2.4 Update has killed mkv playback

[Rimmel]

The 2.4 update seems to have killed the mkv playback performance on the et9000.

Got two indentical boxes here - one is on vix 2.3 and the other on vix 2.4. Same hard disks and same mkv video file.

The 2.3 plays it flawlessly but 2.4 stops and stutters, won't fast forward or rewind etc.

Does anyone know if any changes have been made to the media player drivers?


thanks
CT

[rossi2000]

1080p mkv play fine on my et9200 with vix 2.4 mate.
using mediaplayer, xtrend mediacentre and also project valerie

have you tried either of the above options to play?

[Rob van der Does]

1080p mkv play fine on my et9200 with vix 2.4 mate.
using mediaplayer, xtrend mediacentre and also project valerie
It doesn't matter how you play the files: all the above items are just GUI's, they don't add any functionality to the box (and especially they don't add anything to the hardware & drivers).

Of course it's very likely that the drivers in the 2.4 image are younger than the ones in the 2.3 image. If you encounter driver-related problems (as seems to be the case here) it's best to inform Xtrend directly about that: they're the only ones who can build drivers and fix issues in them.

[Rimmel]

Thank you.

[Rimmel]

If you encounter driver-related problems (as seems to be the case here) it's best to inform Xtrend directly about that: they're the only ones who can build drivers and fix issues in them.

It occurs to me that when I say to xtrend "The drivers for Vix 2.3 are good but in Vix 2.4 there is something wrong" that the first thing they will say is... "we need to know exactly which driver versions 2.3 and 2.4 are using".

Could you possible point me in the right direction to obtaining this vital information?

thanks
CT

[Rimmel]

1080p mkv play fine on my et9200 with vix 2.4 mate.
using mediaplayer, xtrend mediacentre and also project valerie

have you tried either of the above options to play?

Yeah most do play OK - but there a few that don't now, when before they did.

thanks
CT

[Rob van der Does]

It occurs to me that when I say to xtrend "The drivers for Vix 2.3 are good but in Vix 2.4 there is something wrong" that the first thing they will say is... "we need to know exactly which driver versions 2.3 and 2.4 are using".
Could you possible point me in the right direction to obtaining this vital information?
Yes, quite easy in this case: you have a box running on both images. See Menu --> Information and the driver-date will show up.

[Rimmel]

Yes, quite easy in this case: you have a box running on both images. See Menu --> Information and the driver-date will show up.

Brilliant thanks - one question more. How easy would it be to replace the 2.4 drivers with the 2.3 drivers to test my theory that the newer drivers may be causing a problem?

thanks
CT

[Rob van der Does]

Probably no problem at all. But make sure to make a backup, so you can revert to the present situation in a couple of minutes.
The drivers are located in /lib/modules/3.3.x/extra
Do a full reboot after the driver transplant.

[Larry-G]

be aware though that the drivers are kernel dependent you can not use drivers built for the 2.6.18 kernel on a image using the 3.1.1 or 3.3 kernel etc.

[Rimmel]

So is vix 2.3 and 2.4 on different kernels?

thanks
CT

[Rob van der Does]

If I remember well, only the very first 2.3 images for ET were on an elder kernel. Just give it a try, you'll not damage anything (but as I said: have a backup standby).

[Rimmel]

Additional information:
It seems its not the video track but the DTS that is killing the .mkv playback.

On the problem mkv I ripped out the dts track and then converted to ac3 and now it plays perfectly on both boxes.

So my question is: is the DTS downmix due to drivers or something that the vix team play with?

thanks
CT <--- soon to change because of small minded people complaining.

[Rob van der Does]

For DTS-downmix and playback the drivers are 100% responsible. The image is not involved in any way.

But be advised: you converted the file, so probably you re-encoded the video as well. That may very well be, and often is, the reason for being able to playback now.

[Rimmel]

For DTS-downmix and playback the drivers are 100% responsible. The image is not involved in any way.

But be advised: you converted the file, so probably you re-encoded the video as well. That may very well be, and often is, the reason for being able to playback now.

I've set mkvmerge to leave the video untouched.

[Worthy]

Is there any word on a more permanent fix for this guys? It's also affecting about 50% of the video files I try to play, whereas playback on 2.3 was perfect.

[Rob van der Does]

I've set mkvmerge to leave the video untouched.
Well, if the .ts file played fine, and it doesn't when 'saved as' by your editor, the file has definitely been recoded.


Is there any word on a more permanent fix for this guys? It's also affecting about 50% of the video files I try to play, whereas playback on 2.3 was perfect.
Sorry to say, but there's really nothing to fix. The box play all that is supported by the chipset. And there's even nothing we could do about this, as the drivers are responsible for this (and drivers are provided by the manufacturer).
It's all a matter of encoding/recoding using correct settings.