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Android TV Sound gaps


smc007i

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Hi @@ebr,

 

I did a quick search and didn't find anything specific on this topic in the forum so far.  Also wasn't sure where to file this as you'll see:

 

My set up is:

Emby server running on a NAS: QNAP TS-453A

The media library is on the RAID5 volume on the same NAS (excuse me if my terminology on raid/volumes isn't right)

I have a Sony Android TV and use the Android App to browse and view my Emby Library

The TV and NAS are plugged into a local switch via LAN cables (or alternatively plugged TV in to the NAS which has a virtual switch capability)

 

The setup works fine, the issue I am having is that the sound isn't continuous, every once and a while there is a short gap.  It doesn't get out of sync, it just sticks for a fraction of a second and then carries on, the picture seems fine.  This is irritating, it would happen a half dozen times during a 22min show, for example.

 

I checked the NAS CPU usage and it's not high, I've tried the TV LAN cable into a local switch and into the back of the NAS virtual switch and this doesn't make any difference.  

 

Its as if the sounds isn't being buffered far enough into the future and then refreshes when it gets stuck.  Any ideas on any settings I need to look at on the Emby server (or maybe the NAS or TV)?

 

Thanks

 

S

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Sorry, that's I'm not sure what that is, but I can confirm that the last thing I watched was 1080P H264 5.1 DTS according to Emby. Audio details: Channels 3F2R/LFE, Sample Rate 48000Hz, bitrate 1536kb/s.  It was a .mkv file and it has the small gaps in sound issue a few times.

 

What are those limitiations you are refering to?  Can anything be done to prepare the stream to cater for it?

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What I am talking about would only apply to DD.  Does your TV support DTS?  Did the item transcode or play directly?

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I still don't know what you mean by DD. What does it stand for?

 

The TV does support DTS - https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/support/televisions-projectors-lcd-tvs-android-/kd-49xd8099/specifications

 

I don't know if it's direct or transcoded, where can I check this?  I assume its a setting on the Emby server somewhere? I can't see anything obvious.  I did notice on the server transcoding setting screen that Throttling was enabled, should I try with this disabled? Emby is the main thing I run on this NAS.

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smc007i

I've attached the log file from the server (I think) and on the Andriod for TV I sent the logs to the administrator following the instructions on the webspage you linked to, though I did get an error asking me if I wanted to wait of the app or close it, I said wait but nothing seems to be happening, so not sure if that went. I rebooted my TV and tried again and then it did go, but not sure if it's captured the issues.

 

In the server log file I only played 2 files this evening, the first 1 had the issue of sounds gaps, the second file the sound was terribly out of sync - so I tried playing the second file on Emby on my android tablet and it worked perfectly until it was about half way through then jammed and wouldn't resume. The .mkv file also jammed on VLC on my PC, so the file must have something wrong with it, however the Android for TV and Android on the tablet app played it very differently.

 

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smc007i

Following up on the above, I started watching a file today on my Emby for Android TV app and it had really bad sound gap issues, so I stopped it and opened the web browser on my Android TV and went to the Emby server from there and watched the file and it played fine.  I deduce this issue is within the Emby for Android TV app as it's been pretty tempremental at the moment, I've had to power cycle my TV a few times as it seems to crash more often than it ever has before. 

 

I will add that a number of the files I've been trying to watch recent;y have had issues - whereby they jam at some point and cannot be watched, perhaps this is upsetting the Android app? - the fact that the file has some other issue with it?

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When you play it with the web app, it has to transcode it to a different format because the web browser doesn't support the same audio and video formats that the Android TV app can.  Therefore, you are not comparing the same thing.

 

What is the origin of these files?  How were they encoded?

 

We haven't seen any other reports of this type of behavior in the app so I'm think it is either related to the content or perhaps some capability of the TV that we are assuming is working but really doesn't.  What is the exact model of TV?

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smc007i

I didn't encode the files myself, they were from elsewhere, I can't say anything more than that.

 

I provided the tv spec previously in the thread - https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/support/televisions-projectors-lcd-tvs-android-/kd-49xd8099/specifications

 

More recent files I have had seem to played better and I don't get any issues, though today I have noticed that if there is an issue with a file then the Android for TV app can't seem to handle it failing.  I had a file today that froze while playing and then the app crashed, I had to reboot my tv to get emby to run again.

 

Of course I want to have files that aren't an issue to play, so I delete the ones that aren't playing properly, but I also think the app needs to be looked at to make sure it can handle files the best it can and if it does have an error it doesn't just crash, freeze and jam like it does.  Unless it is the TV, though I'd be surprised that a brand like Sony would have issue.s

 

Let me know if there is anything more I can try/test.  I did sent the last app crash feedback via Android on the TV, I don't know where that goes, but maybe it'll help.

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  • 1 year later...
TheMafia

Hi everyone. Just letting you know I have a Sony Android TV and I’m having the exact same issue. Gaps in the audio.

 

Android TV 1.656g, direct playing a file.

 

Has there been a resolution?

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Hi everyone. Just letting you know I have a Sony Android TV and I’m having the exact same issue. Gaps in the audio.

 

Android TV 1.656g, direct playing a file.

 

Has there been a resolution?

 

Hi.  What kind of audio is it?

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TheMafia

Stats for nerds says:

 

Player: ExoPlayer

Play Method: Direct

Stream Type: mkv

 

Video Resolution: 1920x1080

Video Codec: H264

Bitrate 8.93Mbps

Audio Codec: Dolby+ (Direct)

 

Container: MKV

Audio codec: Dolby+

Audio Bitrate: <unknown>

Audio Channels:

 

Does that help?

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  • 5 weeks later...
TheMafia

Unknown audio bitrate and blank channels?

Sorry, I was not notified of your reply.

 

yep, that's all that came up in stats for nerds. It has been getting worse lately. A lot of rips from TV series (The Flash, Arrow, etc) They all have these sound gaps and the only way to fix it is to do the playback error option an then it plays with no issues. (due to transcoding).

 

If I switch to kodi, plex, or VLC the files play without issue. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
TheMafia

I managed to fix this problem, and I apologise, after watching long enough on plex it skipped audio.

There is a setting that says Dolby Digital, or Dolby Digital plus" in the TVs settings.

I set it to "Dolby Digital" and it stopped skipping when direct streaming. 

Am I losing much going back to dolby digital?

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I managed to fix this problem, and I apologise, after watching long enough on plex it skipped audio.

 

There is a setting that says Dolby Digital, or Dolby Digital plus" in the TVs settings.

 

I set it to "Dolby Digital" and it stopped skipping when direct streaming. 

 

Am I losing much going back to dolby digital?

 

Not if you cannot hear a difference :).

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