No Picture/sound on most channels w/WMC

Discussion of getting WMC to work on Windows 10 (unsupported)
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yo_vinay

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No Picture/sound on most channels w/WMC

#1

Post by yo_vinay » Sun Jun 20, 2021 6:18 pm

Long time WMC user(since WinXP) and tgb browser. But I have not encountered this before.

My main Win7x64 HTPC has been acting flaky lately and I am trying to setup a replacement.

Replacement setup is: W10 21H1 x64 (fresh install), WMC 8.8.5, 2 HDHR OTA tuners and EPG123.

If I tune in using Win10 HDHR App the stations (90+) are fine. If I use WMC most stations have no video or sound, just a black screen. The stations that do tune in are fine. WMC's TV Signal Strength shows full bars on the stations that work and those that don't. If I tune to one of the no video/sound stations in WMC, occasionally a flicker of a picture or bit of sound is heard.
I have installed the LAV filters and Firefox but really nothing else.

Any ideas where I should look?
Thanks

Edit: I copied over some .wtv files to the system. It will only play recordings from the channels it can tune into. Other recordings are black screen with a flash or blip of sound occasionally.
Last edited by yo_vinay on Mon Jun 21, 2021 5:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Space

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#2

Post by Space » Mon Jun 21, 2021 1:46 am

Sounds like a codec problem to me, but I'm no expert in this. Was it working prior to installing the LAV filters?

EDIT: Just noticed you are using Win10, so I know almost nothing about it, but I think you need a special install to use it with Win10, search these forums.

yo_vinay

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#3

Post by yo_vinay » Mon Jun 21, 2021 1:09 pm

Space wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 1:46 am Sounds like a codec problem to me, but I'm no expert in this. Was it working prior to installing the LAV filters?
Was not working. I was thinking a codec problem also. Mostly why I installed the LAV filters. But if a codec problem, why would certain channels work fine?
Space wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 1:46 amEDIT: Just noticed you are using Win10, so I know almost nothing about it, but I think you need a special install to use it with Win10, search these forums.
AFAIK 8.8.5 is the latest available. I searched multiple times for something related to this, but nothing came up...

dmagerl

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#4

Post by dmagerl » Mon Jun 21, 2021 8:26 pm

Sounds like the old h.264 problem.

When on a bad channel enter 411i on a remote or 411 ctrl-D on a keyboard. Then right arrow all the way to the last screen and it will show the codec being used.

Space

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#5

Post by Space » Mon Jun 21, 2021 11:28 pm

dmagerl wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 8:26 pm Sounds like the old h.264 problem.

When on a bad channel enter 411i on a remote or 411 ctrl-D on a keyboard. Then right arrow all the way to the last screen and it will show the codec being used.
My personal experience with this is that the screen is black but you still have audio. But it can be related, I suppose, and having additional information (video codec of the affected channels) can't hurt.
Last edited by Space on Tue Jun 22, 2021 1:55 am, edited 1 time in total.

dmagerl

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#6

Post by dmagerl » Mon Jun 21, 2021 11:41 pm

Going back through the old threads on it, some people were reporting both no audio and no video. They also implied it was hardware related. Some video boards worked, some didnt. Since this problem occurred with a new computer, its certainly probable. The 411info data should help..

People also reported turning to a good channel and then immediately back to the bad channel sometimes made things work so that'd be a useful test too.

yo_vinay

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#7

Post by yo_vinay » Tue Jun 22, 2021 1:27 pm

6.1-2jpg.jpg
Watched the black screen for a while and it will flicker and a blip of sound is heard. When it does, the frame rate flips from 29.97 to 59.9401.

Additional info, if relevant:
Currently using onboard Intel HD4600 graphics, but will switch to the GT1030 that is in the flaky htpc when the bugs are worked.
Testing using 22" monitor @ 1680 X 1050. Tried 59 Hz and 60 Hz.

What is the "the old H.264 problem" ? Link to thread?

Thanks

dmagerl

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#8

Post by dmagerl » Tue Jun 22, 2021 3:05 pm

There're a lot of threads. Just do a site search on "comcast h.264". But it doesnt look like thats your issue. The screen shot shows mpeg2 codec and not unknown.

yo_vinay

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#9

Post by yo_vinay » Tue Jun 22, 2021 3:48 pm

W O R K I N G !

After reading through several threads, it seemed somewhat related to Intel graphics.

I had an old GT610 and dropped it in. Boom! Works fine and plays the recorded files fine also.

I am guessing it is something related to the Intel graphics and Windows 10. This system was used as my main HTPC for a while. It ran WMC on W7x64 with the Intel onboard graphics an had no tuning issues. Worked just fine, until the onboard HDMI port went out...

Thanks for the help!

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