V2 does not switch frame rates & displays incorrect file info

[Star6key]

On the V2, the video resolution label shows incorrect information for the file, and an impossible video mode for this machine. The infobar file information is also incorrect. The file plays, but drops frames. This does not happen on the U4.

The file (recorded on the U4 hdmi in @ 60fps, then converted to mkv) -

General
Complete name : D:\My Movies\UnWatched\Angel Has Fallen (2019).mkv
Format : Matroska
File size : 5.34 GiB
Duration : 2h 1mn
Overall bit rate : 6272 Kbps
Movie name : Angel Has Fallen (2019)
Encoded date : UTC 2020-08-29 16:07:50
Writing application : mkvmerge v29.0.0 ('Like It Or Not') 64-bit
Writing library : libebml v1.3.6 + libmatroska v1.4.9

Video
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : Main@L4.0
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 2 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 2h 1mn
Width : 1920 pixels
Height : 1080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16/9
Frame rate : 59.940 fps
Colorimetry : 4:2:0
Scan type : Progressive

Audio
Format : AAC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec
Format version : Version 4
Format profile : LC
Format settings, SBR : No
Codec ID : A_AAC
Duration : 2h 1mn
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Resolution : 16 bits
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Settings & display on the U4 -

Settings & display on the V2 -

Just so we're absolutely clear, this needs to be fixed, or I return the machine for a refund as it does not work as intended.

[MrQuade]

On the V2, the video resolution label shows incorrect information for the file, and an impossible video mode for this machine. The infobar file information is also incorrect. The file plays, but drops frames. This does not happen on the U4.

The infobar just shows the format of the media file, it doesn't indicate anything about the video output mode.
But the V2 does indeed look like it is mis-idenifying the file format alright.


I can't say I have specifically tried any HDMI recordings of that exact type on my V2.
Can you try one that is still in its original .ts container?

Also, have a go at playing it with Kodi. That uses a different media player engine.

I can see if I can reproduce this with my gear if I get time this weekend. I could also try on my V2 that is running OpenATV with its newer drivers.

[Star6key]

...
The infobar just shows the format of the media file, it doesn't indicate anything about the video output mode.
...

The infobar in the last picture above is reporting the format as 1920x1080i 120hz which is obviously incorrect.

A TS file -

General
ID : 0
Complete name : \\BEYONWIZU4\Movie\20201015 1414 - HDMI - HDMI.ts
Format : MPEG-TS
File size : 11.8 GiB
Duration : 4h 21mn
Overall bit rate : 6482 Kbps

Video
ID : 18 (0x12)
Menu ID : 1 (0x1)
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : Main@L4.0
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 2 frames
Duration : 4h 21mn
Bit rate : 6096 Kbps
Width : 1920 pixels
Height : 1080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16/9
Frame rate : 59.940 fps
Colorimetry : 4:2:0
Scan type : Progressive

Audio
ID : 19 (0x13)
Menu ID : 1 (0x1)
Format : AAC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec
Format version : Version 2
Format profile : LC
Muxing mode : ADTS
Duration : 4h 21mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 128 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Resolution : 16 bits
Video delay : -11ms

[MrQuade]

The infobar in the last picture above is reporting the format as 1920x1080i 120hz which is obviously incorrect.

Yes, that's what I said. It was definitely detecting the media format incorrectly.
I was just mentioning that the infobar was not reporting the video mode rather the media format.
Sorry, I had actually missed that you had included the auto resolution information in the screenshots though. The white text was hard for me to spot amongst the show credits.


Can you get your tv to report what video mode is *actually* being sent out of the V2? It's not out of the realm of possibility that it is actually sending a 120Hz video signal despite it not being an option in the GUI.
The fix for this issue might be something as simple as limiting the maximum output refresh rate that the V2 can send. The chipset is pretty modern so the drivers might just be reporting their maximum capability to the auto refresh code and since the output refresh rate is not specified for "1080p", the plugin shoots for the moon.
EDIT: Hmm, no, the media file is still being mis-detected, so it is stuffing up before anything asks the drivers.....

However, it might also just be the drivers reporting a bum list of resolutions, and then the rest of the box is trying to make the best of the mess .

Thanks for the .TS test too. That rules out any remuxing weirdness.

Have you tried Kodi yet?

I'll still have a go with my openatv V2, but I do currently have that connected to a crt tv, so I'm unlikely to get a 120Hz signal to that

I will see if I can dig up any other 1080p60 media to similarly test.


Also, I know I have asked in the past, and this doesn't address the immediate issue, but why do you continue to waste your own valuable time recording commercial shows when you could simply pirate them and get a smaller and higher quality video file with full multichannel audio?
Save the mess and hassle of HDMI recording for live events and other local/obscure content.

[MrQuade]

I was having a quick tinker with the 120Hz capabilities.

When I run the following on the V2, I don't get any explicit 120Hz modes supported.

root@beyonwizv2:~# cat /proc/stb/video/videomode_choices
pal ntsc 480i 480p 576i 576p 720p50 720p 720p24 1080i50 1080i 1080p50 1080p 1080p24 2160p25 2160p30 2160p50 2160p 2160p24


root@beyonwizv2:~# cat /proc/stb/video/videomode_preferred
2160p 2160p50 1080p 1080p50 720p 720p50 1080i 1080i50 480p 576p 1080p24 1080p25 1080p30 576i 640X480 2160p24 2160p25 2160p30


However, that isn't really definitive I am thinking. My V2's HDMI connection does pass through my receiver, which may or may not support 1080p120 passthrough.

My TV will accept a 1080p120 signal though.

Maybe you can try running the same commands on your V2 to see what it reports?

[peteru]

"Something somewhere"¹ is identifying the video as interlaced, rather than progressive. It is customary to indicate the field rate, rather than frame rate, for interlaced video, hence it is showing as 120Hz - that is 120 fields per second or 60 frames per second.

There are a number of possible places where the frame rate and interlace flags are stored, including the container and the stream data itself. It is conceivable that during the transcoding and muxing process the information became inconsistent and the V2 drivers are extracting the information from a different place than the U4 uses. It is also possible that there is a bug in the V2 driver. It's less likely that the bug would be in user space code (enigma2 or gstreamer), since those are built from the same source code on all boxes that run them.

_____________________
¹ probably code deep in the closed source drivers or the closed source support libraries.

[prl]

Also, when that recording is playing, what do the commands:
cat /proc/stb/vmpeg/0/framerate
and
cat /proc/stb/vmpeg/0/progressive
display?

The framerate file returns framerate * 1000, so for 25 frames/sec, it shows 2500.

[Star6key]

Also, when that recording is playing, what do the commands:
cat /proc/stb/vmpeg/0/framerate
and
cat /proc/stb/vmpeg/0/progressive
display?

The framerate file returns framerate * 1000, so for 25 frames/sec, it shows 2500.

I don't know what to do with those commands, or where to enter them.

[MrQuade]

I don't know what to do with those commands, or where to enter them.

Telnet or ssh into the V2 and run them at the command line.

Same with the ones I posted earlier.

You can use PuTTY.

[Star6key]

login as: root
root@192.168.1.128's password:
root@beyonwizv2:~# cat /proc/stb/vmpeg/0/framerate
60000
root@beyonwizv2:~# cat /proc/stb/vmpeg/0/progressive
0

[MrQuade]

I have done a very quick test on OpenATV. The Autoresolution options aren't quite the same there, and I don't have that V2 plugged into a FullHD display at the moment.

However, the media detection seems to be doing the right thing.

I tested the same file on the V2 Beyonwiz firmware and saw the same result as Star6key.
I had the U4 set to exactly the same HDMI capture settings that Star6key has too.

[prl]

OK, that confirms what peteru said: ' "Something somewhere" is identifying the video as interlaced, rather than progressive. '

That makes the field rate display as "i120" instead of "p60" (for interlaced, the field rate is double the frame rate, for progressive, it is the same).

The data in the two /proc/stb files comes from the drivers, but the frame rate data doesn't seem to be being passed down from the Beyonwiz main code body, so presumably it's being set in either the GStreamer library or in the proprietary drivers.

[prl]

I have done a very quick test on OpenATV.

Is ATV using a more recent GStreamer or driver version that Beyonwiz?

[MrQuade]

I have done a very quick test on OpenATV.

Is ATV using a more recent GStreamer or driver version that Beyonwiz?

Yep to both.
Definitely newer drivers, though I don't know where it lists them concisely on the OpenATV interface.

GStreamer is 1.17.0.1 on the Beyonwiz firmware and 1.17.90 on the OpenATV firmware by the looks of it.

[prl]

According to /proc/stb/info/version, the driver versions are:
ATV: 1.2V-20200415171902 (2020-04-15T17:19:02 ?)
Beyonwiz: 1.2V-20190808171404 (2019-08-08T17:14:04 ?)

If my interpretation of the driver versions is correct, the drivers on ATV 6.4 2020-10-08 are quite a bit newer than the Beyonwiz ones.

[MrQuade]

I did a little more playing with this.

The V2 does actually output at 2160p60 (according to my receiver) when the V2 shows 2160p120 on the resolution display.
Playback still stutters every 5 seconds or so though, so something is still confused.

On an unrelated note, I have discovered that if the resolution display is enabled on the U4, this fixes my somewhat longstanding gripe where the video playback is blanked out when automatically switching modes. Normally I manually execute a skip to fix the black screen.

[peteru]

Playback still stutters every 5 seconds or so though, so something is still confused.

Probably the difference between dropframe and non-dropframe amortised either over the number of video buffer frames or over maximum drift value. A skip every 5 seconds would suggest roughly 5 buffer frames or about a 15-20ms max delta on A-V synch.

The Broadcom decoders have pretty good algorithms to minimise issues due to synchronisations problems. Perhaps the HiSilicon IP is not as sophisticated - they don't have the decades of experience that Broadcom have or the hundreds of millions of deployed systems.

[MrQuade]

Probably the difference between dropframe and non-dropframe amortised either over the number of video buffer frames or over maximum drift value. A skip every 5 seconds would suggest roughly 5 buffer frames or about a 15-20ms max delta on A-V synch.

5 "or so", but yea, sounds plausible....*grins and nods*

I haven't actually played the file back on the OpenATV V2 in front of a live HDMI-enabled screen yet. That earlier testing was all done via the web interface. Just enough to see that the V2 appeared to identify the file as 1080p60. If there was stuttering on playback, I wouldn't have seen it.

[Star6key]

I'm seeing the skip, probably about 4-5 seconds.