Should FullHD work well with Direct Play?

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1

Hi,

 

I do not seem to get FullHD content to play flawlessly with direct play enabled. The playback pause for half a sec every 2-3 seconds, and it's impossible to watch like this.

Transcoding works well because I have a strong server, but I lose the advantages of direct play (basically responsive seeking).

 

I am running a 512 Pi with and Ethernet connection, No usb devices connected at all, class 10 SD card and a 2amp power unit. I am currently running the latest experimental, 9.9.20, but this was the same with all previous version as well.

 

So my question is basically, does 1080P content work well for you guys? Is it just me?

2

For me it depends on the bitrate of the 1080p content, big sections of fast moving scenes can cause the Pi never to have a decent cache to smooth out the spikes.  Even with 720p content with constant high bitrates for an extended period it can't keep up (my favourite test case being Underworld Awakening, from about 2m30 onwards), 1080p it happens more often.

3

Yrah, I forgot to mention the bitrate. Most of my files have a bitrate of 8-9mbit, and the stuttering occurs without any relation to a high detail scene or something, it's constant.

4

HDMI audio passthrough or decoding the audio with the Pi?   That can also push it past its ability to keep up.

5

Hdmi straight to tv


Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

6

I wonder if you're having the same problem that I am in the other thread.  Did you try bringing up the display while watching the movie that shows the bitrate and cache among other details?

7

No, how do I do that?


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8

I wonder if you're having the same problem that I am in the other thread.  Did you try bringing up the display while watching the movie that shows the bitrate and cache among other details?

You were able to play 10mb/s files with no issues though.

He's struggling with 8-9 mb/s files.

liight,

press the "i" button while the video is playing and it should bring up the GUI with cache info.

do 720p files have the same stutter?

9

I’ll connect a keyboard and report back. 720p is flawless, only 1080p has stuter


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10

Hi,

Try disabling Vertical Blank Sync. This solved my stuttering, with the exception of files with DTS audio.

- Scott

11

I'l try that, thanks!

12

I'l try that, thanks!

dinosaur plex in his cache bottneck thread fixed this exact issue by overclocking his pi. he no longer has the stutters on 1080p

13

I’ll look into that as well since disabling vertical blank sync didn’t seem to do the trick.


Thanks!


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14

I'll look into that as well since disabling vertical blank sync didn't seem to do the trick.

Thanks!

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yeah nothing else worked for him too. it seems the standard is 950/450/450 and overvolt of four. make sure when you edit the config.txt file you change the overvolt thats already at the end of the config.txt from 0 to 4 and you add the other 3 lines above. should look like this from the overclock thread

arm_freq=950
core_freq=450
sdram_freq=450
over_voltage=4

15

Thanks, that’s very useful! I’m afraid of damaging the pi though, it doesn’t exactly have any means of cooling itself, and I use a case with it.


Should I pick up some heatsinks for it first?


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16

Thanks, that's very useful! I'm afraid of damaging the pi though, it doesn't exactly have any means of cooling itself, and I use a case with it.

Should I pick up some heatsinks for it first?

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as long as its not in an enclosed space and has some airflow you should be fine. you dont have to keep it at that if you dont feel comfortable. just see if it helps your issue. many people overclock the pi and those overclocks arent crazy