IPTV Displays Green Screen

[j.a.m.e.s]

Hi All,

We have an IPTV server (3425A) with an Optibase capture card and are trying to send TV from a satellite decoder to the COMP interface on the server.

The decoder has a SCART cable which terminates in a standard video jack, so we have attached a converter before plugging it into the COMP port of the IPTV server.

The program appears to be configured correctly - and starts forwarding. The video/audio settings are as follows:

Audio/Video Bandwidth: 1500

Preferred Video Format: MPEG1

Compression Quality: 8

Max. Video Frame Rate: 25

Audio Format: MPEG

However, when our Viewers 'tune in', they can hear the audio, but all they see is a green/black moving image. I suspected that the compression settings were wrong, or possibly the cable from the decoder to the server, so we decided to attach a normal TV - this shows the image fine.

Has anyone expereiced this green/back 'noisy' image before? Can anyone think of how we could fix it? Any suggestions and advice would be much appreciated ;-)

Thanks in advance,

James.

[scottmac]

HI James

The blocky green screen (usually) means that the encoder input doesn't recognize/understand the signal it's being fed, or there is no input signal.

It sounds like you're feeding it a PAL signal (maybe through a converter?): The OptiBase encoder can be set to take a native PAL signal.

From the status screen of the IPTV server that is actually sending the stream:

Double-click the stream. Another window should pop up with stats and some "vcr controls." Click on the "Stop" button: the "edit" button should now be available.

The windows that comes up will have all the encoder settings. At the top, you should be able to select "PAL" or if you choose "Auto" it should recognize the input as a PAL signal. You may want to check the other settings, or if you are not the original owner/manager of the system, perhaps set it back to factory default and build from there.

Also check that you are sending the correct flavor of signal (composite or S-Vid) and that the encoder is set for that type of video.

Good Luck

Scott

[j.a.m.e.s]

Hi Scott,

Thank you for the helpful reply. I opened the IPTV server window and received the message "Detected no capture cards." This is occurring on several of our IPTV servers (we use version 3.4.14) and it seems to have the impact of giving us no way of changing the video input type. i.e. The options you described above just don't appear! Strangely enough, some of the IPTV servers which report this error are still able to send video captured from the Optibase card.

I thought I might be able to browse to C:\Program Files\Optibase and find some way of configuring the video input. There is a utility called diag.exe, but it doesn't give any configuration options.

My immediate thought is that the Optibase drivers could be faulty. The server is a 3425A. However, the drivers look to be installed normally in the device manager, although the Windows event viewer gives several errors saying the "Vpxpress service failed to start."

Does you know whether Cisco have any driver updates for Optibase capture cards? I could not find after a search of cisco.com.

Has anyone else experieced the "No capture card detected" message and know how to resolve it?

Your help is much appreciated.

Thanks,

James.

[scottmac]

As far as I know, Cisco does not have any upgrade or patch options for the OptiBase card. The documentation I remember seeing specifically says to NOT use any additional OptiBase software (other than that installed with the server program).

Which OS are you using (Win2K, NT4 Server)? I Think NT4 is OK up to IPTV version 3.4 .... then I believe it should be /must be Win2K.

The OptiBase card is not used to transmit stored video/audio. The OptiBase card is only used for capturing live video (for transmission or storage). Transmission of stored video is purely a software function.

Have you applied any non-Cisco patches or OS updates (Microsoft WindowsUpdate)?

After doing a few reboots worth of MS updates (security patches mostly), I had to reinstall my IPTV server software (uninstall, then resintall). That might be a good course to pursue. If you just reload the server software, all the settings for video and content will remain intact (they're associated with the Content Manager).

Back to the "Green Screen" issue: in the Content Manager setup, is there any chance that a capture board other than "1" is selected? The selection is made in the "multimedia source" box, two choices from the bottom.

I have one of each of the IPTV units here in the Lab, I'll try to get back and play with 'em some and see if I can duplicate your problem.

Hang in there.

Scott

[j.a.m.e.s]

Hi Scott,

Thanks very much for your time - don't trouble yourself too much as I am thinking of raising a TAC with Cisco. Since the service has been unavailable for a while, I have configured a brand new IPTV server with Win2k SP3 and version 3.4 of the Content Manager and IPTV server (These both run on the same machine as this is only for a small office in Paris).

Now, when I had the new machine on my desk and loaded the IPTV server, I received the "Capture card detected" message when I loaded the IPTV server. However, as soon as this new server was sent to our Paris office and connected up with a video feed, I'm seeing the "Cannot detect capture card" message again!

It seems as though the message only appears when a video feed is attached - quite a disadvantage, but at least users can view the feed. I am also unable to get to the Optibase capture settings, which you described in your first email. Do you know if there is another way of getting to them?

At least the green screen problem is resolved, but I have asked for the faulty server to be shipped back and I will trial it to confirm that the video source was not faulty.

Just while we're discussing IPTV, do you know anything about the Streamwatch software which comes with IPTV? I'm hoping to find out whether anyone has had any problems with it and what kind of information it can report.

We were warned about multicast storms when using streamwatch, but I think it is now possible to send the reports without using multicast.

Could anyone shed any light on their experiences with Streamwatch?

Thanks in advance,

James.