[Q] Watching BBC content - Galaxy Tab S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

At the weekend I was trying to watch the coverage of The Masters on my Tan S 8.4 with little success. What I saw was that the streamed video would load and audio would play but the screen was black. If I touched the screen, the video would show for 3 or 4 seconds and then go black again. I tried disabling HW overlays as I've seen that recommended as helping with video problems on earlier versions of the Cyanogen KitKat version but that made no difference. I also tried a couple of different builds - earlier nightly builds and the latest build from Saturday, again to no avail.
I use RocketPlayer for non-streamed video and it works fine so this seems to be limited to the BBC content, either streaming direct or through iPlayer.
Anyone got any suggestions?

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[Q] YouTube videos freezing?

I just got my Note 10.1 2014 (LTE) and tried to test a bit. So, new Galaxy with Nova launcher.
I have found YouTube videos don't play smoothly. I see freezing screen (not extreme, but just not smooth).
I did also try Vimeo app and I am having the same issue.
Do your YouTube(HD) videos play smooth and is there anything I can do about to make them play smooth?
I dont have problems with those apps maybe try to enable "force gpu rendering" in developer options. Just as an idea even if I think this wont have a big effect
Sent by my Note 10.1 2014
It does not help. My YT videos are still freezing
An other guess after a bit of reading : disable hardware overlays in developer options. Seems to fix the problem for a few users
Sent by my Note 10.1 2014
I experience the same as you. But not as often . Sometimes the app itself freezes and sometimes it says connection lost. I have to wait a while or close and restart the app..
I have a problem with youtube video not streaming smoothly, every 5 seconds or so it stops to buffer, does anyone know how to fix this?
YouTube videos are pretty much unwatchable since I bought my tablet
Sent from my SM-P601 using Tapatalk
I use tubemate... Not only is watching good but I have the option to download the video too...
I have the same problem with youtube app. Video stops every five seconds...
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk
This is going to sound weird, but try signing into YouTube.
I had the same issue with video playback "network errors" ... after I signed in? Poof ....
My youtube app was useless since it would take like a minute to load and then keep freezing so I decided to change my Internet connection (fortunately at I have two different internet connections in my house) anyways the first had more than enough bandwith to play youtube videos but it just didn't want to so I changed to my other wifi connection and now youtube app works smoothly.
Try a different connection at a friends house or if you have two try the other and it should work, still don't know why youtube didn't work on the first one - could be router and Note don't like each other but honestly I have no idea.

[Q] Buffering Issue

Got the Amazon fire TV one week back and its not rooted, but Installed XBMC.
When I try to watch a video on you tube after 5 to 10 minutes, it starts buffering and the video doesnt play afterwards, I have to go back and open it againa, and forward it to the original place and watch it, again after 5 minutes samethign happens..
Same with XBMC, after 5 minutes video buffers, but after couple of minutes if click play button video resumes, but after couple of minutes buffering starts...
I watch youtube on my laptop or chromecast, it works perfectly , so i dont think there is any problem with wifi. Also I have download speeds of 20MBPS +
Is it because of faulty device or anythign else. Yestereday i cleared youtube apps data, still the problem continues.. Please suggest me how can I resolve it??
TIA
I can't help but blame and jab qualcomm with a stick when it comes to Fire TV problems.
Especially Fire TV is stuck with older v5x instead of v66.
I have my own video issues where it fails entirely.
After long enough,videos completely refuse to work (error ocurred) on YouTube and many others until I restart with ctrl+alt+delete hotkeys.
I haven't seen it happen in quite a while though since modding several minor aspects with various performance tweaks.
I talked to staples, they are sending me a new device, but looking at the problems that people have, the new device may not solve the problem... Lets see..

FTV (gen1) and Kodi 15.1 stutters ???

So I had Kodi 14.something on all my fireTVs with a shared MySQL on my net. Memory is hazy but I think it was stock Kodi not SPMC, but I wouldnt bet my life on it.
I dont remember any stuttering, and even tested / watched 1080 as working ok.. I am not a super highbite rate full size BluRay type consumer and I could be wrong but I just remember it working 99% of the time for the files I threw at it. Enough that I was happy as a media center in all rooms.
Just because I thought I maybe was missing out, I upgraded to 15.1.. Tested Kodi was running on one box OK and as the MySQL all has to match, I updated all my boxes. They are all hard wired BTW. They seemed OK and first few things I watched I noticed no issues.
Just noticed stuttering playback on a series.. Assumed it was that series as high bitrate.. Now soon after and seeing stuttering on another series.. Looking at my files they are 'only' 720p files (MKV).. I am sure I was playing 720 fine before the update. Other far higher bitrate MP4s seem to play just fine.
Is 15.1 somehow worse on the fireTV than 14.x ??
Is 15.1 Kodi not HW accelerating and maybe I had SPMC ??
Is 15.1 Kodi on the FTV worse with MKV's ??
Are others using 15.1 and playing 1080 content smooth ??
Just looking for some input before I start the process of testing builds or rolling back. Its a hassle to do all the boxes and its a live system in the house.
Thanks.
I was just told that this may be related to an amazon update in August ??
Thats possible.. I was travelling from July to Sept and I did see amazon did some update but didnt notice stuttering then..
My boxes were fine before.. If amazon have made them useless (or at least poor) for kodi somehow I will be pissed as I have them in each room.
I'm also seeing that very symptoms on my FireTV stick, where high bitrate 1080p movies, even 50gb blu-rays play smooth and fine on Kodi 14.2, I'm seeing micro-stutters so to speak even when playing a 720p video on 15+ builds.
I believe it might have something to do with hw acceleration options, like stagefright, as I've come across quite a few threads about the same issue mainly across SD/HD videos in the latest versions.
So, yes, you are not alone and it's safe to say not related to your firmware version, I've been forth and back btw FireOS 4 and 5, yet the problem persists.
Well thats at least good news in that its kodi related and potentially fixable or I can find a build that works.. Rather than FTV firmware build which wouldnt be.
I will have to divert time to test HW acceleration, SPMC builds, and maybe roll back my network to 14 (PITA)..
I wouldnt call these micro stutters really tho.. Its not like 24hz v 50hz pans not being silky smooth.. Its like processor 100% or even network issues.. Its pretty large. Borderline not worth watching.
It is the 720p content causing micro stutters here, the rest is causing a much bigger issue as even stopping for few seconds as if it was buffering, but actually its not. The menus and the interface looks sluggish and yeah it cant be a panning issue as my Ftvstick runs at 24Hz all the time.
Anyway, try and play with some options and report back if you find something, I only found that if you force close all apps and create more free memory, it runs a tad better, not still smooth as 14.2 though.
OK I just went back to 14.2 via a restore, disabled my MYSQL and tested via file playback.. And its WAY better !!!
It does still stutter, but only a small amount.. In the same places where it unwatchable in 15.2.
VLC on my desktop plays it fine.. Maybe a single dropped frame where Kodi is dropping loads..
Actually its not dropped frame.. I found a wired keyboard and with the codecinfo its 'skipped' frames ?!?! I also think it had higher CPU useage in 15.2
So order of playback quality
PC desktop with via VLC to verify file.. Fine, maybe a skipped frame or two but audio all stays in sync.
14.2.. Some slight skips.. But catches up fast..
15.1.. Skipping.. stuttering.. Audio gets out of sync.
15.2 the worst !! awful.. As above but just that bit more.
In each setup I tested HW accl on / off / each option on or off.. It looks subjectively a tiny bit better with the HW acceleration turned off or with mediacodec one off.. I think its skipping less.. But its hard to be sure as its subjective and it seems like its skipping differently different playbacks.. Eg what started me on this was 15.1 was unwatchable.. I have now gone through 3 different kodi versions.. All options on and off.. And my final playback (back on 15.1 HW acl 'reset' so back on and stock) and its bad but ?? was it worse ??
All I know is its skipping frames now.. And more than on 14.2
I cant get SPMC on there for some reason.. I get an error from adbfire
Phat - I'm noticing the same on Kodi 15.1 and 15.2 as well. I'm going to setup external media player to play videos to see if it makes any difference - Kodi front end and MX Player.
I just gave the Kodi 16.0 a3 "a try". No issues whatsoever apart from a small delay when exiting the full screen mode, no stutters, no lag, runs just as beautiful as 14.2 does, but that's only the video part, the rest is buggy as buggery and force closes from time to time. I believe it is best to stuck with 14.2 for the moment and wait for a stable version of 16.0 as 15.x versions seem hopeless to me.
Also try clearing your memory or start Kodi from a fresh restart before you try next time, it does help.
I'm going to suggest an old fix to see if it helps. Have you tried disabling MediaCodec video acceleration?
OK I got to the bottom of this last night.. To a solution I am 'happy' enough with..
I have found it is 2 related errors giving me the same symptoms..
1) the media files I was testing with primarily.. Have errors.. VLC on my desktop handles those errors better.
2) the mediacodec HW acceleration is buggering it up.
Because my testing was on files with errors.. I wasnt seeing it work properly when disabling media codec and other media I checked I had not checked with that specific config.
Once I realized the above.. Disabled mediacodec and now 99% of what I played last night played as good as 14.2 did.. The exception of course being the damn series I was trying to watch and test with !! That due to its encode errors, still looks poor, but it looks poor with other players also.. VLC handles it better, but its the medias problem. I also 'think' 14.2 handled it better, eg the error handling ability may have had a downgrade in 14 -> 15 on the FireTV but I am now relieved to find a config thats working for most of everything.
Mediacodec definitely to blame but I havent pinned down why or rather in what cases.. One 'good' error free 1080p 5.1 rip I was checking with after the realization was simply a stop starty mess with mediacodec on and smooth acceptable playback when it was off.. Yet other 1080 rips were playing ok with it enabled ?!? Not I am not talking 24/25hz issues or more subtle videophile considerations. Simply the boxes play video to a level thats fine for my house network non projection HT setup.

All video freezes after Marshmallow update

Stock ROM, not rooted. Device worked fine before Marshmallow, now Netflix and MX Player both freeze video after approx 10 seconds of playback. Netflix customer support was no help but it really does seem to be something that Google broke with Marshmallow.
aiiee said:
Stock ROM, not rooted. Device worked fine before Marshmallow, now Netflix and MX Player both freeze video after approx 10 seconds of playback. Netflix customer support was no help but it really does seem to be something that Google broke with Marshmallow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OTA or fresh install? I did a fresh install and don't have any problems.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
aiiee said:
Stock ROM, not rooted. Device worked fine before Marshmallow, now Netflix and MX Player both freeze video after approx 10 seconds of playback. Netflix customer support was no help but it really does seem to be something that Google broke with Marshmallow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same issue with Netflix - audio streams fine but video stutters and then freezes after a few seconds. MX Player works perfectly for me though. Youtube also works fine, and I've streamed baseball games and highlights from the MLB AtBat app without issue.
I'm rooted and updated to Marshmallow using an OTA update file.
Other than the Netflix issue I find Marshmallow fantastic. Everything seems snappier and smoother. USB OTG mounting works flawlessly, even after uninstalling Stickmount. Battery drain during sleep is almost zero. I also no longer have resolution issues when outputting video using a SlimPort adapter - I used to need a ResolutionChanger app but no more.
My feeling is that the issue is with the Netflix app - it was updated for compatibility with Marshmallow but it is probably in need of further updates. Here's hoping.
mawells787 said:
OTA or fresh install? I did a fresh install and don't have any problems.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aha! Good to know. I did a no-wipe update using NRT. After trying to revert back to 5.1.1 using NRT no-wipe, I ended up doing a factory reset
I'll try to upgrade now and report back.
On my Nexus 7 the apps BBC and ESPN along with Netflix and Google Play Movies & TV are all show video issues. The video on BBC and ESPN will only show in the lowest resolution (144p), while on netflix the video stutters and stalls while audio keeps going. On Google Play movies & tv video lags but only while streaming, if I download a movie it plays fine.
I made a bug report on AOSP issue tracker #189772 I have a feel that the issue is apps not caching correctly since the update to Marshmallow.
IDK...otherwise I love Marshmallow...I miss viper.
Running
ROM: Bad Boyz Nexus 7 stock rooted v2
Kernel: Elementalx 5.0
aiiee said:
Aha! Good to know. I did a no-wipe update using NRT. After trying to revert back to 5.1.1 using NRT no-wipe, I ended up doing a factory reset
I'll try to upgrade now and report back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, Netflix is still freezing for me. However, other video services work fine.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
i did a clean install. directly after flashing the 6.0 factory image, and installing the netflix app on the fresh sytem, everything works fine. even after rooting it is still working. but as i left the N7 alone for some time and then started netflix it started lagging like hell. without having canged a thing...
you need to disable battery optimising for video apps, as soon as i did that videos worked as usual.
settings, battery, three dots(top right), battery optimisation, tap not optimised then all apps, select the video apps and select Don't Optimise.
I havent tried all apps but it work for me on google movies.
Disabling battery optimization did not help for me with Netflix, unfortunately.
Same issue. Netflix freezes with marshmallow update Nexus 7 2013. Sound will continue to play, but video stutters and freezes.
Turning off battery optimization does nothing.
Any other suggestions out there other than flashing back?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Free mobile app
There has been a recent update to Netflix (3.15.2), has this addressed the issue?
Sadly, the latest Netflix update has not resolved the issue for me. All other streaming apps have (so far) worked fine. This was after a clean flash, stock everything, and a factory reset after discovering the issue, just to make sure.
The new Netflix update didn't resolve this issue. Every other app is working as intended.
Netflix and Google Play Movies and TV still stutter and lag while espn and NBC News video will only show in the lowest resolution. MX plays fine when playing a video file on my nexus, idk about streaming. All my video issues come solely when streaming.
Same issue here. Nexus 7 on Marshmallow fresh install. Everything works but Netflix. Battery non-optimization didn't work
Just got a Netflix update and while the issue isn't entirely resolved the app stutters a lot less, to the point that I would deem Netflix to be at least marginally watchable.
It's still freezing after a couple of seconds with the new update. Archer on Netflix was running fine, but Dr Who is freezing.
Just to add to the count, Netflix borked on Marshmallow. Awful stuttering. Clean install i.e. deleted all caches etc. and started as though it was a new device.
Just got off a chat with support:
So, yes I confirmed and we are currently testing it. You should get it working once we are done
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Basically they are aware of the issue and are testing a fix.
I also have a video issue, but it is different. When I watch Youtube, many times the video will freeze while the audio continues to play. I've tried FC'ing the app, restarting, etc... but the video part of the playback keeps freezing. If I let the audio play eventually all playback will stop and it will tell me that it is buffering.
This does not happen on any other device on my network... just the Nexus 7. This has been happening since Android L, and even after I did a clean install of M. Any suggestions?
same here, the new update didn't solve the problem. but at least its good to hear that netflix is working on it.

Netflix/Amazon Prime - not playing in HD

anyone else had this problem please ?
I have noticed the odd frame drop recently - not sure whether related to a new copy protection the Tab S struggling with
I have tried the Netflix test video - and it maxes out at 540p
any ideas please ? I've tried rebooting etc - I've checked Tablet DRM and it states Widevine L1 - so all should be good
has our Tab S been related to SD only for some services ?
non-rooted
to update thread - I've solved the problem
not sure if it is because I flashed NZ firmware when 6.01 came out as came out earlier than UK - or because not running completely latest firmare
but I downloaded latest UK BTU - did clean flash - and now Netflix and Amazon Prime playing in HD
Is this the answer to getting Netflix to run on the 10.5? I keep getting crashes on Lineage ROMs. Video can't play after a few minutes. Videos start at a low resolution. Then it gets better before the video stops.
I also have this issue. I haven't use my tab s 8.4 since it's getting slow over the years, but around a year ago or so Netflix was in HD (pretty sure of it). However I just found today that i wasn't, stuck in SD and maxium playback resolution tells me its SD in playback specification. All video always look Blurry as well. Check with Netflix compatibility list, my T705 is mentioned as compatible.
It's not rooted, and still stock rom.

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