I am a new subscriber but have been watching the forum for weeks. My box has not updated from 5.08 to 5.68 yet but I have seen nothing to indicate that the updates will reduce stuttering. After a reboot I get no stuttering for most of the day, but late in the day or overnight it starts to stutter on all channels including locals. A reboot clears it. As a former programmer this seems to indicate that something is happening the longer the box is up - either some type of corruption, or some queue or log filling up and causing reduced performance - and a reboot clears it. Anyone else note this behaviour? Perhaps it only happens in certain instances, based on the number of channels subscribed to, the number of locals, etc...
Could stuttering be caused by memory corruption bug?
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I was told by Voom that there is a DV-I, box, and tv incompatibility. They say that changing to component cables should fix it.. I too waited for the download..and when it happened...nothing..it just got a tad bit better. Voom says that they are trying to remedy this very irritating glitch.
Tokebuddude said:
these little mcro stutters or frame drops, have nothing to do with DVI, or component. It's found when using either of those inputs. Also Wilt has said he thinks this problem is an encoder problem, although I have my doubts, since this problem isn't just confined to the satellite channels alone. I see it with OTA channels too. I believe this problem is a problem with the STB itself. I am starting to wonder if it can actually be fixed thru a software update? You are right about it being very irritating though.
I wonder if you and GeneWildershair are really talking about the same problem?bbtkd said:
GeneWildershair, does your problem go away after a reboot?
I doubt this is a memory leak (using programmer's slang). From what I understand, image and sound processing is done at the hardware level, in DSP chips, not in software. Software only controls them and provides user interface. Software leaks are more likely to cause lockups, than affect picture quality. Though, you never know...
GeneWildershair,GeneWildershair said:
You are right, this has to be an STB issue if you see it on all channels, including OTA. One problem here is that different people might be talking about different things. I, for one, don't see the problem you are talking about, but may be I am not looking for it (could be a good thing
). I had a different (much more prominent) stutter problem in the past, but it was on specific channels, like Gallery. That one might had been caused by encoders, or by the source material, and it is fixed by now. (May be this is the kind of problem Wilt was talking about...)Now, to your question about whether a hardware problem could be fixed by a software update. It depends. In some cases it might be possible. I am sure there are a lot of software-controlled parameters that affect the STB performance. Some minor fine-tuning could take care of the problem. Let me give you an example: suppose the stutter problem is caused by the wrong output frame frequency (60Hz vs. 59.94Hz as mentioned here and here), which, I think, translates to a frame skip every 16-17 seconds. If it is possible to adjust the frequency programmatically, a software update would be able to fix it...
Ilya said:GeneWildershair,
You are right, this has to be an STB issue if you see it on all channels, including OTA. One problem here is that different people might be talking about different things. I, for one, don't see the problem you are talking about, but may be I am not looking for it (could be a good thing
Now, to your question about whether a hardware problem could be fixed by a software update. It depends. In some cases it might be possible. I am sure there are a lot of software-controlled parameters that affect the STB performance. Some minor fine-tuning could take care of the problem. Let me give you an example: suppose the stutter problem is caused by the wrong output frame frequency (60Hz vs. 59.94Hz as mentioned here and here), which, I think, translates to a frame skip every 16-17 seconds. If it is possible to adjust the frequency programmatically, a software update would be able to fix it...
Ilya I do find that when discussing my frustration with these "micro stutters" that people tend to start thinking, that I'm talking about something that is very noticeable at first glance. Like I'm talking about stutters where you can see the image sort of pause, and replay the same motion over and over a few times, but that isn't what I'm talking about at all. It is a slight jump or skip in frame that I see every minute or so. It is very slight, and I wouldn't expect everyone to see it right away, if they weren't looking for it. I really hope it doesn't come down to it being the STB, and it not being able to get fixed with a software update. I really couldn't live with it forever.
Before the .68 upgrade, it would be stuttering very noticeably (every 4-5 seconds) on every channel. After the .68 upgrade it has not stuttered at all - until this morning. This morning - on FN 412 anyway - it was sticking (freezing for a half second then going for a second, freezing again) more than stuttering causing lip sync to be way off. Macro-stuttering? Again a reboot fixed it. If a reboot fixes it, I figure it has to be a hardware or software problem on my end, not on their end.
when i see the studder it's not a freeze then goes but a freeze(micro0 then catches up to where it should be..those missing frames are gone for ever..funny i have not heard the sound studder..has anyone??(not talking about drops i mean when the picture studders..the sound should be more noticible(pitch,missing etc hearing seems to be more critical then viewing@30fps etc)
