The Dolby Processing was fixed in Firmware 9.2.0, but make problems in 9.1.1.
- Resolves AV sync issues when Dolby Processing is enabled
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Looks like 10.21 (no frame drop fix but does include new Nerd Stats option to test for dropped frames) is released. This makes the 10.22 going to Beta ever closer. I don’t know where I can see what Beta releases are available.
AndroidTV betas are here:
Yes. I signed up for the Beta and it has upgraded my Alpha version of 10.22. Hopefully more people will be able to test it out now. Those nerd stats are handy too.
The change notes make no mention of anything relating to this frame dropping fix at all!
Maybe because there was never officially an error.
Finally got around to testing the 10.22 beta out. I’m still seeing an occasional frame drop with AC3 Surround, but they’re not being recognized as such by the Nerd Stats.
There did seem to be less, as I saw three in an hour of playback, whereas I saw more than that in only 30min of playback on the 10.21 beta.
I’ll keep testing with some TrueHD and DTS-HD tracks to see if I’m still having issues with them.
Is it possible that the stutters and audio sync issues came from an EAC3 transcoding issue ?
I have the same plex player beta version (10.22.0.1536-beta) and I remark that if you use a bluetooth headphone connect to the shield, EAC3 is automatically transcoded by the shield pro. Few minutes later the video and the sound are freezing (with plex circle) and restart again. If i disconnect my bluetooth headphone, start the movie, push the pause button, connect my headphone, play the movie, no transcoding process. Direct playing from the shield with no freeze/stutters issue.
I’m also experiencing microstutters with thelast plex beta on my shield. Is this the same issue?
So its much better but I am still seeing very infrequent micro stutters. These are not being recorded in the Nerd Stats as dropped frames. I have a theory but is anyone else still seeing these even on 10.22 and later versions?
I checked something on a movie last night and maybe its nothing but the Nerd Stats shows it as 24.00 FPS in Plex. Note the two decimal places. Then in a hidden HDMI menu on my LG I can get VERY detailed signal stats and this shows (with refresh rate matching on in Plex) the TV was at 23.99 FPS. See the difference? This was on my LG C9. I checked the same movie on my LG C1 downstairs (also has an Nvidia Shield with the same Plex version [10.23.0.1614] ) but this LG C1 in the same hidden HDMI menu showed the correct 24.00 FPS and I have only seen the hitches on my C9. Maybe this is a refresh rate matching issue?
Can anyone else report on their experiences post 10.22 and how smooth the playback is?
If others with an LG want to do the same, for a full breakdown of what’s displaying via HDMI, there’s a secret HDMI diagnostic menu. Go to:
Settings > General (on newer LGs) > Programs > Programming and Tuning. DON’T click on it, just press 11111 while this is highlighted. This brings up a secret menu, then enter into the HDMI mode over on the right. Click on HDMI mode. Now you will see lots of info including refresh rate to two decimal places.
I was seeing this when trying out the 10.22 beta and rolled back to 9.28. My Sony Bravia X950G doesn’t seen to have those hidden settings so I can’t check myself.
I’m curious what your TV says when you disable match refresh rate and play a video? I wonder if it has 59.94 or a value slightly off? I know my PC monitor (which is set to 60Hz) typically reports 59.997Hz in my MPC-BE player, so I think it’s natural to be slightly off, but it should be compensated for. I’m actually surprised your other TV was reporting exactly 24.00Hz.
So I did your requested test:
Shield Pro (firmware 8.2.3) > Samsung Q930D > LG C1
Plex frame rate matching off > display set to 59.94 (default)
Movie plays and LG C1 reports 59.94 Hz exactly
Shield Pro (firmware 9.1.1) > Samsung Q990D > LG C9
Plex frame rate matching off > display set to 59.94 (default)
Movie plays and LG C9 reports 59.88 Hz exactly
At some point I will swap the two shields over but is this my old C9 just not perfectly matching or maybe a 9.1.1 firmware issue? Or not really an issue at all that might cause the odd stutter?
Well its time I admitted I maybe had the placebo effect with hope driving it. The 10.22+ versions still have slight stutter for me after weeks of use now. Its very much reduced and almost unnoticeable when you try and tell yourself its fixed, but in an hour long episode I still see maybe a few very brief stutters or what look like split second jumps in motion which cant be repeated when skipping back to check. The Nerd Stats don’t record them as dropped frames either so who knows what is going on.
I say this after suspecting a refresh rate matching issue but I rolled back to 9.28 and they are gone, despite a slight number difference remaining on my LG C9 as reported above.
I’m not sure what to do when 9.28 becomes unusable due to continued development and Plex don’t seem to be very active in defining what the issue was, given they did something to improve (but not 100% fix) the issue.
If anyone else has more to chime in given the 10.22 is now released to everyone, please do. But note the 0 dropped frames in the Nerd States don’t prove its gone. I see it even when it says 0 dropped frames. You have to sit and watch and its easy to miss its so minimal now in 10.22.
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Just so this doesn’t get marked inactive, this is still an issue for me. Brand new Shield Pro, brand new C4, I’ve gone through every setting on both. Audio seems ok, but video hitches every minute or two for a few frames. Very frustrating that the only solution seems to be rolling back to a firmware from over a year ago, which I guess is what I’ll try next.
Yea we don’t want this going inactive until Plex fully fix this!
Your issue sounds much worse though. Many of us on the latest version with frame rate matching enabled still get the odd hitch / stutter but mine are maybe two or three in an hour long show. Have you tested rolling back to 9.28 and see if its fixed?
Same Problem here Shield 2019 Plex Version 1.41.2.9200
I updated to the latest version from 9.28 as I was getting stutter there too surprisingly and wanted to see if it fixed it. Maybe its because this Shield is on 9.1.1. Anyway I was watching something with my wife last night and it stuttered more than usual to the point I turned off the Shield and we watched it flawlessly using my LG’s WebOS Plex version which of course has perfect frame rate matching and frame pacing. It was something with EAC3+Atmos so no HD audio and thus I lost nothing much (Dolby Vision) using the TV app.
I think I will just leave the Nvidia off until I have a Reumx to play. Even then I am tempted to go with a 4K version that has EAC3+Atmos. Yes I lose Dolby Vision and full HD audio but I am so sick of Plex stutter on the Shield at this stage I am throwing my toys out of the pram and I don’t care any more.
So I, like many are relying on side loading the older 9.28 version of Plex to fix the micro stutters inherent in the latest version as documented extensively in this thread. However, it looks like a rather large update to Plex is incoming (link below). Might this major update break functionality in our trust old 9.28 version? We can’t know until it drops but I am concerned it might.
https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/1i8igzj/theres_a_new_tv_interface_coming_in_2025/
How do you even check for dropped frames in Plex 9.28? I just rolled back to see if it’s any better, but the information debug overlay isn’t there like it is in newer versions. Is there any way to enable it? I’ve been battling these frame drop issues for about two years now. It’s driving me insane.
Version 9.28 has no fancy overlay but it doesn’t matter, you need to ignore the overlay. This has been a red herring and many posters have stated they still see micro stutters in the latest Plex version despite the overlay showing zero dropped frames. You might say Plex is gas lighting us with this new overlay : )
I originally tested it trusting the overlay and played several movies while off doing something else. On returning I saw zero dropped frames and declared on this forum it was fixed! I was wrong and should have sat down and watched the tests.
So to answer your question, you don’t need the overlay. Just like Luke at the end of Star Wars, disable your targeting computer and trust your eyes. You will see very slight jumps or stutters in the playback in the up to date Plex version. They are pretty infrequent now compared to more egregious Plex versions (post 9.28 but pre 10.22) but they are there and only a frame here and there so you really need to be on the ball to spot them (I feel like they are more frequent just after a scene change). Then go back to version 9.28 and you will see they are gone.
Thanks!
Yes, you’re completely right. I’ve also encountered stutters that don’t show up as dropped frames. I honestly thought I was seeing ghosts, as surely these stutters would register as dropped frames as well.
The thing that perhaps annoys me the most about this issue is how it’s seemingly so damn random. I have weeks where I don’t encounter a single dropped frame, after which it will suddenly start dropping like crazy. Like last night for instance, I was watching Nosferatu. 10 minutes before the end, Plex just dropped 30 frames in 5 minutes. It’ll do this for a few movies, then go back to playing OK (but still with these stutters that don’t register as dropped frames) for weeks.
I’ve tried all I can think of, and Kodi plays everything fine, so it has to be Plex. This has to be one of the most annoying bugs I’ve ever encountered on any device. Two years!
I’m gonna test 9.28 without the overlay and see.
If 9.28 works, it must be possible to find out what changed in the following versions that made it behave like this.
