ultimatejoe 0 Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 Stop me if someone has asked this question before (I looked - honest), but why would my picture quality using Emby and MediaPortal as a back-end look substantially worse than just using MediaPortal as a client? I'm trying to justify the switch, but live/recorded TV is important to me. I'm using a single-seat setup and my HTPC has a PCI-E tuner as well as an older (non-DNLA) HDHR for TV sources. I've set up the MediaPortal server plugin and MP-Extended, and can capture the streams and channels just fine, but the picture looks significantly compressed and interlaced even when the stream setting is "Direct". I've also noticed that the CPU usage is substantially higher using Emby. Is this just a reality of streaming through MPExtended as opposed to using the native Mediaportal client, or is there something I can do to address this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 36992 Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 Hi there, we're sorry to hear about this. In order to best help you, please provide the information requested in how to report a media playback issue. thanks ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultimatejoe 0 Posted October 15, 2016 Author Share Posted October 15, 2016 Apologies, the attachments are inserted below. I took a closer look, and it appears that FFMPEG is decoding the video stream, which accounts for the quality loss as well as the increased CPU usage. Mediaportal is using LAV filters. Could this account for the difference? Why is FFMPEG necessary to process the video when LAV filters are available? server log.txt transcode log.txt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pünktchen 1251 Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 Apologies, the attachments are inserted below. I took a closer look, and it appears that FFMPEG is decoding the video stream, which accounts for the quality loss as well as the increased CPU usage. Mediaportal is using LAV filters. Could this account for the difference? Why is FFMPEG necessary to process the video when LAV filters are available? That's because all browsers and native iOS apps aren't able to direct playback an mpeg or ts stream. Only Android apps and Emby Theater can do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultimatejoe 0 Posted October 15, 2016 Author Share Posted October 15, 2016 Thank you for the explanation, that does make sense. I tried installing Emby theatre and doing the one minute preview; the picture quality was better but I was still seeing CPU usage higher than I would like. Thank you for the information however. I just need to see if I can either lower my utilization or find a way to better cool my HTPC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 36992 Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 cpu usage where? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultimatejoe 0 Posted October 15, 2016 Author Share Posted October 15, 2016 The client/server are the same machine, and I'm monitoring with Task Manager. Ideally I like it running at under 30% during video playback, with Emby Theatre it's between 30-45% and with the browser interface it's between 40-55%. My HTPC case is really tight and I have trouble cooling it; sustained activity over 40% causes it to run hotter than I would like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jds828 24 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Without doubt the live TV picture isn't up to the mark on Emby. I find I use Kodi at home and Emby when I'm out and about. As for your heat and performance issues, it might be worth letting us know what system build you're running and from there we might be able to offer you some ideas on getting it leveled out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultimatejoe 0 Posted October 16, 2016 Author Share Posted October 16, 2016 Thanks, but I'm afraid there's not too much mystery to it. I'm running an AMD Phenom 2 x965 BE, for Windows 10. There's no video card so the onboard chip does all the video processing. The issue is the case, which is a Fractal Designs Node 605 htpc. Looks great, but only has about 2 inches of clearance above the CPU fan, and it just doesn't cool enough. There's no room for a liquid cooler either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jds828 24 Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I think you'd get a small liquid cooler in there without too much trouble. That's pretty much like one I did for a friend. Same thing with a toasty AMD chip in a case with low air flow. What worked best was a single 120mm Antec liquid cooler that cost about £35 from Scan UK. He had spend on good air coolers but it still go very hot. In his case, liquid sorted it and quietened it down too. I'm sure you know your system better than I do but it might be worth having another look at liquid (single fan-120mm rad) Getting the pipes right is usually the most trouble in small cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultimatejoe 0 Posted October 23, 2016 Author Share Posted October 23, 2016 Thanks for the suggestion, but I've looked. There are three spots for 120MM fans, and none of them have more than an inch of clearance before you run into a motherboard component or the optical drive. I could fit a dual 80mmx80m, but I don't think there are any to buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jds828 24 Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Cant say I've ever seen a twin 80mm one. Not sure what's inside the Corsair Mini ITX one but they are quite expensive. If I see anything, I'll let you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultimatejoe 0 Posted October 23, 2016 Author Share Posted October 23, 2016 You can buy radiator blocks online, but no all-in-one solutions. There's also this sucker, but it only works on Mini-ATX and I've got a micro board... http://www.corsair.com/en-ca/hydro-series-h5-sf-low-profile-liquid-cpu-cooler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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