2nd Gen Fire TV Stick (Canada - Basic Edition) DD&DD+ 5.1 audio dropouts

[arecad98 5]

I noticed that a while back there was mention that the latest OS update for the fire tv was causing audio drop outs for DD and DD+ when over a certain bitrate. It would seem that my problem is unrelated to bitrate and I am trying to figure out the issue.

 

First of all, this only happens in Emby. I have no issues with audio drop outs in Amazon Video, Netflix, Youtube and Google Play movies. However when I watch anything in Emby with DD 5.1, I see it is being remuxed to 384kbps audio but it still exhibits random drop outs. I do not see this ever with AAC or stereo. In addition, if I switch to stereo in the settings of Emby, it also plays just fine. My wifi connection is just fine with "very good" reception showing in the OS.

 

I am replacing my Roku stick with the Amazon one and I don't experience any of these dropouts with the Roku playing the same videos in Emby.

 

Is anyone else experiencing anything like this? 

 

For context, the video specs are as follows for one of the videos so I don't believe this is hard on the stick to process:

 

CodecH264
AVCYes
ProfileHigh
Level40
Resolution1912x1080
Aspect ratio16:9
AnamorphicNo
InterlacedNo
Framerate23.976
Bitrate5210 kbps
Bit depth8 bit
Pixel formatyuv420p
Ref frames1
NAL4
Containermkv 

[arecad98 5]

I just uploaded the logs via the app at 5:02pm ET - username is "Ron" - hoping someone can shed some light about the random dropouts for DD 5.1 in Emby.

[ebr 14935]

The log shows dropped video frames and audio underrun errors constantly.

 

What is the network connection involved?

[arecad98 5]

I have a Google wifi router in the same room about 15 feet away.

 

The wireless on the fire tv shows a signal strength of "very good" and a speed test on the fire tv shows 50mbps pretty consistently.

 

I don't experience these dropouts in any other video app. In addition, if I change emby audio from direct to stereo, there are no dropouts. I should also add the video never stutters or indicates visually that frames are dropping.

[ebr 14935]

In order to produce such an inexpensive device, I'll bet the stick's wifi isn't top notch and my guess is that is the crux of the problem.  When dealing with bitstreamed audio like DD, any interruption in the stream for even a split second will usually cause the receiving device to put itself into a 'mute' mode for a second or two.  This is to avoid any potentially speaker-damaging digital screeching that could occur with bad bitstream data but it also tends to exacerbate the drop out.

 

That is my best guess as to what is happening here.

[arecad98 5]

In order to produce such an inexpensive device, I'll bet the stick's wifi isn't top notch and my guess is that is the crux of the problem.  When dealing with bitstreamed audio like DD, any interruption in the stream for even a split second will usually cause the receiving device to put itself into a 'mute' mode for a second or two.  This is to avoid any potentially speaker-damaging digital screeching that could occur with bad bitstream data but it also tends to exacerbate the drop out.

 

That is my best guess as to what is happening here.

 

I had done more testing last night. I had moved the router to about 3 feet from the stick. I was getting over 100mbps download speeds (on 5ghz band) when I tested it however the DD was still randomly dropping out. I don't know if I am convinced this is the wifi as I don't see this behaviour in any other apps. However, seeing as there aren't others complaining about this problem it makes me wonder. The thing that keeps bothering me though is that I can stream full HD Netflix or Amazon Video with DD+ and not a single hiccup with the sound. I can also stream much higher bitrate content in Emby with AAC and it runs smooth as butter with no drops. It's hard to accept this is a Wifi issue - perhaps it's the Amazon OS handling standard DD as I don't see this at all with DD+ 5.1 on other apps or high bitrate AAC videos in Emby. If it was dropping audio in Tubi, Netflix, Youtube, Crackle or Google Play Movies I'd be convinced it was a bad antenna or a defective unit.

 

Well I appreciate your time. Unfortunately I will have to watch my Emby DD 5.1 videos in stereo  . There is supposed to be a Fire OS update (5.2.6.1) hitting the stick any moment now as it was released on Tuesday - I am hoping this will help.

Edited December 14, 2017 by arecad98