maniac79 0 Posted April 11, 2023 Share Posted April 11, 2023 Hi, I'm facing some issues with playback of some files and I don't understand why. My setup: Emby server running on Sinology (latest version: 4.7.11.0) Emby client running on Homatics Box R 4K Plus TV: Sony KD-65XH9005 Soundbar: LG NB3530A (old, but never failed me and sufficient for my personal use case) Synology: DS920+ LAN: Gbit Today I wanted to play a recently stored movie with 90 kbps video and DTS sound. After a few seconds of play, the video started to stutter, up to where it is really unwatchable. After 1-2 hours of trouble shooting and assuming my network could be the issue, I eventually noticed that Emby was trying to transcode the movie and then I started digging some more. I then tested a few more files and noticed that sometimes files are transcoded and sometimes not and I don't understand why it's happening. For comparison, I have tested two movies, one which runs without transcoding and one which runs with transcoding, despite having similar specs. NOT transcoding / Back to the future II: Video: Title: 4k HEVC HDR10 Codec: HEVC Profile: Main 10 Level: 153.0 Resolution: 3840x2160 Aspect: 16:9 Framerate: 23.9760025 Bitrate: 45.423 kbps Bit depth: 10 bit RefFrames: 1 Video Range: HDR10 Audio: Title: German DTS-HD MA 7.1 (Default) Language: Ger Codec: DTS Profile: DTS-HD MA Layout: 7.1 Channels: 8 Bit Depth: 16 bit Default Transcoding / Exorzist 3: Video: Title: 4k HEVC HDR10 Codec: HEVC Profile: Main 10 Level: 153.0 Resolution: 3840x2160 Aspect: 16:9 Framerate: 23.9760025 Bitrate: 90.022 kbps Bit depth: 10 bit RefFrames: 1 Video Range: HDR10 Audio: Title: German DTS-HD MA 5.1 (Default) Language: Ger Codec: DTS Profile: DTS-HD MA Layout: 5.1 Channels: 6 Bit Depth: 16 bit Default The only difference is that Exorzist has 2x the frame rate and has 5.1 audio instead of 7.1. But since 7.1 is working fine in my setup with direct play, I would assume 5.1 shouldn't be a problem either? I have attached the log file playing both these files. Any help is appreciated. Thanks. embyserver.txt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac79 0 Posted April 11, 2023 Author Share Posted April 11, 2023 Update: I played both files via the iPhone app and BOTH were played with "Direct-Play", without transcoding. So it has to be an issue with either the Android TV box or the client app?! In addition, I found more movies with DTS-HD MA 5.1 in my library which trigger a transcode and also multiple DTS-HD MA 5.1 which DON'T trigger a transcode. I'd really like to know how to play all my files without transcoding, it's clearly possible as some files play fine. Lastly, I updated to 4.8.0.29 beta to see if that changes the behavior, but it's all the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14913 Posted April 11, 2023 Share Posted April 11, 2023 Hi. Did you check the stats for nerds or the Emby dashboard for the reason why the item was transcoding? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac79 0 Posted April 11, 2023 Author Share Posted April 11, 2023 Hi - yes, it just mentions "playback error". See attached screenshot from dashboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14913 Posted April 11, 2023 Share Posted April 11, 2023 Hi. Okay, then it is not due to the audio format but, rather, that the item didn't play when we tried to direct play it. Can you please play that item for a few seconds and then follow the instructions to send a log from the app? Thanks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac79 0 Posted April 11, 2023 Author Share Posted April 11, 2023 Hey. I just sent the log via the app. Not sure how you could associate it with me though?! If you need any more details from me, please let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14913 Posted April 11, 2023 Share Posted April 11, 2023 2 hours ago, maniac79 said: Not sure how you could associate it with me though? From the instructions Quote Then add the following information to your report in the forum: Exactly what you were doing and what happened. Include the name of whatever you played if it is a playback problem The time you sent the log (in Eastern Time please - UTC -5) The name of the Emby user on the local server that was logged in at the time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14913 Posted April 11, 2023 Share Posted April 11, 2023 Pretty sure I found your log based on the time though. The device is throwing an out of memory error. I think it is related to the audio track somehow but not sure. How were these items created? Perhaps you could try remuxing one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac79 0 Posted April 11, 2023 Author Share Posted April 11, 2023 31 minutes ago, ebr said: From the instructions Well... "embysrv" is the user name. (Sorry, I know, bad boy... :P) 28 minutes ago, ebr said: Pretty sure I found your log based on the time though. The device is throwing an out of memory error. I think it is related to the audio track somehow but not sure. How were these items created? Perhaps you could try remuxing one of them. Remuxing without actually changing anything, is that what you propose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37071 Posted April 11, 2023 Share Posted April 11, 2023 4 hours ago, maniac79 said: Remuxing without actually changing anything, is that what you propose? Yes exactly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac79 0 Posted April 14, 2023 Author Share Posted April 14, 2023 Hi, alright, I remixed the file, the resulting new file was slightly different in size, but the transcoding still happens when I play it with the Homatics Android Box. I just sent another log file through the app in this very minute of writing this update. Any advice what else I could try is highly appreciated. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37071 Posted April 15, 2023 Share Posted April 15, 2023 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac79 0 Posted April 15, 2023 Author Share Posted April 15, 2023 Alright, I installed the standard Android app. Good news: The movie doesn't transcode according to Emby server dashboard when I play it with the Android app on the same device. Bad news: Starting the movie, I'm only getting a dark screen. Audio plays fine without transcoding as before. When I skip forward through the movie, the picture is updated and shows one frame. Audio continues to play, but image is frozen and doesn't update. Can't send a log file through the app now or I don't know how?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14913 Posted April 15, 2023 Share Posted April 15, 2023 Just now, maniac79 said: I'm only getting a dark screen. So that would indicate to me that the TV app is appropriately transcoding... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac79 0 Posted April 15, 2023 Author Share Posted April 15, 2023 (edited) But the same file is playing without transcoding via the iPhone app. On the Homatics device the TV app transcodes because of the Audio, not the video. And on the same device the Android app plays the audio well without transcoding. Edited April 15, 2023 by maniac79 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14913 Posted April 15, 2023 Share Posted April 15, 2023 4 hours ago, maniac79 said: But the same file is playing without transcoding via the iPhone app. That is a completely different piece of hardware though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac79 0 Posted April 15, 2023 Author Share Posted April 15, 2023 Yeah, I see understand that. But running on the same device/Android TV box: TV app: # Stream is transcoded # Video direct play # Audio is causing the transcode Standard Android app: # Stream is not transcoded # Video direct play (but not working properly) # Audio direct play without any issues This indicates the device is capable of direct playing the audio stream, which seems to indicate the TV app has an issue. Or? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14913 Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 Hi. As I said above, in the specific example you sent a log for, the device threw an out of memory error so we re-started playback in a different way. Then, once we start re-muxing, it isn't possible to direct play that audio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac79 0 Posted October 24, 2023 Author Share Posted October 24, 2023 (edited) Hi - as I had troubles with another file today, I did more testing, with interesting results. AndroidTV App 2.0.93g: DirectPlay errors start to occur randomly a few minutes into the movie and starts to transcode, which in my setup causes stuttering. Sideloaded Emby for Android 3.2.94 No more black screen during playback as reported with an earlier attempt mid of April, now the file plays back flawlessly, no DirectPlay errors, no transcoding as expected. Logs attached. As playback now works correctly on the sideloaded app, this is confirmation there is something wrong in the AndroidTV App running on my device (still Homatics Box R 4K Plus). Both ran on the same device. I'd rather use AndroidTV App for all my playback purposes. embyserver.txt Edited October 24, 2023 by maniac79 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37071 Posted October 24, 2023 Share Posted October 24, 2023 5 hours ago, maniac79 said: Hi - as I had troubles with another file today, I did more testing, with interesting results. AndroidTV App 2.0.93g: DirectPlay errors start to occur randomly a few minutes into the movie and starts to transcode, which in my setup causes stuttering. Sideloaded Emby for Android 3.2.94 No more black screen during playback as reported with an earlier attempt mid of April, now the file plays back flawlessly, no DirectPlay errors, no transcoding as expected. Logs attached. As playback now works correctly on the sideloaded app, this is confirmation there is something wrong in the AndroidTV App running on my device (still Homatics Box R 4K Plus). Both ran on the same device. I'd rather use AndroidTV App for all my playback purposes. embyserver.txt 228.78 kB · 0 downloads HI, are you happy continuing to use the sideloaded app? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac79 0 Posted October 24, 2023 Author Share Posted October 24, 2023 The AndroidTV App looks much nicer imho, so would prefer to use that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37071 Posted October 24, 2023 Share Posted October 24, 2023 24 minutes ago, maniac79 said: The AndroidTV App looks much nicer imho, so would prefer to use that. Hi, what about it looks nicer to you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac79 0 Posted October 25, 2023 Author Share Posted October 25, 2023 Hi, things that I noticed at first glance: - side loaded app only has a boring grey background throughout (fixable?) - the view showing the actors during playback doesn't look as nice compared to the Android TV App, I use that quite frequently and like the Android TV app much more Also, I'm not sure whether or not the side loaded app will get auto-updates, it seems it doesn't as it's not shown in my apps in Google Play Store. Tried to find out if I have the latest version but couldn't find the latest version number on GitHub. Lastly and more importantly, I spent days to configure and optimize my automatic lighting in Home Assistant/Node Red to work with the Android TV app. I would have to start from scratch if I had to work with the different app and that's big no for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37071 Posted October 26, 2023 Share Posted October 26, 2023 Quote - side loaded app only has a boring grey background throughout (fixable?) Hi, there is no grey in the app. It is a dark near-black background. Have you explored the theme options in the app? Quote the view showing the actors during playback doesn't look as nice compared to the Android TV App, I use that quite frequently and like the Android TV app much more OK, is this one little thing really your deciding factor though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac79 0 Posted October 28, 2023 Author Share Posted October 28, 2023 Hi - dark near-black background sure looks like (dark) grey to me. Anyhow, I started not liking the idea to switch the app because of little cosmetics. However, after thinking it through, I noticed other reasons which are more important to me, as I explained above. App not being automatically updated via Google Play Store and my Home Automation, which is hand-tailored to the other app. But are you saying the Apple TV App is being abandoned and errors like I discovered are not being fixed anymore? Can you then at least make the Android App available on Android TV Apps via Google Play Store? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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