[DJ_Izumi]

I'm using vanilla Kodi 17.1 on Windows 10 and since Kodi 17 I've started experiencing frequent crashes on anime. I know you guys hate it when logs are abreviated, but I spent a few mins seeking through the episode where I knew I could replicate the issue and it made a log too big for PasteBin, so I cut out the middle which is me seeking 30sec at at time to find a replicatable trouble spot.

https://pastebin.com/yPEQxBwa

This has been a routine problem on Kodi 17, it seems to always involve anime that is subtitled in some fashion so I wonder if the cause is subtitle related. I have crash log and I'll upload it if anyone can suggest where to upload it.

It seems to mostly happen in spots of episodes where I can replicate the issue, but it's in random episodes from many different sources of origin. Asside from 'subbed anime' I can't find anything else in common between the files that encounter problems. When Kodi crashes, it crashes hard. It doesn't hang or anything, the audio buffer just starts looping and it goes straight crash to desktop.

[DJ_Izumi]

Some additional information:

1) I can't replicate this on my other Windows based Kodi daily driver, which runs on a 768p TV in the bedroom or an Intel laptop just running Kodi to test.

2) It doesn't crash if I turn off the subtitles. Re-enabling the subtitles causes to crash at predictable locations.

Both my Kodi daily drivers are Intel systems with AMD graphics (Though of different generations) and I'm trying to rule out differences. The machine with the problem uses bitstreaming if possible to a soundbar while the other just sends LPCM over HDMI to the TV. The problem machine is also the only 4K one.

It DOESN'T happen if Kodi is at 1080p. Only if it's running at 4K for my 4K TV. Subtitle 4K issue? Does that make sense? I tried also switching from WASAPI TOSLINK to just DirectSound, I can still replicate the crash, but not at 1080p.

So... Uhh... Ideas?

[DJ_Izumi]

I can replicate the issue at the following resolutions:

4098x2160
3840x2160 (the normal operating resolution for this setup)

But not anything lower. Even starting at 3200x1800 it doesn't crash.

I guess tomorrow after work I should test my bedroom Kodi machine on the 4K TV, but I'm not even sure it'll do 4K. Even with the DP 1.2 adaptor, I don't think that machines Radeon HD 6950 can even do 3840x2160. Though it's Intel IGP may allow for it instead if I switch from discrete to IGP. It'll take another day or so for me to get time to test it however.

[DJ_Izumi]

So, the good news is that despite all documentation saying otherwise, you actually can get 4K@30 out of a Radeon HD 6950 on a DP1.2 to HDMI 2.0 adapter! That made replicating this test on another machine a lot easier, I just had to lug it from the bedroom to my livingroom.

...And I successfully recreated the issue. :/ Since this log was much shorter, the whole thing fit into PasteBin:

https://pastebin.com/DA7vDpTc

So, in short, Kodi 17.1 seems to have a subtitle related bug that is specific to operation at 4K resolutions. I have a multitude of anime files that are dependent on subtitles that can create this crash and they create it at the same spot of a given file. It seems to depend though, probably only 1 out of 6 or 1 out of 8 files seem to cause it but a single file can have multiple 'trouble spots'. If I turn off subtitles, the crash doesn't happen, eliminating this being a video or audio decoder issue I imagine. That would also explain why switching between software and hardware decoding had no effect or why the issue happened on either h.264 or HEVC encoded content. And I can recreate this on multiple Windows 10 powered Kodi boxes reliably. The issue only happens when Kodi is running at 4K resolutions.

So my guess would be, this hasn't come up much because Windows powered Kodi machines playing subtitled content on 4K TVs isn't terribly common so no others have reported this. But I feel like '4K subs being randomly but predictably broken' is something that a dev can hopefully pay attention to.

[DJ_Izumi]

I found an interim solution. The problem doesn't exist in Kodi 17.1 RC1 or 17. So I reverte to 17.1 RC1 to resolve the issue. So the issue was introduced with 17.1 Stable.

...Granted, I feel like this thread might not go anywhere now. It hasn't seemed to garner much interest.

I wonder if this is going to be like that thread where I discovered that the language tag for the Yao language outright causes Kodi to crash. I mean, I realize only 3.1 million people even speak Yao, but an entire subtitle language tag causing crashes should have deserved some dev attention.

http://babylon.xbmc.org/showthread.php?t...pid2305034

[DJ_Izumi]

So I'm unsure if it was the Creators update or 17.3 but the problem seems to have been resolved. I'm oddly suspecting the creator's update since it also affected another fullscreen issue I was having only at 4K.

...I'm sure this is good news to the zero people who cared about this issue!

[cosmo321]

I've had a similar issue that might be this bug since Kodi 16. I get frequent crashes when I watch subtitled anime. I never really thought about the resolution being the problem, but it might be around the same time I got my 4k TV, thinking back on it...
I'm still able to reproduce this crash with 17.3, and every previous version of 17. Whenever a file cause Kodi to crash, it will always crash Kodi, and always at the same point in the file.

I wish I'd seen this thread back in April. I thought I was the only one having this problem, as I couldn't see anyone else mentioning it.

[DJ_Izumi]

I've had a similar issue that might be this bug since Kodi 16. I get frequent crashes when I watch subtitled anime. I never really thought about the resolution being the problem, but it might be around the same time I got my 4k TV, thinking back on it...
I'm still able to reproduce this crash with 17.3, and every previous version of 17. Whenever a file cause Kodi to crash, it will always crash Kodi, and always at the same point in the file.

I wish I'd seen this thread back in April. I thought I was the only one having this problem, as I couldn't see anyone else mentioning it.

What kind of graphics is your system using? Do you have the Windows 10 Creator's update installed? If you switch your output to 1080p or another resolution, does the problem go away?

[cosmo321]

I am using a Radeon RX 560, running windows 10 with creators update.

I just did a quick test, and indeed does changing the resolution to 1080p remove the problem. A crashing file does not crash at 1080p. It goes back to crashing when I revert the resolution to 2160p.

[DJ_Izumi]

I am using a Radeon RX 560, running windows 10 with creators update.

I just did a quick test, and indeed does changing the resolution to 1080p remove the problem. A crashing file does not crash at 1080p. It goes back to crashing when I revert the resolution to 2160p.

So the creator's update didn't fix it for you. How about updated drivers?

I also had a SEPARATE problem that maybe wasn't separate, it maybe wasn't separate not that I wonder, but it was also resolved at the same time. It only happened at 4K, I was able to produce it on both of my machines, but basically when Kodi would start up 4K full screen mode it'd be fine. But if I alt tabbed out of Kodi or otherwise took it out of full screen it would render pitch black. I didn't CRASH, it was running, but it rendered all black. If I could blindly alt tab back to Kodi (Or \ from fullscreen to windowed to fullscreen again) then it would return and any subsequent tabbing or \ out of full screen worked correctly. I didn't report this problem but it was also solved the same time as my subtitle problem fixed itself.

But since the creator's update I really can't undo very easily I can't test if that's it or not. Or maybe it was graphics drivers, both my machines are AMD and so is yours, so this could be an AMD specific issue?

I mean, this is the best we can do while working blindly and no devs stepping in to read log files and giving input.

[cosmo321]

I don't know if it's an AMD specific crash. I noticed that when turning off the subtitle track the files play without crashing even at 4k. It makes me believe the problem is with libass, in some way. I guess this problem won't get much attention as the demography of people watching anime on 4k TVs is still probably small. I spent more than half a year wondering if I was the only one with the problem, as I couldn't find anyone else mentioning it until now.

[cosmo321]

Could someone look into this? I have several debug and crash logs here. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2s9htob8jidfu...ofMEa?dl=0
I even included a crash causing file if anyone else wants to try to reproduce it. It happens a few seconds after the 40 second mark during the opening credits on this file. It happens every single time on my 4K system.

[DJ_Izumi]

Could someone look into this? I have several debug and crash logs here. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2s9htob8jidfu...ofMEa?dl=0
I even included a crash causing file if anyone else wants to try to reproduce it. It happens a few seconds after the 40 second mark during the opening credits on this file. It happens every single time on my 4K system.

Dunno what to say, not a single Dev has even responded to this thread even out of curiosity, so I feel like this problem will be ignored.

[PatK]

I just looked and didn't see an active ticket in trac for this issue. Perhaps someone will eloquently describe the issue and post in the bug tracker which by its nature gets the attention of the developers. I assure you 4K is on the roadmap, and glitches are first and foremost patience, please.

[DJ_Izumi]

I just looked and didn't see an active ticket in trac for this issue. Perhaps someone will eloquently describe the issue and post in the bug tracker which by its nature gets the attention of the developers. I assure you 4K is on the roadmap, and glitches are first and foremost patience, please.

Nearly three months and you're the first Kodi Team Member to respond, I think we are being 'patient'. More over, I think that between the two of us, we've researched and provided about as much information as we can without further assistance or requests to do more specific testing by developers. Up to determining that the cause is unique to resolutions of at least 3840x2160 or higher and unique to subtitle streams being enabled. More over, while only two people are reporting the issue, we are experiencing it on all AMD hardware. An HD 6950, HD 7950, RX 560. I'm also starting to experience the issue again, sporadically, and the system in question has been upgraded from a HD 7950 to an R9 390X, it's all AMD hardware. It could possibly be AMD driver related?

I'm just saying, I'd like to think that we've done a lot more than say 'A THING IS BROKEN, I DON'T KNOW HOW OR WHY, FIX IT."