topic Re: Intel NUC Win7 Media Center (No extenders involved) H.264 DRM video missing in Graphics

Intel NUC Win7 Media Center (No extenders involved) H.264 DRM video missing

SBhat15 — Sun, 08 Jan 2017 22:22:17 GMT

Hello,

This is a follow up to a /thread/105889 previous thread on the same issue that got somewhat sidetracked without a resolution for the issue at hand.

I have an NUC6I5SYH, running Windows 7 Media Center, using a SiliconDust HDHomerun Prime with a cable card from Comcast. The NUC is connected to my TV. In my area, Comcast delivers a lot of channels in H.264 instead of MPEG2 as before. Now some of these are DRM'd such as HBOHD. When playing these using Media Center, I get audio but no video (just a blank screen). I have a fully updated OS including the latest drivers from Intel. To be clear this issue is not about Media Center extenders.

Here is a combination of what works and what does not work:

MPEG2 --------------> works
MPEG2 + DRM -----> works
H.264 ----------------> works
H.264 + DRM -------> does not work (no video, blank screen)

In the previous thread it was concluded that the issue was not due to Intel graphics. However external community threads on this issue have concluded that on a system exhibiting this behavior, using a non Intel Graphics card fixes the issue. See https://forum.silicondust.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=119&t=36390&start=30# p280935 No pictures with some channels - Page 3 - Silicondust.

Unfortunately this is not a solution on a NUC and clearly indicates the issue lies with Intel Graphics and not anywhere else. Can Intel please re-evaluate this and see what is going on here? How can I help to debug/isolate the problem?

Thanks.

Re: Intel NUC Win7 Media Center (No extenders involved) H.264 DRM video missing

idata — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 21:33:42 GMT

Hello yoyoman:

In regard to your inquiry, after an investigation on this subject, Intel® came to the conclusion that the problem is not because of the Intel driver, and that this issue could be happening because of different things, like for example the codec the tool is using, so you might need to install a different codec that fully supports H.264 in order to for the channels to work.

In the mean time please try the following driver, it is beta 4552:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/26464/Intel-Graphics-Beta-Driver-15-45-?product=88358 https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/26464/Intel-Graphics-Beta-Driver-15-45-?product=88358

Or you can the following driver, it is version 4542:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/26404/Intel-Graphics-Driver-15-45-?product=88358 https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/26404/Intel-Graphics-Driver-15-45-?product=88358

Also, the problem could be related to Microsoft Playready not fully supporting MPEG4/H.264, on the premium channels that are running that encryption. So another option to try will be to get on contact with Microsoft directly to confirm that information:

Microsoft's phone number: 1 800-642-7676

Microsoft's support site:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/gp/contactus81?Audience=Commercial https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/gp/contactus81?Audience=Commercial

Any questions, please let me know.

Regards

Alberto

Re: Intel NUC Win7 Media Center (No extenders involved) H.264 DRM video missing

SBhat15 — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 07:24:33 GMT

Hello Alberto,

Thanks for the reply and the links.

I have tried out the beta driver as advised and no luck (Although looking at the README the only new additions in the beta driver when compared to the latest which I had was support for additional games and nothing related to this issue).

Please take a look at the https://forum.silicondust.com/forum/viewtopic.php%3Ff%3D119%26t%3D36390%26start%3D30%23p280935 external thread I linked, which indicates the same setup works when using either an AMD or Nvidia graphics card instead of Intel. Although I have not tried it myself (I would have if I could, but cannot on a NUC), there are several reports indicating the same behavior so it does not be an issue with Windows. Now just to be sure I did try installing AMD Catalyst driver package, just to be sure the installer was not installing anything else or configuring the system in other ways to make it work. But no luck, so I am guessing that issue lies with the Intel graphics stack (hardware and driver) and/or its interaction with the overall software stack.

Again, are there any diagnostics that I could run and logs that I could capture to diagnose the issue?

Thanks.

Re: Intel NUC Win7 Media Center (No extenders involved) H.264 DRM video missing

idata — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 21:41:13 GMT

Hello yoyoman:

In regard to your question, there is not a tool that will indicate if there is a problem with the driver, we do have a tool that does an overall test on the processor, but it will not show if the graphics driver is working properly, or not, the overall test includes temperature, clock speed, authentication among other details, if the processor passed the test then it should be fine:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/19792/Intel-Processor-Diagnostic-Tool https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/19792/Intel-Processor-Diagnostic-Tool

Now, I checked the external link you gave us, and as you mentioned it says that works with AMD or Nvidia graphics card, so, in order for us to continue with the investigation we will need to gather some information from your system, if if you could please provide that information it will be very useful for our research.

On the following chart, please provide as much information as you can:

CategoryQuestionsAnswers (N/A if not applicable)DescriptionProvide a detailed description of the issue Please place an X to the right of the option showing how often you see this issue using specific steps. (Ex: 'Every few times a game is started it flickers.' <- This would be "Often")</span>

Always (100%):

Often (51-99%):

Sporadic (20-50%):

Very Sporadic (<20%):</span>Hardware (HW)Brand and Model of the system. Hybrid or switchable graphics system?

ie Does it have AMD or NV graphics too? <td style="width:299px;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:solid w...

Re: Intel NUC Win7 Media Center (No extenders involved) H.264 DRM video missing

SBhat15 — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 08:59:57 GMT

Hello,

Here is the information that you asked for.

CategoryQuestionsAnswers (N/A if not applicable)DescriptionProvide a detailed description of the issue

Here is a combination of what works and what does not work:

MPEG2 --------------> works
MPEG2 + DRM -----> works
H.264 ----------------> works
H.264 + DRM -------> does not work (no video, blank screen)

Please place an X to the right of the option showing how often you see this issue using specific steps. (Ex: 'Every few times a game is started it flickers.' <- This would be "Often")</span>

Always (100%): X

Often (51-99%):

Sporadic (20-50%):

Very Sporadic (<20%):</span>Hardware (HW)Brand and Model of the system.NUC6I5SYHHybrid or switchable graphics system?

ie Does it have AMD or NV graphics too?Intel® Iris™ graphics 540 Make and model of any Displays that are used to see the issue (see note2 below).

LFP = Local Flat Panel (Laptop panel)

EFP <span style="f...

Re: Intel NUC Win7 Media Center (No extenders involved) H.264 DRM video missing

idata — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 17:45:13 GMT

Hello yoyoman:

Thank you very much for providing that information, it will be very useful for us to better assist you.

As soon as I get any updates from the investigation, I will post all the details on this thread.

Any questions, please let me know.

Regards

Alberto

Re: Intel NUC Win7 Media Center (No extenders involved) H.264 DRM video missing

idata — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 18:38:14 GMT

Hello yoyoman:

I just wanted to let you know that we are currently still working on the investigation to try to find a possible solution for this issue.

In the mean I just received an update, there are some suggestions that you will find on the following link, look where it says "Windows Media Center" please try those steps and let us know the results:

https://www.silicondust.com/support/troubleshooting/# cablecard-blank-screen-or-service-unavailable-error-when-trying-to-access-copy-protected-channels https://www.silicondust.com/support/troubleshooting/# cablecard-blank-screen-or-service-unavailable-error-when-trying-to-access-copy-protected-channels

Any questions, please let me know.

Regards

Alberto

Re: Intel NUC Win7 Media Center (No extenders involved) H.264 DRM video missing

SBhat15 — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 23:01:21 GMT

Hello,

Thanks for the update. I reviewed the link you posted. However the link is about resolving an issue where DRM/CopyProtected channels cannot be played. I can play DRM/CopyProtected. Channels that are just DRM/CopyProtected are fine, so the link does not apply to this case. In my case a combination of H.264 and DRM is what has issues. See table copied below from my original post. For a good measure I have rerun the Digital cable advisor, but no luck.

======== Snip from original post =========

Here is a combination of what works and what does not work:

MPEG2 --------------> works
MPEG2 + DRM -----> works
H.264 ----------------> works
H.264 + DRM -------> does not work (no video, blank screen)

====================================

Thanks.

Re: Intel NUC Win7 Media Center (No extenders involved) H.264 DRM video missing

idata — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 17:05:53 GMT

Hello yoyoman:

Thank you very much for letting us know that information.

In that case we will continue with our research and as soon as I get any results I will post the details on this thread.

Any questions, please let me know.

Regards

Alberto

Re: Intel NUC Win7 Media Center (No extenders involved) H.264 DRM video missing

HKort — Sun, 22 Jan 2017 23:08:24 GMT

yoyoman,

Thank you for the detailed information you have provided to Intel on this matter. I am in the same boat where DRM'ed H.264 channel do not play after a recent upgrade from MPEG2 on the comcast network. I have been reading about this issue for over a year but did not get bit by the issue until last week myself due to the slow technology transition in my area. This is definitely an Intel Graphics issue and the reluctance by Intel to admit the existence of the issue is both astonishing and frustrating. I am not yet sure what to do about the issue. It MAY be that this is fixed in newer models, but I will most certainly NOT by another Intel machine before I see the issue described and a fix detailed by the vendor. Thank you again for your efforts.

Re: Intel NUC Win7 Media Center (No extenders involved) H.264 DRM video missing

AMara3 — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 08:00:50 GMT

Yes, my thanks as well. I was in a similar boat, using HP laptops as WMC machines for years. Now I'm replacing them with Dell 980 SFF i5 machines. Will also try AMD video cards recommended elsewhere that do not have this issue. I expect to pay less than $120 for such a setup, a small price to fix this problem.

I have Comcast and Intel to thank for that...

A final note: perhaps a SFF or NUC with embedded AMD graphics is a solution? I haven't looked into that as I'm taking the safe course of action: a large enough box to install a graphics card.

Re: Intel NUC Win7 Media Center (No extenders involved) H.264 DRM video missing

ksand6 — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 07:01:14 GMT

I am having this issue. Comcast HBO HD (DRM HD) with black screen in Seattle. Regular HD channels work fine. Have the drivers been updated for integrated HD graphics 4400?

I have a fanless i7, 8g, 256g, with onboard intel 4400 to HDMI.

Thanks,

Re: Intel NUC Win7 Media Center (No extenders involved) H.264 DRM video missing

AMara3 — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 15:54:46 GMT

Do not hold your breath for this as it's been ongoing for years. Intel has acknowledged the problem is NOT with them.

Just move away from Intel graphics and you'll be fine.

Re: Intel NUC Win7 Media Center (No extenders involved) H.264 DRM video missing

ksand6 — Fri, 27 Jan 2017 18:32:19 GMT

If be fine with a hardware/software/version specification from Intel of what path support HD DRM from Comcast. Many of my laptops use onboard intel graphics.

Re: Intel NUC Win7 Media Center (No extenders involved) H.264 DRM video missing

AMara3 — Fri, 27 Jan 2017 19:01:32 GMT

I would not take that route, with a fixed graphics "card". The wise move is to flexible with your system. That means no laptop or NUC without the ability to swap video cards - not only when you have a situation of incompatibility, as we here, but also when it goes defective.

While I loved my laptop setups (I had 4-5 identical systems) it's time to change. I'mnow hoing with a relatively small Dell 980 SFF (I need eSATA) that allows better cooling and has multiple slots for video or anything else.

Re: Intel NUC Win7 Media Center (No extenders involved) H.264 DRM video missing

ksand6 — Sat, 28 Jan 2017 00:09:16 GMT

I already did with a fanless system for my home automation server. Just trying to do both.

How to prove that Intel graphics (hardware and driver) can successfully pass HD (H.264) + DRM from Comcast? How would you do it? Maybe the product manager at Intel can slide this into their next testing requirements. We could hunt them down on LinkedIn!

Re: Intel NUC Win7 Media Center (No extenders involved) H.264 DRM video missing

AMara3 — Thu, 02 Feb 2017 16:43:34 GMT

Well, they will need to invest in a HDHomerun tuner and Comcast account, surely no small change for a billion dollar company.

At any rate, I've moved on to a new setup taht woeks: Dell 980 SFF, AMD 5450 (Asus fanless version, only 19W), Win7 (NO UPDATES). It works, only a minor glitch or two.

Still on the old Intel 3000 platforms, Comcast DRM channels show, in Windows Media Center 411 dialog:

No video, audio only

video codec: not specified

native size: 1280x720

frame rate: 29.97

On non-DRM channels it shows:

video codec: H264

native size: 1280x720

frame rate: 60

Hmm...

Re: Intel NUC Win7 Media Center (No extenders involved) H.264 DRM video missing

Kevin_M_Intel — Fri, 24 Feb 2017 16:34:31 GMT

Hello All,

Please be aware that all details related to this issue are going to be provided on the following thread:

Thank you for your understanding.

Kevin M