Beta version v1.0.86 for Z9X Pro/Z20 Pro/Z2000 Pro/Z2600/UHD5000 release

No. AFAIK you just need to have Tidal mobile app on your phone in the same network as UHD5000 is.

 

Speaking of mkvtoolkit I used it to convert an AVI of "Hendrix - Band of Gypsys" to MKV but it still won't play in my z9x. I can play the file on my PC although it stutters. Is it because the framerate is 25fps and I've got the zidoo set to 23fps?

 

No, it's possibly the codec. AVI and MKV are just different containers, but both hold the same video and audio stream.

 

ok thanks. The codec would be like, for example, VC1? It used to play in Plex. I don't really watch it anymore but occasionally I need to watch the actual video of him playing "Machine Gun" at the Fillmore East on NYE.

 

Yes, exactly. VC1 should be ok though.

 

it doesnt convert video..mkvtoolnix

 

I tried it with an avi file. It transcoded the audio but not the video, using m2ts. Any idea what I'm doing wrong?

 

Never heard of this app, I will give it a shot, thanks

 

Probably it's due to so called Packed Bitstream inside AVI. Z9X Pro just can't show video of such AVIs.
You can use "MPEG4 Modifier" to save AVI in Unpack format. It takes seconds... its's not re-encoding.

Then you can later use Mkvtoolnix to convert it into MKV.

 

OK, I'll give it a shot, but then I really gotta get going! ;-)
EDIT: sunflower, I forgot I deleted the .avi Grrrrr......
EDIT 2: I actually found an MKV and an MP4 on a site called archive.org. The quality isn't the best but neither was the file I had before, plus the live footage from the Fillmore is low quality videotape anyway. Thanks for all the suggestions, though!

 

As I stated before, all of these files played fine on the last general release. They've been problematic on all of the subsequent beta versions. I know I am not the only person to experience this problem. It's also not a problem I am willing to live with, and sadly the devs won't even acknowledge the issue. I purchased an Ugoos AM6B+ and couldn't be happier to move away from this unsupported mess of a product.

 

The update worked fine on my z20 Pro. I didn't notice any slow down on network transfer speed. I think I noticed a speedier UI. The only problem are the trailers not playing.
Anyone found a fix for the broken trailers?

 

download them locally

 

Just adding to this thread for numbers sake. Also having issue with transfer speeds on new firmware. Many files fail to stream now without choosing lower bitrates or smaller audio tracks. I am just within my return window so unfortunately I think I will have to return it for now and try another device.

 

W

What you are reporting has nothing to do with this firmware. Some people have reported slower "transfer" speeds ....which refer to the speed of files being uploaded to attached or internal hdds of the Zidoo. What you are reporting is most likely issues with your local network performance or sources.

 

good to know. just read a couple playback issues briefly and thought they were related. can confirm that i have not been able to identify any bottlenecks from source to player.

there is very little infrastructure between server and player. file transfer speeds out to other devices via smb are miles faster than needed for direct streams of the largest media files i have.

most recent failure was my godzilla minus one rip. Whenever TrueHD 7.1 selected, no luck.

I guess I will be able to confirm this tomorrow as I have a new player on the way.

 

Yeah, just to echo what @Deano86 says above, if your network is sound you should have no issue whatsoever with any commercial files - this player can stream 400mbps no problem.

Notwithstanding the above, audio codecs should certainly have no bearing at all.

 

I had the same problem with Godzilla minus one... While the other TrueHD 7.1 content works ok.
So I had to strip out the audio stream and automatically convert 7.1 to 5.1 via Pazera Free Avi to MP4 Convereter (or the MKV to MP4 Converter) that both can be used also just for audio conversion... Which cen be later just merged back into video via Mkvtoolnix.

 

I had no problem playing back Godzilla - One, just to cover the other side of the coin.

 

For the VC-1 problem, I found a solution that works every time for me: I play the movie from beginning.

Some VC-1 videos plays well when resumed some of the time (not always) (Ex: Star Trek TOS episodes from 1080p blu-ray) and some never play well when resumed (Ex: Austin Powers 1 1080p blu-ray). But so far they all play perfectly if I play them from the beginning even if I scan in the file afterwards. I didn't listen to these files for a long time yet to know if the stutter happen again after a while.

It seems maybe it has to do with how the Zidoo player syncs with the file when it needs to start the playback in the middle of it instead of at the beginning. @Markswift2003, maybe a hint to give to the Zidoo devs?

Can somebody else with the problem try to play your files from the beginning to see if it plays back perfectly every time?