MKV files stutter.

can someone capture packets...

What would be the easiest way to do such a capture? Using Wireshark?

[Cerberus]

can someone capture packets...

What would be the easiest way to do such a capture? Using Wireshark?

yes

serviio.log reports default is 65535 bytes (that is 2^16-1)

Have tried:
-Dserviio.socketBuffer=32267 (2^15-1)
-Dserviio.socketBuffer=131071 (2^17-1)
-Dserviio.socketBuffer=262143 (2^18-1)

Change of buffer size is reflected in serviio.log upon start, but mkv stuttering problem remains for all buffer sizes above.
Does this setting solve it for anybody else?

I was thinking limiting the transferrate would be worth a try but then i figured out that my wifi is 144mbit to begin with, so it'll probably make no difference. I'm also stalking samsung support about it. Who knows, some techy there might have a new insight.

Anyway, last thing i remembered was that the latency on a wifi network is a bit higher than on a wired network, perhaps a higher latency causes the local buffer on the TV to not get overloaded for some reason.

I'm playing around now with tvmobili, let you know what i find out. If indeed it works and it's not transcoding, i'm going to capture me some packets!

- definately on to something with tvmobili, almost no stutters, only very very occasionally. Like once every 2 or 3 minutes. No transcoding though!

can someone capture packets of browsing to the file and few seconds of playing in tvmobili? it's possible they're using other mime-type that stream the file differently.

I've captured something. Where you want it and what exactly should I be looking for in wireshark? The output is quickly running to the 100s of MB's due to the video stream itself. Perhaps I can filter something out for you?

Same video, what I got so far;

TV-mobili;

  Code:

GET /__contentStream/c652f920c25b0640c27dc48f640f44c5/TVMOBiLi/s0-72223y25z1319667054 HTTP/1.0

Range: bytes=6769-

getcontentFeatures.dlna.org: 1

transferMode.dlna.org: Streaming

Host: 192.168.1.12:30888



HTTP/1.0 206 Partial Content

Content-Type: video/x-mkv

Content-Range: bytes 6769-21756464700/21756464701

contentFeatures.dlna.org: DLNA.ORG_PN=MPEG4_P2_MP4_SP_AAC;DLNA.ORG_OP=01;DLNA.ORG_CI=0;DLNA.ORG_FLAGS=01500000000000000000000000000000

TransferMode.DLNA.ORG: Streaming

Server: Microsoft Windows/6.1.7601 UPnP/1.0 TVMOBiLi UPnP Server/2.1.3437

Content-length: 21756457932



%.!....D.........gd.)..`............<`.h....h.{<....,.....(.E....H..,. .#..x264 - core 118 r2085 8a62835 - H.264/MPEG-4 AVC codec - Copyleft 2003-2011 - http://www.videolan.org/x264.html - options: cabac=1 ref=5 deblock=1:-3:-2 analyse=0x3:0x113 me=umh subme=9 psy=1 psy_rd=1.00:0.15 mixed_ref=1 me_range=24 chroma_me=1 trellis=2 8x8dct=1 cqm=0 deadzone=21,11 fast_pskip=1 chroma_qp_offset=-3 threads=6 sliced_threads=0 nr=0 decimate=1 interlaced=0 bluray_compat=0 constrained_intra=0 bframes=8 b_pyramid=2 b_adapt=2 b_bias=0 direct=3 weightb=1 open_gop=0 weightp=2 keyint=250 keyint_min=23 scenecut=40 intra_refresh=0 rc_lookahead=40 rc=2pass mbtree=0 bitrate=17283 ratetol=1.0 qcomp=0.60 qpmin=0 qpmax=69 qpstep=4 cplxblur=20.0 qblur=0.5 vbv_maxrate=40000 vbv_bufsize=40000 nal_hrd=none ip_ratio=1.40 pb_ratio=1.30 aq=1:0.85 zones=212283,221521,q=32,deblock=1:2.....Ae..........[O...;..~t.j.

Serviio;

  Code:

GET /resource/9728/MEDIA_ITEM/MATROSKA*0 HTTP/1.0

Range: bytes=6769-

getcontentFeatures.dlna.org: 1

transferMode.dlna.org: Streaming

Host: 192.168.1.12:8895



HTTP/1.1 206 Partial Content

Content-Type: video/x-mkv

Content-Range: bytes 6769-21756464700/21756464701

Content-Length: 21756457932

Date: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:53:00 GMT

Server: Windows 7, UPnP/1.0 DLNADOC/1.50, Serviio/0.6.2

Cache-control: no-cache

contentFeatures.dlna.org: DLNA.ORG_PN=MATROSKA;DLNA.ORG_OP=01;DLNA.ORG_CI=0;DLNA.ORG_FLAGS=01500000000000000000000000000000

transferMode.dlna.org: Streaming



%.!....D.........gd.)..`............<`.h....h.{<....,.....(.E....H..,. .#..x264 - core 118 r2085 8a62835 - H.264/MPEG-4 AVC codec - Copyleft 2003-2011 - http://www.videolan.org/x264.html - options: cabac=1 ref=5 deblock=1:-3:-2 analyse=0x3:0x113 me=umh subme=9 psy=1 psy_rd=1.00:0.15 mixed_ref=1 me_range=24 chroma_me=1 trellis=2 8x8dct=1 cqm=0 deadzone=21,11 fast_pskip=1 chroma_qp_offset=-3 threads=6 sliced_threads=0 nr=0 decimate=1 interlaced=0 bluray_compat=0 constrained_intra=0 bframes=8 b_pyramid=2 b_adapt=2 b_bias=0 direct=3 weightb=1 open_gop=0 weightp=2 keyint=250 keyint_min=23 scenecut=40 intra_refresh=0 rc_lookahead=40 rc=2pass mbtree=0 bitrate=17283 ratetol=1.0 qcomp=0.60 qpmin=0 qpmax=69 qpstep=4 cplxblur=20.0 qblur=0.5 vbv_maxrate=40000 vbv_bufsize=40000 nal_hrd=none ip_ratio=1.40 pb_ratio=1.30 aq=1:0.85 zones=212283,221521,q=32,deblock=1:2.....Ae..........[O...;..~t.j.

[zip]

ok, so it's exactly the same. It might be down to the network IO performance in terms of buffering or whatnot. You could try to 'download' the mkv file from the 2 servers using the above GET URLs and compare the download speed if there is any significant difference.

ok, so it's exactly the same. It might be down to the network IO performance in terms of buffering or whatnot. You could try to 'download' the mkv file from the 2 servers using the above GET URLs and compare the download speed if there is any significant difference.

Downloading them specifically from the DLNA server isnt really working out so well for me, however when streaming and looking at netwerk use on my PC, there's almost no difference in transferspeeds. All around a maximum of 1.5MB a second. Serviio clearly not lower than TVMobili, or higher for that matter.

I still have absolutely no explanation for it all to work over WIFI, thats the craziest thing of all. I only know that the latency of wifi is higher and that the wifi connection has higher local buffers, but the last part should not matter at all.

Did anybody manage to find a fix for this?

You can add me to the list, since I'm having the same issues. D550 tv that stutters on wired connection with mkv files, as well as on other media servers (PS3 media share, Wild media server, Samsung Allshare), but works perfectly with TVmobili with no transcoding.

Did anybody manage to find a fix for this?

You can add me to the list, since I'm having the same issues. D550 tv that stutters on wired connection with mkv files, as well as on other media servers (PS3 media share, Wild media server, Samsung Allshare), but works perfectly with TVmobili with no transcoding.

Well i'm lost in what ever it could be. And I have a feeling tvmobili isn't too keen on helping out =)

I do know tvmobili modifies the metadata of some streams/files heavily though.... perhaps that is a reason?

Well I have to eat my words. The stuttering is much less frequent but still sometimes occurs on the BD-D5500 player too.
I even picked up a gigabit switch just to be sure and it did not change anything.
I do not have an N wifi router to test with. The BD player updates are frequent so I am hoping it may be addressed that way.

As a new owner of a PN51D550 I have been following this thread since ditching the Allshare junk for Serviio after a day of messing with it.
I also have stuttering with mkv's and I am using a wired connection.
One thing I am wondering is what is the spec of the LAN port of the TV? I cannot find it anywhere and my gigabit switch does not differentiate 100 or 1000 by LED link color, only 10 shows orange.
Interestingly, I finally plugged in my BD-D5500 that I bought with the TV, and when I play the same mkv files via the same wired connection on that, they play flawlessly. Not sure of the LAN port speed on that either.
Just wondering if the LAN port has anything to do with it.

UE40D5000 +1 with the same issue. Tried changing Transmit&Receive Buffers from Ethernet Controller Properties->Advanced from 256 to 512, no effect.

I bought an LG blu-ray home theatre system which didn't stutter as much, but the picture quality was crap (could be because it comes up as "unknown device" though), so I guess I'm back to AllShare.

Edit: You guys might be onto something with that WiFi solution. Works much better than cable.

Do the developers have any idea why this is?

So I've concluded that with WiFi only the Audio drops out (not video at all actually) once every 10-30 minutes for about 1-3 seconds. Is there any audio setting I can increase? It's very close to perfect now, but not quite there.

Edit: Same results with PS3 Media Server. The LG Surround System even displays that DTS drops out. I can't get DTS when remuxing.

[jabrown0604]

I can replicate this issue with a file I recently made and started my search for answers. While reading through the post I realized I had deviated from my method of creating the .mkv. I normally use MakeMKV and then remux and shrink it with handbrake. The file I created that stutters came directly from an ISO through handbrake rather than a larger MKV. Every attempt at creating it from an ISO resulted in a stuttering MKV file. I eventually just made an m4v file and called it a day. But I wasn't done with experimenting. Going back to my original method of using MakeMKV and then using Handbrake worked without stutter. I am not sure what the difference is but it worked.

[PMI]

I normally use MakeMKV and then remux and shrink it with handbrake.

This is the same process I normally use...

The file I created that stutters came directly from an ISO through handbrake rather than a larger MKV...

Not sure what you mean by "larger" MKV.

In my case, it was not the set, per se (I have a Panasonic Viera), or Serviio, but running into a memory buffer limit, which can be exceeded by a combination of higher number of reference frames ("ReFrames) in the compressed file, and some other things that require memory in the set. If the memory limit is exceeded, the decode of a compressed file fails, and the picture freezes for a fraction of a second until the decoder catches up. Net result is, that the video appears to "stutter".

In most cases, a higher number of reference frames also results in a higher encoding level, and Serviio catches that because my profile is set to transcode any MKV file with Level > 4.2. However, NOT ALWAYS. So, some files with LEVEL=4.0 and 4.1 CAN exhibit the same problem as files with Level>4.2.

I have pretty much figured out what MKV files will play without transcoding, what files will play with Transcoding, and which ones will stutter from other posts here about reference frames, from the formulas I found in Wikipedia pages on X.264 encoding, etc. (at first I did not understand that memory requirement calculations are modulo 16, just like the Level calculation, etc., so if you use this method, read wikipedia carefully... ).

One way to check if you have a similar problem with Samsung, would be to run the MKV file you have through Handbrake with more conservative settings than you normally use (use a fixed frame rate, and lower number of ref frames and b-frames, for example), and see if the resulting encode now plays...

[zip]

I've replicated the wikipedia article with an example here: http://wiki.serviio.org/doku.php?id=get_h264_level

[PMI]

I've replicated the wikipedia article with an example here: http://wiki.serviio.org/doku.php?id=get_h264_level

Apparently, the formula in the original Wikipedia article was not completely correct, and has been changed since, b/c dividing by 256 in the eq. does not always produce the correct memory allocation required to buffer frames.

Considering the current issue with the Samsung TV sets and standalone BR players can be solved by turning to WiFi for the server, kind of shows me that a memory buffer limit isn't quite the cause of what we are noticing on these devices. If memory was the culprit, switching between WiFi and cable would make no difference.

The samsung sets check for h264 level automatically and just refuse to play anything above 4.1 and all files work flawlessly over Wifi and by using external harddrives.

I solved it by upgrading to 16GB of internal memory instead of only 4GB

Using a late 2009 iMac, used to have audio stutter to my UE40D5000 television all the time, unless I told the Serviio console it's a PS3 instead of a Samsung C/D series.
That's rather annoying though because you won't be able to skip forward etc.

I tested it after the upgrade, no stutter in the audio for a straight 30 minutes. Maybe this could help too for some of you.

Hello everyone.

You can sign me up for having this problem also.

I've got a Samsung UN46D6003SF

Let me know if you guys come up with something. It's frustrating because my tv only has wireless so the only wireless NIC usb stick I''ve got is in it :/

I managed to eliminate all forms of stutter by forcing stereo conversion (forceStereo="true") on all transcoding profiles, and also adding the block below (this is a catch-all section):

  Code:

         <!-- Force stereo for all other MKV/H.264 and MP4 files -->
         <Video targetContainer="mpegts" targetACodec="ac3" forceStereo="true">
            <Matches container="mp4" />
            <Matches container="matroska" vCodec="h264" />
         </Video>

This is on a Samsung 32D5000 and Windows x64 with wired connection for both server and TV.