Req Set delay on video playback to allow audio format change.
#1
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PLEASE strongly consider adding an additional delay type for audio format changes.

Audio at the beginning on many of my titles is cut off as my receiver changes from one audio format to another.

For example, when using navigation , you hear the navigation clicks, but when starting playback of a DTS-MA title, it takes about 1.5 - 2 seconds to kick in. This causes the viewer to lose any audio that played during that time.

Everyone has a different setup, many have various reasons for wanting tiny delays and this is one of the biggest problems because we don't have one to use in these cases.

Kodi developers placed a setting of "Pause during refresh rate change" in the system for this very type of issue related to delays caused by video refresh rate changes..
We need a "Pause during audio stream change" delay too.

I would think that this code is largely ready from the video refresh rate change function, wouldn't you just monitor the audio for a change now and add this feature?
(My dumb guess on how it might go.. Blush )

What say you?
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#2
That won't help because the AVR needs an audio stream coming in in order to detect the format. Disable passthrough and you wont have to deal with those kind of issues.
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#3
I will play with the pastor settings however, I'm aware that the stream needs to start so let me try to rephrase this…

Yes, start the audio stream but as soon as the bits go through that will tell the receiver what format to go to, pause the video.

Wait the appropriate delay time (Set in the settings) and then begin play back again. (Offer the option to restart at 0:00)

This will prevent loss of understanding what's happening in the first three seconds of every video just because of the format change.

Does that make more sense?

Sorry I was unclear before-I'm intimately familiar with audio streams and how a receiver knows what to do with them so, that's why I'm suggesting to start the stream and then stop it immediately to allow the receiver to know what is coming.
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#4
Kodi does not get any feedback from AVRs what they detected the format, some need a very long time, other may be faster. That raises the first problem: when to pause. 2nd AVRs tend to lose format when being paused.
In order to make this work you would need to encode silence into the desired format and pre-roll audio. That is feasible and if somebody wants to do this, be my guest. Personally I consider passthrough audio as inferior and won't implement it.
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#5
(2017-01-12, 21:39)FernetMenta Wrote: Kodi does not get any feedback from AVRs what they detected the format, some need a very long time, other may be faster. That raises the first problem: when to pause. 2nd AVRs tend to lose format when being paused.

I know the player gets no feedback from the AVR. That isn't required. Kodi already knows what type of audio it sent last time and if the format changes, then the audio delay kicks in.

(2017-01-12, 21:39)FernetMenta Wrote: In order to make this work you would need to encode silence into the desired format and pre-roll audio. That is feasible and if somebody wants to do this, be my guest. Personally I consider passthrough audio as inferior and won't implement it.

No you wouldn't. You would only need to do this if creating a delay in playback at the right time was not possible - which it is, based on the knowledge Kodi has of the stream it played last.

(also, why is passthrough audio inferior?)

Even if Kodi didn't know the type of audio stream being played, allowing Kodi to discover this value from metadata in the file is easy.

The pause can be just that, a pause in playback or it could be a "<< return to 0" in the video playback" if the video isn't resuming from a previous session.
If it were resuming then a step back by the amount of the delay set +1 second would allow the system to acclimate to the new audio stream.

So, the logic works this way...

A) If the audio stream format isn't changing, then play the video without delay.

B) If the audio stream is changing AND the video is starting fresh (within <DELAY SECONDS + 1> from ZERO), then allow the audio to start for 1 second and then pause <DELAY> seconds, and jump back to 0:00 and play.

C) If the audio stream is changing AND the video is starting in the middle (MORE than <DELAY SECONDS + 1> from ZERO), then pause <DELAY> seconds, and jump back in the video by 1 second and play.


the requirements for this logic to work are simple to achieve...

Kodi has to know what audio stream was sent last, and what audio stream will be sent next. (This is doable)
Kodi has to be able to pause the video playback the moment after the stream has time to sent the format type bits.

This would resolve many issues with high end theaters getting 3 seconds of their TV shows' audio cut off at the start.
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#6
(2017-01-12, 21:58)sniper_x Wrote:
(2017-01-12, 21:39)FernetMenta Wrote:  
This would resolve many issues with high end theaters getting 3 seconds of their TV shows' audio cut off at the start.
+1.
Not only this happens when AVR needs to lock mutichannel audio stream but also happens on DAC playing bitperfect music when switching between different formats.
On my side, pausing media both on the AVR and the DAC does not make them lose the format: this happened with devices in the 2000-2010 (especially on SPDIF inputs) but no longer happens with USB or HDMI inputs and because most manufacturers have addressed the issue and make the device remain on the last format detected.

The tricky fix described would be highly appreciated ;-)
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