:

>>>Well, there's some info missing here that might help ;)
>>>
>>>What CPU, videocard, soundcard and how are all these setup (if
>>>videocard is NVidia, what drivers, and are you using xvmc...).  :)
>>>
>>>Also, on the Gentoo note, I use the SVN-ebuilds most the time (though
>>>occasionally I forget I have them and grab the latest SVN source and
>>>compile by hand :D ).
>>>
>>>Chad
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>mythtv-users mailing list
>>>mythtv-users at mythtv.org
>>>http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>What is xvmc?
>>    
>>
>
>Xvideo Motion Compensation.  In lamen terms it offloads the video to
>the graphics processing unit (GPU) from the CPU.  It's drawback is
>that it generally only does mpeg2 decoding.
>
>  
>
>>Is it really a good idea to use the trunk for something that's as
>>complete as mythtv? (I can understand using the trunk for something
>>pre-alpha.)
>>    
>>
>
>Not always no.  I think a lot of people on here suggest the Trunk
>because it's been a fair amount of time since the last stable release
>(which is a better guideline as to whether or not to use SVN/CVS or
>the official release).  However, it's not absolutely necessary, it's
>just that there are some really good code updates/upgrades/additions
>in the SVN release that may make your system play nicer than the
>latest release (currently 0.18.x).
>
>  
>
>>Here are the specs of the computers:
>>
>>The computer running mythbackend:
>>Asus K8N-E (nForce4 Ultra)
>>AMD Athlon 64 3700+ s939
>>1GB PC3200 (2x512MB)
>>nVidia GeForce 6600
>>Using onboard sound
>>Using onboard ethernet (forcedeth)
>>Gentoo i686 w/ linux-2.6.15-ck1
>>    
>>
>
>Sounds nice, also sounds like a TON of overkill in areas that don't
>need it if this is JUST a backend. :)
>
>  
>
>>My Computer:
>>Asus K8V-X (Via K8T800)
>>AMD Athlon 64 3000+ s754
>>1GB PC3200
>>nVidia GeForce 6800GT 256MB
>>M-Audio Revolution 7.1
>>Using onboard ethernet (marvel 88NE8001)
>>Gentoo i686 w/ linux 2.6.14-ck6
>>    
>>
>
>Certainly sounds like a decent enough system, as long you look into
>and use XvMC, you should be able to playback mpeg2 content without
>'stutter'.
>
>  
>
>>Switch: Dlink DGS-1005D (both connected with Cat5e, speed is around
>>250-280Mb/s)
>>_______________________________________________
>>    
>>
>
>Good Luck!
>
>Chad
>_______________________________________________
>mythtv-users mailing list
>mythtv-users at mythtv.org
>http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>
>  
>
Reuben,
Just to second most of what Chad said, except the part about updating 
your mythtv version.  There are some nice updates to the code, but most 
likely the stuttering has nothing to do with what version of myth you're 
using, and everything to do with your graphics card drivers.  Check your 
processor usage (typing "top" at the command line or however you want to 
do it) and most likely you'll see that you're near 100% usage on your 
processor while playing back video.  It'd be easiest to ssh into the 
machine to check it while video is running, because if you do it on the 
machine itself the usage will go down everytime you switch out fo the 
video. Anyway, the processor utilization depends on resolution in the 
case that you're not using xv or xvmc, and probably you're trying to 
watch 640x480 or higher resolution files.  Just make sure your graphics 
card drivers are installed correctly (make sure the module's loading and 
that X doesn't give you a message like "incorrect kernel module, no 3d 
acceleration is available."  Then make sure the option to enable xvmc is 
enabled in xorg.conf. or xf86config-4.
I had the same problem with an ATI card and xv, and had the exact same 
type of stuttering as you.  Once I got xv working there was a night and 
day difference.
I would say try and get xvmc working first, then worry about upgrading myth.
Raphael