2014-04-24, 16:27
I am having a problem with streaming HD TV to my HTPC running XBMC. The picture stutters, particularly with fast moving programmes like football matches (specifically Match of the Day on BBC1 HD in the UK). The issue is the same whether watching live or recorded programmes. More sedate programmes or SD are fine and quality of movies stored on media server is excellent, so it seems to be just an issue streaming HD TV.
Setup is as follows:
Media server running Ubuntu 12.04 with TBS 6280 Freeview (ie terrestrial not satellite) tuner card running latest Linux driver. MS hardware is ASUS M5A78L mobo (with AMD 760G / AMD SB710 chipset) and an AMD FX4-4300 processor. Tuner card backend is Tvheadend 3.4.27.
XBMC running on NUC Celeron 847 (4GB RAM and 30GB mSATA SSD). OS is OpenELEC 4.0 Beta 6 (3.95.6) running Gotham Beta 4 (the problem was worse with OpenELEC 3.0/Frodo so there is some improvement in latest release but still not there).
TV is a Panasonic TH-37PX80B which is a good 5 years old or so and only ‘HD ready’ so video output set to 50Hz/720p. Interlacing is set to Auto (with interlacing set to off the picture is covered in horizontal lines).
I have tried changing all the video settings I can find both in XBMC (different interlacing algorithms, software and hardware acceleration (VDPAU and VAAPI – if anything software acceleration is a little better) but I still can’t get a completely smooth picture) and in the NUC BIOS but while some settings clearly make it worse I cannot find anything to solve the problem. Interestingly if I swap in my Raspberry Pi running OpenELEC 3.0/Frodo there is no stutter. This points to the NUC and I wondered if I should have got a beefier model (i.e. i3) but everything I find tells me the Celeron 847 should be able to stream HD OK and if the RPi can do it then surely the NUC can.
So I’m not sure if I’m missing a setting in XBMC, the NUC or TVheadend (although can’t see anything I can tweak there), or indeed if the NUC Celeron is up to it after all. Any advice on what I can do would be appreciated.
Setup is as follows:
Media server running Ubuntu 12.04 with TBS 6280 Freeview (ie terrestrial not satellite) tuner card running latest Linux driver. MS hardware is ASUS M5A78L mobo (with AMD 760G / AMD SB710 chipset) and an AMD FX4-4300 processor. Tuner card backend is Tvheadend 3.4.27.
XBMC running on NUC Celeron 847 (4GB RAM and 30GB mSATA SSD). OS is OpenELEC 4.0 Beta 6 (3.95.6) running Gotham Beta 4 (the problem was worse with OpenELEC 3.0/Frodo so there is some improvement in latest release but still not there).
TV is a Panasonic TH-37PX80B which is a good 5 years old or so and only ‘HD ready’ so video output set to 50Hz/720p. Interlacing is set to Auto (with interlacing set to off the picture is covered in horizontal lines).
I have tried changing all the video settings I can find both in XBMC (different interlacing algorithms, software and hardware acceleration (VDPAU and VAAPI – if anything software acceleration is a little better) but I still can’t get a completely smooth picture) and in the NUC BIOS but while some settings clearly make it worse I cannot find anything to solve the problem. Interestingly if I swap in my Raspberry Pi running OpenELEC 3.0/Frodo there is no stutter. This points to the NUC and I wondered if I should have got a beefier model (i.e. i3) but everything I find tells me the Celeron 847 should be able to stream HD OK and if the RPi can do it then surely the NUC can.
So I’m not sure if I’m missing a setting in XBMC, the NUC or TVheadend (although can’t see anything I can tweak there), or indeed if the NUC Celeron is up to it after all. Any advice on what I can do would be appreciated.
