Kodi Community Forum

I've been using Eden since the first Beta (now I'm on release version) and sometime around Beta 2 I've noticed a strange fps-related problem. It is not permanent and I wasn't able to track down what causes it, but it goes like this:

When I'm watching non-24p (namely 25p and 30p) content I'm noticing a little jerkiness sometimes - the video isn't smooth as always. So I bring on CodecInfo menu and it shows fps parameter (shown red on attached picture) all wrong - i.e. it may show 31.25 fps on 25p video or something like that. Everything else is behaving normally, it's just the fps number is wrong and the video is somewhat choppy (just a little, but I find that distracting). The CPU usage is also normal. No hard drive activity and the network speed is fine (I'm playing files from the NAS over 1GB connection, plus these are fairly low-bitrate AVI/MP4/MKV files).



The funny thing is that when I play 24p video in that situation - the playback is smooth as always even when fps numbers are still wrong! Only 25p and 30p videos are affected.

Restarting XBMC (not the Windows itself) solves this problem and the same video shows correct 25/30 fps number and run silky smooth. But the problem returns later.

I've got refresh rate matching and video sync enabled . The XBMC changes refresh rates correctly, according to file properties, as shown by my TV's info menu. I've tried all the video sync options (and even disabled it) and it not seems to be connected to the issue (the missed frames/error counter behaves normal all the time, showing a little sync corrections if any).

Again, XBMC switches to correct rate, (50Hz for 25p video, 60 for 30p), but _sometimes_ there's that strange slight choppiness. Which can be removed by simply restarting XBMC, with no settings changes whatsoever.

So, any idea what causes it? Please tell me what log/info I should post for you guys to look at. As I'm writing this my XBMC behaves normally (that son of bitch!), but I know the problem will return

Here's my setup - Zotac ION box with Atom 1,6 GHz, 2GBs of RAM, 32 GB SSD, running Windows 7 Home Premium and connected directly to Panasonic P50ST20 plasma via HDMI. I got the latest nVidia drivers and the latest stable XBMC release installed. By the way, what is the best driver's version for ION/XBMC combo? Maybe there's something going on here?

Thanks in advance for all the help!

Sorry for my English (not a native speaker)

P.S. [EDIT] Changed picture to the one from later post to show wrong fps and changed the name of the thread

What XBMC version are you running? (Latest stable... are you referring to EDEN 11.0?)

Yes, it is Eden 11.0. I've noticed the problem around the release of Beta 2 or Beta 3 and it's been there since then.

I have not experienced this in 11.0, but I'm running the May snapshot and there I see the same thing...

The fps gets more wrong the longer XBMC is running... if I restart XBMC (Not the entire computer) it starts off correct again... but after a few minutes it gets steadily more and more wrong... No choppines when viewing the movie, just wrong info in the stats.

(2012-07-10, 14:32)torcar Wrote: [ -> ]The fps gets more wrong the longer XBMC is running... if I restart XBMC (Not the entire computer) it starts off correct again... but after a few minutes it gets steadily more and more wrong... No choppines when viewing the movie, just wrong info in the stats.

Yeah, i forgot to mention that my dedicated XBMC box is running for weeks without reboot. I'm just hibernating PC after using and waking it up later. So, yes, it depends on how long XBMC has been running - that's for sure.

About that choppines you aren't seeing - as I said, it only occurs on files recorded at 25p (mostly European HDTV-shows and old PAL-DVDs) and 30p (web-videos, podcasts etc). So if you're only watching movies or US TV shows - you're watching 24p content, and it is always smooth, even when this issue happens.

I tested this last night... and yes, I also have a regular choppines on 25fps material. 24p material is perfect. I had no time time to test 30fps material.

As I said I run the may snapshot of XBMC. My rig details are in my signature.

So, we've established that the problem exists and it's usually happens after prolonged use of XBMC. Now we must find a way to fix it

P.S. Killer rig, by the way. That KRP-600A..... damn, I'd like to get my hands on one of those now

I think i have the same problem. Atleast I have the same sympthoms, after XBMC have been on for a day or so the video playback has a slight stutter. Closing the application and restarting it solves the issue. I have not checked if it reports the wrong FPS or identified any other cause for this. I came to the forums looking for a solution, your sympthoms seem to match mine. Hoping we can find a solution for this

Windows 7 64bit, Core i5, 8gb ram, XBMC 11 (something).

I was able to recreate the problem tonight. Last file I've played yesterday was Twin Peaks episode at 25p. Everything was OK, the fps stat was right and video ran smooth. Then I've stopped watching and after hour or so system went to sleep. I woke it up today to play 30p-encoded podcast. I've immediately noticed slight choppiness and saw fps stat being completely wrong. Here's a photo:



And here's the log

http://pastebin.com/AbvQG4FN

Then I've restarted XBMC and tried to play exact same file again. Of course this time everything was fine.

Here's the log of the restarted XBMC and the same file

http://pastebin.com/PwwW4Xbm

So, any XBMC guru's out there to help us on this info?

Actually, I've found this thread which is likely the same issue we're experiencing. No solution, though ;(

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=82879&page=9

Found out ive been using XBMC 11 RC2. Will update to latest and see if problems persist.

Upgrading to latest version did not solve the problem..

People say that bug exists even in latest XBMC 12 alpha 3 ;(

And I found no solution whatsoever, except for using scripts to restart XBMC after sleep (which isn't very convenient, takes too long and I had problems using it)

The bug still seems to be very much present... with a twist

In the latest alpha (Frodo Alpha 3) the fps is all over the scale for me... In alpha 2 the fps dropped continually until a restart of XBMC, but in alpha 3 the fps is constantly up and down from 25 to 20 fps on 24fps material. The audio-sync on 24fps material however seems to be pretty god (not perfect).

Rig details in signature...

I see this as a good thing... at least something is happening Thanks to the dev's

For those interested to have temporary (but really nice) solution, I suggest you take a look at XBMC Launcher, that has been created by our fellow forum user baijuxavior. Here's a thread

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=136798

I'm using it for а few days now and it works perfect - XBMC is restarted on wake-up (takes literally 2 seconds), so no fps problem. Plus it has a nice addition of using launcher as shell so you don't get to see Explorer window on startup and few other useful features.