[AppleTV] Action scenes not so smooth for 720p MKV on Apple TV [Archive]

zul277

2008-10-07, 18:57

Hi,

I am new to this forum. I have XBMC on my old xbox and decided to get an appletv last week right on the day XMBC and Boxee was possible on it.

Anyway I found that the video tends to stutter a bit (?dropped frames) especially on high action scenes. MKV is slightly worse. On Boxee it is fine. I prefer XBMC at the moment for offline videos (Not supported on boxee)

Any suggestions? I thought of reducing the quality of video but will take some re-encoding, if so what is best settings? I thought maybe I can tweak something in XBMC to make it run better.

Thanks

davilla

2008-10-07, 20:14

Hi,

I am new to this forum. I have XBMC on my old xbox and decided to get an appletv last week right on the day XBMC and Boxee was possible on it.

Anyway I found that the video tends to stutter a bit (?dropped frames) especially on high action scenes. MKV is slightly worse. On Boxee it is fine. I prefer XBMC at the moment for offline videos (Not supported on boxee)

Any suggestions? I thought of reducing the quality of video but will take some re-encoding, if so what is best settings? I thought maybe I can tweak something in XBMC to make it run better.

It would help us to have a copy of the mkv in question. PM me and I'll give you the location of an ftp server to place it on.

perium

2008-10-08, 03:59

I have one also that doesnt play well if you need a 2nd example

voggers

2008-10-08, 09:28

Same here.....none of my mkv's play (TV shows like Prison Break, CSI...).

(well they do play....but it's not pleasant to watch)

Maverik

2008-10-08, 10:01

Same problem here... 720p MKV very "unsmooth"... also tried 720p mp4 thats plays perfect on "native" Appletv, don't run that smooth in xmbc...

mastiha

2008-11-03, 04:35

I've tried playing and MKV via a network share and an the MKV on the ATV. Playback with both is very "unsmooth".

The same video played on a PopCorn Hour A100 has no issues.

flagtuck

2008-11-03, 06:03

Same here, 720p MKV plays well most of the time but gets jumpy when there is a lot of action. I'm on 100Mb wired LAN playing media on a SMB share.
Any settings we might tweak to get smoother playback?
I'm back to original xbox and AVI files for a while I guess.

davilla

2008-11-03, 18:41

make sure the software upscaler is off.

I would need to get a sample of the video content to see if you are seeing a user setup issue or some other issue.

mastiha

2008-11-03, 22:43

Software upscaler is off in my settings.

SimonMTL

2008-11-03, 23:32

Same thing here on all 720p MKV TV shows downloaded.... it accelerates through frames for about a half-second, then continues playing smoothly for about 5 seconds, then restarts again the accelerated frame rate. Endless loop.

ravidium

2008-11-03, 23:35

Same thing here on all 720p MKV TV shows downloaded.... it accelerates through frames for about a half-second, then continues playing smoothly for about 5 seconds, then restarts again the accelerated frame rate. Endless loop.

yes! pretty much the same thing happening to me

davilla

2008-11-04, 00:02

This is starting to get real annoying and I'm only going to say this ONCE and then I'm going to stop answering future posts that reference mkv container format without any information regarding the encoding format and bit-rates of the audio/video content INSIDE the mkv container. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matroska. Now see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264 and look at all the possible encoding flavors and cpu requirements. I cannot help anyone without knowing the audio/video encoding format/bit-rate.

It's the audio/video content encoding format and bit-rate that determines the required CPU resources and not the file container format (MKV). If the video encoding format or bit-rate requires too much cpu resources, then the AppleTV cannot handle it, sorry, end of story, there is no free lunch.

Unfortunately many MKV files "found" on the net are setup for smallest file size with best quality which means using a lot of cpu resources to just decode it. That's what you get for "free" access. If you are having problems with mkv files, then use one of the numerous programs available (google for them) that will tell you all sorts of information about your mkv file and what's inside it. XBMC can also display this info, search these forums for xbmc_remote for info one how to use it.

SimonMTL

2008-11-04, 03:59

I cannot help anyone without knowing the audio/video encoding format/bit-rate.

Info I got:
audio: A_AC3, -aid 0, -alang und
video: V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC, -vid 0

Does that help at all?? Encoded as 720p x264.

AppleTV 2.2, Loader 0.5, XBMC Beta2

PS: Loader 0.5 does not fix the -- "change tv channel/turn off" and lose the picture from XBMC -- bug.

davilla

2008-11-04, 04:25

Info I got:
audio: A_AC3, -aid 0, -alang und
video: V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC, -vid 0

Does that help at all?? Encoded as 720p x264.

AppleTV 2.2, Loader 0.5, XBMC Beta2

PS: Loader 0.5 does not fix the -- "change tv channel/turn off" and lose the picture from XBMC -- bug.

check for a PM.

No one said Loader 0.5 would fix the "change tv channel/turn off" issue. Other threads do say that it is fixed in current svn.

TimeHorse

2009-07-22, 15:07

davilla

2009-07-22, 18:04

TimeHorse

2009-07-22, 21:43

mkvinfo is a useless app for determining content. Use mediainfo. It will show the important bits like h.264 encoding profile.

Thanks for the advice, Davilla. You wouldn't believe me how long it took to get a version of MediaInfo installed since I needed the command-line version and it seems like every link is broken on that site but I did find a copy of version 0.7.17 on some (I believe) Polish web site -- hope the virus scan is working!

Anyway, here is what MediaInfo reports:

Format : Matroska
File size : 1.46 GiB
Duration : 58mn 30s
Overall bit rate : 3 566 Kbps
Encoded date : UTC 2009-07-06 22:03:34
Writing application : mkvmerge v2.4.1 ('Use Me') built on Dec 5 2008 18:30:05
Writing library : libebml v0.7.7 + libmatroska v0.8.1

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L3.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 3 frames
Muxing mode : Container profile=Unknown@3.1
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 58mn 30s
Bit rate : 3 111 Kbps
Nominal bit rate : 3 180 Kbps
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16/9
Frame rate : 25.000 fps
Resolution : 24 bits
Colorimetry : 4:2:0
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.135
Stream size : 1.27 GiB (87%)
Writing library : x264 core 67 r1173M f6d3166
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=3 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=hex / subme=6 / psy_rd=1.0:0.0 / mixed_ref=0 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=6 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / wpredb=1 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / rc=2pass / bitrate=3180 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30 / aq=1:1.00
Language : English

Audio
ID : 2
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 58mn 30s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 384 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Surround: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Stream size : 161 MiB (11%)
Language : English

Hope that's enough information and thanks again for your help! If Boxee didn't misidentify all my files -- yeah, like I have some lost Doctor Who episodes from the 1960's on my disk and not series 3 from 2005 -- and then prevent me from relabeling them, I might have tried him, but as it is ONLY XBMC plays everything even if the AppleTV can't handle the frame rate! GO XBMC!

Anyway, thanks again for your help, Davilla!

davilla

2009-07-22, 22:48

humm, 1280 x 720p CABAC High@L3.1 three reference frames. Seems like XBMC on the AppleTV should handle that.

phi2039

2009-07-23, 00:25

I am beginning to think the mkv demux in ffmpeg has some performance flaws. I consistently see higher CPU usage when playing an mkv versus a comparable mpeg-ts file, which should have higher overhead.

TimeHorse

2009-07-23, 14:57

humm, 1280 x 720p CABAC High@L3.1 three reference frames. Seems like XBMC on the AppleTV should handle that.

Interesting. Well, I do have the symptoms described when playing this file: audio is smooth, but video is choppy, speeding up at times, no lip sync, etc.

I wonder if I've got a rogue process taking CPU resources. Here's my Idle ps (with XBMC NOT running) for my AppleTV:

PID TT STAT TIME COMMAND
1 ?? S<s 0:00.29 /sbin/launchd
36 ?? Ss 0:01.19 /sbin/dynamic_pager -F /private/var/vm/swapfile
40 ?? Ss 0:00.66 kextd
47 ?? Ss 0:26.53 /usr/sbin/mDNSResponder -launchdaemon
48 ?? Ss 0:00.78 /usr/sbin/netinfod -s local
49 ?? Ss 26:53.40 /usr/sbin/syslogd
51 ?? Ss 0:02.80 /usr/sbin/configd
52 ?? Ss 173:35.79 /usr/sbin/coreaudiod
53 ?? Ss 0:00.94 /usr/sbin/diskarbitrationd
54 ?? Ss 0:00.04 /usr/sbin/memberd -x
56 ?? Ss 0:03.18 /usr/sbin/securityd
59 ?? Ss 0:01.54 /usr/sbin/notifyd
63 ?? Ss 0:02.27 /usr/sbin/DirectoryService
64 ?? Ss 9:34.33 /usr/sbin/update 600
67 ?? Ss 0:00.02 /usr/bin/dropbear -b /Users/frontrow/.dropbear_banner
69 ?? Ss 0:00.30 /usr/sbin/distnoted
97 ?? Ss 0:00.67 /System/Library/CoreServices/loginwindow.app/Contents/MacOS/loginwindow console
98 ?? Ss 0:00.86 /System/Library/CoreServices/coreservicesd
100 ?? Ss 5:13.69 /System/Library/Frameworks/ApplicationServices.framework/Frameworks/CoreGraphics.framework/Resources/WindowServer -daemon
105 ?? Ss 0:00.55 /System/Library/Frameworks/ApplicationServices.framework/Frameworks/ATS.framework/Support/ATSServer
113 ?? Ss 0:00.05 /System/Library/CoreServices/pbs
117 ?? S 0:00.00 /sbin/launchd
119 ?? Ss 0:00.03 /usr/libexec/airtunesd -launchd
144 ?? Ss 0:00.00 /usr/libexec/crashreporterd
165 ?? Ss 0:09.14 /usr/sbin/AppleFileServer
167 ?? Ss 0:28.35 ntpd -f /var/run/ntp.drift -p /var/run/ntpd.pid
475 ?? Ss 0:00.44 slpd -f /etc/slpsa.conf
476 ?? Ss 0:00.72 /usr/sbin/lookupd
485 ?? Ss 0:00.70 /usr/bin/dropbear -b /Users/frontrow/.dropbear_banner
652 ?? Ss 0:04.02 /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/Support/ARDHelper
655 ?? S 0:00.08 /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAgent -psn_0_1966081
656 ?? S 0:00.02 /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/AppleVNCServer.bundle/Contents/MacOS/AppleVNCServer
737 ?? S 0:00.13 /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/PlugIns/RowmoteHelperATV.frappliance/Contents/Resources/RowmoteHelperATV child
803 ?? S 609:09.12 /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/MacOS/Finder -psn_0_2228225
808 ?? Ss 0:00.11 /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DiskManagement.framework/Resources/DiskManagementTool -uuid 3B14511B-2220-4935-8A2D-63707C7F5FEC
818 ?? S 0:00.22 /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/PlugIns/RowmoteHelperATV.frappliance/Contents/Resources/RowmoteHelperATV child
832 ?? Ss 0:00.13 /usr/bin/dropbear -b /Users/frontrow/.dropbear_banner
486 p0 Ss+ 0:00.12 -bash
833 p1 Ss 0:00.04 -bash
835 p1 R+ 0:00.01 ps -axww

And here's a snapshot of top (1 sample):

Processes: 42 total, 2 running, 40 sleeping... 146 threads 07:46:26
Load Avg: 0.56, 0.61, 0.57 CPU usage: 40.0% user, 60.0% sys, 0.0% idle
SharedLibs: num = 142, resident = 7.77M code, 828K data, 688K LinkEdit
MemRegions: num = 3167, resident = 71.4M + 1.41M private, 16.4M shared
PhysMem: 84.0M wired, 44.4M active, 32.0M inactive, 160M used, 95.6M free
VM: 2.56G + 104M 524912(0) pageins, 476796(0) pageouts

PID COMMAND %CPU TIME #TH #PRTS #MREGS RPRVT RSHRD RSIZE VSIZE
845 head 0.0% 0:00.01 1 13 16 92.0K 324K 344K 26.6M
844 top 0.0% 0:00.06 1 19 18 188K 396K 664K 27.0M
833 bash 0.0% 0:00.07 1 14 17 204K 760K 752K 27.1M
832 dropbear 0.0% 0:00.17 1 11 18 112K 480K 340K 26.8M
818 RowmoteHel 0.0% 0:00.22 2 40 41 80.0K 320K 172K 101M
808 DiskManage 0.0% 0:00.11 1 41 42 4.00K 312K 24.0K 37.2M
803 Finder 0.0% 10:11:45 27 310 1419 45.0M 13.0M 41.6M 350M
737 RowmoteHel 0.0% 0:00.13 2 38 41 272K 408K 388K 101M
656 AppleVNCSe 0.0% 0:00.02 1 26 30 4.00K 316K 24.0K 91.3M
655 ARDAgent 0.0% 0:00.08 6 91 75 4.00K 324K 28.0K 58.6M
652 ARDHelper 0.0% 0:04.02 1 9 16 20.0K 312K 132K 26.6M
486 bash 0.0% 0:00.12 1 14 17 4.00K 760K 8.00K 27.1M
485 dropbear 0.0% 0:00.70 1 11 18 96.0K 480K 216K 26.8M
476 lookupd 0.0% 0:00.72 2 35 39 424K 552K 500K 28.5M
475 slpd 0.0% 0:00.44 6 31 32 160K 452K 256K 30.2M

Seems there isn't actually much going on, since the top 4 processes are my cutoff of the top log, the top itself, my current shell and the sshd that spawned it, AFAICT. Next is the remote helper, disk manager, finder and another remote handler. Does anything strike you as a potential CPU bottleneck? I know I have other files with those specs that exhibit the same jerky symptoms. Thanks again for your help Daville since I really don't want to spend hours with ffmpeg transcoding these MKVs.

davilla

2009-07-23, 18:44

who sucking CPU if xbmc is at idle?

CPU usage: 40.0% user, 60.0% sys, 0.0% idle.

You do have vsync enabled right ?

garyi

2009-07-23, 19:16

All 720 stuff plays badly on the ATV, I thought this was just the way it was?

Its never been good for me any way regardless of the rip as long as its 720 or above its no go on the ATV.

davilla

2009-07-24, 00:06

All 720 stuff plays badly on the ATV, I thought this was just the way it was?

Its never been good for me any way regardless of the rip as long as its 720 or above its no go on the ATV.

not for me :)

TimeHorse

2009-07-24, 03:02

who sucking CPU if xbmc is at idle?

CPU usage: 40.0% user, 60.0% sys, 0.0% idle.

You do have vsync enabled right ?

With XBMC running and IDLE in Screensaver mode "Dim", I get the following for the first 20 or so processes in top:

Processes: 41 total, 2 running, 1 stuck, 38 sleeping... 153 threads 19:26:55
Load Avg: 0.71, 0.96, 0.88 CPU usage: 53.8% user, 46.2% sys, 0.0% idle
SharedLibs: num = 142, resident = 18.2M code, 2.65M data, 6.55M LinkEdit
MemRegions: num = 3512, resident = 87.3M + 3.15M private, 51.3M shared
PhysMem: 85.7M wired, 105M active, 54.1M inactive, 245M used, 10.8M free
VM: 2.86G + 104M 537233(0) pageins, 477071(0) pageouts

PID COMMAND %CPU TIME #TH #PRTS #MREGS RPRVT RSHRD RSIZE VSIZE
876 head 0.0% 0:00.01 1 13 16 92.0K 308K 344K 26.6M
875 top 0.0% 0:00.04 1 19 18 196K 380K 672K 27.0M
855 XBMC 0.0% 3:08.89 8 144 447 27.0M 36.0M 40.7M 248M
818 RowmoteHel 0.0% 0:00.26 2 40 41 248K 792K 164K 101M
808 DiskManage 0.0% 0:00.11 1 41 42 4.00K 680K 16.0K 37.2M
803 Finder 0.0% 13:30:05 28 315 1344 32.9M 16.6M 29.8M 336M
737 RowmoteHel 0.0% 0:00.13 2 38 41 80.0K 704K 360K 101M
656 AppleVNCSe 0.0% 0:00.02 1 26 30 4.00K 500K 16.0K 91.3M
655 ARDAgent 0.0% 0:00.08 6 92 75 164K 788K 304K 117M
652 ARDHelper 0.0% 0:05.28 1 9 16 20.0K 296K 116K 26.6M
486 bash 0.0% 0:00.15 1 14 17 136K 620K 444K 27.1M
485 dropbear 0.0% 0:00.93 1 11 18 100K 440K 220K 26.8M
476 lookupd 0.0% 0:00.78 2 35 39 380K 700K 568K 28.5M
475 slpd 0.0% 0:00.62 6 31 32 148K 576K 252K 30.2M
167 ntpd 0.0% 0:29.31 1 11 19 104K 420K 192K 27.1M
165 AppleFileS 0.0% 0:09.38 2 40 44 112K 688K 240K 33.4M
144 crashrepor 0.0% 0:00.00 1 16 18 4.00K 292K 0B 26.6M

Again, head and top are from the command, and XBMC is third; interesting I get almost reverse for the CPU Usage: 53.8 for user processes but only 46.2 for system (no idle here either).

As for vsync, if you mean "Vertical blank sync" under the Settings - Appearance - Screen menu, I have that as "Always enable".

Other elements of note: This is a British-encoded MKV being played on a U.S. AppleTV -- this should not be an issue though as 720p is 720p. The CPU is a 1 GHz Intel with the NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 w/ OpenGL Engine, as reported by settings.

For comparison, here is what the CPU looks like during playback:

Processes: 41 total, 3 running, 38 sleeping... 155 threads 19:48:37
Load Avg: 2.20, 1.76, 1.38 CPU usage: 63.9% user, 36.1% sys, 0.0% idle
SharedLibs: num = 142, resident = 12.9M code, 1.37M data, 4.45M LinkEdit
MemRegions: num = 3760, resident = 92.1M + 2.56M private, 43.5M shared
PhysMem: 93.0M wired, 80.7M active, 60.0M inactive, 233M used, 22.3M free
VM: 2.90G + 104M 538886(0) pageins, 478184(0) pageouts

PID COMMAND %CPU TIME #TH #PRTS #MREGS RPRVT RSHRD RSIZE VSIZE
965 head 0.0% 0:00.01 1 13 16 92.0K 304K 344K 26.6M
964 top 0.0% 0:00.07 1 19 18 196K 376K 672K 27.0M
855 XBMC 0.0% 9:35.24 11 379 680 39.6M 31.8M 63.0M 291M
818 RowmoteHel 0.0% 0:00.27 2 40 41 248K 648K 164K 101M
808 DiskManage 0.0% 0:00.11 1 41 42 4.00K 536K 16.0K 37.2M
803 Finder 0.0% 13:36:55 28 315 1342 26.5M 13.3M 21.2M 336M
737 RowmoteHel 0.0% 0:00.13 2 38 41 80.0K 560K 360K 101M
656 AppleVNCSe 0.0% 0:00.02 1 26 30 4.00K 496K 16.0K 91.3M
655 ARDAgent 0.0% 0:00.08 6 92 75 84.0K 768K 216K 117M
652 ARDHelper 0.0% 0:05.31 1 9 16 20.0K 292K 116K 26.6M
486 bash 0.0% 0:00.15 1 14 17 160K 564K 448K 27.1M
485 dropbear 0.0% 0:00.93 1 11 18 92.0K 380K 180K 26.8M
476 lookupd 0.0% 0:00.84 2 35 39 376K 672K 540K 28.5M
475 slpd 0.0% 0:00.62 6 31 32 160K 576K 256K 30.2M
167 ntpd 0.0% 0:29.38 1 11 19 100K 380K 152K 27.1M
165 AppleFileS 0.0% 0:09.41 2 40 44 112K 684K 240K 33.4M
144 crashrepor 0.0% 0:00.00 1 16 18 4.00K 288K 0B 26.6M

So, now we have a about 2/3 of the CPU spend on user processes, and only 1/3 spent on system.

At some point I should ask about playing the 5.1 track digitally via the HDMI output and why it comes out silent when I turn off the multichannel downmix (or clicking if DTS is enabled), but for another thread! :)

Thanks again Davilla!

Jeffrey.

garyi

2009-07-24, 08:54

not for me :)

You are a cruel person!

Well anyhow, its never worked for me, no setting fixes the fact it drops half the frames.

TimeHorse

2009-07-24, 16:48

Folks, I didn't resurrect this thread just to get more people to chime in that they are having this problem. I think Davilla and I are both already aware that a lot of people are having this problem and I'm here not just to solve the problem for myself but to publicly troubleshoot it with Davilla at a technical level so that we can provide everyone with a cogent solution if one exists, or a definitive answer that none does for some of us.

So instead of the me-toos and the gnashing of teeth can we just give Davilla a chance to look over my data and request any more he needs so that we can discern what is going on in my system because it's probably the same case for some of you guys too.

Peace.

Jeffrey.

davilla

2009-07-24, 19:59

pastebin xbmc.log after a playback session with that mkv. run xbmc, play video for 10-20 mins, exit xbmc. fetch xbmc.log.

TimeHorse

2009-07-25, 01:36

pastebin xbmc.log after a playback session with that mkv. run xbmc, play video for 10-20 mins, exit xbmc. fetch xbmc.log.

Here it is: http://pastebin.com/f6050f999

Jeffrey.

davilla

2009-07-25, 02:15

Here it is: http://pastebin.com/f6050f999

Jeffrey.

Lot's of these:

18:04:28 T:52080640 M: 4067328 WARNING: CDVDMessageQueue(audio)::Get - retrieved last data packet of queue
18:04:28 T:52080640 M: 4444160 ERROR: [PortAudio] ERROR[/Users/Shared/xbmc/Babylon-9.04.01/xbmc/cores/AudioRenderers/PortaudioDirectSound.cpp:238]: Output underflowed.
18:04:29 T:52080640 M: 5312512 WARNING: CDVDMessageQueue(audio)::Get - retrieved last data packet of queue
18:04:30 T:52080640 M: 5304320 WARNING: CDVDMessageQueue(audio)::Get - retrieved last data packet of queue

Audio demux queue is starving, since video timing comes from the audio, video forces demux seeks and ping/pong you go. that's why you get video glitches. Cur svn has fixes for this. You're also running the version with Portaudio which was always finicky. I would try a nightly build that's closer to svn which will use coreaudio. There's a way to make them appear under Launcher but I can't remember off hand, it's been mentioned several times in the forums so a search for "Launcher appletv nightly builds" should pop it out.

Donny Bahama

2009-07-25, 02:28

I'm here not just to solve the problem for myself but to publicly troubleshoot it with Davilla at a technical level so that we can provide everyone with a cogent solution if one exists, or a definitive answer that none does for some of us.Sweet. Thanks for that. :cool:

S80_UK

2009-07-25, 02:29

There's a way to make them appear under Launcher but I can't remember off hand, it's been mentioned several times in the forums so a search for "Launcher appletv nightly builds" should pop it out.
Here is is...

http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?p=356398

It works really well, too.

TimeHorse

2009-07-25, 05:49

Thanks Davilla and S80_UK! I've got svn revision 21846 installed and am still seeing the video problems. They are a bit diminished from my last result but this is mostly because I copied my file from the SMB share to the local drive, but there are still obvious synchronization problems. The other change is that I'm now using digital audio, not analog, though still using the multi-channel downmix since the non-downmix form seems to only play the surround channels so let's not deal with that for now. Those changes to audio don't seem to effect playback, however.

Anyway, so I did another capture: http://pastebin.com/f91c4342

Hopefully this will help narrow things down.

TimeHorse

2009-07-25, 22:34

I upgraded to 21859 this morning, for the curious, here is the latest log: http://timehorse.pastebin.com/f288b8b0e

Same issue and I don't intend to post further logs unless asked but thought it may be helpful to note in this one that by the time I ended playback, audio was about 18 seconds ahead of video. Davilla already found that the audio was the timebase for the media in question, and audio is for the most part smooth. It still seems like a rendering-catchup issue then, and since I think XBMC is pretty rock solid from Davilla's personal results, I'm still inclined to blame side processes, though no smoking gun seems to be there.

Davilla, would you mind comparing my 'ps -axww' to one on your AppleTV so we could see if I'm running anything unusual. Here, I am running XBMC and playing the video in question: http://timehorse.pastebin.com/f37a06afc

Thanks.

Jeffrey.

geekygizmo

2009-07-26, 01:08

:)
I am brand new to XBMC on ATV (V2.4) and was disappointed with the video quality vs. my ol. Xbox. It seem'd to twitch all the time even on standard DVD rips, Interlacing problems all over as well. After the update it's perfect! I am very happy now. Even my HDtivo rips play about 90% framerate witch is very watchable. Using 1080i over component.

Thanks all for the great help!
GG

davilla

2009-07-26, 03:55

I upgraded to 21859 this morning, for the curious, here is the latest log: http://timehorse.pastebin.com/f288b8b0e

Same issue and I don't intend to post further logs unless asked but thought it may be helpful to note in this one that by the time I ended playback, audio was about 18 seconds ahead of video. Davilla already found that the audio was the timebase for the media in question, and audio is for the most part smooth. It still seems like a rendering-catchup issue then, and since I think XBMC is pretty rock solid from Davilla's personal results, I'm still inclined to blame side processes, though no smoking gun seems to be there.

Davilla, would you mind comparing my 'ps -axww' to one on your AppleTV so we could see if I'm running anything unusual. Here, I am running XBMC and playing the video in question: http://timehorse.pastebin.com/f37a06afc

Thanks.

Jeffrey.

It will be a week before I can do this. I'm away on business right now. Not an AppleTV in sight :(

garyi

2009-07-26, 08:19

I would be gutted to find that 720 is supposed to be able to play on ATV its never worked this end always been unwatchable.

IN terms of nightly builds do I just ftp in and replace the xbmc.app?

S80_UK

2009-07-26, 13:55

I would be gutted to find that 720 is supposed to be able to play on ATV its never worked this end always been unwatchable.

IN terms of nightly builds do I just ftp in and replace the xbmc.app?

Again... See this thread on how to set up the ATV launcher to access nightly builds. Once this change is made, it is just a single click in the launcher to do access the latest nightly whenever you need it.

http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?p=356398

Winkie

2009-07-29, 11:17

Just to add a spanner in the works - I have noticed that if you do not have the library enabled it improves playback of 720p MKV files considerably. I am however not running the latest build so this might not be an issue in the latest build.

I hope this is useful information

Cheers,
Iain

BDPNA

2009-07-29, 20:42

I know this is an Apple TV thread, but lately with the latest builds I have noticed this on my Mac Mini with 4GB RAM as well. Especially with 1080p video which I realize will never be perfect but it seems to be getting worse.

I read somewhere bumping up cache settings may help this but I see nowhere in the settings (using Aeon anyway) to up the cache size? Is there a way?

Also maybe someone could educate on the exact video related settings to best playback HD content? Vertical Sync always on? Auto Adjust Refresh Rate on? Lip Sync with audio turned on?

geekygizmo

2009-07-30, 00:58

Just to add a spanner in the works - I have noticed that if you do not have the library enabled it improves playback of 720p MKV files considerably. I am however not running the latest build so this might not be an issue in the latest build.

I hope this is useful information

Cheers,
Iain

Interesting, I have my library disabled as I remotely use XBMC via the web api. My initial 720p testing was right after I got the box so the library would have been enabled then. After I reloaded from the SVN one of the things I did was disable the library when I rechecked all the settings.

Just another data point.
GG