FTV (gen1) and Kodi 15.1 stutters ???

[Phat Phreddy]

So I had Kodi 14.something on all my fireTVs with a shared MySQL on my net. Memory is hazy but I think it was stock Kodi not SPMC, but I wouldnt bet my life on it.

I dont remember any stuttering, and even tested / watched 1080 as working ok.. I am not a super highbite rate full size BluRay type consumer and I could be wrong but I just remember it working 99% of the time for the files I threw at it. Enough that I was happy as a media center in all rooms.

Just because I thought I maybe was missing out, I upgraded to 15.1.. Tested Kodi was running on one box OK and as the MySQL all has to match, I updated all my boxes. They are all hard wired BTW. They seemed OK and first few things I watched I noticed no issues.

Just noticed stuttering playback on a series.. Assumed it was that series as high bitrate.. Now soon after and seeing stuttering on another series.. Looking at my files they are 'only' 720p files (MKV).. I am sure I was playing 720 fine before the update. Other far higher bitrate MP4s seem to play just fine.

Is 15.1 somehow worse on the fireTV than 14.x ??
Is 15.1 Kodi not HW accelerating and maybe I had SPMC ??
Is 15.1 Kodi on the FTV worse with MKV's ??
Are others using 15.1 and playing 1080 content smooth ??

Just looking for some input before I start the process of testing builds or rolling back. Its a hassle to do all the boxes and its a live system in the house.

Thanks.

 

[Phat Phreddy]

I was just told that this may be related to an amazon update in August ??

Thats possible.. I was travelling from July to Sept and I did see amazon did some update but didnt notice stuttering then..

My boxes were fine before.. If amazon have made them useless (or at least poor) for kodi somehow I will be pissed as I have them in each room.

 

[wejgomi]

I'm also seeing that very symptoms on my FireTV stick, where high bitrate 1080p movies, even 50gb blu-rays play smooth and fine on Kodi 14.2, I'm seeing micro-stutters so to speak even when playing a 720p video on 15+ builds.

I believe it might have something to do with hw acceleration options, like stagefright, as I've come across quite a few threads about the same issue mainly across SD/HD videos in the latest versions.

So, yes, you are not alone and it's safe to say not related to your firmware version, I've been forth and back btw FireOS 4 and 5, yet the problem persists.

 

[Phat Phreddy]

Well thats at least good news in that its kodi related and potentially fixable or I can find a build that works.. Rather than FTV firmware build which wouldnt be.

I will have to divert time to test HW acceleration, SPMC builds, and maybe roll back my network to 14 (PITA)..

I wouldnt call these micro stutters really tho.. Its not like 24hz v 50hz pans not being silky smooth.. Its like processor 100% or even network issues.. Its pretty large. Borderline not worth watching.

 

[wejgomi]

It is the 720p content causing micro stutters here, the rest is causing a much bigger issue as even stopping for few seconds as if it was buffering, but actually its not. The menus and the interface looks sluggish and yeah it cant be a panning issue as my Ftvstick runs at 24Hz all the time.

Anyway, try and play with some options and report back if you find something, I only found that if you force close all apps and create more free memory, it runs a tad better, not still smooth as 14.2 though.

 

[Phat Phreddy]

OK I just went back to 14.2 via a restore, disabled my MYSQL and tested via file playback.. And its WAY better !!!

It does still stutter, but only a small amount.. In the same places where it unwatchable in 15.2.

VLC on my desktop plays it fine.. Maybe a single dropped frame where Kodi is dropping loads..

Actually its not dropped frame.. I found a wired keyboard and with the codecinfo its 'skipped' frames ?!?! I also think it had higher CPU useage in 15.2

So order of playback quality
PC desktop with via VLC to verify file.. Fine, maybe a skipped frame or two but audio all stays in sync.
14.2.. Some slight skips.. But catches up fast..
15.1.. Skipping.. stuttering.. Audio gets out of sync.
15.2 the worst !! awful.. As above but just that bit more.

In each setup I tested HW accl on / off / each option on or off.. It looks subjectively a tiny bit better with the HW acceleration turned off or with mediacodec one off.. I think its skipping less.. But its hard to be sure as its subjective and it seems like its skipping differently different playbacks.. Eg what started me on this was 15.1 was unwatchable.. I have now gone through 3 different kodi versions.. All options on and off.. And my final playback (back on 15.1 HW acl 'reset' so back on and stock) and its bad but ?? was it worse ??

All I know is its skipping frames now.. And more than on 14.2

I cant get SPMC on there for some reason.. I get an error from adbfire

 

[sdho]

Phat - I'm noticing the same on Kodi 15.1 and 15.2 as well. I'm going to setup external media player to play videos to see if it makes any difference - Kodi front end and MX Player.

 

[wejgomi]

I just gave the Kodi 16.0 a3 "a try". No issues whatsoever apart from a small delay when exiting the full screen mode, no stutters, no lag, runs just as beautiful as 14.2 does, but that's only the video part, the rest is buggy as buggery and force closes from time to time. I believe it is best to stuck with 14.2 for the moment and wait for a stable version of 16.0 as 15.x versions seem hopeless to me.

Also try clearing your memory or start Kodi from a fresh restart before you try next time, it does help.

 

[rocket31337]

I'm going to suggest an old fix to see if it helps. Have you tried disabling MediaCodec video acceleration?

 

[Phat Phreddy]

OK I got to the bottom of this last night.. To a solution I am 'happy' enough with..

I have found it is 2 related errors giving me the same symptoms..
1) the media files I was testing with primarily.. Have errors.. VLC on my desktop handles those errors better.
2) the mediacodec HW acceleration is buggering it up.
Because my testing was on files with errors.. I wasnt seeing it work properly when disabling media codec and other media I checked I had not checked with that specific config.

Once I realized the above.. Disabled mediacodec and now 99% of what I played last night played as good as 14.2 did.. The exception of course being the damn series I was trying to watch and test with !! That due to its encode errors, still looks poor, but it looks poor with other players also.. VLC handles it better, but its the medias problem. I also 'think' 14.2 handled it better, eg the error handling ability may have had a downgrade in 14 -> 15 on the FireTV but I am now relieved to find a config thats working for most of everything.

Mediacodec definitely to blame but I havent pinned down why or rather in what cases.. One 'good' error free 1080p 5.1 rip I was checking with after the realization was simply a stop starty mess with mediacodec on and smooth acceptable playback when it was off.. Yet other 1080 rips were playing ok with it enabled ?!? Not I am not talking 24/25hz issues or more subtle videophile considerations. Simply the boxes play video to a level thats fine for my house network non projection HT setup.