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Constantly buffering files, play fine in VLC
Posted: 10 Apr 2019, 07:52
by msyeed
I have a lot of 720p m4vs, all of which play fine in MrMC. I took a small subset and added a commentary track from my DVD rips, remuxing them with Subler. That subset still played fine on my Mac, and played with at worst a brief freeze every 20 minutes or so in Kodi over USB on an OUYA. But over NAS in MrMC on ATV, constant buffering and halting playback, sometimes culminating in a crash. Unwatchable. Playing the same files over the same connection in VLC for ATV works flawlessly.
Any guesses what is wrong with those files or what VLC is doing differently? What can I post to help troubleshoot?
Re: Constantly buffering files, play fine in VLC
Posted: 10 Apr 2019, 12:43
by davilla
msyeed wrote: 10 Apr 2019, 07:52
I have a lot of 720p m4vs, all of which play fine in MrMC. I took a small subset and added a commentary track from my DVD rips, remuxing them with Subler. That subset still played fine on my Mac, and played with at worst a brief freeze every 20 minutes or so in Kodi over USB on an OUYA. But over NAS in MrMC on ATV, constant buffering and halting playback, sometimes culminating in a crash. Unwatchable. Playing the same files over the same connection in VLC for ATV works flawlessly.
Any guesses what is wrong with those files or what VLC is doing differently? What can I post to help troubleshoot?
Let me guess, m4v's. DRM stripped from itunes ?
Re: Constantly buffering files, play fine in VLC
Posted: 10 Apr 2019, 14:39
by msyeed
Excellent guess. It seemed to be no problem for the seasons I didn't further modify, only the ones I remuxed. I could always just revert to playing in TV app for HD and ISOs for the alt audio, or keep these hybrids and bounce out to VLC, but I'm trying to consolidate as much as possible.
Known issue? How does VLC get around it?
Re: Constantly buffering files, play fine in VLC
Posted: 10 Apr 2019, 15:25
by davilla
msyeed wrote: 10 Apr 2019, 14:39
Excellent guess. It seemed to be no problem for the seasons I didn't further modify, only the ones I remuxed. I could always just revert to playing in TV app for HD and ISOs for the alt audio, or keep these hybrids and bounce out to VLC, but I'm trying to consolidate as much as possible.
Known issue? How does VLC get around it?
which DRM stripping app ?
Re: Constantly buffering files, play fine in VLC
Posted: 10 Apr 2019, 16:07
by msyeed
Requiem on an ancient Mac. (Hence the 720p -- bought the show after Apple locked down 1080p to newer versions of iTunes.)
Re: Constantly buffering files, play fine in VLC
Posted: 13 Apr 2019, 19:46
by msyeed
Is Requiem problematic? Or Subler? Is there a different program I should use?
Re: Constantly buffering files, play fine in VLC
Posted: 13 Apr 2019, 19:53
by davilla
msyeed wrote: 13 Apr 2019, 19:46
Is Requiem problematic? Or Subler? Is there a different program I should use?
I'm still trying to get those logs out of osx/mail
Re: Constantly buffering files, play fine in VLC
Posted: 13 Apr 2019, 20:53
by davilla
any change of getting a sample ? you can upload to
https://nextcloud.semperpax.be/s/DeeCbJz3AMDFRD9
Re: Constantly buffering files, play fine in VLC
Posted: 13 Apr 2019, 22:17
by msyeed
Yes! Thank you! I've got one of them uploading now. A couple false starts and no progress bar, but it's 1.5GB so not too much longer I hope.
In looking at the files, with the added commentary track I apparently made the dumb decision of doing it in mono HE AAC. I imagine that could have something to do with it, but the file stutters whichever audio track I select, and doesn't with any of them in VLC.
Thanks again for figuring out these weird edge cases, it really means a lot.
Re: Constantly buffering files, play fine in VLC
Posted: 14 Apr 2019, 03:55
by davilla
Fixed
thx for the sample.
Just a note, Requiem is leaking your AppleStoreAccount. Use
mediainfo to see it.
The other two itunes DRM strippers I know are TunesKit and M4VGear.
TunesKit is broke for osx 10.14
It properly interleaves audio/video packets.
M4VGear (and Requiem) do not interleave audio/video packets properly.