[DriverSS]

Last night the Google Play Store silently pushed Nexus v21.0 to people on their Sony/AndroidTV's.

The Omega update has hosed ANY and ALL 4K DolbyVision files I try and even some of the regular 4K ones are hit and miss (seems 50/50). The startup delay between hitting 'Play' and a result is a good 5 secs where before it was nearly unnoticeable. The Video Judder/Stuttering is massive and I get buffering (spinning blue icon) every 10-20 secs. Kodi is basically unusable at this point for viewing most 4K content. All the 1080p/720 h264/x265 stuff seems unaffected.

I've been running Kodi for years now. Had a standalone Vero 4k but did away with that when I discovered my Sony could use a built-in Google Play Store version of Kodi to do the same thing, better.  Its a 3 yr old XBR-65A8F running Android v9.0.0. Was really hopeful that Omega would fix the DV flag and enable my tv to run those files. It has always used the fallback to HDR mode under Nexus v20. Those files played perfectly well from a Synology NAS over SMB for years now at this point. Hundreds of files. The TV has 8 GB of internal memory so the 5gb database file is stored internally, newer Sony's run the latest Android version and seem to only have 4GB so it gets pretty hard if you have a large library with embedded artwork and such. I can use other more clunky apps on the TV but Kodi does all the everyday heavy lifting. A external player (aTV/inFuse) and the DolbyVision flag (mostly) works but I hate the interface.
 If there's an option to downgrade or prevent updates from the store on the Sony Bravia/Android platform I am unaware of how/where to find it. I'd love to downgrade at this point, even though resetting and rebuilding the shares and database is going to be a very NASTY experience if its even possible.  Any other tips or suggestions are welcome. Hopefully they're a magic silver bullet that fixes this.
Google, you f#$#ed up, you should've NEVER greenlit this. Massive failure.

[10ck]

I don't have any issues playing DV content on my Sony, very smooth playback in fact!

I've been using it since the alphas, occasional hiccups last year but no issues with my daily viewing on the final 21 release.

Try a clean install.

[jogal]

If you was using custom Cache settings in advancedsettings.xml you need to reconfigure in Settings -> Services -> Caching

If you are using deprecated SMBv1 you may need change SMB chunk size to 64K in Settings -> Services -> SMB Client

Also check the new Dolby Vision specific settings in Settings -> Player -> Videos -> Processing

[DriverSS]

I don't know where you could even get to load custom Cache settings in advancedsettings.xml on the Bravia platform. But I did go into Settings -> Services -> Caching, reset to factory defaults, and then lowered the buffer from the 128 default to 64KB.

As far as the SMB client, Synology turned off access via SMBv1 years ago because of hacking and I never saw a need to turn it back on. My settings are set to SMBv2 Minimum and SMBv3 Maximum.

I checked the new Dolby Vision specific settings in Settings -> Player -> Videos -> Processing, there's only 2 that have to do with DV/HDR, and Compatibility mode is on ( tried turning it off), and Allowed HDR metadata formats I have Dolby Vision and HDR10+ as selected options.


Still takes forever to start a DV movie, buffers a lot and judders so bad to be unwatchable. Nothing really changed.  

I think I might be able to back up my database to a thumb drive, I'll see if a clean install even works when I have some time. If it has to rebuild the DB from scratch and d/l actor, thumbnails etc etc, it will take MANY hours (60tb NAS).

[Atak_all]

Same exact thing has happened to me.  The Android box I'm using is an Onn 4k (v1).  I went to use Kodi today and discovered that the Omega update had been pushed out and was installed.  Now any 4k file will stutter after less than 2 minutes of playing, never to recover).  Sometimes the caching logo comes up but never climbs about 5. It is now unusable for 4k files. I'm streaming from a Windows 10 machine via SMB.

Playback of 1080p files does not exhibit this problem.

Other than the new update, I have not made any changes to Kodi.  I tried playing the exact file that I watched without issue last week (which was also the last time I used Kodi) and the stuttering occurred there.  It is clearly something with Omega.

I made various changes to SMB chunk and cache sizes and this did not resolve the issue.

[Atak_all]

I started a new thread containing my debug log for my issue.  I wanted to make note of that.  I'm unable to edit my post to reflect this.

[jogal]

I don't have any issues playing DV content on my Sony, very smooth playback in fact!

I've been using it since the alphas, occasional hiccups last year but no issues with my daily viewing on the final 21 release.

Try a clean install.

As this comment shows, it is not a generalized issue. Each case can be a different problem.

It can also be a matter of expectations. Many people know that Omega can play Dolby Vision and they didn't use this type of content before.

Now with the release of Omega everyone wants to play this content but many setups are not prepared for other reasons: high bitrates, low Graphics/CPU power, etc.


The most typical comment is: "before with Nexus the same file worked fine for me" (and they refer to 4K Dolby Vision files).

I wonder how it could work well if Nexus did not support DV in mkv?

[jjd-uk]

@jogal I took this mean

It has always used the fallback to HDR mode under Nexus v20.

That the files have a HDR10 compatibility layer which Nexus would have used.

@DriverSS can you share a MediaInfo report for one of the files. We also need a debug log.

[jjd-uk]

To receive meaningful assistance you will need to provide a full debug log.

The instructions are here... debug log (wiki)

If you are using the Basic Method, then ensure the following is applied...
1.Enable debugging in Settings>System Settings>Logging,
2.Restart Kodi
3.Replicate the problem.
4.Upload the log to Kodi Paste Site manually or use the Kodi Logfile Uploader. (wiki) With either method post the link to the log back here.

If you are using the Advanced Method ensure you have correctly created and applied the advancedsettings.xml file (wiki)

In both instances, you should see the word DEBUG throughout the log.

Note: Full logs only. No partial or redacted logs
Do NOT post your logs directly into the forum. Use the Kodi Paste Site. Post the link to your pasted log in the forum

[jogal]

Dolby Vision uses significantly more resources on the Shield Pro. CPU usage goes up from 30% to 60% compared playing 4K HDR10 only.

I'm not sure all TVs can play Dolby Vision internally although they can with an external HDMI connected player.

[DriverSS]

Performed a Clean Install. Zero change. Buffering and Stuttering like before. It'll take at least another 18-20 hrs to rescrape everything in, Not to mention marking all the items watched that I've viewed. It's really pissing me off.  inFuse app on my AppleTV connected to the same Sony plays it perfectly. On my desktop VLC also plays it perfectly with the HDR fallback. This is all new with the latest release. Old one, although it didn't recognize the DV files and would use HDR fallback still at least played them.  It's unusable now for 95% of 4K stuff essentially. @^%#^$%

[jjd-uk]

So what happens if you unselect Dolby Vision in the Allowed HDR metadata formats?

[DriverSS]

I know everyone goes immediately to upload a Debug Log etc.. This is a TV, if there is a way to get into it to ul/dl log files etc I don't know. I'm not a programmer. My chops don't go that deep.   It shouldn't be this difficult.  10ck mentioned his works fine but doesn't mention what version of Android he's running or even the model of the TV.

[Atak_all]

"This is a TV, if there is a way to get into it to ul/dl log files etc I don't know."

Add the Kodi Log Uploader add-on as linked above in response #9 & follow the instructions It's very straight-forward. It will take less than 5 minutes to add the add-on and go through the logging/uploading log process.

I just did it last night as I'm experiencing the same issue as you except on an Onn 4k Android TV box. No response to my post yet.

[DriverSS]

At this point I wonder if it's an Android V9.x or v10.x issue. I'll see if I can get the add-on working for the log files. Meanwhile if someone finds a fix or suggestions feel free..