Lightbox juddery playback on Windows

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toii

160 posts

Master Geek

#171889 4-May-2015 17:58

I have problems with Lightbox on Windows 7 64-bit that I have been unable to resolve via Lightbox tech support. I would be interested to know if others have the same problem. The problem is what I would describe as un-smooth motion as if frames are being skipped during playback (or a low frame rate). I have the same problem on two different Windows 7 computers (they have different video cards and drivers). I have also tried runnning Windows 10 on one of the computers and I see the same problem.

I also have a Galaxy Tab S tablet which I am able to run Lightbox app on via WiFi and the video plays perfectly smooth. I also have a Samsung Blu-ray player which I have tested with the Lightbox app and the video plays absolutely perfectly on that too. The problems seem to be specific to Windows.

Here is a bit of a summary of what I have tried and details of my configuration:

All my computers and Blu-ray player are connected to same network (wired connection). Android tablet that works fine is connected via WiFi
I am getting approx 30Mbps down and 10Mbps up on my internet connection
Both test computers are running Windows 7 with latest version of Silverlight installed

I have tested with Chrome, Firefox and IE and same problems are present on all 3 browsers
I have cleared browser cookies and cache as suggested by Lightbox - problem still present
I have uninstalled and reinstalled Silverlight - problem still present
I have tried deleting C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\PlayRead\mspr.hds as suggested by Lightbox - problem still present
I have tested Silverlight via http://www.iis.net/media/experiencesmoothstreaming and found that I am getting 24fps playback with smooth motion - no problem at all
I tried running Netflix in browswer on the same PC and do not have the same symptoms. I uninstalled Silverlight and retried Netflix and still ok (so I think Netflix was using HTML5 not Silverlight)
I have ensured that I do not have cookies blocked as suggested to check by Lightbox
I have tried disabling hardware decoding in Silverlight - no difference
I am able to play locally stored 1080p videos without any problems

Has anyone else encountered the same problems as me? It seems to be specific to Lightbox on Windows to me based on my testing. Unfortunately the lightbox app in browwer does not have any setting to be able to show the frame rate that Silverlight is playing.

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8520 posts

Uber Geek

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#1297839 4-May-2015 18:18

Have you checked if there are any updated graphics drivers for your computer?

mattwnz

20165 posts

Uber Geek

#1297841 4-May-2015 18:25

What are the specs of the computer? This wouldn't happen to be over wifi would it? If so have you tried plugging in a network cable? I had problems on a new i7 computer over wifi, and was something to do with the way their system adjusts the quality of the video, as you can't adjust the quality manually.

toii

160 posts

Master Geek

#1297842 4-May-2015 18:26

Yes, I am running latest video card drivers on both PCs that exhibit the problems. Other video (including Netflix) plays fine on both PCs so I am pretty sure it is not a video driver issue.

toii

160 posts

Master Geek

#1297855 4-May-2015 18:32

mattwnz: What are the specs of the computer? This wouldn't happen to be over wifi would it? If so have you tried plugging in a network cable? I had problems on a new i7 computer over wifi, and was something to do with the way their system adjusts the quality of the video, as you can't adjust the quality manually.

One PC is an i3 processor with 4GB RAM and the other is a Core 2 with 4GB RAM. Both are more than capable of playing 1080p video using CPU without hardware decoding. Other 1080p video sources play fine on both PCs. Both PCs have wired network connections. WiFi tablet running lightbox app does not have the same juddery motion. After resetting I notice the video playback resolution looks lower quality then over time it improves to better resolution but the juddery motion is still there.

richms

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#1297856 4-May-2015 18:35

I had the same thing happen.

I did a HDMI capture of the output of the PC to look at it, and there were some frames being shown for 5 or 6 frames, when it should be an exact 2:3 ratio.

Netflix works. I didnt repeat the test multiple times or anything to look furthur into it but it was a similar chuggyness that I saw on quickflix when I tried that.

Richard rich.ms

toii

160 posts

Master Geek

#1297858 4-May-2015 18:40

richms: I had the same thing happen.

I did a HDMI capture of the output of the PC to look at it, and there were some frames being shown for 5 or 6 frames, when it should be an exact 2:3 ratio.

Netflix works. I didnt repeat the test multiple times or anything to look furthur into it but it was a similar chuggyness that I saw on quickflix when I tried that.

By uninstalling Silverlight then testing with Netflix I proved that Netflix was not using Silverlight (I think it uses HTML5). I suspect the problem is related to Lightbox with Silverlight. I dont know if Quickflix uses Silverlight or not. I havent tried that on my PCs

mattwnz

20165 posts

Uber Geek

#1297859 4-May-2015 18:46

toii:
mattwnz: What are the specs of the computer? This wouldn't happen to be over wifi would it? If so have you tried plugging in a network cable? I had problems on a new i7 computer over wifi, and was something to do with the way their system adjusts the quality of the video, as you can't adjust the quality manually.

One PC is an i3 processor with 4GB RAM and the other is a Core 2 with 4GB RAM. Both are more than capable of playing 1080p video using CPU without hardware decoding. Other 1080p video sources play fine on both PCs. Both PCs have wired network connections. WiFi tablet running lightbox app does not have the same juddery motion. After resetting I notice the video playback resolution looks lower quality then over time it improves to better resolution but the juddery motion is still there.

It is likely Silverlight needs more resources than a normal 1080 picture. I know my core2 3Ghz pc can band a little on youtube 18080 videos.

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rlevis

347 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1297873 4-May-2015 19:20

I suspect it is related to the refresh rate of the screen you are watching on, and the frame rate of the content. Your PC monitor is likely at 60hz, and the content frame rate may be at 25 or 50hz.

KiwiME

214 posts

Master Geek

#1297934 4-May-2015 21:33

toii: Has anyone else encountered the same problems as me?

Yep, I've seen the same thing so I only use my PS3 now for Lightbox which has a smooth framerate.

I was going to mention it on this forum but I didn't think anyone would believe me!

Both are hard-wired to 30/10 fibre and the PC is a Core2Quad Q6600.

Bobdn

222 posts

Master Geek

#1297940 4-May-2015 21:46

I've had the same problem. Use my PS4 exclusively now and its fine.

Inphinity

2780 posts

Uber Geek

#1297948 4-May-2015 22:04

I'd say it's just Silverlight. Most or all of those I've seen report this issue have very old or low spec CPUs. For example, one of our media PCs has a Phenom 955, quad-core 3.2GHz, but a few gens old by now - but it sits at about 45-55% CPU usage to pull Lightbox at 1080p. The ol' Core2 E6550 box pegs to 100% and jitters.

mattwnz

20165 posts

Uber Geek

#1297951 4-May-2015 22:12

I don't have the problem with an older core2 ,with a fixed line connection using windows 10, but I have had with a new i7 laptop over a wifi connection on windows 8.1. So in my case I think it was due to the wifi connection not keeping up, and the silverlight player jumping between quality settings. But the sooner Lightbox drops silverlight the better I think. No problem with running it on the ipad over wifi.

toii

160 posts

Master Geek

#1297994 5-May-2015 06:07

Inphinity: I'd say it's just Silverlight. Most or all of those I've seen report this issue have very old or low spec CPUs. For example, one of our media PCs has a Phenom 955, quad-core 3.2GHz, but a few gens old by now - but it sits at about 45-55% CPU usage to pull Lightbox at 1080p. The ol' Core2 E6550 box pegs to 100% and jitters.

I have tried playing 1080p content from the silverlight test site. It plays perfectly at 24fps in 1080 resolution. No judder at all

toii

160 posts

Master Geek

#1297996 5-May-2015 06:46

rlevis: I suspect it is related to the refresh rate of the screen you are watching on, and the frame rate of the content. Your PC monitor is likely at 60hz, and the content frame rate may be at 25 or 50hz.

I don't know what frame rate Lighbox uses (and if it is the same for all content). The main PC I am using is my home thatre PC which has video configured for 50hz. I have tried setting 720p and 1080p and 60hz on video card settings but there is no difference in any combination. The. TV is 50/100hz. The symptoms are the same on my desktop PC.

rlevis

347 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1298734 6-May-2015 00:04

I use to have the same problem with MediaPortal playing 23.976 frame/second bluray movies, with a skip every second or so, until I installed Reclock which somehow resamples the movie to 25 fps without any noticeable speed change if any, and it it's perfectly smooth.

You can't do that with Lightbox obviously. See if you have a 24p option for your TV.

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