Skipped frames and video playback jerky with DXVA off

[nonobio]

Bug report

Describe the bug

Here is a clear and concise description of what the problem is:

Hello,

Since i installed the first release of Kodi 18 (since several month) : video playback is jerky when DXVA is OFF **.

Expected Behavior

Here is a clear and concise description of what was expected to happen:

Smooth video playback whatever i use DXVA or not (before Kodi 18, it was smooth without DXVA).

Actual Behavior

Video playback is jerky randomly : it can be fine for tens of minutes and then, jerky for others tens of minutes, with jerk like video pauses !

There are skipped frames (CTRL + SHIFT + O) each time i see a jerk.

Possible Fix

I found a workaround by enabling DXVA : it seems to be ok but for some reasons (issues with some phone vertical videos, h265 not supported, etc.) i prefer not use it if possible, so i disabled it and i'm trying to found the cause.

Also, i thought I had found a workaround by disabling "Adjust display refresh rate" setting, from "always" to "none". With my videos it seemed to be ok but with others videos (for test), it isn't.

To Reproduce

Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Disable "Enable hardware acceleration - DXVA2" in Kodi Settings\Player\Videos
2. Play a video
   For the test and debug log i used on downloaded from here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRt4Duf7GoI

This is its mediainfo:

General
Complete name               : G:\VIDEOS\Tests et démos vidéos\HD1080\AVC\Démos\1920x1012_29.970fps_3648kbps_AVC_AAC LC_Snow Monkeys in Japan.mp4
Format                      : MPEG-4
Format profile              : Base Media
Codec ID                    : isom (isom/iso2/avc1/mp41)
File size                   : 89.3 MiB
Duration                    : 3 min 20 s
Overall bit rate            : 3 736 kb/s
Writing application         : Lavf55.19.104

Video
ID                          : 1
Format                      : AVC
Format/Info                 : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile              : High@L4
Format settings             : CABAC / 3 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC      : Yes
Format settings, Reference  : 3 frames
Codec ID                    : avc1
Codec ID/Info               : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                    : 3 min 20 s
Bit rate                    : 3 603 kb/s
Width                       : 1 920 pixels
Height                      : 1 012 pixels
Display aspect ratio        : 1.897
Frame rate mode             : Constant
Frame rate                  : 29.970 (30000/1001) FPS
Color space                 : YUV
Chroma subsampling          : 4:2:0
Bit depth                   : 8 bits
Scan type                   : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)          : 0.062
Stream size                 : 86.1 MiB (96%)
Codec configuration box     : avcC

Audio
ID                          : 2
Format                      : AAC LC
Format/Info                 : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID                    : mp4a-40-2
Duration                    : 3 min 20 s
Bit rate mode               : Constant
Bit rate                    : 126 kb/s
Channel(s)                  : 2 channels
Channel layout              : L R
Sampling rate               : 44.1 kHz
Frame rate                  : 43.066 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode            : Lossy
Stream size                 : 3.00 MiB (3%)
Default                     : Yes
Alternate group             : 1

3. See jerk and little pause during video playback : use CTRL + SHIFT + O to display increasing skipped frames.

4. Do the same thing with DXVA enabled : video playback is smooth with none skipped frames.

Debuglog

The debuglog can be found here: https://paste.kodi.tv/majelusoku.kodi

For this debugging log i did :

• start Kodi
• disable DXVA
• play a video : got a lot of visual jerks and skipped frames (CTRL + SHIFT + O)
• stop video
• enable DXVA
• play the same video : none visual jerk and none skipped frames
• stop video
• quit kodi

Screenshots

Here are some links or screenshots to help explain the problem:

No screenshots for the moment, but i can provide some if needed.

Additional context or screenshots (if appropriate)

Here is some additional context or explanation that might help:

I tested a lot of things like :

• disabling a lot of my windows process (even if Kodi wasn't using all my CPU). It looks like a issue with CPU or DISK usage so i used applications like Process Monitor and Process Hacker to try to find the culprit, but each time i think i have found it, i disable it and the issue is still here.
• closing others applications
• changing Kodi full screen mode
• changing gpu buffer numbers in kodi ( 2, 3)
• disabling add-ons
• changing "adjust display refresh rate"from "always" to "never" or "start/stop". Not sure but it seems it doesn't work ? (doesn't change my display refresh rate if i play a video with a "differente" frame rate. I will do some more tests but maybe it is something related.

Nothing helped.

I tried one time with MPCHC video player (with DXVA off) and video playback was smooth but i'm not sure it is always ok, i did not tested enough to be sure.

I created a thread on Kodi forum : https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=357810

Your Environment

Used Operating system:

• Android

• iOS

• Linux

• OSX

• Windows

• Windows UWP

• Operating system version/name: 7 64 bits

• Kodi version: 18.8

note: Once the issue is made we require you to update it with new information or Kodi versions should that be required.
Team Kodi will consider your problem report however, we will not make any promises the problem will be solved.

[nonobio]

Hello,

I tried to modify my cache settings following this wiki page : HOW-TO-Modify the video cache - Official Kodi Wiki

I used this setting:
<advancedsettings> <cache> <buffermode>1</buffermode> <memorysize>139460608</memorysize> <readfactor>20</readfactor> </cache> </advancedsettings>

Same issue :(

[nonobio]

Hi,

I don't have the issue anymore since several month... I'm actually on Kodi 19.4.

Bye :)