v1.2.01, v1.2.01_G Beta version for Z9X 8K/Z30 PRO/Z3000 PRO/UHD8000

Anyhow Zidoo AML's is not designed to roll back fw for the time being.

 

Still have VC-1 issues with this latest firmware. A lot of micro-stutters or kind of "micro-frame-skipping" with a VC-1 MKV with these file parameters:

Video
ID : 1
ID in the original source medium : 4113 (0x1011)
Format : VC-1
Format profile : Advanced@L3
Codec ID : V_MS/VFW/FOURCC / WVC1
Codec ID/Hint : Microsoft
Duration : 2 h 3 min
Bit rate : 22.0 Mb/s
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 23.976 (24000/1001) FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Compression mode : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.442
Stream size : 19.0 GiB (93%)
Default : Yes
Forced : No
Original source medium : Blu-ray

Audio
ID : 2
ID in the original source medium : 4352 (0x1100)
Format : DTS XLL
Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
Commercial name : DTS-HD Master Audio
Codec ID : A_DTS
Duration : 2 h 3 min
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 1 584 kb/s
Channel(s) : 3 channels
Channel layout : C L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 93.750 FPS (512 SPF)
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossless
Stream size : 1.37 GiB (7%)
Language : French
Default : Yes
Forced : No
Original source medium : Blu-ray

 

Right, as I said earlier, Zidoo can NOT be rolled back, but it was being said it was due to the chipset. It is NOT due to the chipset. It is a choice by the developers at Zidoo.

 

I understand there are issues, but I use mine for hours daily and yes it loses sync about once every 4 hrs. Other than that, it is working fine for me.
I don't define that as "very unstable and unreliable". To me, that is a FW glitch and will be fixed. I have yet to own a media box that didn't have growing pains in the first year of introduction.
What are you seeing on yours that you qualify it as "very unstable"?

 

I think that given the problem of the screenshots, you have to put entardar format

 

The instability and unreliability comes from the fact that one day file playback is smooth and has no stuttering or lip-syncing issues and this satisfies my viewing experience. Then the next day I watch a movie and the fluency issues come back, stuttering, or there are resyncs, and that's frustrating. I never know what to expect when I turn on the Zidoo to watch a movie: will the playback be smooth and fully satisfying? Or will I find myself facing the same problems?

 

Hi,

Seems to be a remux.

Not sure if it works, but just to test, because I have solved micro-stutter issues a few times, this way :

Extract the streams from your mkv, and then re-encapsulate them in mkv.

You can use GMKVExtractGUI + MKVToolNix, to do it.

And test the playback again to see if it changes anything (?)

 

I completely agree with your assessment. I’ve had the same experience with my Z3000 since day one—intermittent micro stuttering during random movies. At first, it was frustrating, but over time, the issue seemed to resolve itself. However, the firmware release right before the Christmas holidays brought those frustrations back, and it felt like the fun was taken away.
When I walk into my home theater, I just want to play a movie and enjoy it from start to finish without constantly having to adjust player settings or checking back in the forum for repeat quirks. It really takes away from the experience. A reliable, consistent setup is so important for this hobby.

 

You're right but each user talk about his own experience and mine is very good, really!! Since last fw 1.2.01 I've got no lipsync, nor stutters and important nuisance other than one simple freezes at the end of a playback. Actually a minor issue out of whole weeks of use!!

 

My experiance has been the opposite on my Z3000Pro, DTS Lip Sync issues persist, micro stutters here and there and playing video with lossy audio I sometimes loose audio if I skip forward or back. The fix is to pause\restart or rewind back. This does not happen on lossless audio.

I've had an RMA approved for my box last week due to the above issues and will probably be sending the player back this weekend, have not decided yet, got another week left on the return window, but most likely it will be going back, thinking to skip this iteration altogether and wait for the next version of the AML chip. If Zidoo stick to the usual refresh window then the next version will be out late summer and hopefully by then lessons will have been learnt. Too many issues for my liking at the moment!

 

Then it's really frustrating!!
We may expect a new fw by end Feb'25, I guess!!

Edit: BTW, did you check the system status without Philips Hue 8K SyncBox in the playback chain?
One of my sets including Z9X 8K > Denon X6700 > LG-OLEDC3 got almost zero issues.

 

I havent actually checked removing the hue sync box for the Z3000Pro, but the Z1000Pro and Apple TV works fine with it - no lip sync or any other issues with them. Will actually try this this weekend and see if it makes any difference!

 

I would of thrown that box straight out another hdmi box to possible cause issues in the chain system …..
Plus have you updated firmware recently on it ?
There has been one recently so another item for a firmware update

Using a LG G4 & Yamaha Receiver so far no issues or blank screen or Audio carrying on or
Maybe a micro stutter on Audio if ……?
But nothing to spoil a movie or tv series so far.

 

I have the FancyLED 2.1 synch box attached
ie
Zidoo Z30 8K > Denon 3800> Panasonic L1500 OLED and i have none of the synch issues ,none of the stutter issues and none of the Audio out of synch .I did have the Pause/Continue issue ,but thats fixed with this 1-2-01 f/w

 

Ran into a new problem I haven't experienced before.

1. When I start this video from the beginning, the video plays but audio does not. The audio plays if I fast forward. This happens every time with this video.
2. After the audio plays, if I pause, or fast forward, or rewind, the audio sometimes no longer plays. I can make the audio resume by pausing or seek forward or backwards. This is inconsistent, but happens a lot, like every other time I time seek or pause.

Video file is here:
https://easyupload.io/l72s1a

Code:

General
Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 4
File size                                : 4.82 GiB
Duration                                 : 42 min 45 s
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 16.1 Mb/s
Frame rate                               : 23.976 FPS
Encoded date                             : 2021-07-22 11:22:03 UTC
Writing application                      : mkvmerge v59.0.0 ('Shining Star') 64-bit
Writing library                          : libebml v1.4.2 + libmatroska v1.6.4 / Lavf58.45.100

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L4.1
Format settings                          : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames        : 4 frames
Format settings, Slice count             : 4 slices per frame
Codec ID                                 : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                                 : 42 min 45 s
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 14.5 Mb/s
Maximum bit rate                         : 40.0 Mb/s
Width                                    : 1 920 pixels
Height                                   : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 23.976 (24000/1001) FPS
Standard                                 : Component
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.292
Stream size                              : 4.34 GiB (90%)
Writing library                          : x264 core 155
Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=4 / deblock=1:-3:-3 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=32 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=1 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=0 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=34 / lookahead_threads=5 / sliced_threads=0 / slices=4 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / minigop=1 / stitchable=1 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=9 / b_pyramid=0 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=1 / weightp=0 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=1 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=60 / rc=crf / mbtree=0 / crf=19.5 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=3 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=40000 / vbv_bufsize=40000 / crf_max=51.0 / nal_hrd=vbr / filler=0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30 / aq=3:0.80
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No
Color range                              : Limited
Color primaries                          : BT.709
Transfer characteristics                 : BT.709
Matrix coefficients                      : BT.709

Audio
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : E-AC-3
Format/Info                              : Enhanced AC-3
Commercial name                          : Dolby Digital Plus
Codec ID                                 : A_EAC3
Duration                                 : 42 min 45 s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 1 536 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 6 channels
Channel layout                           : L R C LFE Ls Rs
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 62.500 FPS (768 SPF)
Bit depth                                : 24 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 470 MiB (10%)
Title                                    : Surround 5.1
Writing library                          : Lavc58.91.100 eac3
Language                                 : English
Service kind                             : Complete Main
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No
Dialog Normalization                     : -31 dB
dialnorm_Average                         : -31 dB
dialnorm_Minimum                         : -31 dB
dialnorm_Maximum                         : -31 dB

 

This is a common issue that has been around for a few firmware's. It only happens with lossy audio such as DD5.1 - not with lossless such as DTS-HD Master Audio.

 

Zidoo has previously maintained that the inability to roll back was inherent to the chip. My point is that this is NOT so. It is a choice by the Zidoo engineers.

 

新年快乐，马克！好好享受和家人在一起的时光吧。
Happy New Year, @Markswift2003 ! Enjoy your time with your family.

 

On Realtek models rollback was purposely disabled due to hardware differences in newer batches which had the possibility of bricking the device - there was a secret way of doing it and I don’t think any devices ever bricked but Zidoo decided to take the safer option.

On AML devices it’s my understanding that differential firmware was chosen because of lower security (to protect IPR) than on Realtek and this precludes rollback which requires a full image and then introduces security concerns.

Zidoo have been burned before with third parties stealing their code (naming no names but it rhymes with appity and it’s extremely easy to prove by decompiling firmware - they were so lazy they actually left Zidoo COMMENTS in their code!!).

 

Good reason certainly!!