MKV files stutter.

[Cerberus]

Perhaps we can narrow the stuttering problem down to only occur on D-series.
Just like boink reported, the problem concerns only audio. Maybe this specific problem occurs on D500x only.
Perhaps a better name would be "audio glitch".

In a recent thread at Samsung Cnet forum a moderator hinted that the DLNA specs does not cover AVC and if it is working on any TV it is purely coincidental:
http://forums.cnet.com/7723-13973_102-5 ... date-1026/

I have uploaded an example file wich causes audio stuttering/glitches every now and then, at least every 30 seconds.
http://uploading.com/files/eae3ca5f/clip.mkv/ (approx 146 MB)

i will test the file when i get a free second, unfortunate this has taken so long to get to this stage im now work for next 4 days so not much time but i will try and fit u in.

C:\Program Files (x86)\Serviio\lib>ffmpeg.exe -i "clip.mkv"
ffmpeg version N-36193-gf514695, Copyright (c) 2000-2011 the FFmpeg developers
built on Dec 26 2011 17:55:53 with gcc 4.6.2 (I have replaced serviio bundled ffmpeg with a more recent one, to no avail)
<snip>
Duration: 00:02:55.88, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 6784 kb/s
Stream #0:0: Video: h264 (Main), yuv420p, 1264x720 [SAR 1:1 DAR 79:45], 50 fps, 50 tbr, 1k tbn, 100 tbc (default)
Stream #0:1: Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), s16, 448 kb/s (default)

thats not very helpful if you remove half the information. :/

It's possible that TVMobili transcodes the file, thus 'fixing' the audio stream.

No, I have selected this setting in TVMOBiLi: 'Never transcode - just streaming the source file as is'
I can also see the CPU don't work much, so I'm sure it dont transcode the audio stream.

Audio glitch is a much better word for it, as Sunnyboy mentioned.

By the way, I belive that Samsung models with 5 as the last digit in the type no. is the code for models to the nordic countries Norway/Denmark/Sweden.... UE xxDxxx5

[Cerberus]

It's possible that TVMobili transcodes the file, thus 'fixing' the audio stream.

No, I have selected this setting in TVMOBiLi: 'Never transcode - just streaming the source file as is'
I can also see the CPU don't work much, so I'm sure it dont transcode the audio stream.

Audio glitch is a much better word for it, as Sunnyboy mentioned.

By the way, I belive that Samsung models with 5 as the last digit in the type no. is the code for models to the nordic countries Norway/Denmark/Sweden.... UE xxDxxx5

ok i will say this one last time there is no difference in the C\D models when it comes to DLNA, even down to being fitted with same curcuit board.

[zip]

ok i will say this one last time there is no difference in the C\D models when it comes to DLNA, even down to being fitted with same curcuit board.

How do you know this?

Should I open a separate thread here? It's buffering I'm seeing, not audio stuttering.

cheers
Matt

[zip]

Should I open a separate thread here? It's buffering I'm seeing, not audio stuttering.

cheers
Matt

That's probably due to slow network. Are you on wi-fi?

Yep, wireless N, good signal + very solid Draytek router.

[zip]

Might be on a channel that is busy.

No, I changed it just recently to avoid that issue. What sort of throughput should I need for that file I posted?

I have tested sunnyday's .mkv file, and once again for the third time, the Windows client plays back smoothly, and the Mac client stutters on .mkv files. Sorry I haven't been active in the forums in a while.

YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7EA5bYJ_5A

Locating the problem
At 2:29 you can see the video stuttering from the OS X client as as the audio. I checked the file with my computer at the exact same location, and it doesn't stutter there, likewise you can see that it doesn't stutter at the same point in time at 1:08 with the Windows client. I also point out where the audio drops using the OS X Client several times.

I should note that the MacBook Pro I'm using is a far superior machine to the Windows counterpart.

Computer Comparison:
Mac OS X 10.7.2
Serviio 0.6.1 for OS X
2.53 GHz Intel Core i5 (2 Cores with Hyperthreading)
8 GB 1067 MHz DDR 3
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M 256 MB

Windows 7 SP1 64bit
Serviio 0.6.1 for Windows
Intel Pentium T4300 2.10 GHz
4 GB Dual-Channel DDR 3 @ 339 MHz
512 MB GeForce G 105M

Troubleshooting:
Issue at hand:
Sunnyday's .mkv file (http://goo.gl/VNUYJ) works on the Windows Serviio 0.6.1. client, but stutters on the Mac OS X counterpart - using the same UE40D5005PW television.

Plausible hypothesis:
- Cerberus mentioned the OS X Serviio counterpart uses a different FFMPEG version.
- The power saver feature in Mac OS X is minimizing resources such as hard drive or processing power which Serviio needs.

Implausible hypothesis:
- The Samsung TV, a 5 series UE40D5005PW is unable to playback .mkv over DLNA (works fine with a machine using Serviio for Windows).
- The Serviio clients are somehow different (developers have claimed they are more or less identical as they are built around Java)
- The MacBook Pro machine does not meet the requirements of .mkv HD playback (it is far more powerful than the Windows counterpart)
- The Machines are running outdated software or are on different networks (both machines are up to date using the latest software updates, on the same wired ethernet switch, the only difference is the operating system they use)
- The Harddrive on the MacBook Pro is corrupt (I have tried several hard drives)

Unlikely hypothesis:
- The Java versions between the operating systems are vastly different

Known solutions:
Remux .mkv files to .m4v using iFlicks (slow, but works)

[Illico]

With Bitrate Viewer tool, I see 3 pick:
- 1:41:00 : 13.7Mbps
- 2:09:00 : 15.6Mbps
- 2:40:00 : 14.7Mbps
Its something with Network bandwidth...
Do you try remuxing this mkv into mpegts with TsMuxer tool ?

With Bitrate Viewer tool, I see 3 pick:
- 1:41:00 : 13.7Mbps
- 2:09:00 : 15.6Mbps
- 2:40:00 : 14.7Mbps
Its something with Network bandwidth...
Do you try remuxing this mkv into mpegts with TsMuxer tool ?

Remuxing with TsMuxer to mpegts works without stuttering from Mac, same with iFlicks to .m4v. Is there any way Serviio can do this during playback?

Remuxing with TsMuxer to mpegts works without stuttering from Mac, same with iFlicks to .m4v. Is there any way Serviio can do this during playback?

See viewtopic.php?f=10&t=2442&start=10#p26198, but you will lose Serviio's nice jog forward/backward feature.

I have watched zotunes youtube clip of stuttering problems streaming from his Mac.
They are very similar to those I am expering on Win7/64, but audio drops are a little shorter and more frequent on my TV set.

Thank You Cerberus and Illico for telling about Bitrate Viewer, have also used it now. While comparing the moments when audio drops to bitrate in graph I did notice that they occur at different moments each time I play the clip. Also, I have not noticed any problems around 2:09 when the bitrate peaks.
Tonight I did further testing on a secondary Win7 64 computer. Problems occur there as well, but not quite as often. A little bit surprising as it is a WiFi connected laptop, while the old server with more stutters is twisted pair wired.

The randomness when audio problems occur makes me think of some garbage collector problem in java 64, I have tried to set up only java 32 but then Serviio refuse to start. On the other hand then why should It work flawlessly on my C6500 bluray?
Perhaps it's a Samsung firmware issue after all (but test results from zotune contradicts that). Garbage collection may be a part of firmware code too.

Comparison of different types of firmware used by people in this thread:

User/Samsung Hardware/Firmware name/OS/Symptoms
boink UE32D5005XXE T-MST4DEUC Win7 64bit mkv stuttering
bugalugs  LA40D550 T-MST4DAAC mkv stuttering
cerberus LE40C750 T-VALDEUC no stuttering in general
cerberus BD-C5900 BSP-C5900WWB no stuttering in general
GingerPrince UExxD6530 T-GASDEUC Mac OS X mkv stuttering (or was it only buffering problem?)
sunnyday UE46D5005XXE T-MST4DEUC Win7 64bit mkv stuttering
sunnyday BD-C6500 BSP-C6500WWB no stuttering
zotune UE40D5005PW T-MST4DEUC Mac OS X 10.7.2 mkv stuttering
zotune UE40D5005PW T-MST4DEUC Win7 64bit no stuttering

All stuttering problems except GingerPrince's occur on MST4* firmware which means TV runs on MStar CPU.

As far as i know Samsung utilizes two different techniques for decoding media files: Implementation in hardware vs firmware.
If this would be a MStar hardware error then we probably have to live with it, but if it is a firmware problem then we could urge Samsung to fix it.

Thank you all for patience while I post this kind of speculations which actually do not belong in a Serviio forum.

By the way I tried to find a 720p reference mkv in the "List of test media files" but could not find anyone. I am not 100% sure the "clip.mkv" complies to matroska spec.

Thanks sunnyday, so if I try this I can no longer skip forward/back 10 seconds though?

Thanks sunnyday, so if I try this I can no longer skip forward/back 10 seconds though?

No, you can't. Neither can you jump to a specific position. (These restrictons apply for me at least, when I let Serviio rewrap on the fly)

I think mine is just a buffering issue.

I'll just have to remux then, skipping is essential to me.

So I've been following up on this issue for a while, as my Samsung UE46D5000 apparently has a similar issue. I have this desktop PC, it runs Serviio and anything high-ish bitrate stutters a little. Especially MKV files. It's got a RAID0 array and a 1gbit connection, all tested and fine and whatnot. (i dont use transcoding, but that is normal)

Tried out multiple DLNA servers (samsungs own too) and just couldn't figure out why things wouldn't work.

Now I have this slower notebook, 5400rpm disk, connected through wifi (N) to the same network and for some reason I needed a DLNA server on it for a bit... Figured why not give it a go aaaaaand no stutters what-so-ever. (Without any transcoding)

They both run the same OS and most of the software but why does the notebook do DLNA without any issue and the desktop has the MKV stutters? (win7 64bit) I just cant seem to figure out why. Clearly with the right setup the TV's are not the problem... I think? And yes I've tested multiple MKV's. Also it's clearly not network bandwidth related. The desktop has 1gbit, the notebook max 144mbit. The desktop transfers files over the network at 60MB a second, why does it have trouble with the TV?

[zip]

Could it be some feature of the network card? QoS or whatnot? Maybe something is filtering network traffic and thus slowing it down.

Could it be some feature of the network card?

Maybe the "Transmit Buffers" setting is crucial for LED TV D500x (available under Network Adapter settings, Advanced tab).

Like dysje, i get a better result when streaming wirelessly from laptop. (Asus K53E, built in NIC Aheros AR9002WB-1NG)

Here is a comparison of buffer settings:
Server (more stuttering): Receive Buffers=512,Transmit Buffers=128
Laptop (less stuttering): Receive Buffers=256,Transmit Buffers=512

I tried to set the server's transmit buffer to 512 but got "value out of range" for value > 128. I replaced the NIC with a spare one, but it also had a maximum of 128.

dysje, can you please check the send/recieve buffer settings for your laptop?
And zotune could you please check the same values on your working Windows machine?