WDTV Live audio delay when starting file. Update Solution no longer working

Community Archives WD TV Live Firmware
1

I’ve had one of these for a few weeks as an upgrade to the gen1 [non DTS].

My problem is that when I play a video either locally, [WD500GB 2.5" passport] or over the network, the audio won’t start for a few second then a language OSD pops up. Now this is bloody annoying and the gen 1 never did this with any file.

Anyone know How I can fix this? I am using an HDMI 1.3 cable with the latest firmware and Media Library function off.

Cheers

Dave

2

Sounds to me like a bad encode or mux.    I don’t have this issue with the 100s of files I’ve played.

Does this happen to ALL your files, or just select ones?

3

ALL that I’ve played so far. Those same files worked fin on the Gen1. Play fine on Win 7.

Cheers

Dave

4

How are they encoded?  Use mediainfo or some such and post the results (doesn’t matter if they play fine on another device, that’s not the point – it’s whether they are encoded properly for the Live).

5

Standard XVID scene Rips. Fringe, Flashforward, chuck.  The Pacific 720p MKV.

Cheers

Dave

6

Let me clarify.

  1. I highlight the file.

  2. I press Play.

  3. Video will start immedietly/

  4. For 1-3 seconds there will be no Audio, then a While Title generated by the WD TV Live will pop up saying something like ‘1. DD 2.0’, [I can’t remember exactly], at the same time audo will start in the correct sequence, [video and audio are in sync]

  5. From then on video looks and sounds fine.

Cheers

Dave

7

Don’t know why the audio is lagging but the OSD is normal (and to some annoying). You can only get rid of it at the moment by using auto-play which obviously is not suitable for normal use.

8

so no one else is experiencing it? Do I have a bad unit?

9

Doubtful.

Go download MEDIAINFO and use it to get the technical details of the file(s) and you can post those details here for examination. 

10

Format                           : AVI
Format/Info                      : Audio Video Interleave
File size                        : 350 MiB
Duration                         : 43mn 13s
Overall bit rate                 : 1 131 Kbps
Writing application              : transcode-1.0.6

Video
ID                               : 0
Format                           : MPEG-4 Visual
Format profile                   : Advanced Simple@L5
Format settings, BVOP            : Yes
Format settings, QPel            : No
Format settings, GMC             : No warppoints
Format settings, Matrix          : Default (H.263)
Codec ID                         : XVID
Codec ID/Hint                    : XviD
Duration                         : 43mn 13s
Bit rate                         : 988 Kbps
Width                            : 624 pixels
Height                           : 352 pixels
Display aspect ratio             : 16:9
Frame rate                       : 23.976 fps
Resolution                       : 8 bits
Colorimetry                      : 4:2:0
Scan type                        : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)               : 0.188
Stream size                      : 305 MiB (87%)
Writing library                  : XviD 1.2.1 (UTC 2008-12-04)

Audio
ID                               : 1
Format                           : MPEG Audio
Format version                   : Version 1
Format profile                   : Layer 3
Mode                             : Joint stereo
Format_Settings_ModeExtension    : MS Stereo
Codec ID                         : 55
Codec ID/Hint                    : MP3
Duration                         : 43mn 13s
Bit rate mode                    : Variable
Bit rate                         : 128 Kbps
Channel(s)                       : 2 channels
Sampling rate                    : 48.0 KHz
Stream size                      : 40.4 MiB (12%)
Alignment                        : Aligned on interleaves
Interleave, duration             : 24 ms (0.58 video frame)
Writing library                  : LAME3.90.
Encoding settings                : -m j -V 4 -q 2 -lowpass 17.6 --abr 128

11

Format                           : Matroska
File size                        : 1.46 GiB
Duration                         : 1h 0mn
Overall bit rate                 : 3 459 Kbps
Encoded date                     : UTC 2010-05-03 03:25:08
Writing application              : mkvmerge v3.2.0 (‘Beginnings’) built on Feb 12 2010 16:46:17
Writing library                  : libebml v0.7.9 + libmatroska v0.8.1

Video
ID                               : 2
Format                           : AVC
Format/Info                      : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                   : High@L3.1
Format settings, CABAC           : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames        : 5 frames
Muxing mode                      : Container profile=Unknown@3.1
Codec ID                         : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                         : 1h 0mn
Bit rate                         : 3 049 Kbps
Width                            : 1 280 pixels
Height                           : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio             : 16:9
Frame rate                       : 23.976 fps
Resolution                       : 8 bits
Colorimetry                      : 4:2:0
Scan type                        : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)               : 0.138
Stream size                      : 1.27 GiB (87%)
Writing library                  : x264 core 92 r1510 33d382a
Encoding settings                : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=umh / subme=8 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=0 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=20 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / wpredb=1 / wpredp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc=2pass / mbtree=0 / bitrate=3049 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30 / aq=1:1.00
Language                         : English

Audio
ID                               : 1
Format                           : AC-3
Format/Info                      : Audio Coding 3
Format_Settings_ModeExtension    : CM (complete main)
Codec ID                         : A_AC3
Duration                         : 1h 0mn
Bit rate mode                    : Constant
Bit rate                         : 384 Kbps
Channel(s)                       : 6 channels
Channel positions                : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate                    : 48.0 KHz
Stream size                      : 166 MiB (11%)

12

Again I doubt it is the files themselves. ALL These files play fine on the gen1.

Could it be a setting?

Thanks

David

13

Should I be using Stereo or Digital for Audio? Using HDMI to LCD.

14

You’re right; doesn’t look like anything’s wrong with the files.

However, I’m guessing that the TV is taking that long to start decoding audio once the stream gets to it.

You might try setting it to STEREO instead of DIGITAL.  However, I think if you do this, you have to hook up the audio cables (not sure.)   

15

Thanks.

I switched it to Digital and it does the exact same thing Audio will not start until 1/1 Audio Chanel MPEG shows.

So I switched it back to Stereo.

Why would the TV be taking to long if it worked fine on the Gen 1. The Tv is less than a year old using HDMI 1.3b.

Even if I stop the video then resume the same thing happens, NO AUDIO until Audio Channel OSD is Shown then Audio is fine.

Same thing occurs with 1/1 English AC3, and english AAC.

The same thing occurs on Youtube except no Audio title pops up.

Cheers

David

This is my TV:

Sony XBR45 [I belive i nthe US it is know as the XBR8]

This is the Cable:

http://oznetics.com.au/premium-hdmi-cable-braided-with-free-shipping-p-319.html

16

That cable does not say it’s 1.3 certified, and that would be the first thing I’d suspect.  Try it with a good cable (even if you have to get one temporarily from Best Buy, since you can always return it if it doesn’t work any better) that IS 1.3 certified.

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17

I’ll try it with another cable, but those have been tested as 1.3b.

Cheers

Dave

18

Tried it with a $6 Chinese cable and it worked. So does that mean that the cable I have is not 1.3B? I’ll definately be contacting the store.

Still doesn’t explained why that cable worked fine with the WDTV.

Cheers

Dave

19

Don’t get too bent on the cable certification.   NONE of mine are 1.3 certified; I doubt they’re anything more than 1.1 and they’re fine.  It’s surprising that your cable problem only manifests itself in the first seconds of audio, but as long as you’re up and running well, then I’ll leave that alone!  :) 

Glad it got squared away.   

As to why it might have worked on an older unit but not the newer:  It might be due to a HDCP timeout on a capability query that isn’t used on the Gen 1, and is attempted in the Live but times out.  

Interesting symptoms; just a guess on my part…

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20

It’s not certification per se, but I suspected that cable from the beginning.

The main difference between 1.2 and 1.3 (forget the b) is bandwidth, and the Live does require more bandwidth than a lot of devices (and perhaps that is the difference between your first gen and this one).  Just because a cable say it IS 1.3 doesn’t mean that it is, just as if it doesn’t say doesn’t mean that it’s not.  But I’d beware cables that aren’t bought from reputable sources (and with Amazon.com quality warranted cables going for as cheap as $6 per 12 feet, there’s no reason to spend more or get less quality).

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