Hanbrake 0.92 movies Stall when straming to Apple TV 2.0

[Angel]

Hello all,

I have a MacMini running 10.5.2, a Apple TV with version 2.0 software update and I am using the latest Version of the incredible Handbrake 0.92 and Itunes 7.6.1.

Since upgrading the Apple TV to version 2.0 I get a glitches & freezes within 10-15 minutes of the start of every converted clip that I have done with Handbrake version 0.91 and 0.92.

When converting I click on the Apple TV preset and all I change is the Video Bitrate to 3200 and I add 2 pass encoding. Everything was working fine until I did the latest update on Apple TV. Is anybody else out there experiencing the same problem?

I even reset the Apple TV to Factory default,re did the Version 2 update,rebuilt my Macmini with a nice and clean OS and I even re configured my network setup and I still have the same problem with the glitching and Freezing. A friend of mine gave me a clip to add to my iTunes libray and that is the only clip that does not stall nor freeze in any scenes and he told me that he used a Divx to MPEG 4 converter to make it viewable in Itunes.

Does anybody have any ideas on how to resolve this problem? If you do it will be very much appreciated...

[iceman311]

i have exact the same problem. i use the appletv preset and only change the bitrate to 3000.

[dynaflash]

Realize that if you are using the AppleTV preset in 0.9.2 (assuming you used Presets ->Update Built In Presets) you are adding an extra 448 kbps worth of bitrate to the encode for the AC3 5.1 audio track, that coupled with jacking up the video bitrate to say 3000 puts you in the area of 4000 kbps total (also includes the aac track). So pauses when streaming are a definite reality. Expecially if you atv hdd is near full as the atv uses free disk space for its streaming network buffer.

To test if its actually the HB encode, try syncing it and playing it right from the atv's hdd thereby taking network performance out of the equation. Regardless if you must stream you have two options: 1) Lose some bitrate out of your encodes. 2) do what you can to optimize your network.

[dynaflash]

A friend of mine gave me a clip to add to my iTunes libray and that is the only clip that does not stall nor freeze in any scenes and he told me that he used a Divx to MPEG 4 converter to make it viewable in Itunes.

I suggest checking that clips total bitrate, I would wager its *much* lower than the 4000 kbps you are trying to stream.

[swim2383]

I'm having a similar problem and I have been assuming it was the advanced encoding settings until I went with the preset (except for increasing the bitrate). I have nothing on my appleTV, I'm streaming everything. Wired media server (gigabit network) and n wireless on 5GHz so the network shouldn't be causing any problems (It takes less then 15 minutes to sync a 3.5 gig file). The jitters are much less noticeable when I sync the movie to the ATV, but they are still there.

The bitrate shouldn't be a problem either, an HD movie I rented was 4.15GB (about 4300kbs) and the intro clip is about 6bms

[dynaflash]

*shrugs* well, all i can say is try the same source but don't jack up the bitrate and just use the atv preset stock. If its smooth streaming then you know the culprit.

Realize that abr is not the only bitrate in play here. Since you are all getting up near the atv's 5mb abr limit (right from apple specs) you probably should be applying some vbv buffer limitations to cap short bitrate spikes. Remember, the ATV can handle 5000 as an average, but at that abr I guarantee you will see bitrate spikes in excess of its 12000 kbps spike limit during complex scenes that will cause frame drop.

[Angel]

Hi,

I decided to take your advice and lowered the Bitrate but I still have the same problem even after doing that. I will list below how I converted a DVD to apple TV with my Leopard 10.5.2 MacMini,

1- I converted a 01:55 minute movie using the apple TV presets but added the 2-Pass encoding and changed the bitrate to 1900 from the Default 2500 which gave the film a total bitrate of 2507 and a file size of 2.04gb.

2- I mentioned on my previous post that a friend of mine gave me a movie that he converted using a DIVX to MPEG 4 converter and this does not stall what so ever & the total bitrate of that movie is 2742

3- I downloaded The I-Life and Leopard video Tutorial from the apple Website and added them to my itunes library and streamed them to my apple tv and they both streamed without a problem.

I don’t know why but ever since I have updated the Apple TV to the version 2 software I get a pause, a Glitch and a flickering picture that only lasts a few minutes but it happens to all my DVD to Apple tv movies that I converted using Handbrake 0.91 & and 0.92. I don’t believe that my home gigabyte network is the problem as the Mpeg 4 clippings that I am getting from the apple website and other sources seem to be streaming ok. I am also streaming everything thing via a cat5 Ethernet cable and no wireless what so ever and all my music is playing without a problem and I can download movie trailers from the apple tv and they all playback without a problem.

It just seems rather strange that no matter what movie I convert with handbrake within the 10-15 minutes of the start of the film I get the Pause,freez and jumpier playback, But after it has done it there doesn’t seem to be a problem throughout the movie and that also applies for movies that even have a total bitrate of 4000.

It will be most appreciated if you or anyone else have any other ideas that I can try in order to resolve this problem. I hope I can fix this problem as handbrake is without a doubt the best conversion software available and all the programmers that write the code for it are an incredible bunch of people as they have succeeded were so many others have failed...

Kind regards

[swim2383]

@Angel

The glitch at 10-15 minutes is the movie finishing being moved to the appletv. If you sync a single movie and time how long it takes iTunes to movie it, it should take about the same amount of time.


As far as my problem goes, I decided to try a few other movies and didn't have a problem with any of them. I convert two or three chapters from several movies with the settings below settings @ .70 and another encode of each at the "appletv settings" except i added AC3, 3000kbs, 64bit and cabac. All of them looked great with the exception of some macro-blocks that appeared in the .70 that I didn't notice in the set bit rate samples I used.


bframes=6:ref=6:mixed-refs=1:subq=6:me=umh:no-fast-pskip=1:trellis=1:weightb=1:bime=1:brdo=1:direct=auto:analyse=all:vbv-maxrate=5500:vbv-bufsize=4500

[Cavalicious]

The glitch at 10-15 minutes is the movie finishing being moved to the appletv.

I too have seen this since 2.0

[Angel]

Hi

I am glad to hear that someone else has noticed this problem (no offence

I also store all of my media on a 1TB external Lacie Drive with FireWire800. I just don’t understand why this happens 10-15minutes into the movie. I think apple changed something in there Version 2 update as I went and had a read into there forums and it looks like there is a lot of un happy people who are having the same problem since Version 2 was released. From what I am reading a lot of people are downgrading to apple tv 1.1 software: http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1185

I got so frustrated this afternoon so I rang up apple and all I told them that I have media that is now freezing and glitching on my apple TV since I updated it to Version 2. There response to me was "Sir if content that is downloaded from Apple is not stalling then there is no problem with the Apple TV software as the problem then lies with the software that you have used to create the file with. However I will inform you that Software Development companies are soon to be releasing Updates and Patches to work with Apple TV Version 2" This leads me to believe that obviously they have changed something and all Software Developers need to make changes to work with Apple TV Take 2 software.

I store no media locally at all on the Apple TV and the MacMini that I use to stream the Media from does nothing else but stream and my external drive does nothing but Playback movies and I have a dedicated Gigabyte network just for all of the above. I have tried various different presets in Handbrake 0.92 but I am always stuck with the same problem & I know that it is not a particular film that I am trying to convert as I have tried with a Total of 5 movies but my entire iTunes Movie Library that I created with handbrake 0.91 have the same problem…

[Scarpad]

What I've been seeing using the stock Apple TV preset is glitches where you will get what looks to be slow motion patches which cause stuttering, it happens for 10 -15 sec then goes back to normal speed, during the glitch the audio is not affected. Has anyone else seen this?

[Jaisen]

I'm not sure why, but I've been using the updated apple TV preset with the slight mod of bumping the ABR to 5000 and haven't experienced any glitches during playback. Maybe it's a network thing?

[mac9035]

Yes, I'm having the same problem. About 10 mins into all my movies, it starts to stall. I dont think its my network because i'm wired.

[Angel]

Hi,

I am also on a wired network and I have the same problem. The network is not the problem because I have been given other Mpeg 4 files from other sources and there movies never stall, pause nor jitter within 10 to 15 minutes of the movie. The only difference between my converted files and there’s is that mine have been converted with handbrake 0.91 and 0.92 and they have used something else. I am not shore what the problem is but I have only been having this issue since I updated my Apple TV to the Version 2 software.

I susspect that Apple’s changed something in there software that is conflicting with the movies that have been encoded with handbrake 0.91and 0.92. If you have a look at the Apple TV forum on the Apple website which I have provided the link for in my previous posts you will see that there is all sorts of problems with Apple TV 2.0. Hopefully someone will give out a patch of some sort to rectify the problem

[dynaflash]

I've been using the updated apple TV preset with the slight mod of bumping the ABR to 5000 and haven't experienced any glitches during playback

Woah, doubling the abr to 5000 is hardly a "slight mod", especially since you are right at apples max abr for the atv. I am very suprised that this solved any glitches, if anything you should get some dropped frames here and there depending on a scenes complexity.

[mac9035]

Angel

I think you are right. I restored my appletv to original version and the movies play without any stalling. However some movies(i think the ones i used handbrake 0.92) are not filling up the screen(black bars on the sides). Can someone explain why this is happening

[nightstrm]

Angel

I think you are right. I restored my appletv to original version and the movies play without any stalling. However some movies(i think the ones i used handbrake 0.92) are not filling up the screen(black bars on the sides). Can someone explain why this is happening

I believe this is because of a change in the way HB .9.2 writes the anamorphic flags necessary for Apple devices to display the content correctly, which is not compatible with AppleTV 1.0/1.1. There was a thread about this a week or two ago...

[mac9035]

Thanks What settings should I use now. I usually use the appletv preset so i have no idea what to use if they no longer work in version 1. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[swim2383]

Angel

I think you are right. I restored my appletv to original version and the movies play without any stalling. However some movies(i think the ones i used handbrake 0.92) are not filling up the screen(black bars on the sides). Can someone explain why this is happening

I believe this is because of a change in the way HB .9.2 writes the anamorphic flags necessary for Apple devices to display the content correctly, which is not compatible with AppleTV 1.0/1.1. There was a thread about this a week or two ago...

I don't think the issue was with handbrake at all but with MetaX, which has been updated several times in the last few days and one of them fixed the anamorphic flags being dropped.