Beta, Win 7 64 bit.. Video stutters at the beginning (mkv)

[ghostyroasty]

Hello all, I'm currently set up using windows 7 64 bit, with a intel core duo 3 ghz, and Geforce 9300 (Zotac mobo) 4 gig ram. Every mkv I throw at Boxee starts like the video is in slow motion and then goes to normal after about 5 or 10 seconds. Drivers are up to date, and was just wondering if this is part of the nature of the beta, or if it is an odd occurrence. And I guess I can note Xbmc plays them just fine... But I'd rather have Boxee play them :D

[judgeschambers]

Hello all, I'm currently set up using windows 7 64 bit, with a intel core duo 3 ghz, and Geforce 9300 (Zotac mobo) 4 gig ram. Every mkv I throw at Boxee starts like the video is in slow motion and then goes to normal after about 5 or 10 seconds. Drivers are up to date, and was just wondering if this is part of the nature of the beta, or if it is an odd occurrence. And I guess I can note Xbmc plays them just fine... But I'd rather have Boxee play them :D

My mkv files play fine on my Revo ION. No lag like your's is doing. May be your vid card or a driver, directX or something causing it.

Now, Boxee does not support full 1080P directX just yet. Not sure what you are actually using..

Be sure to hit First Stop link in my sig. I posted a huge amount of info on add ins, updates etc for Windows machines to fix most (not all) windows issues.

[ryanbeed]

Just chiming in that I have the same issue. Video in Slo-mo for 10 seconds or so and then it syncs with audio and all is well. Not a dealbreaker, but strange.

Dual core Phenom II Integrated Radeon HD video.

Only on 720P .MKV files. But it happens regardless of length and at all times.

[koudman]

Known issue I would say - I have seen more posts about this and I have this issue myself as well...

Video jumpstarts about 5 secs into the mkv and audio starts from regular starting point. All is resolved after 10 secs or so (or if I hit rewind immediately after play).

Ion 330ht - Windows 7 - Latest drivers

[deepfriedbutter]

I also have the same issue. Just thought I'd chime in and follow this thread to see if it goes anywhere.

[almograve]

Experiencing the same "small" issue.

Did you guys checked on Jira is the issue wall properly escalated?
I coudn't find it....
If you guys don't see it, then we'll try to open a ticket.

almo

[jeftep]

I am experiencing the same issue. Following this thread.

I love boxee, but smooth playback on MKV's and most 1080 content is... lacking.

[manifestdestiny]

im going to join this club too. everything worked fine until i upgraded to win7 64. now all videos start off in slow motion

[gmd024]

Chiming in on this (and other Boxee issues) that I've seen and I believe I'm seeing some sort of a pattern (maybe)

My PC/Desktop Media Server is a fairly new box running W7 x64 with an i7 running at 3.2Ghz and 10Gbs of DDR3 RAM

I see a lot of Boxee issues explained by numerous users that have PCs running Boxee with lower recources than the box I am using and I'm wondering if the CPU and amount of RAM (and maybe even the speed of the internet connection) may have something to do with the issues experienced with many Boxee users -- because, so far I have not had a "Single" issue playing "ANY" content Boxee has to offer - including all HD content offered by Boxee - and my local BD/HD rips/files stored on External Drives as ISOs, m2ts' and MKVs in very large file/container sizes (ie...in the 40+Gbs size range)

This is just my observation - but the fact that I've seen it time and again leads me to believe that the better the resources you have in your PC/Media Server - the better your experience with Boxee will be - just MHO

[judgeschambers]

MKV file containers will play fine if not HD (720p or >) as boxee does not yet support GPU acceleration of that file container. If you have a higher power CPU to do the decoding grunt work, it will play fine with no GPU acceleration.

Boxee currently supports GPU acceleration of H264 .mp4 files in SD or HD.

There are other posters that have taken an MKV file and re-encoded it as an H264 mkv (not the normal encoding) and it DID trigger GPU acceleration. Something to consider...;)

[Kcsims]

I am still confused on the whole mkv thing, if mkv is just a wrapper and has a mp4 file contained, why is hardware acceleration a problem? Just curious, not bitching.

Also, what is a good way to convert from .mkv to .mp4 without converting or such? I mean, is there a way to just extract the .mp4 and whatever audio and combine them back easily? Thanks!

[judgeschambers]

I am still confused on the whole mkv thing, if mkv is just a wrapper and has a mp4 file contained, why is hardware acceleration a problem? Just curious, not bitching.

Also, what is a good way to convert from .mkv to .mp4 without converting or such? I mean, is there a way to just extract the .mp4 and whatever audio and combine them back easily? Thanks!

From what I understand, MKV containers typically use VC-1 codec, so that makes MKV's non-compatible with Boxee as boxee supports only H264 encoding in a .mp4 container. At least as far as GPU acceleration is concerned.

Now, per this thread, a guy gave specs on how to demux an mkv vc1 encoding to H264 without actually re-encoding the file all over again.
I've not tested it or dug into it, but supposedly it works.
http://forums.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=17907&highlight=mkv+h264

[Kcsims]

All the 1080p mkv files I have are mp4 which is why I find it odd that it doesn't support the file inside of a mkv. I will give it a try remuxing them. Hopefully this something that gets fixed soon as mkv is what most people I have run across use if not using ISO.

[judgeschambers]

Now, I'm confused. You are using a .MKV file to hold another file? Like you would an ISO? How? Why? :confused:

[Kcsims]

Well that is what a .mkv is used for. It is a container which can contain multiple audio tracks, multiple subtitles, etc., all in one file, just like an ISO, but can contain MP4 or many other codecs.. Most releases are done this way on anything HD. This is why I am confused as to why Boxee does not support hardware acceleration on mkv, but if I take the same .mp4 and remux it with 1 of the audio tracks from the mkv it will. It just doesn't make since.

[judgeschambers]

Well, all I know is that Boxee does not accelerate MKV normally. They will play depending upon the encoding and such.

I've seen posts where guys have remuxed 720P or 1080P mkv's to H264 and supposedly got them to trigger GPU acceleration. But, I think those were MP4 single file videos.

Your particular file types or encoding or something must be different. I have have several that work fine myself.

[Kcsims]

Yeah, I'm not trying to make a big fuss about it, I was just trying to get an understanding of it. I know the developers do not say when stuff will be fixed, but I was just wondering if it will ever be fixed as I plan on buying 3 boxee boxes in November when they are released for all the rooms in my house, but it kinda hinges on this.

My PC as it is now can play them almost perfect, but if I just play them in windows with vlc or media player, the mkvs play flawless.

[judgeschambers]

It's no trouble really. ;)

But with soooo many cofigs, codecs and alike being used for MKV containers, it's hard to say which would get addressed in future builds. Let along a time line.

Not to sound stupid,.....I'm still unclear as to exactly what files you have tucked away in that MKV container that is not working. It sounds like a .mp4 container inside a .mkv container? Not sure that would work.

Like I was saying, I have MKV's that play fine. None are DVD rips with TS files inside. I also have some that are 720p and they lag due to not being H264. Can you give those details? :D

Here is my test file post.
http://forums.boxee.tv/showpost.php?p=100868&postcount=10
The MKV file is an HD 720p. I used MediaInfo to detect what encoding and audio is inside.

General
Complete name : C:\XXXXXXXXX \hddvd_demo_1080p.mkv
Format : Matroska
File size : 278 MiB
Duration : 2mn 1s
Overall bit rate : 19.2 Mbps
Encoded date : UTC 2007-04-07 03:28:47
Writing application : mkvmerge v2.0.2 ('You're My Flame') built on Feb 21 2007 23:40:55
Writing library : libebml v0.7.7 + libmatroska v0.8.1

Video
ID : 1
Format : VC-1
Format profile : AP@L3
Codec ID : WVC1
Codec ID/Hint : Microsoft
Duration : 2mn 1s
Bit rate : 17.5 Mbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 29.970 fps
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.281
Stream size : 254 MiB (91%)
Title : 1080p VC-1
Language : English

Audio #1
ID : 2
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension : CM (complete main)
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 2mn 1s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 640 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Stream size : 9.30 MiB (3%)
Title : Dolby Digital 2.0 640kbps
Language : English

Audio #2
ID : 3
Format : E-AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Codec ID : A_EAC3
Duration : 2mn 1s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 640 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Video delay : 33ms
Stream size : 9.30 MiB (3%)
Title : Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 640kbps
Language : English

Your original MKV Reference Post:
http://forums.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=11559&page=2

[Kcsims]

All the mkvs I have are not all too different from the spec you listed except they do not use vc-1, but mp4 instead. Some of them have multiple audio tracks, subtitles, and chapters.

Like I said, they play pretty good now and I'm good with using it with the hopes that it will be addressed sometime before the boxee box comes out as I want to use those for other rooms and this could be a deal breaker....

As I said before, not looking for a date or anything, but just conformation that it is being addressed.

Finally, I have seen it mentioned in other threads, but what about using an external player instead of the built-in ones, just until the internal players are improved? Is this in the plans at all or not happening?

[Prospero424]

I think the confusion here is due to him using "mp4" when what he means is AVC or h.264. His mkv files contain an AVC (h.264) video stream, and many people incorrectly conflate AVC with the mp4 container because they're so often used in tandem. It's an easy mistake to make.

Anyway, 99% of the mkv files I've seen have AVC video streams, although you can use almost any video format (including, as mentioned above, VC-1). I'm almost 100% sure that Boxee uses hardware (GPU) acceleration with my mkv files containing AVC video, but I'll double check this evening and let you know. Update: yes, Boxee does indeed use GPU acceleration for mkv files with AVC video streams.

When I've had trouble with HD files stuttering at the beginning of playback, it's always been one of two things:

1. Video buffering process is being bottlecked. If you're pulling the video over a network or other bandwidth-restricted medium (like, say, optical media or a slow USB drive), try pausing the video for 10 seconds or so before resuming. Some sources may be too slow to pull HD video from in ANY case.

2. Some unexplained hiccup within Boxee that only resolves itself after I restart the program, usually occurring after I've resumed from an S3 (suspend to RAM) sleep state. But this may very well be an isolated case with my particular configuration.

[Kcsims]

Yes, you are correct. The video is v_mpeg4/iso/avc as listed by mkvmerge. They are all encoded with handbreak using the video codec h.264. All that being said, I am playing the file from the same computer and not over a network so bandwidth is not a problem. I can tell the difference in playing a 720p or 1080p file in boxee vs playing it in VLC or MPC. Both of those play it flawless. I am happy enough with the answer I have seen that it is being worked on. I realise everyone has their wishlist of what they need boxee to do, but for me it's perfect....other than this :)

I can only hope it will be fixed before November so I can load the other rooms in my house with boxee boxes.

[Prospero424]

Ah, yeah, I've seen the stutter at the beginning of AVC mkv files from local sources, too. Seen it on two separate machines, now.

On both, the stuttering went away when I disabled hardware acceleration in the Boxee options. Processor usage went up significantly, but playback was smoother both from local and network sources.

If I had to guess, I would say that the Boxee hardware decoder isn't properly buffering these files, and takes a few seconds to "catch up". But that's just a guess.

[Prospero424]

I wanted to update this thread because I've found a solution (actually, I was told of it by Boxee staff in an unrelated correspondence), at least for my own hardware configuration.

If your h.264 files (be they .mkv or .mp4) stutter at the beginning of playback, try setting the "Vertical blank sync" setting to "Always enabled" in "Look & Feel" -> "Advanced" in the Boxee settings. This solved all of my playback problems with hardware-accelerated playback of AVC streams. Yes, acceleration does work.

I'm using the latest version of Boxee on Windows 7 64-bit with a Geforce GTX 260 and an Intel Q9300 CPU.

Hope this helps.

[marcel]

If your h.264 files (be they .mkv or .mp4) stutter at the beginning of playback, try setting the "Vertical blank sync" setting to "Always enabled" in "Look & Feel" -> "Advanced" in the Boxee settings. This solved all of my playback problems with hardware-accelerated playback of AVC streams. Yes, acceleration does work.
did this solution help ..

[christoff]

I'm having this issue with the last few betas (720P.mkv files start to play, then slow down to almost full stop). I have always had vid sync set to always enabled.

[Prospero424]

Christoff

1. Are you sure it's set to "Always enabled" instead of "enabled during video playback"?
2. Are your Nvidia drivers up to date?
3. Are the files you're playing local to the machine you've got Boxee on or are you pulling them over a network?

[christoff]

Christoff

1. Are you sure it's set to "Always enabled" instead of "enabled during video playback"?
2. Are your Nvidia drivers up to date?
3. Are the files you're playing local to the machine you've got Boxee on or are you pulling them over a network?

Yes, always enabled.
I'm pretty sure about the current drivers, will double check this.
Files are all on external USB drives, connected to HTPC directly.

thanks

[Prospero424]

If updating your drivers doens't help, do me a favor and copy a file over to your system drive (SATA or EIDE, I'm assuming) and just give that a try.

If this still doesn't work, please respond with as detailed a description of how it's stuttering as you can. Does it only stutter for a few seconds and then play normally? Does it stutter throughout? Does it stutter sporadically? Is the video in slo-mo while the audio is fine or do both slow down? Etc.

[Prospero424]

Arrrgh, damned double posts.

[christoff]

If updating your drivers doens't help, do me a favor and copy a file over to your system drive (SATA or EIDE, I'm assuming) and just give that a try.

If this still doesn't work, please respond with as detailed a description of how it's stuttering as you can. Does it only stutter for a few seconds and then play normally? Does it stutter throughout? Does it stutter sporadically? Is the video in slo-mo while the audio is fine or do both slow down? Etc.

Understood. Will re-test & respond w/ more details this evening.
Thank you!

[christoff]

hmm..well, interesting. I discovered there were newer drivers than what I'd had installed, so after updating, seems that my problem is gone. I played several of the former "problem" files, and all worked fine. Very cool!

Now if only one of the devs could get replaygain working in Boxee...:)