9022966 - 78522 Artifacts/Corruption in WMC playing some Live HD channels

[MEdmu]

Here you go.

Description of issue:

Using Live TV in Windows Media Center to display the majority of my cable package's unencrypted HD channels produces a lot of visibly corrupt frames and audio glitches (the number of corrupt frames can be verified on the 411 debug menu). Not all of my HD channels have this issue -- some display with no corrupt frames. People have referred to this issue in the past as: checkerboard artifacts, block artifacts, glitches, stuttering, corrupt frames, etc.

Here's a screen capture of the issue (also attached):

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/t31.0-8/10549941_10101457242087077_7535973812057508023_o.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/t31.0-8/10549941_10101457242087077_7535973812057508023_o.jpg

I get these gray and black corruption artifacts, appearing from the bottom of the screen every second or two, along with other MPEG-2 pixelation artifacts and audio stuttering.

When plugging in the very same external tuner and testing the very same channels on a different computer, I don't have this problem; this is how I know that the problem isn't anything to do with the cable signal.

I also don't think this is a Microsoft problem, as the channels in question display just fine on Windows Media Center on the different PC/laptop.

Furthermore, the HD 4600 itself can render some HD channels just fine, so I just don't think it's an issue of it not being powerful enough.

To be sure, the problem *isn't* the 29.97/59.94 frame rate switching issue that has plagued people in the past -- all of the channels in my case are at 59.94. The problem *isn't* the dynamic contrast setting in the HD Graphics Control Panel -- I have that turned off. The problem *isn't* only with 1080i channels -- it also occurs on 720p channels.

I have the latest Intel drivers installed.

I have the latest BIOS update from Lenovo installed.

I originally had a hunch that the issue might only occur on HD channels when they contained *more* than two audio channels in the broadcast signal, however, NBC6 in Miami, for example, which has 6 channels, doesn't always produce these corrupt frames, but has done so at times. Some channels more consistently produce corrupt frames than others, and usually these are ones more than 2 audio channels in the broadcast stream, but this may very well be a coincidence.

Category

Questions

Answers (N/A if not applicable)

Description

Provide a detailed description of the issue AND 'does it fail every single time, or only sometimes?' If you can offer a % rate please do.

See above

Hardware (HW)

Brand and Model of the system.

Lenovo ThinkCentre M93p (10AB-000KUS)

i5-4570T (HD 4600 graphics)

Hybrid or switchable graphics system? ie Does it have AMD or NV graphics too?

1. No. No.

Make and model of any Displays that are used to see the issue (see note2 below).

LFP = Local Flat Panel (Laptop panel)

...

[Bryce__Intel]

Hi mmortal03

I opened a bug to track investigation [9022966]. I'll keep you updated as information/status is made available.

Is the OS 32 or 64? 4251 is released for your platform, have you tested it?

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25143/Intel-Iris-Iris-Pro-and-HD-Graphics-Driver-for-Windows-7-8-8-1-64-bit https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25143/Intel-Iris-Iris-Pro-and-HD-Graphics-Driver-for-Windows-7-8-8-1-64-bit

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25146/Intel-Iris-Iris-Pro-and-HD-Graphics-Driver-for-Windows-7-8-8-1-32-bit https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25146/Intel-Iris-Iris-Pro-and-HD-Graphics-Driver-for-Windows-7-8-8-1-32-bit

[MEdmu]

Thanks! I'm on 64-bit Windows 7. Thanks for reminding me about 4251. I've been testing the new driver release every couple of months to see if the issue was magically fixed. So, I just tested 4251, and the issue persists.

[Bryce__Intel]

Could you provide a .wtv clip where it shows the failure for you? The engineer is requesting it.

[Bryce__Intel]

Hi mmortal03,

Here's some directions how to provide the .wtv clip. Please record a failure video that's at least 15-25 seconds long. If you can record the active refresh rate with it that would be great but not necessary. Appreciate it!

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/record-tv-media-center# 1TC=windows-7 Record TV in Windows Media Center - Windows Help

[MEdmu]

Will do! Thanks for the reminder -- I completely missed your last message.

[MEdmu]

Hi Bryce,

I've recorded the clip. I've also verified on another, regular set top tuner right next to my computer just now that the picture for this station is just fine on there, so I know it's not the cable signal itself. The refresh rate of the monitor is 59 Hz, but I've also tried 60 Hz. The video's refresh rate looks to be a constant 59.94 Hz.

Here's the clip: https://dde19c9eff451e7e0b7d819897f53dd506692a8f.googledrive.com/host/0B2Wm1faUufb7N3J5QkRFeHpRUkk/America's Got Talent_WPTVHD_2015_09_08_19_58_00.wtv https://dde19c9eff451e7e0b7d819897f53dd506692a8f.googledrive.com/host/0B2Wm1faUufb7N3J5QkRFeHpRUkk/America's Got Talent_WPTVHD_2015_09_08_19_58_00.wtv

[Bryce__Intel]

The clip was uploaded to the bug record; replication attempts will continue. I'll update back if anything else is needed. Thanks!

[Bryce__Intel]

Hi mmortal03,

I'm trying to get some more traction on this issue. Could you please retest with the latest driver and let me know your results? Appreciate it.

[MEdmu]

Yep, I can test it again soon.

[Bryce__Intel]

Any luck? Also could you note which driver version you're testing along with the results? Let me know if there's any variance in results from original too. Thanks

[Bryce__Intel]

I'm crossing my fingers this was mysteriously resolved for you.

[Bryce__Intel]

Okay, closing this out mmortal03 since I haven't heard back, I'm assuming it's resolved with latest driver. Thanks for your help!

[MEdmu]

Hi Bryce,

I've recently moved and am living out of boxes, so I haven't had the chance to set up that machine to test with the new cable service. I'm willing to bet that the issue is *not* solved in the latest driver, but I will let you know as soon as I can test it.

[Bryce__Intel]

Great to hear from you mmortal03. Understood, I'll await your results to close it. Good luck with unpacking [not my favorite thing to do].

[Bryce__Intel]

Still waiting on ya mmortal03. Let me know when you've retested this. Appreciate it!

[MEdmu]

Hi Bryce, it turns out that there are no unencrypted channels available on my cable service at my new location for me to test this, so I guess you've won.

I truly wish that instead of your feigned persistence, where you lazily continue to necessitate that I, an unpaid customer, go out of my way to reproduce the problem at every banal driver release, that you, instead, demonstrated real persistence at doing your job, and that you would look to reproduce and solve the issue yourself. You know, actual customer support.

As I stated a while ago, I'm willing to put my USB tuner model in the mail to you so that you can work towards reproducing the issue yourself. I would assume that, as an Intel employee, you at least have access to a system containing the processor and graphics in question, and possibly even a TV tuner of some kind and an unencrypted cable service to test the very products that you sell -- or would I be wrong on that, and that there exist no real world test facilities at Intel?

[Bryce__Intel]

Thanks for responding mmortal03 but I'm a bit taken aback by your response, ouch.

I've actually spent considerable time and effort on this in parallel and well into while you were MIA. Calories spent on testing many various configs ranging from IVB up to SKL, different memory, tuners, drivers, media types, channels (encrypted & open), content type, etc. My caseload is vast, I don't have bandwidth to continue to throw at this hence asking for your assistance since the fact is that you're currently the only person out of close to 500 views of this thread that is reporting this and this indirectly indicates this very well could be a single unit failure.

Also, due to the sheer volume of variance of peripherals, cables, and the like (including tuners), we don't guarantee performance or offer support on these by default. If it's a defect with the tuner, the manufacturer will need to sort that out.

Thanks for your prior help. I'll close this out now.

[MEdmu]

I'll end with this. It's not just me, others have complained about such an issue, they just weren't as persistent as me, and/or they haven't found this thread. Have you considered the idea that given the way you structure your support here, that it might cause most people to just give up? Keep in mind that it's already a subset of your users that is even persistent enough to join the forum here and post their issue in a manner that is in a format that is acceptable to you.

As far as what you're saying, sure, it could be a a single unit failure, or even a specific issue with my tuner model. However, there's no easy way as a customer for me to rule that out with the resources that I have. I do recall testing the tuner on a different machine and *not* having the issue there, which would've likely ruled out the tuner as the culprit, but maybe my memory of that is false or I overlooked something. I also considered the idea that the problem was with the signal coming from my cable provider, but I ruled that out by not seeing the issue when using a standalone hardware tuner box that I also happen to own.

Keep in mind that, from the start, if Intel's chips are going to handle any presentation of customer's TV tuner video streams, then it isn't unreasonable for Intel to actually test some of the commonly available TV tuner equipment with their chips in real world settings, even if you ultimately choose not to support every case.

[Bryce__Intel]

I hear you. We have a trouble ticketing system for those not wanting to register and take it to the forums. We also have the communities as a place where users can help each other, not fully intended to replace creating a web ticket, but we realize users may not want to enter it in several places so we do the best we can to monitor here as well and help out where we can. There's such a broad range of devices used in conjunction with our products, matching our older products with newer devices that weren't available to test with at the time of launch, it's difficult to even replicate issues at times. So we hugely appreciate when users assist in troubleshooting issues, hence the ask for complete config even to have us look into it. Thanks for your feedback and your help.