[fritsch]

What does the Debug Log say?

Edit: Also try to add a / at the end after the port - just for testing.

[Tarbipoo]

What does the Debug Log say?

Edit: Also try to add a / at the end after the port - just for testing.

Sorry - was limited to 9 posts per day so could not reply. Debug log does not say anything as it maps OK now but does not display any files within the source. This is the same with and without the /

I've contacted Nvidia via the Shield's internal 'Feedback to us' option on the device. I may get a workaround here but I have a sneaky feeling it just wont function as I would expect with SMB. Do you have any pointers or references to the differences between other SMB implementations that work like MrMC vs whatever Kodi and the standard Shield SMB implementation is? Might just help me with the conversations I have with Nvidia team

[fritsch]

Difference: kodi uses libsmb mrmc uses https://github.com/videolabs/libdsm

[Pirivan]

Difference: kodi uses libsmb mrmc uses https://github.com/videolabs/libdsm

Really good information @fritsch but I may be confused about the SMB implementations for mrmc vs. Kodi.  In a test of the latest version of mrmc available from the Google Play store, in the SMB client settings there are 'options' to use either libsmb2 or libdsm; both are disabled by default.  When you hover over 'use libdsm for smb servers' it says 'enable libdsm instead of libsmbclient'.  So perhaps mrmc is using libsmbclient by default now; not sure .  I don't know if libsmbclient and libsmb are the same, I couldn't determine that for sure.  My apologies if this is not something you have any insight into.

@Tarbipoo Really interesting information here, please post back if you get anywhere with Nvidia support or figure out a good solution with Kodi.  I am having an extremely similar issue with my Shield 2015 model and finding a resolution so far has been difficult.

[Tarbipoo]

Sorry for dragging this back up but you are correct - thought I would try and get my Shield working again and MrMC is using libsmbclient not libdsm. Does this mean MrMC is using the same method to Kodi? 

Just trying to narrow down what the issue might be. Other different options that MrMC has configured in terms of SMB is SMB Stat and has an SMB timeout set

[Pirivan]

Sorry for dragging this back up but you are correct - thought I would try and get my Shield working again and MrMC is using libsmbclient not libdsm. Does this mean MrMC is using the same method to Kodi? 

Just trying to narrow down what the issue might be. Other different options that MrMC has configured in terms of SMB is SMB Stat and has an SMB timeout set

If you are asking me (apologies if not) I wish I had an answer for you. I think @fritsch might have insight into that but I am sure his time is very limited.  I was unable to determine for sure if libsmb and libsmbclient are the same library (I think so) OR if Kodi and mrmc are using the same version/implementation of that library.

I posted this in another related thread but at this point after trying quite a number of possible solutions, I am not sure there is an actual fix available.  As far as I can tell the options are:

• Live with playback randomly exiting until either Nvidia somehow patches the issue and fixes it or the Kodi devs do. 
  • Possible that Nvidia or Kodi devs may fix it incidentally while working on some other feature. I am currently on the Alpha Kodi branch and the beta/hotfix Nvidia Shield TV branch.
    
  • Maybe the Kodi devs will at some point offer the library that mrmc uses for smb access as an optional feature in the settings UI (like how mrmc offers libdsm etc. as an option).  That would solve the problem for me as mrmc works perfectly with files on my Qnap NAS.
    
• Migrate over to mrmc
  
• Figure out a way to downgrade to an older version of the ShieldTV OS and possibly run an older version of Kodi.  Others have reported playback working fine prior to some version of ShieldTV OS, not sure what version this problem was introduced in though...
  • The process for downgrading the ShieldTV OS does not look pleasant as it appears to be totally unsupported by Nvidia.
    

[Tarbipoo]

So a little bit of an update since hotfix 4 was released on 17th Jan - @Pirivan I think you are still in the same situation as I am!

Having installed the hotfix a few days ago, everything looked to be resolved. First 24hrs I saw no halts in video playback. The following day, I had one instance however on the third day it was constant (all files which continue to work fine on my 2015 device). I started to look into what videos I was watching and have found that file size appears to have input into my issue (although file size is connected strongly to the codec so it could also be that).

Videos at 720p up to 1080p around the 1.5GB or below mark appears to play fine constantly. 
Videos at 1080p at 1.5-3gb seem to have hit/miss results with a couple of halts after 20 minutes or so
Videos at 4K at 3gb upwards consistently have the issue 1-3 minutes in, and it happens every single time.

I did see another thread where advancedsettings.xml was used to define a buffer of 300mb which helped others. However, that did not seem to make any difference for me.

Does this spark any ideas or suggestions?

[Pirivan]

So a little bit of an update since hotfix 4 was released on 17th Jan - @Pirivan I think you are still in the same situation as I am!

Having installed the hotfix a few days ago, everything looked to be resolved. First 24hrs I saw no halts in video playback. The following day, I had one instance however on the third day it was constant (all files which continue to work fine on my 2015 device). I started to look into what videos I was watching and have found that file size appears to have input into my issue (although file size is connected strongly to the codec so it could also be that).

Videos at 720p up to 1080p around the 1.5GB or below mark appears to play fine constantly. 
Videos at 1080p at 1.5-3gb seem to have hit/miss results with a couple of halts after 20 minutes or so
Videos at 4K at 3gb upwards consistently have the issue 1-3 minutes in, and it happens every single time.

I did see another thread where advancedsettings.xml was used to define a buffer of 300mb which helped others. However, that did not seem to make any difference for me.

Does this spark any ideas or suggestions?

I have not yet attempted this but you could try playing the the SAMBA 'clienttimeout' settings in advancedsettings.xml.  Not sure what a reasonable clienttimeout value is, perhaps there is a way to match what mrmc has set for that value by default...
-edit- I DID test clienttimeout value of 30 seconds on my kodi and it made no difference for the normal 4K playback test I run (stopped playback after roughly 30 minutes)

<samba>
<doscodepage></doscodepage> <!-- code page to use for filenames -->
<clienttimeout>10</clienttimeout> <!-- timeout (in seconds) -->
<statfiles>true</statfiles> <!-- Set to false to disable smb stat() on files to speed up listings of large directories (over slow links) -->
</samba>

I am in a very similar but slightly different situation in that I have a Shield 2015 (not sure hotfix 4 is even out for that) and I cannot reproduce the issue quite as readily on 4K files.  On 4K or 1080P files, sometimes it works for 10 minutes, 40 minutes or an hour before halting.  However, the file size idea is very interesting and it's possible that plays into the issue (most of the files I playback are 1080p-4K and run a bit on the larger size, almost never any 720p). It's possible my issue is very closely related but not precisely the same.

[gezeebeezee]

Sorry to bring back an old topic, but has this issue been resolved? I recently got a Shield 2019 (non-tube edition) and I'm having the same problems. It is quite frustrating while watching a movie. I tested the same SMB shares with a Fire TV and the videos play continuously. I've also tested different SMB versions to no avail.

[Pirivan]

Sorry to bring back an old topic, but has this issue been resolved? I recently got a Shield 2019 (non-tube edition) and I'm having the same problems. It is quite frustrating while watching a movie. I tested the same SMB shares with a Fire TV and the videos play continuously. I've also tested different SMB versions to no avail.

The solutions that resolved the issue for me were:

• Migrate to MrMC, that Kodi fork played back all my files without any issues and without requiring any change to hardware
  • Worked with my old Asus router, no Ethernet required
    
  • Ultimately I wasn't as happy with this application so I continued to work on resolving the issues with Kodi
    
• Replaced my Asus Router with a Synology router.
  • My Asus Router logs showed my 2015 Shield reconnecting to wireless at random intervals for unknown reasons.  When this reconnect would occur, Kodi logs would show the file stopping playback.  When I replaced the router, the issue went away immediately. 
    
  • If I was able to move to Ethernet that would also likely have resolved the issue.  However, based on my layout running ethernet cable is not possible.  Ultimately if the new router had exhibited the same symptoms, I would have ran cable using MOCA adapters (https://www.gocoax.com/buy-now) given that I have cable jacks near-ish to where the Shield and my router are, that would also (probably resolve the issue)
    
  • I would recommend looking at your router wireless client logs and matching them up with the Kodi logs when the exit occurs to determine if this is your issue as well (or run a cable across the floor for a while and see if the issue goes away to determine it is wireless related)
    

[gezeebeezee]

Sorry to bring back an old topic, but has this issue been resolved? I recently got a Shield 2019 (non-tube edition) and I'm having the same problems. It is quite frustrating while watching a movie. I tested the same SMB shares with a Fire TV and the videos play continuously. I've also tested different SMB versions to no avail.

The solutions that resolved the issue for me were:

• Migrate to MrMC, that Kodi fork played back all my files without any issues and without requiring any change to hardware
  • Worked with my old Asus router, no Ethernet required
    
  • Ultimately I wasn't as happy with this application so I continued to work on resolving the issues with Kodi
    
• Replaced my Asus Router with a Synology router.
  • My Asus Router logs showed my 2015 Shield reconnecting to wireless at random intervals for unknown reasons.  When this reconnect would occur, Kodi logs would show the file stopping playback.  When I replaced the router, the issue went away immediately. 
    
  • If I was able to move to Ethernet that would also likely have resolved the issue.  However, based on my layout running ethernet cable is not possible.  Ultimately if the new router had exhibited the same symptoms, I would have ran cable using MOCA adapters (https://www.gocoax.com/buy-now) given that I have cable jacks near-ish to where the Shield and my router are, that would also (probably resolve the issue)
    
  • I would recommend looking at your router wireless client logs and matching them up with the Kodi logs when the exit occurs to determine if this is your issue as well (or run a cable across the floor for a while and see if the issue goes away to determine it is wireless related)
    

 

Thanks Pirivan! Interesting that the issue went away after switching from an ASUS router. I'm currently using an ASUS router. I'm gonna try to switch to an ethernet cable right now to see if that resolves the issue.

Based on what you've found, do you think it's a Shield issue, Kodi issue, or ASUS issue? I'm just wondering what steps I should take to resolve this for myself. I'd prefer to keep Kodi if possible and will likely keep my ASUS router as it's been great with exception of this issue. At this point, I'm also just curious as to what's going on.

Thanks again for your help!

[Pirivan]

Thanks Pirivan! Interesting that the issue went away after switching from an ASUS router. I'm currently using an ASUS router. I'm gonna try to switch to an ethernet cable right now to see if that resolves the issue.

Based on what you've found, do you think it's a Shield issue, Kodi issue, or ASUS issue? I'm just wondering what steps I should take to resolve this for myself. I'd prefer to keep Kodi if possible and will likely keep my ASUS router as it's been great with exception of this issue. At this point, I'm also just curious as to what's going on.

Thanks again for your help! 

Unfortunately I gave up on any kind of direct explanation for the issue.  After countless hours of make change, test, fail, make change test fail, I was more than ready to spend money to solve the problem, hah.  I don't think it's technically a Kodi issue even though it appeared to be one.  I think that MrMc simply has an SMB client that 'handles' a very brief network drop better than Kodi does.  The drops were still happening, it's just that MrMc masked the issue for the end user and continued playback.  I was unable to find ANY set of Kodi custom xml cache settings that simulated this so I came to the conclusion that it was the different SMB library that MrMc uses.  I also feel that it's not precisely an Asus issue mostly because the Shield appeared to be the only device sporadically (but consistently) disconnecting in the router logs.

If you look at the syslog messages for your ASUS router (assuming you ARE having the same problem I did), you will see something very similar to the following in your router logs when the issue occurs on your shield:
Feb 19 21:50:38 syslog: WLCEVENTD wlceventd_proc_event(386): eth2: Deauth_ind 00:04:4B:47:4B:C7, status: 0, reason: Deauthenticated because sending station is leaving (or has left) IBSS or ESS (3)

Matched with the following in your Kodi log for almost exactly the same time:
2020-02-19 21:50:40.104 T:7463 ERROR: Read - Error( -1, 103, Software caused connection abort )

I tried to no avail to make changes to my wireless settings to fix it and spent quite a bit of time scouring the smallnetbuilders Asus subforum (very active community there) looking for a root cause of that Asus error but came up empty.

My theory (based on very little) is that it's some sort of incompatibility with the driver for the wireless chipset that the Shield uses and the wireless chipset that Asus routers use (and possible some other routers as well).  I had an ASUS RT-AC88U for reference.  It's possible that a firmware update from Nvidia that changes the driver would resolve the issue.  However, Nvidia's forums are a nightmare, support seems sporadic and I had very little interest in hoping I could convince Nvidia to investigate the issue and create a firmware fix just for me.  For what it's worth, my Asus router was fantastic and I had 0 other problems with it but in order to resolve this, replacing it turned out to be best solution.

[kofii12345]

Any news on that? I faced the same problem and described here: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/for...ic/253450/

[kofii12345]

Bump. Same problem with 19.3. Any solutions or news?

[timmins]

Bump. Same problem with 19.3. Any solutions or news?

I'm getting lockups on my Shield as well. My setup is using a NAS using Kodi 19.3. Everything works well but since I started viewing Star Trek series that uses MV4 files I getting lock up after 3 or 4 minutes into each episode. I'm using cabled LAN setup with a AUSU RT-AC86U router as well. If I reboot (cold start) my shield, everything returns to normal and I can view the rest of the episode.