[Bug] Crash of the A300 when playing some files

[stephanecodo]

I have some crashes of the box when trying to play some MKV files (which were correctly played on another player so far).

I am in 1080p/60Hz, passthrough for all settings, HDMI audio active.

For the faulty files, as soon as I push the 'Play' button on the remote control, there is a wait animation and then it freezes completely, even FTP transfers which were processed at that time are frozen and disconnected. The only way to bring back to life is to reboot.

Code:

General
Unique ID                                : 182924771342010662688834340817979453702 (0x899E078B54CEE6F9897615AA35C63106)
Complete name                            : /Volumes/share/Video/My file1.mkv
Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 1
File size                                : 237 MiB
Duration                                 : 3mn 35s
Overall bit rate                         : 9 227 Kbps
Encoded date                             : UTC 2009-08-20 04:15:20
Writing application                      : mkvmerge v2.0.2 ('You're My Flame') built on Feb 21 2007 23:40:55
Writing library                          : libebml v0.7.7 + libmatroska v0.8.1

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames                : 3 frames
Codec ID                                 : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                                 : 3mn 35s
Bit rate                                 : 8 403 Kbps
Width                                    : 1 920 pixels
Height                                   : 1 032 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 1.860
Frame rate                               : 23.976 fps
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.177
Stream size                              : 216 MiB (91%)
Writing library                          : x264 core 65 r999kMod cc51047
Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=3 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=6 / psy_rd=1.0:0.0 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=4 / thread_queue=4 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / wpredb=1 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40(pre) / rc=crf / crf=21.0000 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30 / aq=1:1.00
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

Audio
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension                           : CM (complete main)
Codec ID                                 : A_AC3
Duration                                 : 3mn 35s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 640 Kbps
Channel(s)                               : 6 channels
Channel positions                        : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth                                : 16 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 16.4 MiB (7%)
Language                                 : French
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

and another one :

Code:

General
Unique ID                                : 193331922045707609376965741713966121735 (0x91725FB0878E9D999724BA2E3E3A4307)
Complete name                            : /Volumes/share/Video/Films/My file2.mkv
Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 1
File size                                : 11.8 GiB
Duration                                 : 2h 15mn
Overall bit rate                         : 12.5 Mbps
Movie name                               : Spiderman 2.1 - HD 1080p - Gaïa
Encoded date                             : UTC 2008-04-14 11:52:41
Writing application                      : mkvmerge v2.0.2 ('You're My Flame') built on Feb 21 2007 23:40:55
Writing library                          : libebml v0.7.7 + libmatroska v0.8.1

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames                : 4 frames
Codec ID                                 : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                                 : 2h 15mn
Bit rate                                 : 11.4 Mbps
Width                                    : 1 920 pixels
Height                                   : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate                               : 23.976 fps
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.229
Stream size                              : 10.6 GiB (89%)
Writing library                          : x264 core 59 r808M ff5059a
Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=4 / deblock=0:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=umh / subme=6 / me-prepass=0 / brdo=1 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=20 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / chroma_qp_offset=0 / threads=3 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=0 / wpredb=1 / bime=1 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40(pre) / rc=2pass / bitrate=11368 / ratetol=3.0 / rceq='blurCplx^(1-qComp)' / qcomp=1.00 / qpmin=7 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30 / aq=2:1.00
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

Audio #1
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension                           : CM (complete main)
Codec ID                                 : A_AC3
Duration                                 : 2h 15mn
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 448 Kbps
Channel(s)                               : 6 channels
Channel positions                        : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth                                : 16 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 435 MiB (4%)
Language                                 : French
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

Audio #2
ID                                       : 3
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension                           : CM (complete main)
Codec ID                                 : A_AC3
Duration                                 : 2h 15mn
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 640 Kbps
Channel(s)                               : 6 channels
Channel positions                        : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth                                : 16 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 622 MiB (5%)
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text
ID                                       : 4
Format                                   : ASS
Codec ID                                 : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info                            : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Compression mode                         : Lossless
Language                                 : French
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

I am on MAC. Any hint on how to fix this kind of issues

Thanks!

[nikos]

that same thing happens for me to, it often happens when i turn subtitles on during the movies is playing, i cant start the movie again, and if i try another movie everything freeze and i have to reboot.

when will they support the A-300 and make a proper firmware, im tired of beeing a test rat with an unfinished box that i cant use.

[stephanecodo]

Hum... I found a way to (partially) fix the issue:
- I downloaded Mkvtoolnix and re-muxed the file,
- then it works!

However, it is not 100% 'stable' since it still crashed once but I am to able to reproduce it now...

[goAMinD]

I'm not sure it's related, but I have experienced the first freeze after I got the A-300 running quite smooth. The freeze happended during playback approximately 1 hour in the movie Resident Evil. Was ripped from my BD with MakeMKV to .MKV. I played the movie with it's True-HD track and no subs. Other from the freeze, there was no stutter og problems with the movie.

When I find time to test more and watch more movies, I will report back if freezes are regular.

[Willem53]

(02-09-2012 07:55 AM)goAMinD Wrote:  I'm not sure it's related, but I have experienced the first freeze after I got the A-300 running quite smooth. The freeze happended during playback approximately 1 hour in the movie Resident Evil. Was ripped from my BD with MakeMKV to .MKV. I played the movie with it's True-HD track and no subs. Other from the freeze, there was no stutter og problems with the movie.

When I find time to test more and watch more movies, I will report back if freezes are regular.

Play from where? Local or Network disk

[goAMinD]

(02-09-2012 09:09 AM)Willem53 Wrote:  

(02-09-2012 07:55 AM)goAMinD Wrote:  I'm not sure it's related, but I have experienced the first freeze after I got the A-300 running quite smooth. The freeze happended during playback approximately 1 hour in the movie Resident Evil. Was ripped from my BD with MakeMKV to .MKV. I played the movie with it's True-HD track and no subs. Other from the freeze, there was no stutter og problems with the movie.

When I find time to test more and watch more movies, I will report back if freezes are regular.

Play from where? Local or Network disk

Play from W2K8R2 NFS share. Testing with the Resident Evil Apocalypse sequel just now. Same thing.

---

I can add that Resident Evil Apocalypse this evening played the first time for 20 minutes before freezing. The second run stuttered a few times and froze after just 5 minutes. Have to reboot A-300 every time. The unit is not too hot, only feels weakly warm.

Now running The Dark Knight again which was my first test material when setting A-300 up. It is still playing with no problems at all, even switching between AC3 and True-HD, switching sub or any messing around with the remote cannot disturb The Dark Knight.

All my movies are ripped equally with MakeMKV and I feel I'm near to conclude that the A-300 could have issues with certain titles. That could be different encodings maybe?

---

The Dark Knight is VC1
Resident Evil is AVC
Resident Evil Apocalypse is MPEG2

[goAMinD]

Just watched my Moon rip (makeMKV) that has AVC video, with DTS-DH MA audio and PGS subs. Flawless playback, no stutter or freezes. Only thing to complain about is the asyncronous subs, that must have a +2 sec from start and another +2 halfways. Also the subs hang to long and once in a while they hang through the next phrase. Again, fixes for subs better be in the next firmware release.

I'm really having a hard time figuring why some titles has playback issues. I will test more

[VeeDub]

Hey, similar if not the same problem on my side.
When I play the particular MKV (see below) it goes until 1:40 mins, then freezes the picture. counter (when info button pressed) seems to be running but picture and sound is frozen.
I can stop the movie per STOP button, if I try to run it again (via the Jukebox, local HDD) it flashes a black screen and gets back to the Jukebox. When I then try another movie it does exactly the same. After 2-3 times of trying this the whole box freezes. No HDMI signal, no network access, no reaction to remote - nothing works. After unplugging the power cord and after reboot, same behaviour. Got the newest firmware.

Here´s the mediainfo:

Code:

General
Unique ID                        : 192150720130230051163668831476081722657 (0x908EE1F0553514539D17209A76FF8521)
Complete name                    : test1.mkv
Format                           : Matroska
Format version                   : Version 2
File size                        : 5.45 GiB
Duration                         : 1h 53mn
Overall bit rate                 : 6 882 Kbps
Encoded date                     : UTC 2011-11-23 04:00:58
Writing application              : mkvmerge v5.0.1 ('Es ist Sommer') built on Oct  9 2011 11:55:43
Writing library                  : libebml v1.2.2 + libmatroska v1.3.0

Video
ID                               : 1
Format                           : AVC
Format/Info                      : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                   : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC           : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames        : 5 frames
Codec ID                         : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                         : 1h 53mn
Bit rate                         : 5 372 Kbps
Width                            : 1 280 pixels
Height                           : 536 pixels
Display aspect ratio             : 2.40:1
Frame rate                       : 23.976 fps
Color space                      : YUV
Chroma subsampling               : 4:2:0
Bit depth                        : 8 bits
Scan type                        : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)               : 0.327
Stream size                      : 4.15 GiB (76%)
Writing library                  : x264 core 119 r2106 07efeb4
Encoding settings                : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=8 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=0 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=18 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=240 / keyint_min=24 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=40 / rc=2pass / mbtree=1 / bitrate=5372 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Language                         : English

Audio
ID                               : 2
Format                           : DTS
Format/Info                      : Digital Theater Systems
Codec ID                         : A_DTS
Duration                         : 1h 53mn
Bit rate mode                    : Constant
Bit rate                         : 1 510 Kbps
Channel(s)                       : 6 channels
Channel positions                : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate                    : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth                        : 24 bits
Compression mode                 : Lossy
Stream size                      : 1.20 GiB (22%)
Language                         : English

[hunter69]

I have experienced the same exact bug. This is what I see:
I stream movies from an unraid server. Movies are ripped to a bdmv format. Most movies stream flawlessly but certain ones freeze when streaming the movie with my new A300. The movies are Cowboys and Aliens and The expendibles. I have tried reripping the movies. Ripping movie only but nothing will stop the freezing at the same point in the movie everytime. Sometime Cowboys and Aliens will crash my A300. Before you say it is a network issue: I have a sagetv HD300. I can stream both these movies (exact same files) flawlessly. I have the most recent firmware.

[hunter69]

As a follow up to my above post. I converted both movies to mkv format and I no longer am experiencing the freezing. I want to emphasize that I could not watch either of these movies without freezing to sometimes crashing altogether when in BDMV file structure (unless I used my hd300). MKV streamed flawlesly.

[hunter69]

Mods,

After reading through this thread again, I real