OS X Stuttering video with Frodo on a mac mini 2011 (AMD Radeon 6630M)
#1
Hi there

I am having some issues with my mac mini 2011 (OS X ML) running Frodo. It is the model with the AMD Radeon 6630M, which is supposed to handle videos much better. The mac mini is connected to a Sony LCD via HDMI and to a Harman Kardon Receiver via SPDIF (for audio). Live TV works perfectly, but all the videos have a slight stutter. Sometimesthe stutter starts right from the beginning and sometimes it starts after a while (appr. 10 minutes). Most of the files are mkv's with various fps. I have tried tons of combinations in the video and audio settings (adjust framerate, disable ac3, dts,... all sort of things), but it does not help. Running Windows 7 on the mini works almost perfectly (with the exception of 25fps, that starts stuttering after 10 minutes). Audio is always ok, so it is something with the video itself. The stuttering is not heavy and mostly when slow movings take place. Very annoying if you ask me :-(.

I wonder if anybody got the mini working fine with Frodo. I have checked the logs to make sure the fps has been set correctly... all seems to be fine. I'm grateful for any tips in order to get the mini to work with OS X. Please just tell me if you need any further information. Thanks in advance!!
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#2
Is the really nobody out there with a mac mini running XBMC on OS X smoothly? Is there anything particular that has to be set in order to prevent stuttering?
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#3
(2013-02-11, 15:18)endeler Wrote: Is the really nobody out there with a mac mini running XBMC on OS X smoothly? Is there anything particular that has to be set in order to prevent stuttering?
Yes, I'm sure there are lots of people in that category, me for one. I just have no clue why your're experiencing this problem. Maybe if you post all your potentially relevant settings, it will give people something to chew on. I have the same basic setup as you, HDMI to TV and optical to receiver.

Also, the devs and the like would certainly want a debug log to look at to get an idea what the problem is.
LibreELEC 10.0.4 * ViMediaManager or TinyMediaManager | Raspberry pi 4b
Sharing media from NAS via NFS (optical out to receiver, HDMI to TV) | TV remote with CEC / Bluetooth keyboard
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#4
Thanks for your reply. So it seems there is hope. Here is my current configuration:

Video-Settings:
Playback:
Render method - Auto detect
Allow hardware acceleration on
Adjust display refresh rate... always
Pause during refresh rate change off
Sync playback to display off
Rest is set to default

System:
Video output:
Everything set to default
Audio output:
Audio output Optical/Coax
Speaker Configuration 2.0
Boost volume level on downmix on
Output stereo to all speakers on
Dolby / AC3 /LPCM on
Audio output SPDIF

I am running the 64bit-version of Frodo Final. Please let me know if you need any further information. Thanks a bunch for any tips!
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#5
I think I'm running the 64-bit version too, but I've heard on these forums that the 32-bit mac version has fewer issues. So if nothing else works, you might try that. And don't forget the debug log - you're more likely to get higher-level help if you provide it per forum instructions.

Here's where my settings differ from yours. You said you already tried changing settings, and I can't say what all these things do, but it works for me:

Video-Settings > Playback:
Allow hardware acceleration - OFF ( I had this on for a while and had no real trouble but started to see flickering lines around the video. In some thread turning this off fixed it and I think it did for me too)
Adjust display refresh rate - OFF (I have no idea what this is for, but I don't seem to need it)

System > Audio Output:
Output stereo to all speakers - OFF (I doubt this would cause your problem, but why would you want that?)
LibreELEC 10.0.4 * ViMediaManager or TinyMediaManager | Raspberry pi 4b
Sharing media from NAS via NFS (optical out to receiver, HDMI to TV) | TV remote with CEC / Bluetooth keyboard
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#6
Thanks for the quick reply! Turning off hardware acceleration seems to have some impact. I still have to test the mkv-files with different fps, but at least the white line on the bottom that I got with hardware acceleration turned on is gone. I'll keep you posted whether the files play smoothly!

BTW: By turning on "Adjust display refresh rate" XBMC automatically sets the displays refresh rate to the fps-value of the movie. This is actually pretty important in order to prevent stuttering. But if you have no issues I wouldn't touch it ;-)
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#7
After some testing I found out, that mkv-files with 25fps don't start to judder after 10 minutes when I set it to 60Hz instead of 50Hz. Live TV (25fps PAL) instead runs fine with 50Hz. Does not make any sense or does it? I have 2 mac minis with the same setup and both show the same behaviour. Are there any tasks XBMC is running every 10 minutes and causing the slight judder? The strange thing is that there are no dropped frames and nothing is logged during the time of the judder (lasts for approx. 30-60 secs). This just cant be, I am at 99% of the perfect home cinema solution!
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#8
Where do you store the video files? In the local HDD, USB disk, Network Storage?

If it is network storage, bandwidth could be a problem. High definition mkv files require heavy bandwidth utilization.
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#9
I have a NAS on a gigabit network connection, on which the files are stored. I've copied some files locally on the mac mini to narrow the possible causes, but it's the same result. Funny thing is that it's only the 25fps mkv that cause this. 23.976fps files play quiete nicely.
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#10
Have you tried using a thunderbolt to hdmi adapter instead of going straight through the mini's hdmi port? I've read that the hdmi port on the mini causes refresh issues. The thunderbolt adapter seemed to help quite a bit in my case. I still have problems with a few mkvs with weird PAL refresh rates, but most are ok.
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#11
Did you confirm no conflicts with Eye Tv or Air Server and you should first put up a log in pastebin.
Macmini Server 2011 i7 Quad Core, OS 10.8.2, Amp Onkyo TX-SR308 USB WD drives 3x2TB TV Samsung Plasma 720p EyeTV Integration
There are only 10 kinds of people in this world, those who understand binary, and those who don't.



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Stuttering video with Frodo on a mac mini 2011 (AMD Radeon 6630M)0