I'm currently having serious issues with stuttering playback of Live TV in Media Center under Windows 7 64-bit. The primary issue appears to be related to a 29/59 frame rate issue (bug) with some HD content (HBO and Cinemax).
Native Windows 7 users with similar or lesser Intel systems (i3s with Intel HD2000s) do not exhibit this problem.
Configuration:
2011 Mac Mini Server i7 2.0GHz Quad core
Integrated Intel HD 3000 Graphics
16GB RAM (8GB x 2)
240GB OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPs (120GB OSX Lion 10.7.1 / 120GB Windows 7 x64)
750GB 7200RPM WD Scorpio Black (formatted in NTFS 64k blocks, Recorded TV)
HDHomeRun Prime 3CC CableCARD Tunner (Direct Connect to PC)
Shark007 Codec Pack
*All software and drivers are up to date from Bootcamp 4.0, Microsoft, and Manufacturer direct.
**IDE Mode, Write Caching: Disabled (Current Setting), Drive tested with BlackMagic Diskspeed, and memory tested with Rember.
***Disabled all settings under Media > Image Enhancements (should fix 29/59 issue according to Windows 7 forums) and set to Max Performance
****Disabled Network Throttling and set to EEE(Energy Savings) Max Performance
I've also set Microsoft Security Essentials exceptions for .WTV and for the entire D: drive. The Microsoft Firewall is off for the direct Gigabit connection to the HDHomeRun Prime. Indexing is off on all drives.
Yesterday I moved the recording drive to C: (OCZ SSD) and the stutter was far less. Then I disabled Write Caching and it was essentially gone except the rare appearance of a dropped frame every so often. Definitely acceptable. So I moved the recording drive back to D: (WD HDD) and disabled Write Caching and it still worked.
This morning after returning from a cold boot the stutter issue is back in a bad way. Far worse than ever. I checked all the changes made yesterday and found Write Caching was enabled again
I disabled Write Caching and went through all other changes to re-apply. However, the stutter is still there and its magnified.
The only thing I can think of is I had optimize Media Center checked and it ran over night and changed something.
Any suggestions or next steps are appreciated. I'm at the end of my rope here.
Native Windows 7 users with similar or lesser Intel systems (i3s with Intel HD2000s) do not exhibit this problem.
Configuration:
2011 Mac Mini Server i7 2.0GHz Quad core
Integrated Intel HD 3000 Graphics
16GB RAM (8GB x 2)
240GB OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPs (120GB OSX Lion 10.7.1 / 120GB Windows 7 x64)
750GB 7200RPM WD Scorpio Black (formatted in NTFS 64k blocks, Recorded TV)
HDHomeRun Prime 3CC CableCARD Tunner (Direct Connect to PC)
Shark007 Codec Pack
*All software and drivers are up to date from Bootcamp 4.0, Microsoft, and Manufacturer direct.
**IDE Mode, Write Caching: Disabled (Current Setting), Drive tested with BlackMagic Diskspeed, and memory tested with Rember.
***Disabled all settings under Media > Image Enhancements (should fix 29/59 issue according to Windows 7 forums) and set to Max Performance
****Disabled Network Throttling and set to EEE(Energy Savings) Max Performance
I've also set Microsoft Security Essentials exceptions for .WTV and for the entire D: drive. The Microsoft Firewall is off for the direct Gigabit connection to the HDHomeRun Prime. Indexing is off on all drives.
Yesterday I moved the recording drive to C: (OCZ SSD) and the stutter was far less. Then I disabled Write Caching and it was essentially gone except the rare appearance of a dropped frame every so often. Definitely acceptable. So I moved the recording drive back to D: (WD HDD) and disabled Write Caching and it still worked.
This morning after returning from a cold boot the stutter issue is back in a bad way. Far worse than ever. I checked all the changes made yesterday and found Write Caching was enabled again
I disabled Write Caching and went through all other changes to re-apply. However, the stutter is still there and its magnified.
The only thing I can think of is I had optimize Media Center checked and it ran over night and changed something.
Any suggestions or next steps are appreciated. I'm at the end of my rope here.