Please help with dropped frames/playback -- I ran an analysis in AI wh

[TCEmby1 8]

I asked an AI to help figure out why (see attached screenshot) Video A (top) is dropping frames like crazy and basically unplayable, while Video B (bottom) is excellent.

Same Computer is playing both videos

Video is playing over local LAN

AI says:

Given that you are testing both videos on the same machine, we can rule out hardware limitations as the cause for the dropped frames in Video A, assuming that the hardware is capable of playing Video B smoothly. Since the issue is isolated to Video A, we can focus on the differences between the two videos and how they might be affecting playback.

Here are some potential factors to consider:

1. **Bitrate**: Video A has a lower bitrate of 2 mbps compared to Video B's 3 mbps. Although the bitrate is lower, which typically would require less processing power, it's possible that Video A's encoding is less efficient, requiring more processing power to decode, which could lead to dropped frames.

2. **Resolution and Aspect Ratio**: Video A has a resolution of 1920x800 with an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, while Video B has a resolution of 1920x1040 with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The difference in aspect ratio and resolution means that the player might be handling the scaling differently, which could affect performance.

3. **Color Space and Primaries**: Video B specifies color primaries (bt709), color space (bt709), and color transfer (bt709), while Video A does not. This difference could potentially affect how the video is processed and displayed, although it's less likely to cause dropped frames.

4. **File Size**: Video A is 1.7 GB, while Video B is 2.4 GB. The file size itself should not directly impact playback performance, but it could be indicative of different encoding settings that are not visible in the provided specs, such as compression efficiency.

5. **Software Configuration**: Since the hardware is the same for both videos, it's worth looking into the software configuration. There might be settings within the video player or the Emby Server that are affecting the playback of Video A but not Video B.

6. **Corrupt File or Encoding Issues**: It's possible that Video A has some form of corruption or was encoded with settings that are causing issues with playback. Re-encoding Video A with the same settings as Video B or using a different encoder could help determine if this is the case.

7. **Audio Bitrate**: Although it's less common, the audio bitrate could also play a role. Video A has an audio bitrate of 224 kbps, while Video B has a higher bitrate of 384 kbps. Normally, a higher audio bitrate would demand more resources, but if there's an issue with the audio track or codec for Video A, it could potentially impact video playback.

To troubleshoot the issue, you could try the following steps:

- Re-encode Video A with a higher bitrate and see if that improves playback.
- Check the video player and Emby Server settings for any differences in how they handle different video files.
- Try playing Video A with a different media player to see if the issue is specific to the player you are currently using.
- If possible, re-encode Video A using the same encoder settings as Video B to ensure consistency between the two files.

If the problem persists, it may be helpful to look for any error logs or messages from the video player or Emby Server that could provide more insight into the cause of the dropped frames.

Citations:
User submited image

Edited January 22 by TCEmby1

[pwhodges 1532]

A good demonstration of how little AI actually knows...

Stage 1 in diagnosis here is to provide a log for the playbacks, specifying which played file was which:

Paul

[Luke 37107]

 

Hi there, let's look at an example. Please attach the information requested in how to report a media playback issue. Thanks!

 

[TCEmby1 8]

here are logs

 

Edited January 24 by Abobader
Removed logs as requested

[rbjtech 4287]

Simply put, if you only have one ffmpeg log - then that video is transcoding, the other is direct playing.

The key question is why is that video transcoding ?  It's a very lowbitrate h264 file - could be poorly encoded- but without a sample of each file - very difficult to say.

Edited January 23 by rbjtech

[Luke 37107]

It's transcoding because the chrome video player raised an error when trying to direct play it. Unfortunately it doesn't give us more detail than that, but maybe that's a sign that you might want to consider reencoding the file.