Two recent issues on Android TV.

[Dodgexander 8]

18 hours ago, Malmgren said:

Ah, that was well hidden, thank you! Turns out though that my Emby app was last updated weeks before this problem started, so it seems it's not related to that particular app version. My best guess then is Philips snuck in some update that I didn't even notice installing and that broke something...

I don't think so. My TVs a Hisense Android model. This was something that changed at emby's end but luckily they include the switch that fixes it.

I guess it doesn't matter so much using TV speakers, even ones with Atmos support probably downmix to stereo anyway.

I'd be interested to see if the same happens with a soundbar connected.

[ebr 14913]

8 hours ago, Malmgren said:

I've searched everywhere now and can't seem to find that option. Could you tell me where to look?

Also I'm doubtful it will make any difference, most of my videos (which doesn't work) are already in stereo.

I do believe it will help.  The option is under Playback in the settings.

[Malmgren 17]

1 hour ago, ebr said:

I do believe it will help.  The option is under Playback in the settings.

Ah, found it now! I was looking for a setting named "Mix down to stereo"

Anyway, you are correct, that seemed to solve the problem. I guess it's more of a workaround than a solution, but since I don't need more than stereo sound I'm happy. Thanks!

[ebr 14913]

8 hours ago, Malmgren said:

I guess it's more of a workaround than a solution

It is the proper solution.  Previous versions selected this option automatically for you when you were running with just stereo speakers but now we allow you to override it.

[Dodgexander 8]

So I just got a soundbar to pair with my TV and using the passthrough setting still causes the same problem with DTS audio.

Dolby True HD audio also doesn't work, which includes Atmos. It either freezes up or reverts to stereo PCM.

Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital+ seems to work fine.

Both TV and soundbar support all audio codecs. TV is set to passthrough and eARC enabled.

Is there a way to get this working? 

[ebr 14913]

11 hours ago, Dodgexander said:

So I just got a soundbar to pair with my TV and using the passthrough setting still causes the same problem with DTS audio.

Dolby True HD audio also doesn't work, which includes Atmos. It either freezes up or reverts to stereo PCM.

Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital+ seems to work fine.

Both TV and soundbar support all audio codecs. TV is set to passthrough and eARC enabled.

Is there a way to get this working? 

Most TVs don't pass through DTS from the internal Android system and I don't think any do TrueHD. The only flavor of Atmos they support is DD+. 

[Dodgexander 8]

8 hours ago, ebr said:

Most TVs don't pass through DTS from the internal Android system and I don't think any do TrueHD. The only flavor of Atmos they support is DD+. 

Then I guess the issue is how emby is treating passthrough. It should be playing back the core 5.1 DTS track as Plex does, but instead it stutters with passthrough enabled.

TrueHD based soundtracks get converted to stereo in Plex the same as emby so that seems to be working as intended when using passthrough. DTS is the main issue and the TV definitely supports DTS as it works fine in Plex and has worked fine in Emby before too. 

 

[Dodgexander 8]

The option in settings 'allow DTS HD pass-thru' being disabled fixes the strutting with DTS HD but DTS HD is then converted to stereo PCM instead of using core DTS track.

Still, standard DTS soundtracks (non-hd) are stuttering in Emby despite playing smoothly in Plex. 

[ebr 14913]

Hi.  Can you try sideloading our standard android app on the same device and see how that compares?

https://emby.media/emby-for-android.html

Thanks.

 

[Dodgexander 8]

7 hours ago, ebr said:

Hi.  Can you try sideloading our standard android app on the same device and see how that compares?

https://emby.media/emby-for-android.html

Thanks.

 

Exactly the same behavior as setting the Android TV app to passthrough audio.
To test I then played the exact same file using the built in TV's DLNA client and also Plex with the DTS-HD and DTS track, and they played back both without stutter and using DTS core only.

There's clearly something wrong with DTS audio in Emby...and not just DTS as the problem I mentioned also in the OP seems related to AAC audio when using passthrough.

Edited August 23, 2022 by Dodgexander

[Dodgexander 8]

To expand on my last reply, both issues reported in the OP of this thread still exist. There is also an issue with AAC audio with some files (I provided a sample already) where the file doesn't even play at all unless stereo downmixing is performed. These files are just stereo AAC files.

[Luke 37066]

Does the video stutter and the sound come out normal? Or the other way around?

[Dodgexander 8]

1 hour ago, Luke said:

Does the video stutter and the sound come out normal? Or the other way around?

The problem with DTS audio tracks the video stutters and the sound stutters too using the TV's built-in speakers. With a soundbar connected in the same scenario you can't hear any sound and the video still stutters.

The problem with AAC audio just stops the video from playing entirely. There's no audio or video because it just freezes and won't play.

Both these issues can be solved by transcoding audio, be that by correcting playback or setting the audio output to downmix to stereo.

Something is wrong with the new 'auto' setting in emby when using these file formats on my TV. Yet these formats are test files are playing fine in Plex and the built in player.

Edited August 25, 2022 by Dodgexander

[Luke 37066]

On 8/23/2022 at 10:13 AM, ebr said:

Hi.  Can you try sideloading our standard android app on the same device and see how that compares?

https://emby.media/emby-for-android.html

Thanks.

 

Can you try downloading this again and installing 3.2.65 and let me know if that helps with this? Thanks.

[Dodgexander 8]

1 hour ago, Luke said:

Can you try downloading this again and installing 3.2.65 and let me know if that helps with this? Thanks.

Just did and it's exactly the same with both issues.

[Dodgexander 8]

Any progress on this? Can't play a lot of titles with AAC audio or DTS audio in Emby currently.

Running Plex by the side to play these specific files but would prefer to only use Emby.

[Luke 37066]

On 8/23/2022 at 10:13 AM, ebr said:

Hi.  Can you try sideloading our standard android app on the same device and see how that compares?

https://emby.media/emby-for-android.html

Thanks.

 

Can you try this again with the latest version? There are fixes related to both aac and DTS. I'm not confident it will resolve your DTS problem, but there's a good chance the problem with aac will be resolved. Thanks.

[Dodgexander 8]

7 hours ago, Luke said:

Can you try this again with the latest version? There are fixes related to both aac and DTS. I'm not confident it will resolve your DTS problem, but there's a good chance the problem with aac will be resolved. Thanks.

There's no change with the latest version of the regular Android version. I downloaded the one from the website and sideloaded the app to the TV.

With the Android TV version there's even more strangeness I've found. With DTS Passthrough enabled and DTS-HD passthrough disabled some DTS-HD tracks are being played back in Dolby Digital and others just stereo PCM. The same files in Plex are played using the DTS core track, or the original DTS track no problem. The odd thing about this is Emby is showing these files as direct play, no transcoding.

True HD files are being transcoded server side to Dolby Digital, which is nice, rather than stereo PCM.

AAC files just don't work at all still.

[Luke 37066]

13 hours ago, Dodgexander said:

There's no change with the latest version of the regular Android version. I downloaded the one from the website and sideloaded the app to the TV.

With the Android TV version there's even more strangeness I've found. With DTS Passthrough enabled and DTS-HD passthrough disabled some DTS-HD tracks are being played back in Dolby Digital and others just stereo PCM. The same files in Plex are played using the DTS core track, or the original DTS track no problem. The odd thing about this is Emby is showing these files as direct play, no transcoding.

True HD files are being transcoded server side to Dolby Digital, which is nice, rather than stereo PCM.

AAC files just don't work at all still.

What version number of the standard app did you try?

[Dodgexander 8]

24 minutes ago, Luke said:

What version number of the standard app did you try?

3.2.70

[Luke 37066]

1 hour ago, Dodgexander said:

3.2.70

OK, one thing at a time. Regarding the file with aac audio, can you provide a copy of it for testing? Thanks.

[Dodgexander 8]

8 hours ago, Luke said:

OK, one thing at a time. Regarding the file with aac audio, can you provide a copy of it for testing? Thanks.

I have already given samples for both here:

I first reported this issue in February. Any aac soundtrack and any DTS soundtrack have the issue.

Correct behaviour should be:

AAC files should either output as 2ch pcm or multi channel pcm and not freeze on first frame.

DTS files should output DTS and not stutter.

DTS-HD files should output DTS core and not stutter. They should not be outputting 2ch pcm when 'allow DTS passththrough is enabled' and 'allow DTS HD passththrough is disabled'.

True HD/Atmos seems to be working as intended and is transcoded server side to Dolby Digital. There's no core track and if the TV receives a direct copy it will only output 2ch PCM.

Dolby Digital plus/Atmos is working fine directly playing.

I hope this is clear and allows you to replicate the issue. It's worth noting you don't need a external HDMI device to test. I was getting these problems before I bought a soundbar.

 

 

[Dodgexander 8]

Any luck fixing these issues?

[Dodgexander 8]

Interestingly I found a bug when using the TV with the same stuttering audio when using Bluetooth headphones. This stutter even happens in YouTube.

Some reading online cites a workaround as setting the audio output of the TVs settings too Auto instead of passthrough and then restarting the TV.

In auto output mode there's no stuttering and AAC audio tracks are playing fine. In this mode however DTS is always mixed to 2CH PCM.

Since Plex works as intended with both DTS and AAC audio when the TVs audio output is set to passthrough this suggests the hook emby is using for playback is causing the problem together with the broken passthrough setting which is the same hook as even official apps like YouTube.

There is obviously something Plex are doing differently that I hope emby can copy.

Hopefully this is some valuable insight into the issue.

 

 

[Doonz2019 3]

Just found this thread. Yep Im having the same issue with DTS on my Hisense tv