Skipped or doubled frames and stutter issue with Zidoo player.

A lot of people including myself run into this issue of frame rate consistency with Zidoo family of players using RTD 1295 chipset. It appears that new chipset RTD 1296 is also effected the same way.

This small blip in motion or micro-stutter as some people call it is caused by double (repeated frame) looking like the movie was paused for split second. It effects all high quality videos 4K HDR and HD with high bitrate and 23.976fps. You can see it on average 4 to 6 times in one movie but it looks like the issue is cycling every 4 to 5 minutes but only noticeable during panning scenes. Original post here.

Couple of examples captured in slow motion at 120fps.

Watch the man in the background as he is passing corner of the fireplace. The entire scene pauses for one additional frame cycle.


Panning camera over the table in the middle of the sweep repeated frame.


Another issue is strong stutter lasting about a second during playback of low bitrate videos 4.5Mbps L:4.0 23.976fps. Full article here.



Both issues appear to be caused by 23.976fps played at 23.98Hz but unconfirmed at this point.

Looking for comments from Zidoo team.

Can this be fixed in Zidoo player software? Some people reported good smooth playback with earlier firmware versions 1.5 for X9S player. There were also reports that the issue was fixed on Dune player with the same RTD 1295 chip.

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Update Jan. 19th 2019
It appears that new firmware v2.1.22 corrected both stutter issues on X9S player.
Great job Zidoo.

 

To keep this thread updated. There were posts with info regarding new line of Zidoo boxes based on RTD1296DD with the same stutter issue.
Links here and here.

 

After the Last update this started happening to me as well. I did a factory reset and it fixed the issue for me. if you haven't tried that give it a shot.

 

This issue is not new to the latest firmware so it sounds like you were having a different problem. This issue that @3DBuff has reported is definitely a real issue and it is something that some people do not even notice. However, for those of us that notice it, it is very distracting.

I really hope Zidoo comments here. I believe this issue is inherent to Realtek devices, but it would be great to know if it is hardware, the Realtek SDK, or can be fixed with Zidoo firmware. Users have reported this same issue with Dune and Zapitti devices too. See here https://www.avsforum.com/forum/39-n...-hd-pro-4k-ultra-thread-116.html#post56851122

 

if it's a hardware problem it probably has no fix and it will never get attention

 

Thank you for input @HaoSs, always appreciated. I hope you're wrong

Strong stutter the second issue described above (3rd movie) was not at the initial releases of the firmware until 2.0.15 from other posts. Both issues are somehow related to clock and repeating on time base cycle. There is always a gap at least 4 minutes after stutter or any micro stutter. It is Realtek player based on hardware chipset but I'm sure they can fix it. The new chipset RTD 1296 has the same set of issue. We need someone from Zidoo or Realtek to dive deep into the code and figure out the patch.

Zidoo makes amazing players but this frame rate issue is killing it for a lot of us

 

If it is a real HW issue i would be surprised if RTD1296DD would not have fixed this? But that probably needs a change of FW code? Thus far the code seems almost identical for both.

 

I have the same problem in my zidoo x9s even with low bitrate mkv avc files (connected to usb 2.0/3.0), from firmware 2.0.5 to 2.0.34 (not tried 2.1.14 yet)...All ok with 1.5.0 firmware

 

Which problem do refer to or both? The strong stutter every 4.5 min on low bitrate files or micro stutter on all other formats around 4 times per movie?

The files that have strong stutter don't show correct frame rate info in old program TSMuxer. The same files will play just fine on any other device.

Testing and info here:
http://forum.zidoo.tv/index.php?thr...3-0-upgrade-to-3-1-8.12094/page-15#post-79478

 

I'm sorry maybe I have understood bad, I have micro strutter problem both big and little files mkv (high and low bitrate) for all the video. I tried to flash/restore/reset and update before and after flash/restore/reset but these strutter remained. I tried to change usb and external device, but the problem continues with recent firmare (firmwares post 1.5.0)

 

Thanks for sharing the info. It confirms findings from other people.

Micro stutters started after firmware 1.5 for all HD and 4K 23.976 fps files.
Strong stutter lasting about a second on high compressed files mainly Web-Dl after firmware 2.0.15

 

I'll try new 2.1.14 beta firmware soon, but have been found strutters even in this firmware from other people yet?

 

The micro stutters are in every firmware from V2.0.5 until the newest V2.1.14

I’m on this latest 2.1.14 and I see it all the time.

 

There is a report that the Z9S does not exhibit this frame skip behavior. https://www.avsforum.com/forum/39-n...zidoo-z9s-z10-rtd1296-soc-2.html#post57116806
@Markswift2003 knows what he is doing and has the Vertex to back up what he sees. @zidoo - I hope you can comment. Is there a possible fix around the corner for the X series too? Does the 1296 use a newer SDK or anything? Thanks

 

@Markswift2003 has done excellent research on micro-stutter issue.
Please see his summary table here.

Frame rates in red above 23.976 exhibit micro-stutters and everything in green blow does not. There is list of players from different manufactures and combinations of resolution, bit depth and color space effecting bandwidth, pixel clock and frame rate.

There are 3 players with the same RTD 1295 chipset in the list:
1. Dune Pro 4K
2. Zidoo X9S
3. Zappiti mini 4K HDR

Dune and Zappiti look OK at lower resolutions and / or low demanding color space. They share the same issue when pushed to 4K, 10 or 12 bit and 444.

Ziddo X9S has a problem right across all modes that would point to software issue at least in the lower range.

3D MVC is all good at 23.973fps reported here.

New Zidoo player Z9S based on RTD 1296 is holding frame rate very consistent at 23.974fps and not likely to exhibit frame rate issues. Waiting for more reports on new chipset.

 

There is some hope. It appears Zappiti is having the proper framerate at 4k 10bit 444 23Hz now. This is a 1295 device so it can be fixed in the X9S, maybe in the latest SDK. https://www.avsforum.com/forum/39-n...-hd-pro-4k-ultra-thread-144.html#post57249280

 

good news, let's hope it will be fixed with next firmware (I still have 1.5.0...)

 

New firmware 2.1.19 is out.
No difference with Web-Dl stutter issue. Still the same
Micro stutter needs further testing.

 

Frame rate frequency testing with Vertex indicates that microstuters are still there.
See the report here.

It doesn't look like they can fix those issues with this chip

 

Appears so. I do wonder what the exact value for 23.976 for 10bit is though. If it's closer to the last "00" (from a possible value between 23.97600 to 23.97649), then a repeat frame would only appear only for really long movies over 3+ hours (as @Markswift2003 explains at AVSForum). Could live w/this... but, then again, as non 4K 2D is all 23.978, this remains a problem with like 4+ frame repeats (I think) in a 2-hour movie.

I'm considering a Z9S, but I also have nVidia Shield TV, which does 1080p and 4K HDR fps well. Only issue w/Shield, which is supposed to be fixed w/the next f/w, is color space switching. Right now, with my resolution at 4K BT.2020, the UI and all REC.709 stuff look washed out.