[dshorrosh]

Well dang it, was hoping some specific config settings would improve things - thanks for your quick reply.

[matthuisman]

I'm assuming the issue is when adverts happen. If it's not and just a buffering issue then reduce the quality

[dapharsyde]

I can't recall if Hulu is hls or dash.
I think it's dash so I hope this recently merged PR will fix https://github.com/xbmc/inputstream.adaptive/pull/1175
No IA has been released with it yet, but builds for it are available on kodis Jenkins

Good news - I installed the nightly Omega build from https://test.libreelec.tv/12.0/Generic/Generic/ onto a test box and tried the Hulu plugin with the latest v21.0.3 inputstream adaptive plugin, and channels that were freezing when ads played are now working without issue.

@dshorrosh, if you're comfortable using bleeding edge software, you may want to consider upgrading to Omega to use the latest inputstream adaptive plugin that fixes the dash streaming issues.

Also, thank you @matthuisman for the pointer to the right PR.  Do you happen to know if the inputstream adaptive devs typically backport patches like this into the Matrix and/or Nexus branches?  My primary boxes still run on Matrix, so I'm wondering if I should just wait for this to be backported so I can use it -- or should I be expected to backport it myself and build my own version of the plugin?

[matthuisman]

Matrix no..backport to nexus already merged https://github.com/xbmc/inputstream.adaptive/pull/1178 and would be in the next nexus release

[dapharsyde]

Matrix no..backport to nexus already merged https://github.com/xbmc/inputstream.adaptive/pull/1178 and would be in the next nexus release

Thanks for the tip.  I switched over to Kodi Nexus, built the latest inputstream.adaptive from the Nexus branch, and haven't experienced any freezing yet.

As it turns out, there is also a new update to inputstream.adaptive v20.3.5.1 available from the LE add-on repository (strange that this version isn't available from the inputstream.adaptive releases on github?), and this version appears to be working as well.

@dshorrosh - if you're able to update to this latest version of inputstream.adaptive, you should give it a try.

EDIT: Actually, the v20.3.5.1 version available from the LE add-on repo may not be working after all, after I just experienced some freezes on ESPN and ESPN2.  I switched back to the version I compiled myself though, and that still seems to be avoiding the freezes.  I did have to reboot for the changes to take effect.

[dapharsyde]

@matthuisman - So now that ads are playing smoothly again, I guess I should ask about what I consider the holy grail of Live TV playback - is it possible to detect when ads are playing and automatically mute the audio?

When I watch Hulu through a web browser or the Hulu app, there is (usually) an "ad" icon overlay when ads are playing.  In fact I use a chrome plugin that is able to fast forward through ads whenever this condition is detected.  Would it be possible for the Hulu plugin to detect this and mute the audio, or is this not available due to the way we're accessing these video streams?

EDIT: Some googling suggests there's something called SCTE-35 markers in the DASH stream that indicate an ad is playing.  So would the functionality I'm asking for need to be implemented in inputstream.adaptive?

[matthuisman]

I could probably hack my way around it as the manifest goes via my proxy. I could return the times an ad would be playing. Then if player timer within there then mute. I think it would be prone to issues though.

Makes sense if it was a Kodi feature. And inputstream adaptive would just notify Kodi what periods / chapters are adverts

[dapharsyde]

I could probably hack my way around it as the manifest goes via my proxy. I could return the times an ad would be playing. Then if player timer within there then mute. I think it would be prone to issues though.

Makes sense if it was a Kodi feature. And inputstream adaptive would just notify Kodi what periods / chapters are adverts

I'd definitely put up with issues while testing it out if you're willing to try implementing something like that

I've seen some instances of broadcasts when actual content is still labeled an advert, but as long as I can unmute it myself to override it, I'd be more than happy with this.

As for adding it to inputstream.adaptive, do you think that would actually be a feature they'd ever add to kodi?

[matthuisman]

no harm in opening an issue on inputstream adaptive and ask
they wouldn't do the muting, but they could tell Kodi core that the period / chapter is advert.
Then kodi core would need to add the setting for muting on these.

If either of them say No, then I can look into trying implement myself
But I want to see evidence they are not interested before I spend time on it

[dapharsyde]

no harm in opening an issue on inputstream adaptive and ask
they wouldn't do the muting, but they could tell Kodi core that the period / chapter is advert.
Then kodi core would need to add the setting for muting on these.

If either of them say No, then I can look into trying implement myself
But I want to see evidence they are not interested before I spend time on it

Thanks for the advice, I opened a new issue here - https://github.com/xbmc/inputstream.adap...ssues/1207 - if I get some positive feedback on this request, I'll create a corresponding issue/feature request for the Kodi project.

[dapharsyde]

no harm in opening an issue on inputstream adaptive and ask
they wouldn't do the muting, but they could tell Kodi core that the period / chapter is advert.
Then kodi core would need to add the setting for muting on these.

If either of them say No, then I can look into trying implement myself
But I want to see evidence they are not interested before I spend time on it

@matthuisman - Looks like the inputstream.adaptive issue got some responses, but it doesn't look like something they'll be able to work on 

https://github.com/xbmc/inputstream.adap...ssues/1207

From @enen92 - 

Nop not really @CastagnaIT I fixed mute actions in EDL which were broken before, and also spent a bit of time understanding EDL implementation in general. My guess is that the way to go is to extend the EDL interface and allow addons to set new edits. I was thinking about doing this a bit more statically by allowing the addon to set a property with a list of edits. However, as far as I can understand the request here is a bit more dynamic...
Currently this is not possible at all

[matthuisman]

im really not keen on doing it.

It seems Kodi itself would need to support it first before Inputstream Adaptive.
Keep chasing it - you never know

[izprtxqkft]

just throwing this out there to see if it sticks

when commercials are played, doesnt the stream change? then that could be a flag to mute

albeit it might be interesting trying to figure out which streams to mute, but its something to go on (for a custom solution to be implemented on a personal setup not an official release version)

or im just thinking about regular streams with adverts

[matthuisman]

the user is talking about streams that actually mark their chapters / periods as adverts
that is a thing they do

he is asking that Kodi supports reading these identifiers and then muting until it returns to the main content
Also be nice if it could ignore frame rate changes during these as well

[dapharsyde]

im really not keen on doing it.

It seems Kodi itself would need to support it first before Inputstream Adaptive.
Keep chasing it - you never know

Would you consider working on it for a bounty?

Or provide some guidance on where/how this could be implemented as part of your plugin so I could maybe take a stab at it (albeit a very long shot)?

The github issue was closed, and I don't really know how I'd go about continuing to chase it on the Kodi end without becoming an annoyance.