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CodeSmoke · 2013-12-27, 20:28

I have an old computer I re-purposed as a MythBuntu machine connecting to an HDHR Prime with a cable card from Comcast. After realizing I couldn't use MythTV .27 with Frodo, I reloaded .26 and have Live TV working on my Windows XBMC / MacBook XBMC / Raspberry Pi (OpenElec) and AppleTV (can't handle MPEG2 stream).

The problem is when I pull up "LiveTV" and change the Menu on the Left from "TV Channels" to "EPG:Timeline" XBMC freezes for a bit, a long bit on the RPi then finally pulls up the Guide.

I then noticed that when I am in the "TV Channels" list and start scrolling down, as soon as I hit the 600's (my HD channels are 600's to 800) XBMC freezes again, RPi takes about 5 -10 seconds to scroll down to the next channel.

Does anyone know what is causing this or how to fix it?

nickr · 2013-12-28, 06:35

I don't know what is causing your delays, other than perhaps the inherent lack of processing power on a pi!

However I can say that you certainly can use myth 0.27 with frodo, but you need to get or compile an updated pvr-cmyth addon.

CodeSmoke · 2013-12-29, 02:21

I stalled NextPVR and used it's Addon on the RPi and it didn't have any delay in the EPG Guide so I may just stick with it.

I did rebuild the PVR Addon for windows but in order to get it on the RPi I would have to not just build the plugin but rebuild OpenElec, it was easier to just re-install MythBuntu.

CodeSmoke · 2014-01-31, 18:29

OK, it seems there are pro's and con's to each system. Unfortunately with NextPVR I am getting Tuner not Available errors quite a bit and the wife is not liking that. MythTV never has this issue but I still have the problem of the 10-30 second delay when paging up and down in the guide.

Anyone know what could be the problem with the Guide taking this long to page up and down? Could it be the tv channel icons? The strange thing is I don't see a lag or delay in my non-HD channels. This happens in the Large EPG Guide and in the mini tv-guide while watching a show.

My MythTV is running on a Pentium D 2.6 with 1GB or ram, could this be the issue?

And it isn't a RPi issue since the guide is very fast when using NextPVR.

nickr · 2014-01-31, 20:02

What does the load look like on the myth box while this delay is occurring?

CodeSmoke · 2014-01-31, 20:36

(2014-01-31, 20:02)nickr Wrote: What does the load look like on the myth box while this delay is occurring?

CPU is about 90% during EPG paging. The computer only has 1GB or ram it is hovers around 70mb free, this doesn't change either while the EPG guide is paging.

There is a difference between the computer and RPi paging. It only takes a second or two on the pc while the RPi is 10-30 seconds. I wonder if this could be an issue with the XBMC plugin?

I was going to try another test and re-add the channel without letting it link the icons. I am wondering if the channel icons could be the issue. Keep in mind though that the RPi has no problem at all with the NextPVR addon with nice icons for all channels.

nickr · 2014-01-31, 22:41

Actually rethinking this, xbmc caches the epg data in it's own database doesn't it? If so it would have nothing to do with the backend performance. *shrugs*

mayoman · 2014-01-31, 23:54

The Pi definitely struggles as a PVR front end. I have a mediaportal backend and my Pi also gives ominous pauses at regular intervals. Some you expect (like EPG loading) and perhaps channel changing, but it also does delay at odd times in EPG scrolling etc. I suspected its one of CPU/USB write speed/RAM limitations, but haven't investigated.
Since you clearly see differences in performances between MythTV and NextPVR, due I presume to differences in the way data is presented to the frontend, I would be interested in seeing which is the most Pi friendly backend (instinct says TVheadend).
@nickr - have you any thoughts on the matter?

CodeSmoke · 2014-01-31, 23:57

I had a friend of mine setup his system like mine with the RPi front-end and MythTV Backend, the difference is his back-end computer is more powerful with 2GB or ram instead of 1GB and he has no issues with the Guide.

So I guess this comes down to an issue of the back-end since am having this same issue on 2 separate RPi's and one is even hardwired. I guess can order 2 GB of ram to throw in and see if that fixes it.

CodeSmoke · 2014-02-03, 01:07

Ok, I found out that MythTV can also run on OSX so I installed it in my 2008 MacBook Pro and while it is much nicer on the Mac, the front end devices all still have the lag!!!! What else could this be? I like this setup better than NextPVR but this lag on the guide and mini guide is crazy.

CodeSmoke · 2014-02-03, 05:01

I deleted my video source (schedules direct) and added it back, this time I didn't download the channel icons. Low and behold, no delay at all in the guide or mini guide.

There has to be an issue with MythTV and and how it handles icons, I had the icons in NextPVR and it didn't have any delays.

I really mis having my icons but they aren't worth a 10-30 sec delay in the guide..

nickr · 2014-02-03, 09:06

What size are the icon files? Do they involve resizing by xbmc?

CodeSmoke · 2014-02-03, 16:18

The file sizes range from 7kb up to 528kb. The 528 kb file is 1500px by 1080px and the smaller one is 132px by 99px.

nickr · 2014-02-03, 20:41

Maybe the time is being taken resizing the ridiculous 1500x1080 icon.