Server Version#: 1.18.1.1973 (Synology DS-918+)
Player Version#: 2.42.1.70 (Xbox One)
NAS and Xbox are hard-wired via 1GbE.
I have a number of HD-DVD rips (created with MakeMKV) that I am having issues streaming to my Xbox One. After a bit of testing, the issue seems to happen when the audio is E-AC3 5.1 (with one exception noted below).
In all (but one case), when the audio is E-AC3 5.1, the audio is direct streamed and the video and audio is super choppy. The only case that wasn’t choppy was Top Gun, who’s E-AC3 5.1 track is 768kbps. A majority of the other E-AC3 tracks are 640kbps, with a 448kbps and 1536kbps thrown in.
A number of these videos have E-AC3 stereo tracks, but for any video with VC-1 video, when I select E-AC3 stereo tracks, the VC-1 video is transcoded to h264. The VC-1 video was able to be direct streamed with the E-AC3 5.1 audio.
In all cases that I’ve tested, I am able to play these same videos via the Microsoft Media Player, Microsoft Movies & TV app, and VLC, all via DLNA/UPNP, and they play flawlessly on the Xbox One. They also play flawlessly on my laptop via WiFi in the Movies & TV app.
In addition to the above, even when the videos play “smoothly”, they still seem to have inconsistent frame pacing, another artifact I’ve not noticed when playing the same videos via those other apps.
Edit: Just wanted to add, I’ve tested all these same videos on my iPad, Apple TV 4k, and Plex on my laptop (via the MS Store).
On the iPad, all play perfectly no matter which video or audio track is selected. These are all full bit-rate via direct play over WiFi. I even forced transcoding, and even then, most played decently, but there were trancoding artifacts (which is to be expected).
On the Apple TV, it seems that the same videos with E-AC3 have issues, but manifest slightly differently. Since the Apple TV doesn’t seem to natively support VC-1, all those videos get transcoded all the time. On tracks with E-AC3 audio, those are direct streamed, but there are ticks in the audio every few seconds. I need to do a bit more testing, and I am going to try out Infuse as well.
Need to do more testing on the PC via the Plex app on the MS store, but initial results are the videos with E-AC3 are choppy and seem to have the same behavior as the Xbox (though via fiddling with changing audio tracks, skipping back and forth, I’m able to get it to play smoothly at times).
As of now, the platforms that are giving me trouble are the platforms I most want to work flawlessly.
Edit 2: I didn’t realize there was a new enhanced video player for the Apple TV. Switching to that, I’m able to direct stream VC-1 video and E-AC3 audio, and most everything plays flawlessly (except TrueHD tracks, but there is another post about that). So, that leaves the Xbox One and the Windows Store apps that have issues.
Edit 3: I’ve tried again the Plex app on my laptop, and it seems to be working fine today. Direct streaming of VC-1 video and E-AC3 audio and it plays fine. The Xbox now seems to always try to transcode VC-1 to h264, and all I ever see are spinning buffering circles (even though I can transcode no problem on other players). If I drop the quality down to 720p or the lower 1080p settings, the video will eventually play.
Edit 4: I found this support article which lists the container, video, and audio that should be direct play-able on the Xbox. My files are MKV with VC-1 and E-AC3, which should be able to be direct played. From all the other threads here, seems the Xbox app is a bit of a mess.
Edit 5: Reading more online, I came across a post suggesting that if the Xbox app is transcoding when it should be able to direct play, to check the connection status. Sure enough, my Xbox was connected as “Remote” and not “Local” as all my other clients are. That’s likely the issue with why it was trascoding video here recently. Not sure how to get it to connect as Local. The PMS ans Xbox are connected via 1GbE to the same 1GbE switch.
