Video issues with Beta 2
#1
I just put together a new HTPC machine this weekend, and tried running the latest Beta 2 XBMC release, but I'm having lots of issues with video playback. Whenever I try to play any video format (.mkv, .mp4, .mpg, DivX .avi), the video will play with a lot of stutter for about 10 seconds, then the playback will freeze. The playback counter for the video will continue to increment, but the actual video will be frozen on one frame. I'm able to navigate around XBMC fine, and I can start playing other videos/music...but new videos have the same issue.

Trying to advance the video with the progress bar does nothing, and for the 10 seconds that the video is playing, it's very choppy. I checked the system info during this playback period, and the refresh rate drops to 14-16Hz, and is constantly fluctuating. I can play all the same videos in Windows Media Center, WMP, and MPlayer without any problems or choppiness.

I'm running Vista Ultimate 64-bit, with the following hardware:

Shuttle SG33G5 (includes Intel ICH9DH based mobo and Intel GMA 3100 onboard video with HDMI out - full specs here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6856101034)
Core 2 Duo E7200 2.53 GHz
4Gb G.SKILL PC6400 RAM

Any Suggestions?
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#2
Have you tried these: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=38726 ?

Solved playback issues in Beta2 for me.
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#3
Jeroen Wrote:Have you tried these: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=38726 ?

Solved playback issues in Beta2 for me.

Yes, I just tried this update like an hour ago actually. I saw no difference in playback, and I still have all the same problems. I also tried increasing and decreasing the video buffer sizes to see if that would help, but no change. All of these video files are being played from a local hardrive as well, 7200 RPM SATA.
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#4
Try posting a debug log, one of the devs might be able to see where the problem occurs.
Look here for instructions: http://wiki.xbmc.org/?title=HOW-TO_Submi...bug_report
(Collecting an XBMC debug log)
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#5
I just uninstalled Beta 2 and installed Beta 1 to see if the problems existed in that release. It appears that all the issues are new to Beta 2, because Beta 1 had none of the issues I described. I was able to play all video formats (.mp4, .mpg, .mkv. avi, even .iso) without issue. Well...there was one issue where the audio stopped working and I had to restart the app, but that's the only thing so far.

I'll put Beta 2 back on a little later after I give Beta 1 a larger workout, and try to collect some debug info. What were the major changes between the betas? Mainly just the multi-CPU upgrade?
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#6
Well I figured out 1/2 of my problem...The freezing after ~10 seconds of video play was a result of my sound output apparently. As stated above, I use an integrated Intel GMA 3100 with HDMI output, which includes the sound output. When I configure XBMC to use digital audio out, it was causing the freezes. Once I switched it to analog audio out, it stopped freezing and would play longer. And this was happening in both Beta 1 and Beta 2.

However, the stuttering in Beta 2 is still there, while the playback in Beta 1 is smooth. Although in both Betas, it seems randomly during the playback of some videos, the video will just stop by itself. The audio will cut out, then a few seconds later the video will get progressively more choppy until it finally just stops and returns me to the menu. I am playing all these video files from a local harddrive, and I had the buffering set at 4096k just in case, and it was still happening...Also, I could scan through all the videos to any point in the playback and let it play from there, and after a few seconds to minutes, it would cut out.

I'm hoping the next release will fix a lot of these problems. The interface for XBMC (especially the MediaStream skin) is really nice, but the engine underneath needs to mature a bit before it's a stable HTPC platform.
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#7
BrokenRecord Wrote:Well I figured out 1/2 of my problem...The freezing after ~10 seconds of video play was a result of my sound output apparently. As stated above, I use an integrated Intel GMA 3100 with HDMI output, which includes the sound output. When I configure XBMC to use digital audio out, it was causing the freezes. Once I switched it to analog audio out, it stopped freezing and would play longer. And this was happening in both Beta 1 and Beta 2.

Me too on this one. This seems to be the appropriate ticket: http://trac.xbmc.org/ticket/5145
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