ProScan Interesting stuttering audio problem on recordings

[plutonium233]

Good day all,

I've had Proscan set up for three years on a computer that rarely get's used for anything else. It is set up for Web Server and Recording. For some reason in the past several days, I have noticed that I have some type of stuttering in the recording audio and it seems to be totally random. I have a BCD536HP connected via WIFI. The computer is a Dell Optiplex 760 w/ Core 2 Duo E7400 and 2GB Ram. Operating system is Windows 7 Ultimate.

So, I decided to use the monitor and test tab to troubleshoot the problem. When I select "Tone on capture side" and enable loopback, I can hear this stuttering even though the program is playing a simple sine wave. The problem seems isolated to Proscan because I can pull up any number of audio sources including videos on youtube, local sources, etc. and I don't have this problem.

It sounds sort of like what you would expect when you have some external radio interference (like a cell phone too close to amplified speakers or something similar). I turned off my ham radio, my cell phone, and several other nearby devices, but nothing made a difference. I shut down all other programs except Proscan and it didn't make a difference. The only thing that seemed to help was to reboot the computer. It made the situation better, but it is not totally eliminated.

Any ideas on what I could check?

Edited to add: Even before the stuttering issue, I also started noticing that Proscan (latest version) is using more processor time than normal as monitored using task manager. It swings between ~10% and ~50% all of the time whereas in the past it seemed to linger at a constant value around ~15%.

Best Regards.

 

[plutonium233]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to provide an update. Since my last post, I have put in several hours of troubleshooting, but I have no answers so far. Just to rule out some possibilities, I added another 4 gigabytes of RAM to the system to make sure lack of memory wasn't a problem. Unfortunately, the problem is just as bad or worse. I have done a few scans for virii, clutter, and other issues, but nothing is showing any problems.

The part I don't understand is that it is isolated to Proscan, but it has worked exceptionally well for me in the past. Perhaps a recent update has some bug that is causing my problem? Has anyone else experienced a problem like this?

Should I reach out to Bob to see if he can help and, if so, how do I go about contacting him?

Edited to add: Just to help explain the symptoms, when I use the monitor and test function to play a sine wave on Capture Side I can hear the tone, but it sounds like some random morse code. At times it smooths out, but other times it is very severe.

Best Regards.

 

[ProScan]

See if it happens using the latest pre-release version 14.4.
https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/official-software-thread.95044/page-199#post-3054925

 

[plutonium233]

Ok, so I have it loaded up, but nothing has changed with the audio.

Other than trying the Pre-release version, I have done some more troubleshooting. One issue with my computer has been a SMART message saying my HDD is failing, so I went ahead and migrated to a new 500GB SSD to eliminate another possibility of hardware not acting right. I did this more out of necessity than anything, not that I really thought it would cause this problem. I did notice while installing the RAM and SSD that I had an old 3.5mm cable connected to the line-in from another scanner I used before I got the 536HP. I went ahead and unplugged it in case it was picking up some kind of digital noise and somehow was getting pulled in along with the Wifi audio. No change.

Being Wifi audio from a URL, I don't see any real way to adjust bitrates and such on the input side. Seems like that is all fixed except for when it is being pushed to web server/recorder/etc. For a few minutes, I started to suspect the scanner as a possibility, but I remembered that the sine wave generated in Proscan exhibits the same problem so that rules out the scanner.

 

[ProScan]

The test tone puts a sine wave on the signal arriving from the scanner. If the Wi-Fi is intermittent then the test tone will be too.

For some reason in the past several days, I have noticed that I have some type of stuttering in the recording audio and it seems to be totally random.

What changed in the past several days?
Could it be Wi-Fi interference?

Did you try rebooting the computer, scanner, and router?

 

[plutonium233]

I just tried to rebooting the scanner and router (computer was rebooted several times in my upgrade efforts). I discovered another problem. I wanted to test the audio quality from the web server feature so I tried to connect from my phone. At first, I could not connect at all, and received 404 not found errors from the Proscan server. After restarting and resetting multiple things, I finally reverted back to the last stable version of Proscan which fixed the 404 error. I just wanted to let you know about that in case no one else has reported it during their testing.

However, I discovered something else. The audio from the web server is flawless. I also did a test with the sine wave to be sure, and it is absolutely perfect coming from my phone. So, I can eliminate the Wifi issue, I think, since that means the audio from the scanner is getting to Proscan, the internet, and back to my phone with no distortion.

As far as things that have changed over the past few days, it is difficult to say but nothing significant that I can recall. The only reason I noticed the problem is that I've been observing the computer more so than normal since I've been at home a lot lately with time to spare (injury), so I don't really know how long this has been a problem. I will try to do a downgrade to a previous version of Proscan just as a test and report my findings. I think I did an upgrade a couple weeks ago so it may be worth checking.

Best Regards.

 

[ProScan]

I wanted to test the audio quality from the web server feature so I tried to connect from my phone. At first, I could not connect at all, and received 404 not found errors from the Proscan server. After restarting and resetting multiple things, I finally reverted back to the last stable version of Proscan which fixed the 404 error. I just wanted to let you know about that in case no one else has reported it during their testing.
.

Do you have any Internet Security program blocking the connection on the latest 14.4 pre-release build that would cause this Web Server issue? Web Server works.

Actually 14.4 pre-release build is stable. Only one issue reported so far and that is the SDS100 display not showing the Sentinel colors for simple and detail conventional which was fixed this morning.

 

[plutonium233]

I apologize because I think I may not have used the correct terminology. I meant to say that I reverted back to the previous version 14.3 installation.

At any rate, I don't have anything that would block the connection. I have port forwarding configured in my router to support the connection which has worked well for the past few years. I think the connection path itself was clear because the 404 errors were being reported by the Proscan server. In other words, the client could see the server, make the request, and the server was reporting the 404 error back to the client. I'll try it again to see if I can replicate the results.

Also, I reverted to version 12.13 today as this is the previous version I had before I upgraded (yes, this machine sits unattended for a lot of time so I don't update often). I still see the same problem with the sine wave test, but the audio in recordings seems to be normal. This being said, I think I need to shift my focus back to the loopback/recording quality and ignore the sine wave test for now since I think it muddies the water. I have re-installed version 14.3 and will run it overnight to see how the recorded audio compares. As promised, I will also test the pre-release version for Web Server functionality again tomorrow morning.

I know I gave a description of the issue with the sine wave audio, but I want to also provide better description of the actual recorded/loopback audio. In particular, the recorded audio sometimes has this "sped up" sound with skipped or choppy sections. Almost as if bits and tiny pieces of audio were removed and it was spliced together where the audio was missing such that the playback sounds faster than the original.

 

[ProScan]

For troubleshooting Web Server issues, use Open Port Check Tool
Set the port to the same as the server then start the server before using.

Also try recording in wav if mp3 format or visa-versa.

 

[ProScan]

It's kind of confusing bouncing all around the place. Let's focus on one area before the next.

Start with the Web Server 404 error. Use 14.4 pre-release build for testing since you say that has the 404 error.
The 404 error indicates a file or folder is not found on the server.
Make sure the browser URL box only contains the IP address and port. No filename.
What browser are you using?
Can you try another browser?

Also if the scanner looses TCP or UDP communications with ProScan while the Web Server is running can result in a 404 error. Click the URL setup button on the Audio Control -> Web Server page to see if TCP or UDP errors.

 

[plutonium233]

No problem:

1) I have re-installed 14.4, and the error returned.
2) Using the same shortcut that I have used all along: http://hostname.ddns.net:5000, I still get the 404 error. I even tried typing in manually. I also tried bypassing the ddns and typing http://192.168.1.202:5000.
3) Using Firefox 64.0 on the computer and Samsung "Internet" (default browser) on my Galaxy S9.
4) Just tried with Internet Explorer on the computer. Same result.
5) I just checked the URL Setup button. While there are no errors, I do see 1.85% packet loss. I have never paid attention to this before so I don't know if this is excessive, but it does seem to be.

Edited to add: I also did the port check tool, and it is visible from outside of my LAN.

Best Regards.

 

[4436time]

If it wasn't happening with Proscan initially then the problem is likely elsewhere. Not sure if you live close to others but it could be that someone else's wifi has changed and is now interfering. Hard to say. My 2c would be to try changing the wifi channel and see what happens. I struggled with something very similar on the machine I'm typing this on and it fixed the problem.

Edit: Otherwise, I would backtrack on any changes made until the issue is resolved.

 

[ProScan]

I tested using FireFox without problem.
Can you provide a link to your Web Server?
Can you test with ver 14.3.
Packet Loss is ok.

 

[plutonium233]

Hi Bob,

I just sent you an email with the link to my Web Server.

After the problem with version 14.4, I went back to 14.3 and there were no problems after that. However, since my last message, I realized that I can directly link to the stream.m3u and it works. So, it sounds like the php or html link that version 14.4 is looking for as the main page just doesn't match what the old version 14.3 normally calls up.

Which leads me to ask if maybe I made a mistake when installing version 14.4. I downloaded the zip file which contained Proscan.exe and lame_enc.dll. I simply renamed the version 14.3 files by adding _OLD to the end of them and moving the new files into the folder to replace them. Is this correct?

Edited to add: I apologize for jumping back and forth on problems. Regarding the stuttering audio issue, I just wanted to mention that the stream.m3u audio is great coming from the Web Server, it just seems like loopback and recorded audio has the problem. I think I mentioned this before, but I wanted to bring up that I tested it on VLC (same machine as Proscan) and on an Iphone remotely.

Best Regards.

 

[plutonium233]

If it wasn't happening with Proscan initially then the problem is likely elsewhere. Not sure if you live close to others but it could be that someone else's wifi has changed and is now interfering. Hard to say. My 2c would be to try changing the wifi channel and see what happens. I struggled with something very similar on the machine I'm typing this on and it fixed the problem.

Edit: Otherwise, I would backtrack on any changes made until the issue is resolved.

Thanks for the suggestion. I thought of this too. Unfortunately, in my case there is no other household with within nearly half a mile of me, so I don't think that's the problem. I did try to tweak a few Wifi settings in my router, but it did not work so I put it back to the original settings. I did not try changing the channel though. I will try and see if it makes a difference.

Best Regards

 

[ProScan]

Hi Bob,

I just sent you an email with the link to my Web Server.

Now that I got the email, I will send you test files to determine where the problem is. Working on that now.

 

[M105]

If I followed most of all that it seems you are only hearing the bad audio while listening to the speakers on the computer. What comes over the server is okay. If that is the case I would suspect the sound card driver or less likely the audio hardware in the computer. You might try rolling back the sound card drivers.

 

[plutonium233]

If I followed most of all that it seems you are only hearing the bad audio while listening to the speakers on the computer. What comes over the server is okay. If that is the case I would suspect the sound card driver or less likely the audio hardware in the computer. You might try rolling back the sound card drivers.

That was a suspicion of mine as well so I did some tests:

1) Audio from Youtube, local videos, MP3s, all sound perfectly normal.
2) Audio from Web Server is normal even when played on the same machine (via VLC connection to stream.m3u).
3) Going back through older recordings, the audio is normal there too.

Using old recordings, I am now trying to pinpoint when the issue started. It is not immediately clear, but I think it was mid to late December. I may try rolling back the drivers just to see if it makes a difference, but I don't think it is the problem since I haven't changed the driver and since the problem is isolated to certain audio.

The only thing I can think of that changed was an update to the 536hp firmware that I believe was done just after the 1st of January. However, I think I did that because I saw that one of the revisions was intended to improve P25 decode. At the time, I had not recognized the problem wasn't in the scanner.

I am starting to think it has more to do with the link between the scanner and Proscan even though it doesn't explain why the Web Server works well but loopback and recordings do not. I have been paying more attention to the Packet Loss figure and see that it moves around a lot. It seems to be around 4 to 8% and as of right now it is 16%. I never have been particularly impressed with the Uniden Wifi dongle as it doesn't seem to be all that stable. Does anyone know if there is a more recent firmware for it? I am running version 7.28 which (as far as I know) hasn't changed unless it gets updated by Sentinel automatically.

 

[ProScan]

Regarding the loopback and recordings stuttering problem:
Since the Web Server audio is okay, is the Web Server audio setup the same as the recorder audio such as using URL, Samples Per Second, mp3 bitrate, mono/stereo?
What about the Web Server audio loopback. Is that okay?
Can you switch recorder audio from MP3 to PCM or visa-versa to see if that makes a difference.

 

[plutonium233]

I think I may have the problem somewhat resolved now. I mentioned the packet loss issue earlier so I conducted an experiment to see if I could affect the packet loss and see a change in audio to prove a link between the two variables. I started by playing the sine wave on the capture side so that I could listen while moving the scanner's Wifi dongle around. As soon as I picked up the dongle to give it a better line of sight to the router, the audio got much worse. So I kept moving it around until I had it behind my computer desk and my back and the audio cleared up to almost perfect. I ended up placing it on the floor behind the table that the scanner sits on which seems to work well. The connection strength icon on the scanner shows a "low" signal, but it is working much better than before. Packet loss is now staying lower, typically less than 4%.

Now that I think back, I did move the dongle a few weeks ago because the cat came up during the night and knocked some things off the table so I placed in a slightly different spot/orientation which I think caused this whole problem.

My theory is that the dongle has a deficiency where it cannot handle strong Wifi signals as it is about 12-14 feet from the router. Placing it at the new location attenuated the signal to some degree which seems to have helped. I started a thread in the Uniden Tech forum to see if there is a firmware update or something to actually fix the problem instead of the symptoms. As to why the Web Server audio was better, I don't really know unless it had more to do with the encoding I was using and the quality of the playback devices I was using so the problem wasn't as evident. As it turns out there was an effect on the audio quality, but it wasn't perceptible until packet loss was well above 10%. I even saw it get as high as 20% once.

Thanks to Bob and everyone else for the help. I think I have reached a point where this thread is no longer necessary so I will pursue the issue with the Wifi dongle on the other thread.