Jump to content

emby App Playback Issue on TiVo Stream 4K


kubev

Recommended Posts

I recently purchased a TiVo Stream 4K, and I've noticed a playback issue when using the emby app for Android TV. I occasionally notice the screen going black for maybe 1-3 frames. It doesn't happen with other apps, and have resolution and frame rate switching disabled through the emby app. My TV isn't losing the HDMI signal or anything. Sometimes, it seems to happen every 10 seconds. Other times, it could happen every 2-3 minutes. There's no real rhyme or reason to it. I'm using version 1.8.10g of the emby app.

Any thoughts as to what might be going on?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi.  What is the bitrate of the content being played?  Does the problem go away if you lower the bitrate setting in the app?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, ebr said:

Hi.  What is the bitrate of the content being played?  Does the problem go away if you lower the bitrate setting in the app?

The bitrate varies, as I'm watching a variety of content from Blu-ray and DVD sources, as well as some stuff downloaded from YouTube. Currently, the video I'm watching is roughly 25 Mbps, and lowering it to 10 Mbps still doesn't make the problem go away, nor does it appear to reduce the frequency.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, I've never heard of anything like this before.  Sure sounds like a suspect HDMI connection.  Have you tried different inputs or cables?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, ebr said:

Okay, I've never heard of anything like this before.  Sure sounds like a suspect HDMI connection.  Have you tried different inputs or cables?

Multiple inputs, yes. Multiple cables, no, as the TiVo Stream 4K has its own HDMI cable built in (hardwired). That said, I've only seen the issue appear in the emby app, though that's also the only app I use for streaming local content. I notice no such issues with the emby app on my NVIDIA Shield TV Pro, though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, Luke said:

Can we look at an example of what you're playing? Thanks !

I can provide you with that information if you give me more detail. Do you want me to take some off-screen footage of what's happening, for example, or do you mean that you want some examples as to the sizes and bitrates of various files?

Here's some off-screen footage of 'For a Few Dollars More' with 'Stats for Nerds' enabled.

 

Edited by kubev
Added Footage
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you tried turning on the refresh-rate switching?

Is all the content relatively old like this?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, ebr said:

Have you tried turning on the refresh-rate switching?

Is all the content relatively old like this?

I normally don't use that feature, as - if memory serves me correctly - my Samsung KS8000 TV tends to dump my video settings if it thinks a new device has been plugged into an input, and I recall a change in refresh rate triggering that pretty often. That said, for troubleshooting purposes, I just tried it, and the setting seems to have no effect. As in, when I turn refresh rate switching on in the emby app, it still seems to output at 60 Hz, despite the bulk of the content being 23.98 fps, and I still get the flickering. I checked the Device Preferences within the Android TV UI on the TiVo Stream 4K and can't seem to find any settings that're preventing the refresh rate from changing.

As for the content, most of it consists of Blu-ray rips with no reduction of quality outside of the edge cases that needed some cropping or aspect ratio correction. As for the original release years of the content, it ranges from 1960 to 2019.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do you see the screen go black for like two seconds before playback starts?  If not, the device is probably not switching refresh rates (may not support it).

Can you play one of these for a few seconds (with the problem) and then send a log from the app?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, ebr said:

Do you see the screen go black for like two seconds before playback starts?  If not, the device is probably not switching refresh rates (may not support it).

Can you play one of these for a few seconds (with the problem) and then send a log from the app?

No, the screen never goes black to signal any sort of refresh rate switching. I assume the TiVo Stream 4K doesn't support it.

I sent the logs at 6:41 p.m. Eastern Time. I started Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and played it long enough to experience a couple of flickers, then backed out of the movie and submitted the logs.

Edited by kubev
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unfortunately, that device is spitting out so much noise in the log (a line for every keypress) that I cannot see the playback.  Never seen that before, is there some sort of debugging level on the device you've enabled?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, ebr said:

Unfortunately, that device is spitting out so much noise in the log (a line for every keypress) that I cannot see the playback.  Never seen that before, is there some sort of debugging level on the device you've enabled?

To my knowledge, the only debugging I enabled was in the emby app itself to make the Send Logs option appear under my profile. That said, I did do some tweaks via some YouTube tutorials, so I did a factory reset on the TiVo Stream 4K after seeing your most recent post. I once again started watching Ace Ventura: Pet Detective long enough for the problem to appear several times, then I immediately backed out to the home page and sent the logs at 10:16 a.m. Eastern Time. Let me know if you see any improvement in the quality of the data. I forgot to mention this before, but I assume you didn't need the info, but I'm using the profile called "Kevin" on the device, which is the only profile I have for emby.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unfortunately no.  Your log is filled with lines like this which take up the whole thing:

08-09 07:16:38.187  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Key down to android.widget.MenuPopupWindow$MenuDropDownListView{a40f776 VFED.VC.. .F...... 0,0-392,288} in android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38: KeyEvent { action=ACTION_DOWN, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN, scanCode=108, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=141394, downTime=141394, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }
08-09 07:16:38.288  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Key up to android.widget.MenuPopupWindow$MenuDropDownListView{a40f776 VFED.VC.. .F...... 0,0-392,288} in android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38: KeyEvent { action=ACTION_UP, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN, scanCode=108, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=141495, downTime=141394, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }
08-09 07:16:38.289  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Handle key up KeyEvent { action=ACTION_UP, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN, scanCode=108, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=141495, downTime=141394, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }: android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38
08-09 07:16:38.289  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Handle key up KeyEvent { action=ACTION_UP, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN, scanCode=108, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=141495, downTime=141394, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }: android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38
08-09 07:16:38.435  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Key down to android.widget.MenuPopupWindow$MenuDropDownListView{a40f776 VFED.VC.. .F...... 0,0-392,288} in android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38: KeyEvent { action=ACTION_DOWN, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN, scanCode=108, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=141641, downTime=141641, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }
08-09 07:16:38.548  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Key up to android.widget.MenuPopupWindow$MenuDropDownListView{a40f776 VFED.VC.. .F...... 0,0-392,288} in android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38: KeyEvent { action=ACTION_UP, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN, scanCode=108, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=141754, downTime=141641, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }
08-09 07:16:38.548  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Handle key up KeyEvent { action=ACTION_UP, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN, scanCode=108, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=141754, downTime=141641, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }: android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38
08-09 07:16:38.548  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Handle key up KeyEvent { action=ACTION_UP, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN, scanCode=108, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=141754, downTime=141641, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }: android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38
08-09 07:16:38.784  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Key down to android.widget.MenuPopupWindow$MenuDropDownListView{a40f776 VFED.VC.. .F...... 0,0-392,288} in android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38: KeyEvent { action=ACTION_DOWN, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_CENTER, scanCode=353, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=141990, downTime=141990, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }
08-09 07:16:38.941  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Key up to android.widget.MenuPopupWindow$MenuDropDownListView{a40f776 VFED.VC.. .F.P..ID 0,0-392,288} in android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38: KeyEvent { action=ACTION_UP, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_CENTER, scanCode=353, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=142148, downTime=141990, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }
08-09 07:16:38.941  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Handle key up KeyEvent { action=ACTION_UP, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_CENTER, scanCode=353, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=142148, downTime=141990, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }: android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, ebr said:

Unfortunately no.  Your log is filled with lines like this which take up the whole thing:


08-09 07:16:38.187  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Key down to android.widget.MenuPopupWindow$MenuDropDownListView{a40f776 VFED.VC.. .F...... 0,0-392,288} in android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38: KeyEvent { action=ACTION_DOWN, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN, scanCode=108, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=141394, downTime=141394, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }
08-09 07:16:38.288  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Key up to android.widget.MenuPopupWindow$MenuDropDownListView{a40f776 VFED.VC.. .F...... 0,0-392,288} in android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38: KeyEvent { action=ACTION_UP, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN, scanCode=108, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=141495, downTime=141394, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }
08-09 07:16:38.289  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Handle key up KeyEvent { action=ACTION_UP, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN, scanCode=108, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=141495, downTime=141394, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }: android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38
08-09 07:16:38.289  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Handle key up KeyEvent { action=ACTION_UP, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN, scanCode=108, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=141495, downTime=141394, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }: android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38
08-09 07:16:38.435  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Key down to android.widget.MenuPopupWindow$MenuDropDownListView{a40f776 VFED.VC.. .F...... 0,0-392,288} in android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38: KeyEvent { action=ACTION_DOWN, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN, scanCode=108, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=141641, downTime=141641, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }
08-09 07:16:38.548  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Key up to android.widget.MenuPopupWindow$MenuDropDownListView{a40f776 VFED.VC.. .F...... 0,0-392,288} in android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38: KeyEvent { action=ACTION_UP, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN, scanCode=108, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=141754, downTime=141641, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }
08-09 07:16:38.548  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Handle key up KeyEvent { action=ACTION_UP, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN, scanCode=108, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=141754, downTime=141641, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }: android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38
08-09 07:16:38.548  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Handle key up KeyEvent { action=ACTION_UP, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_DOWN, scanCode=108, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=141754, downTime=141641, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }: android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38
08-09 07:16:38.784  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Key down to android.widget.MenuPopupWindow$MenuDropDownListView{a40f776 VFED.VC.. .F...... 0,0-392,288} in android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38: KeyEvent { action=ACTION_DOWN, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_CENTER, scanCode=353, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=141990, downTime=141990, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }
08-09 07:16:38.941  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Key up to android.widget.MenuPopupWindow$MenuDropDownListView{a40f776 VFED.VC.. .F.P..ID 0,0-392,288} in android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38: KeyEvent { action=ACTION_UP, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_CENTER, scanCode=353, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=142148, downTime=141990, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }
08-09 07:16:38.941  5277  5277 V KeyEvent: Handle key up KeyEvent { action=ACTION_UP, keyCode=KEYCODE_DPAD_CENTER, scanCode=353, metaState=0, flags=0x8, repeatCount=0, eventTime=142148, downTime=141990, deviceId=5, source=0x301 }: android.view.KeyEvent$DispatcherState@b130a38

 

Bummer. Anything else I could provide that might help? Also, assuming that this is just an excessive amount of debug information that's needlessly enabled by default on the TiVo Stream 4K, do you think it's worthwhile to maybe contact TiVo about it to see whether they can do anything to clean up and reduce the output per event?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Luke said:

Are you able to side load apks on this device?

Yes, you can sideload APKs on the TiVo Stream 4K.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Luke said:

Can you try this and let me know how it compares:

Thanks.

Will do. Am I correct in assuming that this is a beta version of the emby app? Also, should I uninstall the version I installed from the Play Store, or can the two coexist without issue?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Luke said:

It's our mobile app. It can coexist.

I've sideloaded it, and it exhibits the same problem as the Android TV version.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Luke said:

When you test a file more than once does it happen in the same spot?

Not really. It'll happen with roughly the same frequency in each file, but the exact spots will vary each time. For example, the first time I tried testing Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, it happened almost immediately, even before the movie itself began. (It happened on the splash screens for the various studios.) Most recently, though, I think I had to wait almost 3-4 minutes before it started, at which point it began to occur with the same frequency. I even tested it with Ernest Saves Christmas, which is a DVD release that I cropped to get rid of the top/bottom bars so it'd scale properly on all devices, and that's got a bitrate of maybe 3-4 Mbps, and even that has the same problem with roughly the same frequency.

Edited by kubev
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most likely the hardware decoder on the device doesn't fully support these files. I suppose we could add options to force software decoding, if that will perform well enough.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Luke said:

Most likely the hardware decoder on the device doesn't fully support these files. I suppose we could add options to force software decoding, if that will perform well enough.

What sort of timeline would we be looking at for such an update, out of curiosity? Also, is there anything I can do in the meantime to assist, such as installing (even sideloading) software that'd give you more information about the TiVo Stream 4K's specs for clarity?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...