hey all,
I am about to do some extended troubleshooting of an issue so i thought i would throw up a post in the event anyone encountered this before.
I ripped about 10 DVD music concerts to my server hard drive using DVDShrink. That program essentially extracted the .VOB files and I used no compression. I set up my DVDs via the CQC Repository, properly linked to the .VOB files.
Upon activating the DVD on my Interface Viewer, the .VOB streams to my bedroom PC and then, in turn, to my bedroom TV using the TheaterTek player.
Everything works, looks and sounds great - BUT - after about 10 minutes the video and audio simply freezes. Its as if the DVD was paused - but its not paused. Its frozen. So, I need to stop the DVD, and then play again, and it works for another 10 minutes or so (time varies between 2 minutes to 10 minutes).
This can be a multitude of things and it is not CQC related. But the solutions are wide ranging.... from video card hardware... to TheaterTek settings.... to network streaming performance, etc.
I so far have researched this on the Theatertek forums and have about 14 things to try. But if anyone had this problem before, and has a suggested fix, i am all ears as I travel down this troubleshooting path.
Adam
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I had a similar problem with one of my DVDs I ripped (can't remember which one). I am using ZP 4.5, but I know it's not a CQC problem because when I tried to play the .VOB directly from ZP, it also froze. I also tried TheaterTek with the same result. I played it from WinDVD and it worked OK. I resolved it by just putting the DVD in my changer...not the right answer, but a quick one.
I should add this happens on all of the DVDs so far - it is not disc specific.
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what version of TT are you using? and do you have it set up for TCP control?
I had the same problem with TT ver 2.4.?? whenever I enabled TCP control... it was a real PITA...
NOTE: As one wise professional something once stated, I am ignorant & childish, with a mindset comparable to 9/11 troofers and wackjob conspiracy theorists. so don't take anything I say as advice...
OK. I have the latest version of TT and yes its setup for IP control and that part works flawlessly with CQC.
I may... I stress 'MAY' have fixed the problem. Under the Advanced tab of the Video settings on the TT configuration settings, the "use FullScreen Mode" checkbox was not selected. Mind you, TT was playing full screen.... but this box was not selected.
From the TT setup FAQ:
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What's FullScreen mode?
FullScreen mode is an option that is available on the Advanced Video button. This works in tandem with VMR9 and requires XP SP2 to function. What does it do? When this option is checked and you've selected VMR9 as your preferred renderer, TheaterTek effectively takes over the video card and places it into what is known as 'fullscreen exclusive' mode. This means that no other applications or windows can appear on top of the playing video. The advantage of doing this is that TheaterTek takes over part of the rendering process and allows effects such as fade in/fade out graphics and improved video scaling, leading to a better picture. By taking control of the video card, the smoothness of playback can also be improved, particularly with cards that 'tear' the video at certain resolutions.
What's the disadvantage? The right-click context menu is disabled when this mode is used, so if you live and die by that functionality you will need to use the alternative methods to access the same functionality. Fortunately, virtually all the capability that could be accessed by the context menu is now available through the GUI. If you also like to toggle between different applications while watching a movie, this mode isn't for you. Clicking on a second monitor window, or alt-tabbing while the video is playing will cause it to minimize to the task bar. Clicking on the minimized TheaterTek icon in the taskbar will restore the video, but in fairness, this mode is intended to provide the highest quality playback experience and not for casual, interrupted movie watching.
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So, I checked this box and restarted TT. On both DVD's that exhibited the problem, i made it to the end of the third song on each of the DVD concerts. Before that box was selected, I got the freeze during the second song each time on each DVD.
I will need to let it ride with the new setting for a while to see if its fixed or just intermittantly working. I have 14 things on my list to try - this was the first. I am NEVER that lucky so well see!
p.s. Just so you know how COOL this works with CQC, assuming I fix the playback issue, when I press a DVD image on my Interface Viewer, the following happens:
1. The receiver in my bedroom turns on, as does the display, the display is automatically set to the PC input, and the receiver is set to the AUX input for digital sound from the PC.
2. TheaterTek is started automatically in fullscreen mode via the App Control Driver.
3. The DVD begins to play in fullscreen mode.
4. When I press exit when I am done, I kill TT via the IP interface (thus restoring my PC to its desktop), and CQC shuts down the monitor and stereo.
The inginuity of the above was using the App Control driver to start TT when its not running.
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Adam are you displaying TT on your primary monitor or the secondary monitor? I've spent LOTS of frustrating hours trying to get the ability to watch movies on the secondary monitor using TT.
Keith
fyi the 'Full Screen mode' fix did not work. I got the freeze again. I am now on to the "use overlay instead' renderer test and so far so good. But well see....
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just another, probably pointless/worthless thought... are you just playing the .vob? or are you really playing the video_ts.ifo???
if you are just playing the .vob, then maybe it 'freezes' when that .vob is finished playing, I don't think it jumps to the next automatically or anything... so if you are going to play just the .vob's you will need to build up a playlist of all the .vob's for that movie/video/porn/etc...
NOTE: As one wise professional something once stated, I am ignorant & childish, with a mindset comparable to 9/11 troofers and wackjob conspiracy theorists. so don't take anything I say as advice...
nah i am playing the video_ts.ifo but that was a good thought. Hopefully using overlay rendering fixes it....need to test more. I would hate to think its a network streaming issue that goes to the core of the automation project.
