I just recently bought a Zidoo Z9S and am quite pleased with it's performance. I am currently running firmware v2.1.30. This evening I tried to watch the TV series Dynasties (2018) from the BBC originally released in 25 frames per second (fps)/4K/HDR on the Zidoo Z9S. To my surprise the currently firmware does not recognize or playback 25 fps correctly, but tries to play it back as 23.976 fps (output verified using an HDFury Vertex), making the video very choppy. I have converted the UHD discs to MKV files losslessly, keeping the original frame rate. ALL my other media streamers (eg - Apple TV4K running Infuse, Oppo BDP-203, Egreat A10, Vero 4K+) recognize the 25 fps and correctly play the series at 4K HDR 25fps. I have the Zidoo Z9S set to change frame rate and resolution based on the video stream it is trying to play. Will this problem be addressed in a future update? Is anyone else having the same problem?
Sorry i can't give You advice, but may i ask You to report it on service@zidoo.tv It would be profit for all of us.
Have a look at the MediaInfo page for those files (press <info> then <enter> and scroll down. You'll see that they have the "Frame Rate" field and the "Original Frame Rate" field populated, but one is 25fps and one is 23.976fps so the file has been muxed incorrectly. The Zidoo is using the (stream header) "Original Frame Rate" field to set the output frame rate in preference to the (calculated) "Frame Rate" which is expected behaviour. I have a couple 4K 25fps files that are correctly tagged and they play out at 25fps on the Zidoo To add a bit more tedious insight.... Say the duration given in the MKV container header is 400000000 nanoseconds per frame, this = 1/0.04 fps = 25 fps and that is what mediaInfo reports as "Frame Rate" - it calculates it. The stream itself (not the container) has a frame rate field available and this is what mediaInfo sees as "Original Frame Rate". It is not always used, but if it is, it's not unreasonable to assume it has been entered correctly! In the case above, that field should be tagged as 25 fps. Unfortunately that isn't the case with these files and since the information in the file is incorrect, the Zidoo plays it at the wrong frame rate.
Thanks for the reply and the explanation. I check the MKV files, and you are right... the Original Frame Rate is entered wrong. I will try to remux from the UHD Disc to correct this and check the MediaInfo Page to see if the Original Frame Rate field is set correctly. It is peculiar that Zidoo so far is the only media streamer that uses this alternate field. On a different note before I posted on this question I looked for your Updated Tables on Frames Rates and Playback/Banding problems for various Media Streamers, but could not find the latest table with Zidoo Z9S data. Again, thanks for your help.
I'm not sure why, but some players seem to look at the frame duration posted in nanoseconds in the MKV header and some look at the frame rate in the stream info but it's only an issue if both numbers give different frame rates. I haven't updated the player info for a while - I'll make sure I get info from the latest Z9S firmware in there and post it back here for you.
