[maumoura]

Hi all,

First, some info about the setup: Kodi 18.5 running on Android TV 9 (Pie) on a Sony KD-75X9500G (Same as X950G). HT-X8500 soundbar connected via HDMI eARC.

Debug Log is here: https://paste.kodi.tv/hitificebe.kodi

The issue is that the image freezes for a couple seconds in a very noticeable way. Here's a short video showing the issue:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uaalmgimgtt86e...2.MOV?dl=0

It seems to be affecting pretty much every video that I watch, from SD to 4K, but I can only see that in longer videos, as it seems to be happening every 20-30 minutes or so (but it might be another frequency, as I didn't really clock it). I don't remember seeing that for example when watching Simpsons episodes (~23 minutes long).

Sound passthrough is activated in Kodi but I don't think it's being passed through in most cases because of other problems of the Android TV implementation in this set that I've read about in other threads and also from what I could understand of my own logs (e.g. at line 427 or 429). 

The video in the example is 4K @ 23.976. As far as I can tell the video is playing at 4K but the refresh rate is not being matched and seems to be stuck at 60Hz (another Sony TV Android limitation?). For some reason Kodi outputs that it's running at 1920x1080 @ 60 (line at 433) and that's the only option available in the whitelist list (but I didn't enable anything there).

Another thing I noticed is that the Kodi FPS counter hovers between 45 and 55FPS most of the time (which is neither the 60FPS you'd expect from 60Hz nor the 23.796 from the video). The CPU stays between 60% and 90%, knowing that I've seen it go beyond 100% at times, as I presume the theoretical maximum would be 400% (4-core CPU), unless I misunderstood something.

As far as I can tell the problem is linked to the message at lines 549 and 550. I've paused and stopped the video right after seeing the issue around that time.

Finally, I think this might be the same issue as the one on this thread: https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=350435. The TV set is not exactly the same but they use the same "cheapset" from Mediatek (MT5893).

Guess that's it. Any help is appreciated.

[maumoura]

Since no one responded, I'm adding to the initial thread myself.

First, I noticed that I did get the issue sometimes with shorter content, maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention before. I've seen the issue with intervals as low as 8 minutes between occurrences.

Also, further investigation has shown that changing passthrough and other audio settings do not make a difference, neither does changing the "Adjust Display Refresh Rate" and "Sync Playback to Display" settings.

Finally, what did make a difference was disabling hardware acceleration! 

Without acceleration the issue is completely gone. But that's not an acceptable solution because the TV can't software decode anything higher than 720p and even that looks terrible when software decoded, as it seems that the image is not going through the TVs post-processing, which results in inferior motion handling and bad blacks, as the local-dimming doesn't seem to be activated at all. Perhaps because the image remains stuck in "App" mode as Kodi is not passing video to the hardware processor.

As it seems to be a hardware accelerator issue, I presume that there's no easy solution that could come from Kodi, right? Or is there anything else that I could try?

[proceed]

Finally, I think this might be the same issue as the one on this thread: https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=350435. The TV set is not exactly the same but they use the same "cheapset" from Mediatek (MT5893).

Hi Maumoura,

I confirm after watching your video that I have exactly the same issue. This issue is really boring... I have also tried the passthrough option without success... I really don't know how to solve this. My previous TV was a Panasonic and I was using a PC under Windows to run Kodi and I never faced this... I have bought a Sony Android TV in order to remove my old PC but the result is not what I was expecting...

[maumoura]

Finally, I think this might be the same issue as the one on this thread: https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=350435. The TV set is not exactly the same but they use the same "cheapset" from Mediatek (MT5893).

Hi Maumoura,

I confirm after watching your video that I have exactly the same issue. This issue is really boring... I have also tried the passthrough option without success... I really don't know how to solve this. My previous TV was a Panasonic and I was using a PC under Windows to run Kodi and I never faced this... I have bought a Sony Android TV in order to remove my old PC but the result is not what I was expecting...  

Hi proceed: yes, the issue is quite annoying. I can live without the proper audio passthrough as I only have 2.1 anyway, but this one detracts quite a lot from the experience as it always distracting me from the content for a while when it happens. 

I'm considering getting a Nvidia Shield, as it seems to be what everyone else is doing with those TV sets if they want Kodi to work 100%, unfortunately.

It's a shame, as the hardware seems to be pretty much capable of handling 4K, HDR, DV, etc. I have Amazon Prime and the problem doesn't occur there, so perhaps they're bypassing something in Android or in the drivers/codecs.

[proceed]

Finally, I think this might be the same issue as the one on this thread: https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=350435. The TV set is not exactly the same but they use the same "cheapset" from Mediatek (MT5893).

Hi Maumoura,

I confirm after watching your video that I have exactly the same issue. This issue is really boring... I have also tried the passthrough option without success... I really don't know how to solve this. My previous TV was a Panasonic and I was using a PC under Windows to run Kodi and I never faced this... I have bought a Sony Android TV in order to remove my old PC but the result is not what I was expecting...   

Hi proceed: yes, the issue is quite annoying. I can live without the proper audio passthrough as I only have 2.1 anyway, but this one detracts quite a lot from the experience as it always distracting me from the content for a while when it happens. 

I'm considering getting a Nvidia Shield, as it seems to be what everyone else is doing with those TV sets if they want Kodi to work 100%, unfortunately.

It's a shame, as the hardware seems to be pretty much capable of handling 4K, HDR, DV, etc. I have Amazon Prime and the problem doesn't occur there, so perhaps they're bypassing something in Android or in the drivers/codecs. 

I confirm, no issue on Amazon Prime. It works perfectly... I will make a try with other video player...

[proceed]

Hi Maumoura,

I confirm after watching your video that I have exactly the same issue. This issue is really boring... I have also tried the passthrough option without success... I really don't know how to solve this. My previous TV was a Panasonic and I was using a PC under Windows to run Kodi and I never faced this... I have bought a Sony Android TV in order to remove my old PC but the result is not what I was expecting...   

Hi proceed: yes, the issue is quite annoying. I can live without the proper audio passthrough as I only have 2.1 anyway, but this one detracts quite a lot from the experience as it always distracting me from the content for a while when it happens. 

I'm considering getting a Nvidia Shield, as it seems to be what everyone else is doing with those TV sets if they want Kodi to work 100%, unfortunately.

It's a shame, as the hardware seems to be pretty much capable of handling 4K, HDR, DV, etc. I have Amazon Prime and the problem doesn't occur there, so perhaps they're bypassing something in Android or in the drivers/codecs.  

I confirm, no issue on Amazon Prime. It works perfectly... I will make a try with other video player... 

I correct the above information : it occurs sometimes with Amazon Prime... I tried also other video player for reading files like VLC and it occurs too... but you can never get twice the freezing point... it means there is some software issue or something else... I am still under Android 8 Oreo, do you confirm that it is the same under Android 9 Pie ?

[maumoura]

Hi proceed: yes, the issue is quite annoying. I can live without the proper audio passthrough as I only have 2.1 anyway, but this one detracts quite a lot from the experience as it always distracting me from the content for a while when it happens. 

I'm considering getting a Nvidia Shield, as it seems to be what everyone else is doing with those TV sets if they want Kodi to work 100%, unfortunately.

It's a shame, as the hardware seems to be pretty much capable of handling 4K, HDR, DV, etc. I have Amazon Prime and the problem doesn't occur there, so perhaps they're bypassing something in Android or in the drivers/codecs.  

I confirm, no issue on Amazon Prime. It works perfectly... I will make a try with other video player...  

I correct the above information : it occurs sometimes with Amazon Prime... I tried also other video player for reading files like VLC and it occurs too... but you can never get twice the freezing point... it means there is some software issue or something else... I am still under Android 8 Oreo, do you confirm that it is the same under Android 9 Pie ? 

Yes, you are right. Maybe I wasn't watching enough of Amazon Prime. It's really hard to find a pattern there (in terms of frequency vs type of content). I've seen it in content ranging from 480p to 4k. And the problem seems to affect any application that outputs video (which might indicate a base Android/driver issue?).

I confirm I'm using Android 9 Pie, what makes it even more frustrating, as you say that the problem was there even in Oreo. Wonder if every single owner of these TVs are getting this and just don't notice/care? That can't be right...

[maumoura]

Well, it seems we're not completely alone, I think they're discussing the same issue here: https://www.reddit.com/r/bravia/comments..._on_brand/
But it is as inconclusive as this thread...

BTW, if an admin is reading this, given the direction the discussion is taking, perhaps this thread fits better in the Android forum?

[proceed]

I confirm, no issue on Amazon Prime. It works perfectly... I will make a try with other video player...  

I correct the above information : it occurs sometimes with Amazon Prime... I tried also other video player for reading files like VLC and it occurs too... but you can never get twice the freezing point... it means there is some software issue or something else... I am still under Android 8 Oreo, do you confirm that it is the same under Android 9 Pie ?  

Yes, you are right. Maybe I wasn't watching enough of Amazon Prime. It's really hard to find a pattern there (in terms of frequency vs type of content). I've seen it in content ranging from 480p to 4k. And the problem seems to affect any application that outputs video (which might indicate a base Android/driver issue?).

I confirm I'm using Android 9 Pie, what makes it even more frustrating, as you say that the problem was there even in Oreo. Wonder if every single owner of these TVs are getting this and just don't notice/care? That can't be right... 

I confirm... I have updated my TV to Android 9 and it is the same issue... It is frustrating

[rickt61]

I confirm... I have updated my TV to Android 9 and it is the same issue... It is frustrating

Did you contact Sony's customer support?

[Tixu]

Hi all, i have exactly the same issue.

Whatever the video file (HD 720 or 1080, or 4K) on Kodi 18.5 and now 18.6, i got short video freezes during any movie. Same with Netflix, sometime some freezes, same symptoms. But no freeze with VLC.

I have a Sony TV Oled 4K AG9.

[proceed]

maybe because of internet connection

No it is not and my TV is a XG8586 series which uses the same processor . It occurs also for me even with a 250Gb connection with Kodi, Plex, Amazon Prime, Netflix... even with a local hdd file source. You van have Kodi working better by disabling the hardware acceleration in Kodi options but in such a case, you can forget to see 4k files...

[maximk]

Hi all,

First, some info about the setup: Kodi 18.5 running on Android TV 9 (Pie) on a Sony KD-75X9500G (Same as X950G). HT-X8500 soundbar connected via HDMI eARC.

Debug Log is here: https://paste.kodi.tv/hitificebe.kodi

The issue is that the image freezes for a couple seconds in a very noticeable way. Here's a short video showing the issue:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uaalmgimgtt86e...2.MOV?dl=0

It seems to be affecting pretty much every video that I watch, from SD to 4K, but I can only see that in longer videos, as it seems to be happening every 20-30 minutes or so (but it might be another frequency, as I didn't really clock it). I don't remember seeing that for example when watching Simpsons episodes (~23 minutes long).

Sound passthrough is activated in Kodi but I don't think it's being passed through in most cases because of other problems of the Android TV implementation in this set that I've read about in other threads and also from what I could understand of my own logs (e.g. at line 427 or 429). 

The video in the example is 4K @ 23.976. As far as I can tell the video is playing at 4K but the refresh rate is not being matched and seems to be stuck at 60Hz (another Sony TV Android limitation?). For some reason Kodi outputs that it's running at 1920x1080 @ 60 (line at 433) and that's the only option available in the whitelist list (but I didn't enable anything there).

Another thing I noticed is that the Kodi FPS counter hovers between 45 and 55FPS most of the time (which is neither the 60FPS you'd expect from 60Hz nor the 23.796 from the video). The CPU stays between 60% and 90%, knowing that I've seen it go beyond 100% at times, as I presume the theoretical maximum would be 400% (4-core CPU), unless I misunderstood something.

As far as I can tell the problem is linked to the message at lines 549 and 550. I've paused and stopped the video right after seeing the issue around that time.

Finally, I think this might be the same issue as the one on this thread: https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=350435. The TV set is not exactly the same but they use the same "cheapset" from Mediatek (MT5893).

Guess that's it. Any help is appreciated.

I have Sony KD55x7005, and  a couple of months ago started experiencing freezers and loss of synchronization of video and audio tracks in some videos.
Tried lot of things, but what WORKED for me was doing factory-reset to the TV (I followed the procedure here, basically plugging TV into power while holding power and volume-down buttons until a green led turns on, and then waiting patiently for ~30min). Now everything plays smoothly again with the latest Kodi  (18.6) with the default settings.

(and before that I tried reinstalling kodi, tweaking kodi's settings, side-loading older kodi versions, and nothing really worked).

[stamatis87]

Hi all,

First, some info about the setup: Kodi 18.5 running on Android TV 9 (Pie) on a Sony KD-75X9500G (Same as X950G). HT-X8500 soundbar connected via HDMI eARC.

Debug Log is here: https://paste.kodi.tv/hitificebe.kodi

The issue is that the image freezes for a couple seconds in a very noticeable way. Here's a short video showing the issue:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uaalmgimgtt86e...2.MOV?dl=0

It seems to be affecting pretty much every video that I watch, from SD to 4K, but I can only see that in longer videos, as it seems to be happening every 20-30 minutes or so (but it might be another frequency, as I didn't really clock it). I don't remember seeing that for example when watching Simpsons episodes (~23 minutes long).

Sound passthrough is activated in Kodi but I don't think it's being passed through in most cases because of other problems of the Android TV implementation in this set that I've read about in other threads and also from what I could understand of my own logs (e.g. at line 427 or 429). 

The video in the example is 4K @ 23.976. As far as I can tell the video is playing at 4K but the refresh rate is not being matched and seems to be stuck at 60Hz (another Sony TV Android limitation?). For some reason Kodi outputs that it's running at 1920x1080 @ 60 (line at 433) and that's the only option available in the whitelist list (but I didn't enable anything there).

Another thing I noticed is that the Kodi FPS counter hovers between 45 and 55FPS most of the time (which is neither the 60FPS you'd expect from 60Hz nor the 23.796 from the video). The CPU stays between 60% and 90%, knowing that I've seen it go beyond 100% at times, as I presume the theoretical maximum would be 400% (4-core CPU), unless I misunderstood something.

As far as I can tell the problem is linked to the message at lines 549 and 550. I've paused and stopped the video right after seeing the issue around that time.

Finally, I think this might be the same issue as the one on this thread: https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=350435. The TV set is not exactly the same but they use the same "cheapset" from Mediatek (MT5893).

Guess that's it. Any help is appreciated.

I have Sony KD55x7005, and  a couple of months ago started experiencing freezers and loss of synchronization of video and audio tracks in some videos.
Tried lot of things, but what WORKED for me was doing factory-reset to the TV (I followed the procedure here, basically plugging TV into power while holding power and volume-down buttons until a green led turns on, and then waiting patiently for ~30min). Now everything plays smoothly again with the latest Kodi  (18.6) with the default settings.

(and before that I tried reinstalling kodi, tweaking kodi's settings, side-loading older kodi versions, and nothing really worked).

I have the KD65A9F and have been experiencing this problem also. Factory reset does work but after a while the problem comes back again. Very very frustrating!

[fritsch]

Did you ask Sony for help already?