MKV files stutter.

I tried an MKV file using USB thumb drive, which worked fine. But using it with Serviio the audio very noticeably skips. I'm using a wired connection. Any suggestions?

TV: UE40D5005PW
Video Format: H264, 1280×720, 24.0fps
AC-3, 448.0kbps, 48.0kHz 16bit, 2 channels

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Illico]

You could not compare USB and DLNA function, this is not the same Samsung firmware used.

Please, could you provide "MediaInfo" result of your file (see signature) (especially for h264 profile level and muxing mode used)?

  Code:

General
Unique ID                                : 178159741630424720686784611729517446916 (0x86085170E77FDDAEB7059CF988760704)
Complete name                            :
Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 2
File size                                : 1.66 GiB
Duration                                 : 43mn 27s
Overall bit rate                         : 5 467 Kbps
Encoded date                             : UTC 2011-10-14 20:54:52
Writing application                      : mkvmerge v3.1.0 ('Happy up here') built on Jan 19 2010 12:09:24
Writing library                          : libebml v0.7.9 + libmatroska v0.8.1

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames                : 8 frames
Codec ID                                 : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                                 : 43mn 27s
Bit rate                                 : 4 911 Kbps
Width                                    : 1 280 pixels
Height                                   : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate                               : 23.976 fps
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.222
Stream size                              : 1.49 GiB (90%)
Writing library                          : x264 core 118 r2085 8a62835
Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=8 / deblock=1:-2:-2 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=umh / subme=9 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=24 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=0 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=12 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=5 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=40 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=18.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Language                                 : English

Audio
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension                           : CM (complete main)
Codec ID                                 : A_AC3
Duration                                 : 43mn 27s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 448 Kbps
Channel(s)                               : 6 channels
Channel positions                        : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth                                : 16 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 139 MiB (8%)



Same goes for all the other .mkv files I've tried (h.264/AVC & x264 ones - be it 720p or 1080p).

Tested with a windows pc, worked fine. So pretty sure it's the MAC Client. Are there any cache settings in Serviio? I recall this being a big problem in MplayerX until I asked if the developer could enable Local Cache and set it to to a higher buffer.

Starting Serviio is also kinda odd, I just did a clean install of OS X Lion, and Serviio.app just keeps bouncing (loading) and I have to start Serviio-Console for it to Launch. Then Serviio.app says "not responding" and I have to close it.

"chmod +x /Applications/Serviio-Console/Contents/MacOS/JavaApplicationStub"

Does not seem to help. I can also confirm that .mkv files still stutter after a clean Lion OS X install

I am surprised you got a positive result from Windows at all, zotune.
I also have UExxD5005 and when I stream mkv:s over a certain bitrate (approx > 1 mbps) from Serviio/Windows on wired connection,
it always results in audio stuttering.

The only remedy I have found out is to remux mkv:s into MPEG-TS container before viewing. (Or configure Serviio to do it on all mkv:s)

There is a new firmware version 1025.0 (as of october, 26) witch perhaps solves this issue. Have not applied it myself, though.

sunnyday: I can confirm after trying a high bitrate .mkv on both Windows and OS X that the older Windows Machine outperformed the Mac and played back the .mkv smoothly without any stuttering.

Anywhere I can ask the developers to add an option to enable local cache and change the buffer size? I'm very certain that the problem is the Power Saver feature on the Mac and the Hard Disk's falling asleep (cant be fixed on the operating system settings unfortunately). I had the exact same problem with MplayerX until I asked the developer to add it. A great program otherwise, I love how it organizes the files on AllShare.

[zip]

You can alter the socket buffer - http://www.serviio.org/index.php?option ... icle&id=43
But it's already on 65k, which is (theoretically) maximum

Appreciate the help... Doesn't seem to work though I'm afraid. On PS3 Media Server I can stream fine to the PS3 from the Mac, but not the Samsung TV (resulting in the same problem as with Serviio). TVMOBiLi has the same problem as well. I should note that I did a clean OS X Lion install only 3-4 days ago.

Any chance you have any suggestions? Is there any way to set it to pre-buffer more of the videoinformation in advance, or is this all on the TV-side?

You can hear the audio dropping after the word "serious" here - http://www.mediafire.com/?1z4gnuh8entf7a1

sunnyday: I can confirm after trying a high bitrate .mkv on both Windows and OS X that the older Windows Machine outperformed the Mac and played back the .mkv smoothly without any stuttering.

It pleases me to hear that UExxD5005PW can play highres mkv via DLNA (Windows based server), may I ask which firmware version you have?
(Have only tried T-MST4DEUC 1024.1 on my TV)

I think it was 1022. I'm using the latest one @ software update menu. Works flawlessly on Windows. I have to use my PS3 to play back from the Mac. Maybe it uses a higher cache/buffer setting?

Perhaps I am getting a bit off-topic, but:
Internet firmware upgrade menu does not detect the latest upgrade for LED D-Series (T-MST4DEUC).
TV owners have to pick the new "1025" upgrade from appropriate Samsung support site and upgrade via USB. When this uppgrade has been applied, TV present it as "1026"

There are no release notes available, therefore I have not applied it yet.

Thanks, just upgraded to 1026. Will see if that has any improvements on .mkv files, but I doubt it

Edit: Same stuttering playback

Thank you for sharing!
I watched your example clip on mediafire.com the audio gap appear in simalar way on my TV when I stream from Serviio on Win 7 64bit. Will do some testing on other servers and report back.

Is the same issue?

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=2442

I think that the CPU in cheaper Samsung LCD TV-s is running out of power. If you switch off the audio extras (eg. use default sound profile), the stutter becomes less frequent. It is possible, that some other "features" shall be switched off to get proper playback.

I hope Samsung will optimize the firmware, because last year's low-end TVs are able to play FullHD mkv-s without problem.

Tried the latest firmware, 1026 I can confirm nothing has changed.
I have noticed a behaviour:
Before every audio gap, a fraction of second before, i can notice a little video frameskip.

Nothing happens with the same file on the usb.

It worked fine with me on Windows though, so I'm not sure the TV is the issue. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one having this problem. Maybe we can find a way of resolving it. Seeing as the Windows server works fine for me I'm suspecting the MAC version is the problem. I guess I can try installing Windows on my MAC to see if it works then.

Tried with Xbox just now, barely plays... Stutters constantly. FFMPEG isn't able to use more than 1 CPU thread, even when set to 4 in transcode settings. PS3 seemed to work fine, though after fast forwarding the picture becomes blocky and stays that way (PS3 Media Server works fine)