Z9X Pro Stuttering (Solved)

I remembered that, at some point, mkvtoolnix started putting the bit depth metadata on TrueHD tracks (usually 24-bit on TrueHD Atmos tracks) but before it didn't put it. In PotPlayer on Windows for example, the bit depth was shown as 0-bit and the bit depth was missing from mediainfo on the file made by an older version of mkvtoolnix.

I tried remaking Avatar Way of Water with mkvtoolnix 25.0 and 52.0, as some of my files not stuttering much or at all are with 52.0. I did see that the metadata for the bit depth was missing and 0-bit was shown in PotPlayer with the new file.

The result is that the playback still stutters. So it doesn't seem to be related to the bit depth metadata being present or not in the MKV file.

I also observed the bitrate of the TrueHD audio track on some files to see if the stuttering parts are when the bitrate goes higher (PotPlayer shows it as a very variable bitrate) and it's not conclusive. In an action scene in another movie that was not stuttering, the bitrate is pretty high compared to the stuttering parts of Avatar. I don't know if we can say for sure that the bitrate of the TrueHD audio track is not the culprit but at first glance it doesn't look like it.

 

I fully agreed with this comment, only some TrueHD contents are causing stuttering. How to resolve it is the work of devs.

 

Solved

Official release next week.

Sticky removed.

 

Great, it's an important announcement!!

 

Where will I find the fix next week? Thanks

 

In the download site shown at the first post of this forum section.

 

OMG nice news! But I got an Z9X for no reason

I’m curious, did they say what was the problem?

 

Damn.

Yeah, TrueHD

 

Fantastic news! Thanks again for pushing them to fix it

 

Just updated to 1.0.65, still can't play Atmos-files (4K, DV, mkv) without stuttering when frame matching is enabled. The "solution" is to disable frame matching and watch the movie in 60Hz.

Is this the same problem as mentioned above that is going to be solved next week?

My setup is a Z9X Pro connected to a Onkyo TX-NR676E receiver and then a Sony X900h LED TV

 

Did you actually see it working on a test unit with their fix firmware?

Just trying to not get my hopes up and then be disappointed.

 

I have it running here.

 

Yes.

 

Awesome!

 

Turns out the store where I bought the old Z9X called me saying they don't have it in stock and they can't get it anymore from the supplier (of course). So we cancelled my order for a refund.

Sometimes the universe unfolds as it should

 

Mark, how exactly is the problem fixed and does this solution has any drawbacks in terms of picture or sound quality?

 

Happy Xmas

 

Not sure what you mean by how is it fixed. It doesn't stutter with THD content any more.

No drawbacks at all.

 

Can confirm 1.0.70 fixed the stutter for me with the Martian. Seems like they removed some kind overhead as well. Had to add AV delay previously for lip sync, after updating had to remove the delay for it to sync properly.

 

V1.0.70 fixed it . Thanks heaps