Tivo stutters Rev3 HD content

[sandlapper]

Hi all,

A little background info first. I've use Tivo Desktop Plus to transfer Rev3 HD content downloaded via iTunes to my TivoHD for at least a year now. It's always worked flawlessly.

Fast forward to a week or so ago. Every Rev3 program I try to watch that was downloaded in this manner(not via Tivo's own downloads) has started skipping and stuttering once it reaches around the 6 minute mark. The video becomes choppy and the audio starts stuttering. If I fast forward it a bit the video will be frozen but the audio will be playing.

Any idea what could be causing this and what I can do to fix it? I find it odd that it does this on every video at around the 6 minute mark. It plays perfectly fine up until then.

PLEASE HELP!!!!

[bulkhedd]

Yes, I am having the exact same problem. I use iTunes to subscribe to the shows but I use TiVo Desktop to automatically transfer them to the TiVo.
The shows have been stopping/stuttering at the 6-7 minute mark recently.

[pmm217]

I use Tivo Desktop 2.7 and like you guys Rev3 HD content has xfer'd flawlessly for a year to my TiVo until last week when it started to stop/stutter.

[chuckles]

Thanks for the report. We're looking into the issue.

-chuckles-

[chuckles]

Could someone please test this file (http://bitcast-a.bitgravity.com/revision3/chuck/tivo-test.mp4) and let us know if the problem is still there?

Thanks.

-chuckles-

[sandlapper]

Downloading now Chuckles, I'll report back once every thing is transferred.

[pmm217]

Worked perfect for me, whatever you did seems to have done the trick.

[bulkhedd]

I am downloading the test file now. I just checked today's Diggnation and it IS having the problem.
I really appreciate you guys responding so quickly and helping us out!

[chuckles]

I am downloading the test file now. I just checked today's Diggnation and it IS having the problem.
I really appreciate you guys responding so quickly and helping us out!

Appreciate your help with the testing. You'll be happy to know that the file you're downloading now is this week's Diggnation. :)

-chuckles-

[chuckles]

Worked perfect for me, whatever you did seems to have done the trick.

Could you please also try this file (http://bitcast-a.v1.sjc1.bitgravity.com/revision3/chuck/tivo-test-isma.mp4) for me? I really really hope this file also works. If it works, then we might have a working solution. If this file does not work, it is back to the drawing boards..

[Please Quote When Replying With Results for this file]

-chuckles-

[bulkhedd]

I just passed the 10 minute mark on the first test file and it's playing great. I'll try the second one.

[bulkhedd]

Chuckles, that second test file is stuttering for me exactly like the original Diggnation did.

[chuckles]

Chuckles, that second test file is stuttering for me exactly like the original Diggnation did.

Doh!! I know exactly what is causing the problem, but I cannot to do away with it because it fixes something for the PS3. ARG!!!! Back to the drawing board.

-chuckles-

[bulkhedd]

I kind of wondered if it had something to do with the fix you did last week for the PS3 because that's when it started.

[chuckles]

bmwt is able to view diggnation #199 without any issues via Tivo DVR. Do you guys have the latest version of QuickTime installed?

-chuckles-

[bulkhedd]

I have Quicktime version 7.6 on my machine. I wonder is bmwt using TiVo Desktop Plus to transfer or is he using the TiVo season pass to subscribe to it? This way doesn't seem to give me HD quality.
Also, if he's using TiVo Desktop, which version?

[sandlapper]

Yep, the first file worked for me, I haven't tried the second.

To answer a later question, I'm using Tivo Desktop Plus to transfer to the Tivo so that I can get the HD quality, which the regular Tivo download won't provide.

As for quicktime, I guess I can check to see if I have the latest, but I gotta run to work for now. I'll check in this evening to see if there's any more updates.

[bmwt]

wow- what an annoying software stack. Well, the tranfers that did work (using the tivo desktop plus and a folder) worked fine (both the published hd.mp4 and the test one chuck made)- up thru at least the 15 minute mark. (past that failed, but that was a network issue between my machine and the tivo. sheesh- it's a wired switch ppl, this isnt rocket science)

It looks like tivo desktop uses quicktime to do the actual conversions, so i suspect it's *very* dependent on the version of quicktime installed, as well as the tivo desktop version installed. (as the tivo software likely has a codec profile for quicktime). In my case i'm using QT 7.6 (1292) and tivo desktop 2.7. My tivo (hd) is also at the very latest and greatest (the version with hd search).

We'll play with settings a bit more, see if we cant find a sweet spot that works for everyone, and try to post more test versions here.

[chuckles]

Hi all,

Please test this file (http://bitcast-a.v1.sjc1.bitgravity.com/revision3/chuck/tivo-test-ocrisma.mp4) and let us know if it works better for you. bmwt was able to play it. (Please quote when replying so we know which file)

-chuckles-

[chuckles]

Are you guys having problems with the TiVoHD or the TiVo Series 3 DVR's?

-chuckles-

[bulkhedd]

I am having the stuttering problems with this file as well (tivo-test-ocrisma). It started at around the 6 minute part. It picked up a bit later and started playing fine but then around 8 minutes in it started stuttering again.

I don't know what is different with your setup, bmwt, but it seems to be similar to mine:

Windows Vista
Quicktime 7.6
TiVo Desktop 2.7
TiVoHD Software version 11.0c-01-2-652

So far the only file that has worked for me was the firs test file you posted (tivo-test.mp4)

[bulkhedd]

Hi all,

Please test this file (http://bitcast-a.v1.sjc1.bitgravity.com/revision3/chuck/tivo-test-ocrisma.mp4) and let us know if it works better for you. bmwt was able to play it. (Please quote when replying so we know which file)

-chuckles-

Oops, forgot to quote. I was NOT able to play this file properly. It stuttered for me.

[chuckles]

Oops, forgot to quote. I was NOT able to play this file properly. It stuttered for me.

D'oh!! Is your DVR the TiVoHD or TiVo Series 3?

-chuckles-

[bulkhedd]

D'oh!! Is your DVR the TiVoHD or TiVo Series 3?

-chuckles-

It's a TiVoHD, which I'm pretty sure is a Series 3, isn't it?

[chuckles]

It's a TiVoHD, which I'm pretty sure is a Series 3, isn't it?

They are different.

-chuckles-

[bulkhedd]

They are different.

-chuckles-

Ok. Do you think it might be only affecting the TiVoHD?

[chuckles]

Ok. Do you think it might be only affecting the TiVoHD?

Unfortunately that is not the case. bmwt has the TiVoHD and he is having no issues. Another person who is using the Series 3 is having issues. Very perplexing.

-chuckles-

[sandlapper]

Hi all,

Please test this file (http://bitcast-a.v1.sjc1.bitgravity.com/revision3/chuck/tivo-test-ocrisma.mp4) and let us know if it works better for you. bmwt was able to play it. (Please quote when replying so we know which file)

-chuckles-

Ok, I've tried twice to transfer this file and it acts like its doing it for some time but eventually fails. If I look up the reason it says:

This program was not transferred onto this DVR because of an error. This could be because:

1. The file is copy protected
2. The file is not in a format supported by the Tivo service.
3. The file has been moved or deleted from Now Playing on Sandlapper-PC

Now I didn't move the file so thats not the case. I'm going to try and transfer it once more but I don't have hopes it will work. Also I have the TivoHD.

[pmm217]

Hi all,

Please test this file (http://bitcast-a.v1.sjc1.bitgravity.com/revision3/chuck/tivo-test-ocrisma.mp4) and let us know if it works better for you. bmwt was able to play it. (Please quote when replying so we know which file)

-chuckles-

This file did not work for me, stuttering at the 8 min mark. Today's Tekzilla is also not working.

I'm using:
TivoHD
TiVo Desktop 2.7
WinXP
Quicktime 7.6

[pmm217]

Could you please also try this file (http://bitcast-a.v1.sjc1.bitgravity.com/revision3/chuck/tivo-test-isma.mp4) for me? I really really hope this file also works. If it works, then we might have a working solution. If this file does not work, it is back to the drawing boards..

[Please Quote When Replying With Results for this file]

-chuckles-

This file also did not work for me.

I'm using:
TivoHD
TiVo Desktop 2.7
WinXP
Quicktime 7.6

[pmm217]

Tonight's new TRS (HD Quicktime) is still giving the stuttering at 5 minutes in.

[bulkhedd]

I haven't tried it but I noticed there had not been any updates on this thread in a few days.
Have you made any progress in figuring out the problem?

Thanks.

[bmwt]

while we havn't solved the problem, we're closer to understanding it.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but the people having stuttering problems- is the tivo desktop set to auto-transfer? If our theory is correct:

1) most of you are autotransfering, probably just watching the itunes/rss aggregator's folder. Autotransfers like this attempt a "native" transfer, and could be where the playback issue happens.

2) when testing, i was *not* using autotransfer- i had set up the folder in tivo desktop, but went to the dvr to actually initiate the transfer. (everything is the same as the first scenario, except that the auto transfer box was not checked)

so- my request is: can y'all try using the opposite method from what you're currently using? This will hopefully flush out the last of the variables so we can pin down exactly when each problem is showing up.

[bulkhedd]

while we havn't solved the problem, we're closer to understanding it.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but the people having stuttering problems- is the tivo desktop set to auto-transfer? If our theory is correct:

1) most of you are autotransfering, probably just watching the itunes/rss aggregator's folder. Autotransfers like this attempt a "native" transfer, and could be where the playback issue happens.

2) when testing, i was *not* using autotransfer- i had set up the folder in tivo desktop, but went to the dvr to actually initiate the transfer. (everything is the same as the first scenario, except that the auto transfer box was not checked)

so- my request is: can y'all try using the opposite method from what you're currently using? This will hopefully flush out the last of the variables so we can pin down exactly when each problem is showing up.

Yes, I am autotransferring just like you said.

I will try initiating the transfer from the TiVo this evening. It had been working fine for me for around a year, I think.
It just started acting up a couple of weeks ago.

Something else I noticed, most of the shows I download now have a bit of "distortion" for a second on the Revision3 intro. It only takes up about the lower 1/4 of the screen and is of a short duration. It's become kind of my indicator that tells me that the file will probably not play correctly after a while.

[pmm217]

while we havn't solved the problem, we're closer to understanding it.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but the people having stuttering problems- is the tivo desktop set to auto-transfer? If our theory is correct:

1) most of you are autotransfering, probably just watching the itunes/rss aggregator's folder. Autotransfers like this attempt a "native" transfer, and could be where the playback issue happens.

2) when testing, i was *not* using autotransfer- i had set up the folder in tivo desktop, but went to the dvr to actually initiate the transfer. (everything is the same as the first scenario, except that the auto transfer box was not checked)

so- my request is: can y'all try using the opposite method from what you're currently using? This will hopefully flush out the last of the variables so we can pin down exactly when each problem is showing up.

I've tried to manually xfer this week's HD TRS but both times the xfer stopped halfway through. Only automatic xfer's currently work and those result in the skipping.

I'm using:
WinXP
TivoHD w/Tivo Desktop 2.7
Quicktime 7.6

[sandlapper]

The new TRS is auto transferring now. I'll go stop it and manually do it and report back the results in a bit.

[bulkhedd]

I couldn't get the manual transfer to complete either. It starts ok but after a while the transfer aborts and does not show up in the Now Playing list. I tried it twice.

[fwgmills]

It's not just TivoHD. I am also having problems.

A while back a change was made to the HD encoding that caused all "scan out" type computer video/screenshots to rapidly blur. Strangely standard video from a camera of the hosts of any given show was fine, but the sponsor cards (for instance) would blur including the opening "Revision3 - Internet TV". It was slightly annoying but I lived with it. A few weeks ago that got fixed, presumably when you implemented the "PS3 fix" that I've read about in previous posts but I now have the studdering problem as well. My setup:


Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 on a Dell Inspiron (I can get hardware specific if you need it but this worked fine before and I've made no changes other than Windows Updates to the system. No driver updates were installed)
Windows Media Center (tweaked to recognize h.264/AAC files
ffdshow codec pack (to support playing MP4 files)


Now before you point to any of these as a problem I have other video podcasts that are MP4 (h.264/AAC) that play fine including video that I have encoded specifically in the "AppleTV" format. I'm watching tekzilla--0085--kindle2--hd.h264 and it started studdering just after 21 minutes. It has been studdering on and off (more on than off) ever since then. I am currently at 24:49 while I write this and it's still studdering. Diggnation was also doing this but you already have data on that.

I can do testing as well. Let me know if you want me to test the earlier files or anything after that and report my findings.

FWGMills

UPDATE1: I pulled the Tekzilla that didn't work and played it in QuickTime on Leopard (the latest version v7.6.0 build 1291) and it played fine. I'll update the ffdshow files on my Vista machine to the latest versions and try again.

UPDATE2: Played fine in QuickTime. Updated ffdshow on my Vista Media Center. File is still studdering. Played file on QuickTime in Vista and it was fine. So only my Media Center using ffdshow is messed up.

[sandlapper]

I couldn't get the manual transfer to complete either. It starts ok but after a while the transfer aborts and does not show up in the Now Playing list. I tried it twice.

I just wanted to chime in that manual transfer fails for me as well.

[chuckles]

Okay... we think that bmwt has a fix. So please download this file (http://bitcast-a.bitgravity.com/revision3/chuck/tivo-fixed.mp4) and give it a test with the automatic transfer. And please be sure to quote when replying with result so we know that this is the file you're using.

Thanks.

-chuckles-

[bmwt]

er- try the above file chuck pointed to in *automatic* mode. This should play back natively on the tivo (at least it does on mine) making a manual transcode unnecessary.

[pmm217]

Okay... we think that bmwt has a fix. So please download this file (http://bitcast-a.bitgravity.com/revision3/chuck/tivo-fixed.mp4) and give it a test with the automatic transfer. And please be sure to quote when replying with result so we know that this is the file you're using.

Thanks.

-chuckles-

Auto xfer worked for me, thx guys.

[chuckles]

Auto xfer worked for me, thx guys.

That is awesome awesome news!! Thanks for the update.

-chuckles-

[fwgmills]

Okay... we think that bmwt has a fix. So please download this file (http://bitcast-a.bitgravity.com/revision3/chuck/tivo-fixed.mp4) and give it a test with the automatic transfer. And please be sure to quote when replying with result so we know that this is the file you're using.

Thanks.

-chuckles-

That file worked on my Media Center...flawless and I got to see all of the Diggnation Tea episode. Thanks!!

[chuckles]

That file worked on my Media Center...flawless and I got to see all of the Diggnation Tea episode. Thanks!!

That is awesome news.

Thanks.

-chuckles-

[sandlapper]

Okay... we think that bmwt has a fix. So please download this file (http://bitcast-a.bitgravity.com/revision3/chuck/tivo-fixed.mp4) and give it a test with the automatic transfer. And please be sure to quote when replying with result so we know that this is the file you're using.

Thanks.

-chuckles-

Yep, this appears to have worked for me as well. When can we expect to see this fix included in all the shows? Next week?

Thanks for all the hard work to fix this!

[chuckles]

Yep, this appears to have worked for me as well. When can we expect to see this fix included in all the shows? Next week?

Thanks for all the hard work to fix this!

Thanks for the report. You can expect all shows release starting Sunday night to have the fix in place.

-chuckles-

[bulkhedd]

These shows have been working for me this week except today ScamSchool started stuttering at the 6 minute mark. I have watched TRS and Diggnation with no problems.

I appreciate all your help on this. Maybe the ScamSchool today is just a fluke. Anyone else have a problem with it?

[pmm217]

These shows have been working for me this week except today ScamSchool started stuttering at the 6 minute mark. I have watched TRS and Diggnation with no problems.

I appreciate all your help on this. Maybe the ScamSchool today is just a fluke. Anyone else have a problem with it?

Exact same for me, TRS and Diggnation worked, Scam School stuttered at the end.