Issue with regular cut out of 5.1 sound - Kodi Krypton on Nvidia shield TV 2017
#1
Hi all, i have been reading on many places and google searching to find if this is a known issue and there is a work around, and have found a few people describe similar thing but not found a fix that helped me. I may have missed so apologies if i have, did try.

Situation is no matter what settings i seem to change in Kodi (or SPMC for that matter, both experience the issue) when i am playing surround sound, i.e. 5.1, i get regular very short audio cut outs for a second or less. Tends to happen approx every 5mins or so best i can tell. This happens irrespective of whether the 5.1 sound is settings are set with speakers as 2.0 with 5.1 transcoding, or if set as 5.1. In both situations i get the surround sound when passthrough enabled out to the AMP fine, it indicates 5.1 and playback seems OK (though sometimes im not so sure about the audio/video sync) but it will just regularly cut out like a silent blip and you see the indicators on the receiver change just as briefly. It doesn't matter whether i am streaming a 60GB 4K media file or a 1GB media file, if im trying to play 5.1 it happens. If i turn OFF passthrough audio so its just stereo the problem seems to go away. But it seems like a massive waste of $200 spent to get the Shield.. right now its a bit of a paper weight, the chromecast works better.

I have tried changing every setting under the sun i can think of in EXPERT settiings, i have tested all the recommend audio and video settings i have seen on github, but nothing seems to stop it from happening. 

My setup is:

Kodi (and SPMC) on nVidia Shield 2017 TV, no add-ons
Hisense 65M7000 65" 4K TV
Yamaha RX-V377 (*not* 4K)
PC with bucketloads of storage and media files which is connected to the nVidia shield via ethernet and accessing via SMB share.
Note: the PC is a newly built AMD 1600 with 16GB 3200mhz ram, ATI RX480, WD REDs, 100mbps net connection, mix of CAT6 and CAT5-E cable (CAT6 into the shield).


I have the shield connected to TV via HDMI (appropriate 4K port), and Optical from the TV into the Receiver. As my receiver is not 4K i'm not connecting the Shield into it. I have CEC disabled in the TV as i dont use those functions (tried it turned on, made no difference).

Also:
Adjust display refresh rate: On start
Sync playback to display: On
Number of Channels: 2.0 (tried as 5.1 also)
Output configuration: Optimized
Allow Passthrough: On
Dolby Digital capable Receiver: On
- Enable Dolby Digital (AC3) transcoding: On

If u turn passthrough off my amp says its receiving 2.1ch PCM

I also have a Chromecast HD, PS4, and Cable TV plugged into the TV as well with sound via the optical out to receiver. None of these experience any audio issues whatsoever. Netflix HD from the TV APP is perfect 5.1, likewise the Chromecast HD works fine with videostream and to be frank i'm almost ready to go back to using that but hopefully with assistance will be able troubleshoot and get this working properly..

Please let me know what else and if i need to provide log/debug files and if so any instructions on what you'd like me to do during it. Thank you.
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#2
Disable sync playback to display
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#3
I have had about the same problem on my Nvidia Shield but the problem is not the Shield but it was my configuration (audio setting mismatch).
Remember the Optical (S/PDIF) port has a low bandwidh and it supports up to 5.1 channel with not all codecs (DTS HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD are NOT supported via S/PDIF).
So I suggest to you to "send" via the Optical (S/PDIF) maxium 5.1 channel with the only Dolby Digital codec (may try also DTS but no DTS HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD).
Also, you should set your TV to "redirect" the audio that comes from the HDMI (and from the TV Tuner) to the Optical (S/PDIF). Try to see if you can configure that option. Also, if you can set also that, try to find if you can set "bitstream".
Also set the Shield for Surrund Audio (multichannel).

Then set Kodi with:

Adjust display refresh rate: Yes or No (it's the same)
Sync playback to display: No
Number of Channels: 2.0
Allow Passthrough: On
Dolby Digital capable Receiver: On
- Enable Dolby Digital (AC3) transcoding: On

all the others audio codec to OFF.

Close Kodi, reopen it and try.


But why not use all HDMI?
I mean:
Shield -- HDMI 1 --> TV -- HDMI 2 (ARC) --> AVR (port HDMI OUT - ARC)
Kodi 18: Nvidia Shield TV (main device) and LibreELEC on Raspberry Pi 2 and Odroid C2
TV: Panasonic TX-55EZ950E (OLED)
AVR: Onkyo TX-NR509 (HDMI ARC)
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#4
rontonomo -  I actually had that disabled during most of my troubleshooting and only turned it on as a last resort. I actually think it has helped in a few cases where i thought audio/video was not quite in sync now it seems to be, so am inclined to leave it on if not hurting anything..?

outcave - I don't know why i haven't tried this. I always had problems with ARC on my old receiver / TV i just removed it from consideration as overly buggy. I have not tried it on this TV or Receiver combo though, i'll try that tonight! 

Thanks guys! See how i go tonight.
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#5
if you have - Adjust display refresh rate: On start - then you need to have - Sync playback to display: No
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#6
@ rontonomo - Should i have Adjust display refresh rate set to Always? or...?
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#7
I have turned off "Adjust display refresh rate". I have it all setup with HDMI ARC into receiver now also however there is no change at all in terms of the original issue. Still get regular very short audio cut outs for a second or less. Happens approx every 5mins sometimes. Again, doesn't matter the size or quality of video.
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#8
Have done some more troubleshooting:

- Playing same media files from USB plugged into nVidia shield via Kodi experiences same 5.1 drop out issues.
- Playing same media files from USB plugged directly into Hisense TV WORKS! 5.1 without frequent drop outs.

- Installed Plex server on PC, and Plex on both the Hisense TV and the nVidia Shield TV.
    - Plex on nVidia shield experiences the same 5.1 drop out issues as Kodi & SPMC.
    - Plex on Hisense TV WORKS! 5.1 without frequent drop outs.


So basically my nVidia shield is a $200 pointless paper weight best i can tell.... it is not doing anything more than my cheaper chromecast ultra does (i.e. 4K but only stereo works)... and does LESS than what my TV by default is doing!!
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#9
(2018-01-19, 05:01)Xizor Wrote: ...So basically my nVidia shield is a $200 pointless paper weight best i can tell.... it is not doing anything more than my cheaper chromecast ultra does (i.e. 4K but only stereo works)... and does LESS than what my TV by default is doing!!
With my Nvidia Shield I can play using Kodi or using PLEX: 1080p, 4K, 4K HDR, with 5.1 Dolby Digital, with 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus and with 5.1 DTS without problems (and my AVR in ARC supports only HDMI version 1.4).
With my Nvidia Shield I can play (with Andorid apps) Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Youtube: 1080p, 4K, 4K HDR, with 5.1 Dolby Digital, with 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus without problems (and my AVR in ARC supports only HDMI version 1.4).
Did you try to play movies/videos (with Andorid apps installed on Shield) of Netflix or Amazon Prime Video? Do you have the same problem? Or the problem is only with Kodi?
You should try to "narrow" where is your problem and check your setup.
Do not blame Shield if others do not have the same your problem...
Kodi 18: Nvidia Shield TV (main device) and LibreELEC on Raspberry Pi 2 and Odroid C2
TV: Panasonic TX-55EZ950E (OLED)
AVR: Onkyo TX-NR509 (HDMI ARC)
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#10
(2018-01-17, 16:27)rontonomo Wrote: Disable sync playback to display

Yes Sync playback to Display will kill ALL audio passthrough.

If it were my I would Reset all audio to defaults in Kodi audio settings (down the bottom of options) and then just select Dolby Digtal Passthrough only. Quit Zkodi and reboot the Shield.
Then test a known DD 5.1 audio sample file from:

http://kodi.wiki/view/Samples

That will give a baseline to work from.

In Hisense TV Settings > All > Audio....
Do you have Digital Audio Out > RAW selected ?

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#11
Indeed, as already told to Xizor, it's important to set "raw" or "bitstream" or "pass through" (depend on how the TV call the "pass through" feature) for the HDMI ARC port of the TV.
Kodi 18: Nvidia Shield TV (main device) and LibreELEC on Raspberry Pi 2 and Odroid C2
TV: Panasonic TX-55EZ950E (OLED)
AVR: Onkyo TX-NR509 (HDMI ARC)
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#12
why  not just use hdmi from shield to receiver then to the tv? IMO ARC is complete junk and slows down other things. is it because your receiver doesn't have hdmi 2.0 and you want to use 4k? if you have the money for an oled hdr tv, then you should just save yourself all the problems and get a hmdi 2.0 receiver, then you would be able to use all the audio codecs which every single 4k HDR movie will be using instead of the old dolby digital 5.1 and dts.
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#13
(2018-01-19, 16:06)rontonomo Wrote: ...if you have the money for an oled hdr tv, then you should just save yourself all the problems and get a hmdi 2.0 receiver, then you would be able to use all the audio codecs which every single 4k HDR movie will be using instead of the old dolby digital 5.1 and dts.
For sure I have money to buy an OLED TV, but you are not able to read... The audio problem is not mine, but of the user that created the post (Xizor).
Kodi 18: Nvidia Shield TV (main device) and LibreELEC on Raspberry Pi 2 and Odroid C2
TV: Panasonic TX-55EZ950E (OLED)
AVR: Onkyo TX-NR509 (HDMI ARC)
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#14
oh man, my bad got mixed up on threads now i feel like an idiot... sorry for the mix up. sometimes my eyes play tricks on me
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#15
Again with these sound issues (does nobody read the tons of other posts regarding sound issues), well, from my own personal notes (using a Nvidia Shield TV)...
 
  1. =12ptNext go to (System SettingsàAudio)
    (If you need help understanding what all these audio settings do, check this link out…)
    http://www.htpcbeginner.com/kodi-audio-settings/...
    Image

    - Change Audio output device to Android, RAW Passthrough (should be default).
    - The number of channels can be left to 2 (which is Stereo, but read below the Enable pass-through part).
    - Output configuration change to Best Match (If you notice sound issues, change to Optimized).

    =10.0ptBest Match

    =10.0ptThis looks at the audio properties of the file and picks the output format that most closely fits those properties out of the supported formats your device reports to Kodi.

    Benefits - If your device supports all the audio for formats contain in your files then it's to get works called "bit perfect" through, in laymans terms what we send exactly matches what we receive from the files, so 5.1 in for example will always result in 5.1 out.

    Downside - each time the properties received from the file changes then the audio system needs to be reinitialised with those new properties and some hardware does like this, so may result in very small audio drop outs as the hardware such as AVR copes with the change in what Kodi sends.

    Optimised

    This minimises changes in the audio properties of what Kodi sends, so it won't always exactly match the properties of the file, so in a playlist of files we take the properties of the 1st file and that is used for all subsequent files in the playlist even if they have different audio properties.

    Benefits - for hardware sensitive to audio property changes this minimises the chance of things like audio drop outs.

    Downside - If watch a live stream, if when you start watching it's send 5.1 then that is how audio is set up, if during a commercial break audio changes to 2.0 then we still send 5.1 , alternatively if you start watching during a commercial break with 2.0 audio then the TV show starts it's 5.1 then we still send audio as 2.0

    Fixed

    This is only available for audio we decode for sending as PCM as we must always have the ability to resample the audio. This is used where where hardware is sensitive to any change in audio properties, or the hardware does not perform well with certain sample rates.

    Benefits - audio should always be playable without any audible issues.

    Downside - not possible with passthrough audio, and depending on the audio properties of your files could result in audio being resampled a lot of the time.



    - Stereo upmix should be OFF
    -           However, you can enable Stereo upmix, it just outputs stereo sound to all speakers instead of the front. May be useful if you have to crank the volume to hear people talking. However, if you have a Receiver, don’t enable this feature.
    - Maintain original volume on downmix should be ON
    - Keep audio device alive can be set to 10.

    =10.0ptThe 'Keep audio device alive' setting keeps the audio device alive at the Kodi end, so where we need exclusive access to the audio device we maintain a lock on the audio device or other programs can't grab access from underneath Kodi. This is mainly an issue with Linux and Windows audio systems, I don't believe it's possible to get exclusive access on Android. 

    The 'Send low volume noise' setting ensures an active audio stream is sent to whatever external device you use for generating the sound (TV with speaker or AVR with speakers) as some hardware will drop the audio connection if it does see any incoming audio, this then prevents the possibility of the very start of a audio stream not being heard while the audio connection gets started backup. The 'Send low volume noise' setting is optional because although the noise pattern is done in such a way it should never be audible so all the human ear should hear is silence, however in practice some external hardware may alter what it received and end up producing some audible effect that the user can hear and may not be very pleasant.


    - Enable audio DSP processing should be OFF
    - Enable pass-through should be ON if you have a Receiver.
    - If you are connected to a Receiver? Then change the settings to use Pass-through. Also, the recommended “number of channels” settings is 2.0, even if you have 5.1 or a 7.1 surround sound setup. Because not all Receivers will accept pass-through if it’s set to 5. Even then, because Kodi is using a “hacked” method for passing audio over HDMI, pass-through doesn’t always work or work correctly with certain Receivers. The only reason to set it to 5.1 is if Kodi is doing the decoding and you are sending LPCM to your Receiver (this means that Kodi is doing the decoding and sending the decoded audio to your Receiver).

  2. =12ptIf you notice that Music (or really any video playing) is quiet, you can amplify the output by doing the following…
    - Start a Video, and bring up the OSD screen, go to Settings – Audio and Subtitle Settings
    - Go to Volume Amplification and turn it up.
    - This is a Global Setting and will work for everything.
    - If you are using Pass-Through (to a Receiver) then this solution will NOT work.

  3. =12ptFor Video settings…
    - basically the defaults are the best
    - Deinterlace AUTO
    - method Bob-Inverted
    - Bilinear
    - Post Processing ON
    - Both methods of hardware acceleration ON
    - High quality scalers 0%

  4. =12ptVideosàPlaybackàSync playback to display should always be set to OFF when using pass-through audio.
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Issue with regular cut out of 5.1 sound - Kodi Krypton on Nvidia shield TV 20170