Clean Rebuild stutters :-(

  I've been running my homebuilt MCE 2005 PC since last December and
after a few early teeting troubles (due to my inexperience etc) it has
been running nicely for the last 10 months. But over the months I've
been trying out bits of software and fancied a nice clean start.

Twice in the last couple of weeks I've tried a clean build and both
times I have had to return to a working Ghost image because I simply
cannot get the new build to display TV without terrible jerkiness and
stuttering.

I'm not running any software I didn't have previously so I really
don't understand the problem. I've checked for IRQ conflicts and
faulty DMA settings but there is nothing like that. When I'm playing
TV, even in a window, with the suttering going on, the PC is hesitant
with mouse movements, opening other apps etc.. This problem has been
absent for 10 months (I did have it in the beginning until I bought
the nVidia decoder. I've run the DECCHECK utitlity and the only
decoder I have is the nVidia one. I've also noticed with the new build
that my audio is loud to the point of clipping/overload somewhere in
the audio stages so clearly something is wrong.

My build steps are....

- Clean format and install MCE 2005 to C: partition;
- Install Shuttle (nVidia) chipset drivers;
- Install AMD 64 CPU driver and set "minimal power management"
- Install Hauppauge MCE 150 drivers
- Install Gigabit LAN driver
- Download all Windows Critical Updates until none left;
- Download all Software Updates until none left;
- Repeat Critical Windows Updates until none left;
- Install Catalyst 5.11 drivers (was 5.10 before and for the first
rebuild);
- Install Powerstrip and set for 1024*576*50i
- Install latest nVidia Decoder
- Run MCE setup
- Try to watch TV;
- Try to find cause of stutter;
- Give up in despair;
- Restore Working Ghost image;
- Get on with enjoying MCE instead of messing about with rebuilds.

The PC has  AMD 64 3000, 2*512MB, 1*400GB SATA, 1*250GB SATA, NEC
3500, Hauppauge PVR150MCE, Radeon 9600.

Any ideas why the clean build is not playing properly? I've tried
twice, a couple of weeks apart.
 
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 The newer releases of the NVIDIA Decoder default the De-Interlacing Control
setting to SMART and this setting is knon to casue jerky video. Using VIDEO
or AUTOMATIC may reslove you issue.

  Could it be so simple? Sadly, I think not :-(

My working build is running nVidia decoder 4020.150.0.0 according to
DECCHECK and there I have De-Interlace Control set to "Smart". That is
not the newest version of the decoder.

So I've just upgraded, while typing this message, to the new .185
version and that is working perfectly with "Smart" De-Interlace
Control. I did notice that the new rebuild had Overlay rather than
VMR9 set but adjusting that on the old build with newest decoder has
made no difference.

I should add that I'm an early adopter of Rollup 2 and that didn't
cause me any problems in the original build. In fact, in both the
original and new builds I have accepted all Critical and Software
Windows Updates.

So I'm still stumped.





 
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 Have you tried it without using powerstrip? You should be able to use the
Catalyst Control Panel to achieve the same results.

Also have you tried using an updated PVR-150 driver from either the
Hauppauge website or www.shspvr.com?

Jeff Griffin
Windows XP Media Center Edition MVP
www.thegreenbutton.com

 Thanks for the reply. I've been using Powerstrip for many months
without problems. I've heard that CCC allows similar controls but
despite looking I have not found them anywhere. Any tips on where to
find such controls?

As for the PVR150MCE, I've only used drivers from the Hauppauge site
and have happily upgraded from 2.5 through 2.7(a?) through the current
2.9 and have never seen any problems.

The problem now is that I did not Ghost the new image so I'll need
another half day to attempt another rebuild. At the moment I lack the
enthusiasm. But I'll make a note of your ideas and incorporate them
next time.

Cheers,
Tim.

On Mon, 14 Nov 2005 08:19:51 -0600, "Jeff Griffin"
<sfajeff2.hotmail.com> wrote:


 
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