Windowes Media Encoder 7.1 question

Hello,

I have set up a streaming webcam with WME 7.1 sucsessfully.
This works fine, although my upload bandwith is limited to 100 kbps,
probably due to insuficcient memory in my PC (128 mb)

BUT: every now and then the encoding stops, and WME is reporting an
error, something like "bad data received", or "No audio received for
xx seconds" . So far so good, but WME doesn't continue encoding, but
has to be restarted manually after clearing the errorlog. This is a
severe drawback IMO, that one can not leave this setup unattended and
rely on its continues stream, even with a few dropped frames every now
and than.

A friend of mine running WME 9 is having the same experience.

Is there a way to work around this?

Kind regards,
Peter

"P.Melchior" wrote in message
...
Hello,

I have set up a streaming webcam with WME 7.1 sucsessfully.
This works fine, although my upload bandwith is limited to 100 kbps,
probably due to insuficcient memory in my PC (128 mb)

BUT: every now and then the encoding stops, and WME is reporting an
error, something like "bad data received", or "No audio received for
xx seconds" . So far so good, but WME doesn't continue encoding, but
has to be restarted manually after clearing the errorlog. This is a
severe drawback IMO, that one can not leave this setup unattended and
rely on its continues stream, even with a few dropped frames every now
and than.

Memory is unlikely the problem. Check the upload speed of your
broadband connection: http://miranda.ctd.anl.gov:7123/. Also, you
might try broadcasting at, say, 56kbps, and see whether that works.
"Burstiness" of your Internet connection could be the problem,
especially if you're on a cable modem.

-- Bob Day
------------------------------------------------------
Free "HomeSentinal" webcam surveillance software at
http://bobday.vze.com.

"Bob Day" wrote in message
...
|
| "P.Melchior" wrote in message
| ...
| Hello,
|
| I have set up a streaming webcam with WME 7.1 sucsessfully.
| This works fine, although my upload bandwith is limited to 100 kbps,
| probably due to insuficcient memory in my PC (128 mb)
|
| BUT: every now and then the encoding stops, and WME is reporting an
| error, something like "bad data received", or "No audio received for
| xx seconds" . So far so good, but WME doesn't continue encoding, but
| has to be restarted manually after clearing the errorlog. This is a
| severe drawback IMO, that one can not leave this setup unattended and
| rely on its continues stream, even with a few dropped frames every now
| and than.
|
| Memory is unlikely the problem. Check the upload speed of your
| broadband connection: http://miranda.ctd.anl.gov:7123/. Also, you
| might try broadcasting at, say, 56kbps, and see whether that works.
| "Burstiness" of your Internet connection could be the problem,
| especially if you're on a cable modem.
|

Actually memory could be the problem!

Sometimes when the CPU time is at 100% (due to memory use and encoding), the
Windows media encoder WILL stop encoding!

Try playing with your compression (FPS) to bring the CPU down!

Whatever you do.. Do not install WME 9, as this will even use more CPU and
memory!

Noël

--
http://webcam.kijk.info
http://www.resize2mail.com

"Noël" wrote in message
...
|
| "Bob Day" wrote in message
| ...
| |
| | "P.Melchior" wrote in message
| | ...
| | Hello,
| |
| | I have set up a streaming webcam with WME 7.1 sucsessfully.
| | This works fine, although my upload bandwith is limited to 100 kbps,
| | probably due to insuficcient memory in my PC (128 mb)
| |
| | BUT: every now and then the encoding stops, and WME is reporting an
| | error, something like "bad data received", or "No audio received for
| | xx seconds" . So far so good, but WME doesn't continue encoding, but
| | has to be restarted manually after clearing the errorlog. This is a
| | severe drawback IMO, that one can not leave this setup unattended and
| | rely on its continues stream, even with a few dropped frames every now
| | and than.
| |
| | Memory is unlikely the problem. Check the upload speed of your
| | broadband connection: http://miranda.ctd.anl.gov:7123/. Also, you
| | might try broadcasting at, say, 56kbps, and see whether that works.
| | "Burstiness" of your Internet connection could be the problem,
| | especially if you're on a cable modem.
| |
|

Err.. What I'm trying to say is:

Actually memory could be the problem!

[edit]
Sometimes when the CPU is at 100% for a long time (due to memory use and
encoding), the Windows media encoder WILL stop encoding!
[/edit]

Try playing with your compression (FPS) to bring the CPU down!

Whatever you do.. Do not install WME 9, as this will even use more CPU and
memory!

Noël

--
http://webcam.kijk.info
http://www.resize2mail.com

Op Thu, 6 May 2004 20:51:03 +0200 schreef "Noël"
:


"Noël" wrote in message
...
|
| "Bob Day" wrote in message
| ...
| |
| | "P.Melchior" wrote in message
| | ...
| | Hello,
| |
| | I have set up a streaming webcam with WME 7.1 sucsessfully.
| | This works fine, although my upload bandwith is limited to 100 kbps,
| | probably due to insuficcient memory in my PC (128 mb)
| |
| | BUT: every now and then the encoding stops, and WME is reporting an
| | error, something like "bad data received", or "No audio received for
| | xx seconds" . So far so good, but WME doesn't continue encoding, but
| | has to be restarted manually after clearing the errorlog. This is a
| | severe drawback IMO, that one can not leave this setup unattended and
| | rely on its continues stream, even with a few dropped frames every now
| | and than.
| |
| | Memory is unlikely the problem. Check the upload speed of your
| | broadband connection: http://miranda.ctd.anl.gov:7123/. Also, you
| | might try broadcasting at, say, 56kbps, and see whether that works.
| | "Burstiness" of your Internet connection could be the problem,
| | especially if you're on a cable modem.
| |
|

Err.. What I'm trying to say is:

Actually memory could be the problem!

[edit]
Sometimes when the CPU is at 100% for a long time (due to memory use and
encoding), the Windows media encoder WILL stop encoding!
[/edit]

Try playing with your compression (FPS) to bring the CPU down!

Whatever you do.. Do not install WME 9, as this will even use more CPU and
memory!

Noël

Hello,

Thanks both for your thoughts. If I bring broadcasting down to 56
kbps, the problem persists. I tried that already. The funny thing is,
the friend I mentioned in my OP is running a 3 gHz P IV with 1 gb of
memory. (With a broadcast at 250 kbps) He encounters the same problem.
I'll ask him to do a test on a lower bitrate, and see if the problem
dissappears.

The thing is that the problem doesn't occur regularly. Sometimes, when
I start WME it stops encoding due to an error withing 5 minutes, OTOH
it can run for hours before the error occurs. Personaly I think that
WME chokes in a faulty signal generated by the webcam. (noise, spikes,
whatever.)

Kind Regards,
Peter

"P.Melchior" wrote in message
...
Op Thu, 6 May 2004 20:51:03 +0200 schreef "Noël"
:


"Noël" wrote in message
...
|
| "Bob Day" wrote in message
| ...
| |
| | "P.Melchior" wrote in message
| | ...
| | Hello,
| |
| | I have set up a streaming webcam with WME 7.1 sucsessfully.
| | This works fine, although my upload bandwith is limited to 100 kbps,
| | probably due to insuficcient memory in my PC (128 mb)
| |
| | BUT: every now and then the encoding stops, and WME is reporting an
| | error, something like "bad data received", or "No audio received for
| | xx seconds" . So far so good, but WME doesn't continue encoding, but
| | has to be restarted manually after clearing the errorlog. This is a
| | severe drawback IMO, that one can not leave this setup unattended and
| | rely on its continues stream, even with a few dropped frames every now
| | and than.
| |
| | Memory is unlikely the problem. Check the upload speed of your
| | broadband connection: http://miranda.ctd.anl.gov:7123/. Also, you
| | might try broadcasting at, say, 56kbps, and see whether that works.
| | "Burstiness" of your Internet connection could be the problem,
| | especially if you're on a cable modem.
| |
|

Err.. What I'm trying to say is:

Actually memory could be the problem!

[edit]
Sometimes when the CPU is at 100% for a long time (due to memory use and
encoding), the Windows media encoder WILL stop encoding!
[/edit]

Try playing with your compression (FPS) to bring the CPU down!

Whatever you do.. Do not install WME 9, as this will even use more CPU and
memory!

Noël

Hello,

Thanks both for your thoughts. If I bring broadcasting down to 56
kbps, the problem persists. I tried that already. The funny thing is,
the friend I mentioned in my OP is running a 3 gHz P IV with 1 gb of
memory. (With a broadcast at 250 kbps) He encounters the same problem.
I'll ask him to do a test on a lower bitrate, and see if the problem
dissappears.

The thing is that the problem doesn't occur regularly. Sometimes, when
I start WME it stops encoding due to an error withing 5 minutes, OTOH
it can run for hours before the error occurs. Personaly I think that
WME chokes in a faulty signal generated by the webcam. (noise, spikes,
whatever.)

What are the *exact* error messages and error numbers you're getting?
Maybe we can check into them a little and find out more about what
might be happening. Also, what OS are you using?

-- Bob Day

Hi,

[....]


Op Thu, 06 May 2004 20:23:22 GMT schreef "Bob Day"
:


What are the *exact* error messages and error numbers you're getting?
Maybe we can check into them a little and find out more about what
might be happening. Also, what OS are you using?

-- Bob Day

From the errorlog:

Unvalid or damaged data 0xC00D002F

Occured after about 1,5 hr running, but can happen at any random time.

The OS I'm using is 98SE, but it happens with XP the same way.

Kind regards,
Peter

"P.Melchior" wrote in message
...
Op Thu, 06 May 2004 20:23:22 GMT schreef "Bob Day"
What are the *exact* error messages and error numbers you're getting?
Maybe we can check into them a little and find out more about what
might be happening. Also, what OS are you using?

-- Bob Day

From the errorlog:

Unvalid or damaged data 0xC00D002F


I did a little research on that error, and it seems to be pretty
mysterious. Here are a couple of things that might be worth it
to try:

1. If you have archiving to file turned on, try turning it off.

2. If I remember correctly, in Encoder 7.1 you must have an
audio stream, even if you don't use it. Try increasing the
audio bitrate.

Maybe someone else can come up with better answers.

-- Bob Day

Hi,

Op Fri, 07 May 2004 12:24:08 GMT schreef "Bob Day"
:


"P.Melchior" wrote in message
.. .
Op Thu, 06 May 2004 20:23:22 GMT schreef "Bob Day"
What are the *exact* error messages and error numbers you're getting?
Maybe we can check into them a little and find out more about what
might be happening. Also, what OS are you using?

-- Bob Day

From the errorlog:

Unvalid or damaged data 0xC00D002F


I did a little research on that error, and it seems to be pretty
mysterious. Here are a couple of things that might be worth it
to try:

I've been Googling on it too and I agree, it's quite mysterious.
Next to that there are very little subjects on the matter.

1. If you have archiving to file turned on, try turning it off.

I never used this option as I don't need it.

2. If I remember correctly, in Encoder 7.1 you must have an
audio stream, even if you don't use it. Try increasing the
audio bitrate.

I've been playing with this too, and seems to have no influence at
all.
I suspect it to be a memory problem, altough there isn't any proof.
128 mb on my computer is sufficient to perform elementary tasks, but
my guessing is that encoding takes a lot of memory.

Next to that I won't rule out it is a bug in WME. I wouldn't be
bothered by some jerky pictures. But what bugs me is that the encoding
process stops and has to be restarted manually. This is quite a
limitation, and I can imagine that due to this problem the program is
useless to those who rely on a continues, unattended surveilance.

Kind regards and thanks for your effords,

Peter



Maybe someone else can come up with better answers.

-- Bob Day

"P.Melchior" wrote in message
...
| Hi,
|
| Op Fri, 07 May 2004 12:24:08 GMT schreef "Bob Day"
| :
|
|
| "P.Melchior" wrote in message
| .. .
| Op Thu, 06 May 2004 20:23:22 GMT schreef "Bob Day"
| What are the *exact* error messages and error numbers you're getting?
| Maybe we can check into them a little and find out more about what
| might be happening. Also, what OS are you using?
|
| -- Bob Day
|
| From the errorlog:
|
| Unvalid or damaged data 0xC00D002F
|
|
| I did a little research on that error, and it seems to be pretty
| mysterious. Here are a couple of things that might be worth it
| to try:
|
| I've been Googling on it too and I agree, it's quite mysterious.
| Next to that there are very little subjects on the matter.
|
| 1. If you have archiving to file turned on, try turning it off.
|
| I never used this option as I don't need it.
|
| 2. If I remember correctly, in Encoder 7.1 you must have an
| audio stream, even if you don't use it. Try increasing the
| audio bitrate.
|
| I've been playing with this too, and seems to have no influence at
| all.
| I suspect it to be a memory problem, altough there isn't any proof.
| 128 mb on my computer is sufficient to perform elementary tasks, but
| my guessing is that encoding takes a lot of memory.
|
| Next to that I won't rule out it is a bug in WME. I wouldn't be
| bothered by some jerky pictures. But what bugs me is that the encoding
| process stops and has to be restarted manually. This is quite a
| limitation, and I can imagine that due to this problem the program is
| useless to those who rely on a continues, unattended surveilance.
|
| Kind regards and thanks for your effords,
|
| Peter
|

Peter, not sure if it's a bug in WME 7.1, or something else..

Three more things you can try!

1) Ask in microsoft.public.windowsmedia.encoder (on news.microsoft.com) for
some help on this error!
2) See if this will also happen when you are (as test) only streaming audio!
3) Maybe give the new WME 9 a go (it WILL take more CPU load!)

Anyway... I've been using WME 7 and now 9 for over 3 years, and I've never
had your error!

Good luck!

Noël

--
http://webcam.kijk.info
http://www.resize2mail.com