[Timbu]

Hello Forum,

I bought a Mini-PC for office use recently:
http://www.azw-online.com/Product/Z83-VI...ongle.html

I wanted to use this tiny machine for Kodi as well but I have serious problems getting a proper/stable audio playback in my video files.

The Mini-PC is connected via HDMI directly to an older Samsung TV. The TV-set does not understand any compressed audio so any audio needs to be decoded to 2 channel PCM output.

Kodi runs smooth in general and video picture quality is excellent. However, I'm unable to make audio work.

In 4 out of 5 cases the video playback starts without any audible audio and then playback freezes after about 5secs.
After restarting Windows it sometimes work (with the very same files and no setting changed!). Then again some files later the same problem occurs.

It really doesn't matter which codec needs to be played. Sometimes decoding works from mp3 to TrueHD(Atmos) and sometimes none of them work at all.

I tried every combination in the audio options dialogue in the last couple of days but none of them seems to work in the long run.

It tried DirectSound or WASAPI. The latter seems to be even worse. Because if there is audible audio it stutters awfully. While with DirectSound it works at least the aforementioned 1 of 5 times.
(And yes I ticked the check boxes in the audio device proberties to use it exclusively by applications, as mentioned in the KODI Wiki.)

Output is configured to 2.0 channels (in Kodi and in Windows for the HDMI digitial output)
Tried all three settings (Best match/fixed/optimum) for audio decoding settngs in Kodi.
Passthrough disabled of course, as the TV does not understand anything but PCM
Enabled/disabled sync audio/video to screen. No use.

My Windows 10 is fully updated.
Intel Graphics Driver is the latest version as well.
It's a "Intel SST Audio Device (WDM)" in the device manager responisble for audio output. According to the device manager I have the latest driver for that installed as well.

Just out of curiosity i installed MPC-HC (Media Player Home Cinema) which I've been using for years. MPC manages to decode each and every audio track I throw at it without any flaws.

I also have an Android TV-Box with Kodi 16.1. All files that give me a headache on that Windows 10/Kodi 17.1 combo just work fine on the Android box.

I'm at my wits' end here and would really appreciate some help. Thank you!

[helta]

How about a debug log of you trying to play video file?

[Timbu]

Sorry for the late reply.

I did some further testing on that machine.

Like I said before, using WASAPI causes audio stuttering and sync problems. F.e. every next to 2nd chapter jump causes stuttering audio for a view seconds and audio being out of sync. Only thing helping is jumping back or forth a little within the video to get audio resynced.

As for DirectSound there seems to be a problem with the Auto Framerate switch.

Using Auto Framerate video playback starts, framerate changes (as it should) but there is no audio at all. And video playback freezes after a view seconds.
After that there is no audio in the GUI and Kodi does not shut down properly. I have to kill the process in Windows Task Manager.

Disabling that switch video plays fine with audio in sync. FF or FR or skipping back and forth works fine without any audio issues.

So I don't understand why changing the framerate causes that much trouble. Anyhow, I need to use Auto Framerate as I'm very picky when it comes to smooth video playback.

Here's a logfile playing one file with Auto Framerate ON:
https://pastebin.com/eEAtF1eK

and here's a logfile playing the very same file with Auto Framerate OFF:
https://pastebin.com/mhzJnRQp

Hope someone can figure out what's going on.

[Timbu]

Anyone?

[Atreyu]

your pastebin links do not work.

[Timbu]

Are you sure? Just double checked and they seem to work for me. I don't understand.

[Atreyu]

They work now. Must have been something on this end.
On the move now so cant help right now.
Someone else might have a look at your debugs

[Powerhouse]

Having the latest Intel Graphic drivers doesn't mean they don't have issues...
https://communities.intel.com/thread/113216

Make sure your Windows Sound Settings are correct first...
https://www.howtogeek.com/285429/how-to-...indows-pc/

1. Make sure that Windows is up to date.
2. Make sure that GPU driver is up to date.
3. Select the correct audio playback device in Windows control panel (select HDMI output for HDMI connection and select Realtek digital output for optical/RCA). Note- you have to be able to hear sound on your surround sound speakers when you "test" it in Windows control panel.
4. Select audio exclusive mode in audio properties.


In Kodi...
- Change Audio output device to (whatever sound device you have on your system - Could be Intel, or Realtek or something else depending upon your hardware).
- Always choose WASAPI over DirectSound (it will save you a ton of headaches).
- The number of channels can be left to 2 (which is Stereo, but read below the Enable pass-through part). Also make sure it is 2.0 and not 2.1 - which can cause issues.
- Output configuration change to Best Match (If you notice sound issues, change to Optimized).
- Stereo upmix should be OFF
However, you can enable Stereo upmix, it just outputs stereo sound to all speakers instead of the front. May be useful if you have to crank the volume to hear people talking. However, if you have a Receiver, don’t enable this feature.
- Maintain original volume on downmix should be ON
- Keep audio device alive can be set to 10.
- Enable audio DSP processing should be OFF
- Enable pass-through should be ON if you have a Receiver.
- If you are connected to a Receiver? Then change the settings to use Pass-through. Also, the recommended “number of channels” settings is 2.0, even if you have 5.1 or a 7.1 surround sound setup. Because not all Receivers will accept pass-through if it’s set to 5.1. Even then, because Kodi is using a “hacked” method for passing audio over HDMI, pass-through doesn’t always work or work correctly with certain Receivers. The only reason to set it to 5.1 is if Kodi is doing the decoding and you are sending LPCM to your Receiver (this means that Kodi is doing the decoding and sending the decoded audio to your Receiver).

- VideosPlaybackSync playback to display should always be set to OFF when using pass-through audio.

Intel based system
-Disable "Allow hardware acceleration (DXVA2)" and select "Software" as Render method in Kodi system/settings/video/playback (my Intel i7-3770s with HD4000 iGPU work fine with DXVA2 enbled but your mileage my vary)


Also read through the HOW To Solve Audio Problems + Video Stutter thread...
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=146911

[Timbu]

Thank you very much for your detailed reply Powerhouse.

Will give everything you suggested a try and report back later!

[jjd-uk]

I've had a quick look at your logs and nothing sticks out other than the driver for the Intel HDMI device seems oddly named, by this I mean "Intel SST Audio Device (WDM)", normally I'd expect "Intel Display Audio" for a HDMI device. Unfortunately the Intel Atom x5-Z8350 seems to be only used by OEM's thus there no drivers I find for direct download from Intel, seems like drivers must provided by the manufacturers for these min pc's using the Intel Atom x5-Z8350, however in the case of what you've bought there appears to be no support offered as I can find no manufacturer page.

I'm afraid you could have made a bad choice in hardware if it's driver problems causing your issue.

First thing I'd advise is to try turning off "Allow hardware acceleration (DXVA2)".

[jjd-uk]

Actually you could see if this will install (after setting system restore point to rollback if needed):

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/downloa...dows-15-40-

As it supports Intel Celeron Processor N3050 which contains the same Intel HD Graphics 400.

[Timbu]

Thanks for your input jjd-uk.

I'm afraid you could have made a bad choice in hardware if it's driver problems causing your issue.

Well... I get the feeling you might be right.

I did lots and lots of testing in the last two days and there is possibly no setup/driver combination I have not tried.

I guess you are right. Intel doesn't seem to support any drivers for "Intel SST Audio" which seems to be the build-in audio circuits of the Atom X5-83x0 series.
I've downloaded and tested almost any Intel Graphics driver I could find. They make no real difference to my issues. Also the version of the "Intel SST Audio" driver never changed during those tests. So I guess, unlike Intel HD Display-Audio drivers, this audio driver for the Atom is completely separated and not supported by the Graphics Driver at all.

So I concentrated on the SST Audio driver. I found several sources from Asus and Lenovo for their Windows Tablets with Intel Atom. Those drivers had different versions and date. And they all worked on my system but the problems remained unchanged.

As a reminder: all I need is a Stereo Downmix of any audio source I have, since the Mini-PC is directly connected to my TV.

WASAPI:
So right now I can say Kodi is unable to address this Audio Device properly through WASAPI. At least on my machine.
Audio stutters heavily and is way out of sync. And please believe me I tried every possible setup combination within Kodi or in Windows Audio settings. It does NOT work properly.

DIRECTSOUND:
DirectSound seems to work just fine. AS LONG AS Kodi does not touch the refresh rate.
Tested this with Windows set to 1080/60p/50p/24p/23p and then starting Kodi. Any video file matching the respective refresh rate plays smooth and fine as it should. Of course this is not a solution at all.

So I played around a little bit further and disabled the Intel SST Audio Driver in the Device Manager.
Started Kodi again and tested at least a dozen of videos. They all play fine (despite the fact that there is no audio of course).
Even changing the refresh rate in Kodi works now! All videos play smooth without any trouble.

That gave me the idea to discard HDMI audio and connect a speaker system to the Mini-PC.
So I disabled HDMI Audio Output in Windows settings and set the Atapi audio output (loudspeaker) of "Intel SST Audio" as default audio device.

Guess what, everything runs smooth now. Directsound, Auto Refreshrate, DXVA hardware acceleration (CPU load is less than 20% on a 1080p video), audio always in sync for any audio track from Stereo to 8ch DTSHD/TrueHD.

Well this is a compromise at best. I would really prefer Audio through my TV since I don't want any extra speakers in my bedroom.

And now something I find very interesting:
I've been using Media Player Classic Home Cinema (http://www.mpc-hc.org) as my default Media Player on Windows for years now. It is capable to change refresh rate to any desired setting for videos in full-screen.
And it has no trouble doing so on this machine either. All videos play fine with downmix of any audio track to Stereo and DirectSound output.

So my humble amateurish question is: what does MPC-HC do different? Why does it succeed where Kodi fails?


Don't get me wrong. It is a very good player for my Desktop PC but of course no substitute at all to a Media Centre like Kodi.

I think MPC-HC uses Libav Codec Library. Maybe there is a possibility to use this in Kodi as well?

I know it's been a lot to read. But I wanted to describe the situation here as detailed as possible.
So thank you for reading and any further valued support. Maybe we can still find a suitable solution.

[PatK]

MPC-HC uses Libav Codec Library. Maybe there is a possibility to use this in Kodi as well?

Kodi can be set-up to use your favourite player using External players (wiki) and the first example is cut & paste for MPC-HC. re: "what does MPC-HC do different? Why does it succeed where Kodi fails?" it's a media player for Windows® NOT across multiple platforms. A better comparison is VLC, and if you can get that to run smoothly, then Kodi has a chance.

[le_hades]

Hello forum, long time xbmc/kodi user here:

Just registered to post about this issue, i'm having the exact same problem as @Timbu, some details:

- Similar atom z8300-based hardware just from a different OEM ( http://minix.com.hk/en/products/neo-z83-4 )
- Same behaviour: with refresh sync ON no audio + video stops using directsound
- Same behaviour: with refresh sync ON video runs but desync/choppy audio using wasapi
- Same behaviour: with refresh sync OFF audio/video ok
- Same behaviour: once the fail has happened Kodi won't close gracefully, the process has to be killed.
- Basically, every single assertion made by Timbu happens to me too.


Things i've tried:

- Multiple driver versions for the intel audio / realtek I2S chip: all of them worked OK outside of kodi, but this issue still existind inside kodi.
- Multiple players: MPH-HC/VLC: all of them worked OK outside of kodi.

One thing i've noticed:

If i start the file playback using a bluetooth enabled headset as the audio output, the refresh rate adjusts ok and the audio is perfect through the headset. If I power off the headset while the file is playing the audio jumps to the hdmi output OK and if i turn the headset back on it jumps back to the headset as many times as i want. So it seems @Timbu is right, whatever is happening happens at the refresh rate adjustment, after that is done the audio works ok.

Regards

[Timbu]

Hi le_hades,

I can confirm your findings. Right now I have this box in my bedroom and attached 2 small speakers to it. I didn't want to have extra speakers in my bedrom but right now its the best solution. I definitely can't miss out on the auto frame rate switch.
For my living room I switched to an Appollo Lake/Celeron based model. Just a bit more expensive but everything works, including HD-Audio Passthrough which is not supported by the Atom CPU.