MKVs with Dolby Vision only show black screen

[knitowskimedia 9]

Audio plays fine, but screen is black. Files without Dolby vision display fine, including hdr10 files. I have attached the server log and MediaInfo of the file I was trying to play showing Dolby Vision (which does not show up in Emby's media info section on the movie's page).

embyserver.txt Star Wars Episode VIII The Last Jedi (2017) -4k.txt

[lorac 100]

Does it play properly outside of emby?

[knitowskimedia 9]

2 hours ago, lorac said:

Does it play properly outside of emby?

Yes. The files also playback correctly on my Roku (though with hdr10 not Dolby Vision).

[Luke 37138]

Hi, what device are you playing on?

[FrostByte 5053]

I reported something similar in the testing area (version .28).  However, on my Shield dual layer DV/HDR10 play the HDR10 layer as SDR (washed out).  The problem is fairly new because in the past it would always play the HDR10 layer and trigger HDR on my TV.

Also, the ATV and Samsung apps correctly play the HDR10 layer using the same files

[knitowskimedia 9]

12 hours ago, Luke said:

Hi, what device are you playing on?

The device is a Sony Xperia 1 III. I know its a more obscure phone, but its the only hdr capable Android phone in the house. The screen is a 21:9 UHD (3840 x 1644) OLED with a 120hz refresh rate, in case that information is helpful.

[Luke 37138]

Was it direct playing in the Android app?

[knitowskimedia 9]

1 hour ago, Luke said:

Was it direct playing in the Android app?

Yes

[Luke 37138]

If you lower the in-app quality setting to force it to transcode, how does that compare?

[knitowskimedia 9]

10 minutes ago, Luke said:

If you lower the in-app quality setting to force it to transcode, how does that compare?

The file is 50mbps, lowered to 40mbps, the lowest 4k setting, and the image appears, but washed out. The app and server dashboard still show direct play though. Higher bit rate files (80+) have the same playback behavior, but do show transcoding in the app and server dashboard

[Luke 37138]

On 11/13/2021 at 12:11 PM, knitowskimedia said:

The file is 50mbps, lowered to 40mbps, the lowest 4k setting, and the image appears, but washed out. The app and server dashboard still show direct play though. Higher bit rate files (80+) have the same playback behavior, but do show transcoding in the app and server dashboard

@knitowskimedia can you provide an ffmpeg log example from a transcoding session of this? Thanks.

[knitowskimedia 9]

19 hours ago, Luke said:

@knitowskimedia can you provide an ffmpeg log example from a transcoding session of this? Thanks.

here you go

 

 

ffmpeg-transcode-26905d8c-0e62-4f8d-92d0-86d0eec4c0bc_1.txt

[Luke 37138]

On 11/17/2021 at 9:25 AM, knitowskimedia said:

here you go

 

 

ffmpeg-transcode-26905d8c-0e62-4f8d-92d0-86d0eec4c0bc_1.txt 84.31 kB · 0 downloads

@knitowskimedia colors are going to be washed out when transcoding unless you enable HDR tone mapping in server transcoding settings. Please make sure to read the help text on this as it will require Emby Premiere as well as a server machine that is powerful enough to handle tone mapping on the fly.

[knitowskimedia 9]

2 hours ago, Luke said:

@knitowskimedia colors are going to be washed out when transcoding unless you enable HDR tone mapping in server transcoding settings. Please make sure to read the help text on this as it will require Emby Premiere as well as a server machine that is powerful enough to handle tone mapping on the fly.

I understand that, but if the server is tone mapping then it's not playing back the hdr, which is what I'm trying to do.

[Luke 37138]

5 minutes ago, knitowskimedia said:

I understand that, but if the server is tone mapping then it's not playing back the hdr, which is what I'm trying to do.

Ok the log you provided is from an Xperia, does that support hdr?

[knitowskimedia 9]

16 hours ago, Luke said:

Ok the log you provided is from an Xperia, does that support hdr?

Yes. HDR10 only files playback correctly. Only files that also have Dolby Vision show a black screen

[Luke 37138]

Are you still running into this with the 3.2.31 Emby android app update?

[knitowskimedia 9]

16 hours ago, Luke said:

Are you still running into this with the 3.2.31 Emby android app update?

Yes.

[knitowskimedia 9]

3.2.32 still has the issue

[Luke 37138]

@knitowskimedia can you provide a sample video for testing? Thanks !

[knitowskimedia 9]

11 hours ago, Luke said:

@knitowskimedia can you provide a sample video for testing? Thanks !

PMed

[Luke 37138]

Great, thanks.

[sxiang 0]

Hi Luke,

Any updates on this? I'm having the same exact issue.  Black screen when playing Dolby Vision MKV files.  I'm using  Firestick 4K and the latest beta client v2.0.60a for Amazon Device.

 

 

[RanmaCanada 353]

DolbyVision is a proprietary codec, and if you do not have the hardware to play back the proper profile it is NOT the devs' responsibility to fix your problem.

As for the firestick, it only supports single layer profiles, Dolby Vision. Dolby Vision support for Profile 4-MEL, 5, 8, 9. (Up to Level 9 for profiles 5 and 8. Up to Level 5 for Profile 9.) any attempt to play anything else will result in a blank screen as it does not know how to handle the data, and DolbyVision can NOT be tonemapped currently.  You need to ensure it has HDR10 metadata.

If you're going to pirate stuff, make sure it's stuff that your hardware can actually play.  If you're going to rip your own stuff, learn what settings to use to ensure proper playback.  Not all devices can handle mkv DV files.  I know my Roku refuses to play DV mkv files, but play DV mp4 files perfectly fine.  DV is it's own beast, and we the users have to educate ourselves as it's 100% proprietary and will not become public knowledge.  These are not files where you can "bitch and complain" and scream "IT SHOULD JUST (O*&(*^&(*( WORK!!" which sadly almost every thread about DV files is nothing but.  Educate yourselves on what your devices can play, so Luke et al can fix REAL issues.

[knitowskimedia 9]

Ok, I'll bite.

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DolbyVision is a proprietary codec, and if you do not have the hardware to play back the proper profile it is NOT the devs' responsibility to fix your problem.

My hardware DOES support Dolby Vision.

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any attempt to play anything else will result in a blank screen as it does not know how to handle the data, and DolbyVision can NOT be tonemapped currently.  You need to ensure it has HDR10 metadata.

My media files do have HDR10 metadata.

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If you're going to pirate stuff, make sure it's stuff that your hardware can actually play. 

None of my files are pirated.

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If you're going to rip your own stuff, learn what settings to use to ensure proper playback. 

I do use the correct settings, the files work on everything else I have. For whatever reason, on my phone the Emby is not using the HDR10 fallback layer, while on other devices it does and plays back fine.

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we the users have to educate ourselves as it's 100% proprietary and will not become public knowledge. 

This is a contradiction. We're supposed to educate ourselves, but the information will not be available?

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I know my Roku refuses to play DV mkv files

This issue was solved for me by running the 4k rip through mkvtoolnix. That's a fix I "educated" myself on.

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These are not files where you can "bitch and complain"

What is the point of a help forum for a media player if not to get help on playing media?

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so Luke et al can fix REAL issues.

Luke seems to think this is a real issue. 4k bluray rips not playing on a 4k hdr device is a real issue. Playback issues are REAL issues, regardless of if they have Dolby Vision or not, and regardless of whatever personal crusades against a format someone might have.

 

Again the problem is that my MKVs with Dolby Vision profile 7 are not switching to their HDR10 fallback layers on my Android phone like they do on my RokuTV and other devices.