Server Version#: 1.32.6.7521-24e4dff81
Player Version#: Plex HTPC 1.48.1.3982-eacf6f65
<If providing server logs please do NOT turn on verbose logging, only debug logging should be enabled>
My server is synology DS1823xs+ running DSM 7.2-64570 Update 3 .
I am playing on a quite powerful NUC (12 gen i7) with Intel Intel Arc A770 16 GB using Plex HTPC player as mentioned above. The videocard is connected via HDMI 2.3 to an 8K input of a Denon AVC-X4700H Surround processor amplifier.
Everything in my configuration is chosen for performance and yet I am getting this annoying audio stuttering (interruptions in the sound). Why ?
Direct playback with MPC-HC (Windows Media Player - Home theater edition) delivers excellent and flawless sound reproduction. Why Plex Server and Plex HTPC can not deliver the same experience ?!?
Any advice or suggestion is welcome. Also any questions or request for information will be answered promptly. Thank you in advance for your help!
A NUC with an Arc A770 - Interesting - never heard of such a device.
And HDMI 2.3?! Are you from the future??
Joke aside, the Arc A770 is a bit of a specialty when it comes to the HDMI port. I own a PCIe A770 and had trouble getting an HDMI feed to my TV. The reason for this is how the HDMI port is “created” on that card. On the PCB (I assume it’s the same on the PCB of that NUC) is a weak Realtek Displayport to HDMI converter. This leads to many problems, like Audio passthrough or in my case getting an image… In my case, I have used an external DP to HDMI adapter from club3D (CAC-1080) - which worked fine. (audio passthrough, HDR, 10Bit…)
Interesting though that you are not experiencing audio dropout with MPC-HC. Can you post your Plex HTPC log? Maybe we can gather something from there.
Also it would be awesome if you could create a mpv.log. To do so you need to add: log-file="C:\path\to\store\mpv-plex-htpc-dropout.txt"
to your mpv.conf (located "C:\Users\XXXX\AppData\Local\Plex HTPC\mpv.conf")
First of all my apologies for the mistake. The HDMI v is 2.1 and I got it mixed with the HDCP version (2.3)
Attached is the Plex HTPC.log Plex HTPC.log (2.9 MB)
Interestingly enough - the Plex HTPC did not stutter as it used to. I am in process of migration of my data to this new server (DS1823xs+) and I am playing with the LAN settings on the 10 GB ports of my switch. Because the NUC has 10 GB adapter from Marvell - I am using it as primary data transfer and playback link from my Synology (Plex) server. Currently I did setup the Ethernet port in full Auto mode on the switch side - only the packet size is set manually to Jumbo (9018 bytes). May be this is the culprit - I have issues with either my cabling or LAN adapter ? Still does not explain why MPC-HC does not show the same behaviour.
Regarding the Intel A770 - it is a discrete card that is installed in my NUC Extreme - it is NOT an embedded card (your presumption) .
Thank you for helping me out on this !
Regards
Miroslav
While reading through your logs I noticed that your media is also streamed insecurely - not via https. Shouldn’t be connected to the problem, but something you might want to look into.
Different and altered MTU size shouldn’t be a problem, as long as you can reach other devices in your network and file transfer arent painfully slow - it should be fine
Those are also the same ones I had with my ARC A770 and are also the reason why the audio drops out. Especially the qpc delay ones. In my case, it wasn’t that often. I assume that is due to the different DP-to-HDMI chipset found in the club3D adapter.
You also have refresh rate switching turned on which explains the hotplug events. This seems to be how the ARC handles mode switches. I just checked if they are also shown on my HTPC (RTX 3050) and they do not appear.
I assume with mpc-hc the refresh rate is not changed automatically? That would explain, why it works there. For comparison, you could turn off refresh rate switching and check if those interruptions still appear. (they shouldn’t)
Hi again and thank you for all advices provided. Let me discuss them with you one by one:
Secure (HTTPS) transfer was switched off by me long time ago as I am only streaming locally and wanted ot avoid paying the encryption/decryption performance penalty price for nothing. Am I missing something here e.g. - do I need the encryption switched on ?
Indeed my video card is an OEM Intel A770. You suggest to switch off the refresh rate switching. But some of the material I have is with TV (Series and Documentaries) origin (25/50/60 Hz), while others are films (24 fps). There is a visible motion smoothness issues when playing a f.e. 50 Hz material on 24 Hz display and vice versa in my opinion. Which refresh rate are you using for playback your material ? And I do not grasp the meaning of your comment about the Nvidia RTX 3050. Do you mean that refresh rate switching works flawlessly there or not ?
Indeed MPC-HC does not do any refresh rate switching.
No, you don’t have to have it enabled. I personally have it on, but there is no necessity.
Yes, but only for testing, so we can see if its actually caused by the refresh rate change. Its not something I would recommend for daily playback - judder/3:2 pulldown gives me headache…
I used my HTPC (with an RTX3050 which works flawlessly) just as a comparison while digging through the logs. (For example, if these hotplug events are also present there, they are not) - sorry for the confusion
