• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Problem with Windows Audio Encoder

C

ChiefOperator

Folks,

I'm wondering whether anyone has a solution for a problem I'm having with our Windows audio encoder (series 9). We stream local talk 24hrs each day, about 5 days a week.

The problem is that the encoder randomly stops encoding. The program does not close; instead, it stops encoding, similar to clicking on "stop encoding." We start encoding once again by simply clicking the "start encoding."

Anyone know what would be causing this?

Thanks!
 
Are you pushing the stream to the WM server or is it picking up the stream from your encoder?

Also - is the streaming provider experiencing any problems?
 
Have been doing the same thing for the past 4 years and haven't had this problem unless something is eating cpu. look at usage and view the log to see when it stops then compare to the event viewer and let us all know waht is causing it.

regardless of the stream provider. Even if they go off line and there are no clients the stream should stay.

Have only 1 user account. Switching user accounts can cause the stream to stop. Had this happen weekend jocks kids kept stopping the program to log onto the internet one time..

cpu problem? too many programs running. at 100% usage for too long something will give.

use at least 1mg ram on whatever machine you are using.

gl
 
Thanks for the replies. The provider is not having problems. I believe that we "push" our stream, but I'll need to double check.

We run the encoder on its own machine, the only program running. The encoder shows CPU usage at around 28% while running. I'll check the amount of RAM.

"look at usage and view the log to see when it stops then compare to the event viewer and let us all know waht is causing it".

I'm not familiar with the "event viewer." Are you talking about a viewer on the encoder program?

Thanks again...
 
Go to : Control Panel. Administrative Tools. Event Viewer. Then view Security, Application, and System.

This area displays problems warnings and program stops along with specific codes as to why things happen.

With CPU usage low (I see our encoder still work with 99% usage - on our former server) this shouldn't be your problem.

That low usage figure almost makes me think someone or something is stopping the program. Check in control panel to see that you only have one user account.

I have placed a password on systems to keep network users out. Program will still run and you will need to login before making changes.

Also check number of processes running to confirm 33-40 processes. Ctl Alt Delete
 
ChiefOperator said:
The problem is that the encoder randomly stops encoding. The program does not close; instead, it stops encoding, similar to clicking on "stop encoding." We start encoding once again by simply clicking the "start encoding."
Click to expand...

I haven't had the problem of WM encoder stopping, but closing down... Without a warning or any other indication (event viewer message) as to why. It simply quits. I've been battling this for years now, tried million things to solve the problem, but no luck... There's no other explanation other than sloppy programming from the M$ people. I'm also running Real and Opticodec encoders that I never had the slightest problem with. WM encoder also eats much more CPU (especially for video) for the same streams I do with Real...

As in regards to your problem, I would also try switching to pull from server delivery. Maybe it'll help...


Regards,
Goran Tomas
 
Even if the CPU spikes, just for a moment, the WM encoder will stop. MS supposedly released a fix for this but it does not work. The easiest way to avoid a shutdown on CPU spikes is to open task manager and set the priority of wmenc.exe to "High". I've had the same 2 encoders running 24/7 for over 57 days (according to the counter on the encoder).
 
gunterm said:
The easiest way to avoid a shutdown on CPU spikes is to open task manager and set the priority of wmenc.exe to "High". I've had the same 2 encoders running 24/7 for over 57 days (according to the counter on the encoder).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip! I'll give it a try. Beats monitoring WM encoder and auto-running it when it shuts down, which is workaround I'm using at the moment...


Regards,
Goran Tomas
 
I haven't worked with this type of program but I do have a thought - what are you using for a screen saver? A few years back I worked at a station that was having server issues and we couldn't figure it out b/c everytime we looked at it the CPU usage was low. It turned out to be the screen saver - it was eating the RAM and spiking the CPU usage. We changed it to go to a black screen and problem solved.
 
Folks--

I truly appreciate you all giving me their thoughts. I'm going to implement all your suggestions when I work on the encoder machine this weekend. I'll give an update once I get everything going.

Thanks again!
 
All--

Okay, I did everything I was told to do. The encoder ran for 4 solid days, but then stopped again--longer than it has ran before.

System info: The processor is an AMD 802mhz (I think), with 256mb of ram.
I think the speed is less than M$ "recommendation" of 866mhz, but above the minimum. The OS is XP Pro.

Here is what I did: I turned off all auto downloads and made sure all other programs were closed. I also turned off all power savers and screen savers. I set the task manager to priority "high." The number of "processes" running was 28. I also deleted some "free" spyware, and turned off all "auto" everything, including virus scans. I also deleted unnecessary files and defragmented. I also deleted the encoder program and downloaded a new one.

Any other suggestions or did I miss anything??

THANKS!
 
256 ain't enough??? Sheesh, I'm running OtsDJ on a Pentium 233 mHz with something like 128 megs of RAM. It runs and runs and runs.... I think the only time I ever had it crash, was the result of a power outage.

Perhaps a complete reformatting of the hard drive is in order, then only install the absolute necessities.

R
 
XP will barely run in 128, let alone any applications. If you're running XP Pro, you'd better have at least 512 MB to run any serious applications, and a gig if you're running any kind of server. By serious applications I mean Office, along with anti-virus, anti-spyware, and at least Windows firewall. If you're running Norton, anything can happen. If you're running MS Defender, make sure that you don't have it set to autoscan daily.
 
It's not so much the RAM, but an 800 AMD is too slow, if you're seeking CPU spikes in the task manager using high priority won't completely fix it...

The boxes I use are 2.8 Celerons with 256/512 MB
 
SirRoxalot said:
XP will barely run in 128, let alone any applications. If you're running XP Pro, you'd better have at least 512 MB to run any serious applications, and a gig if you're running any kind of server. By serious applications I mean Office, along with anti-virus, anti-spyware, and at least Windows firewall. If you're running Norton, anything can happen. If you're running MS Defender, make sure that you don't have it set to autoscan daily.
Click to expand...

Ooops!

My bad!

I was thinking of my old Packard Bell machine.

The one running OtsDJ is actually a Compaq AMD 1 Gigahertz processor with 256 MB of RAM.

That PC is dedicated for OtsDJ use only. Originally it came with Win 98, but I did a complete reformat of the drive, and installed XP Home SP2.

Originally I was using that computer for everything, but I got a Dell PC in December 2005, so I was able to dedicate the Compaq to OtsDJ.

R
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom