[noggin]

Any good news here? I did not yet find the time to plug it in :-)

The pain is so low, when the firetv just does 90% of the needs.

Have Netflix updated their Fire OS app to use the Fire OS frame-rate switching API yet?  That's the biggest barrier for me at the moment - without decent 24/25, or 24/50 switching support Netflix on the Fire TV Stick is a non-starter for me

[fritsch]

Any good news here? I did not yet find the time to plug it in :-)

The pain is so low, when the firetv just does 90% of the needs.

Have Netflix updated their Fire OS app to use the Fire OS frame-rate switching API yet?  That's the biggest barrier for me at the moment - without decent 24/25, or 24/50 switching support Netflix on the Fire TV Stick is a non-starter for me

I am not using netflix, cannot tell. I only watch some amazon prime.

[sylvio2000]

@ noggin
Sadly NO device, except the ATV4K, is able to auto switch the frame rate on apps like Netflix. Even the ShieldTV is not able to do it automatically.

[noggin]

@ noggin
Sadly NO device, except the ATV4K, is able to auto switch the frame rate on apps like Netflix. Even the ShieldTV is not able to do it automatically.

I feared that - good job I have an ATV 4K for DRM-streaming duties.  (The Roku UHD Streaming Stick used to do it, as did my UHD Blu-ray player - but I think both have now had it disabled because of re-syncs on auto-play trailers because the re-sync is at the OS level, not the app level.  The ATV 4K doesn't switch automatically at the OS level, it switches under app control, so the app doesn't request a refresh rate change when playing trailers, only when playing full movies or shows)

[wizziwig]

Has anyone actually tested various frame rate files to 100% verify there are no playback glitches when you manually set the HDMI display settings to match the file format?
There are various test patterns for this out there.  You can start with these for example.  There should not be any irregular jumps or hitches that occur every 16-42 seconds.  Thanks.

[wrxtasy]

Has anyone actually tested various frame rate files to 100% verify there are no playback glitches when you manually set the HDMI display settings to match the file format?

There is NO "Match Frame Rate" functionality at all available in the new CCGTV dongle. Simple none. Nada. Nothing.

You are getting confused with the CCGTV dongle Android setting "Match Content" which if you read a bit further into it is actually...
Match Content Dynamic Range (click)
i.e. you turn that on to auto switch between SDR / HDR / DolbyVision outputs depending on the source video content you playback.

It's a given for any device that there WILL be video playback glitches when 24p content in output at 50Hz.
And conversely there will also be video playback glitches when 25/50fps content is output at 60Hz.
Those combos simply do not Sync up properly for nice smooth video playback.

A bunch of modern 4K TV's can do Judder Free 24p (click) when using a 24p/60Hz output combo for smooth video playback.

The Septic Tanks aka Yanks, mass market, that is not too demanding - predominately only needs support for USA sourced - 24p, 30 & 60fps** video.
They have very little to complain about when using the CCGTV dongle, if set to output 60Hz all the time, whilst using a Judder Free 24p 4K TV.

It's the rest of us that also need auto Frame Rate Matching - 25/50fps support that do all the complaining about the lack of auto Frame Rate Matching support.

** Includes Fractional Frames Rates. Rounded to match what the CCGTV tells users in Android settings.

[wizziwig]

Perhaps you missed this part of my post: " manually set the HDMI display settings to match the file format"

We all know this device does not support automatic refresh rate switching.  I'm asking if someone tried changing the HDMI display mode in android settings to a resolution and refresh rate that matches the source file.
Then start Kodi or Netflix and verify that it actually plays smoothly.  I'm not saying this is practical to exit Kodi and change the refresh rate before every file but just wondering if it works.

[lama0900]

Not quite relative just yet or at least not until Google has updated this device to Android 11 for Android TV is released (before the end of this year if they keep their promise), but FYI:

Android 11 provides a new "Frame rate API" as well as a couple of low-latency related features that enables apps to inform and request HDMI 2.1 systems to use their intended frame rate and for displays to disable post-processing.

I guess the driving reason why Google has developed such and the other performance-related features in Android TV 11 is to improve the experience in Google's new Stadia cloud-based game streaming player app for gaming.

https://android-developers.googleblog.co...id-tv.html
 

• "Frame rate API" - Android 11 provides a new API that enables apps to inform the system of their intended frame rate "to reduce judder on devices that support multiple refresh rates"
  

Google has stated that they and OEM-partners/third-parties will roll out Android 11 on Android TV to devices like this new "Google Chromecast with Google TV" dongle before the end of this year.

Won't that give us frame rate matching within kodi?

[fritsch]

Nope. It will only give a hint to the system, that we now play 24p or something, though - looks good.

Edit: https://github.com/xbmc/libandroidjni/pu...664be76a64 - I don't have the time yet to test it, but this setter can be used when we create Mediacodec Surfaces.

[lama0900]

A question besides kodi. Is there an android app, which can fix the volume to a certain level? 
If my AVR is turned off, the TV gets the audio and whatever app I use: Kodi, Disney+, Prime, Netflix and EVEN with different movies in it there are (of course there are) different levels of volume.
But sometimes I need to listen a little more quiet than with the AVR just with the tv. 

So what I now do is permanently turn up the volume and turn it down again. Is there an app which makes the volume for the whole frequency bandwidth the same?

[KeithZG]

I hope that GoogleTv will soon get integrated search working with Kodi. From what I've read there are some new APIs that need to be supported. but I don't know the details - whether its work to be done by Kodi, other apps or Google?

It was same with AndroidTv. the search didn't show search results from other apps like Plex, then they were updated and it did.

Full Google Assistant working in Kodi would be great!

I've got my fingers crossed for the same thing; it'd be really neat to have my streaming services integrated alongside my local media via Kodi. No idea how possible this even is though since my own attempts to find documentation on the relevant API (if it's even public yet) just finds results for the Chromecast API or other older Android TV stuff like the Leanback API (which Kodi already supports, and I use to get stuff nicely on the homescreen on my Shield TV personally, but playlists don't appear to be exposed to this new interface in the same way).

Very funny that Google, of all companies, would come up with branding that makes Googling for specific aspects of a product impossible

[Mittwoch]

I changed back to my 4k FTV. Too much little Problems with the new Chromecast. The most annoying: The Youtube App freezes often if restarted and in the middle of a Video, not reproducable. Netflix shows the loading circle which stops at 24% ALWAYS at 24% and then.... nothing. Sometimes it works sometimes the Loading Circle of Death appears. I bought the Google Ethernet Adapter but that changed nothing.

[wrxtasy]

Netflix shows the loading circle which stops at 24% ALWAYS at 24% and then.... nothing. Sometimes it works sometimes the Loading Circle of Death appears. I bought the Google Ethernet Adapter but that changed nothing.

Did you download the DRMInfo App to see if HDCP was working correctly ?
Because that sounds like the problem if the Netflix App is having issues.

[LamaFache]

Hello,

Just to share my personal experience.
Used previously Xiaomi Boxes, Firestick TV 4K/Standard and now started to evaluate the Google Chromecast with TV.

Experience is very positive from my perspective on the following point :
- smooth Youtube experience (had several small micro-shutters in youtube on many videos previously). Image is now perfectly sharp & smooth.
- molotovTV a french app to have french television channel is now smooth, previously I had micro-shutters as well on the FireTV
- Native google store access
- Kodi experience is good except the following point :

I cannot force any TV resolution using the whitelist feature of Kodi. This is something I used previously on my stick because it let the TV do the upscale and my Philips do it very well (thanks to P5 engine)
Not possible with the google device, it is forced to the resolution I set on the device and I cannot change it while playing a video (this is not a problem on the firestick TV ...)

So until now, except this missing feature, I do appreciate this little google device for my video/tv uses cases


Problem with Kodi on

[noggin]

- Kodi experience is good except the following point :

I cannot force any TV resolution using the whitelist feature of Kodi. This is something I used previously on my stick because it let the TV do the upscale and my Philips do it very well (thanks to P5 engine)
Not possible with the google device, it is forced to the resolution I set on the device and I cannot change it while playing a video (this is not a problem on the firestick TV ...)

Yes - this is linked to the lack of frame rate switching too. It seems that Google don't expose all supported resolutions and frame rates to apps, and instead just expose the system settings resolution and frame rate. There seems to be no way for apps to change this - unlike on other Android TV platforms like the nVidia Shield TV.