Panasonic TX-P42GW20 Streaming Problem

[D12turb3d]

Hello,

first excuse my bad english, I´ll try the best i can. :)

I`ve got a licensed Mezzmo, Version 2.1.9.0 and I love this Software, it fullfills all my needs.
But unfortunately i`ve got an problem with Streaming FullHD Movies to my TV.

I`ve got the following Components:
Server: AMD Athlon II X4 635, 4GB Ram, Win 7 x64
Network: 1GBit/s, TV 100MBit/s
TV: Panasonic TX-P42GW20

Ok, now the Problem:
I´ve got a lot of FullHD Movies on my HDD, mostly .mkv-Files. If I want to stream this files via Mezzmo to my TV it will begin to play for ca. 30sec, then it stops.
If i play this File again, it will play longer than the time before, but also stops after a while.
This problem only exist at FullHD Movies, all other files Mezzmo plays without problems.

I can`t attach my logfiles, because its zipped 150kb. I will send them via E-Mail to support. I hope you can help me solving my problem.

Thanks in advance
Sebastian

[RMerlin]

Can you post the codec information from a file that has that issue? In Mezzmo, right-click on the video file, and there is an option to obtain the ffmpeg information for that video.

Also, can you tell if that file is being transcoded, or streamed as-is? Simplest way to tell is to see if there's an increase in CPU usage when you start streaming the file.

If it's being transcoded, it's possible that you aren't transcoding it fast enough. My recommendation would be to replace the ffmpeg.exe file Mezzmo installs with one from this site (http://ffmpeg.arrozcru.org/autobuilds/), as these versions are able to take advantage of multicore when transcoding. Just make a backup of the existing ffmpeg.exe file first in case you want to revert back to the version Mezzmo provides.

[D12turb3d]

Hello RMerlin,

thanks for your reply.
First, here is the ffmpeg Information of the File (this is not the only FullHD File, that doesn`t work):


FFmpeg version SVN-r24894, Copyright (c) 2000-2010 the FFmpeg developers
built on Aug 24 2010 15:03:07 with gcc 4.4.0
configuration: --enable-static --disable-shared --enable-memalign-hack --enable-libmp3lame --extra-cflags=-I/c/msys/local/include --extra-ldflags=-L/c/msys/local/lib --enable-zlib --enable-w32threads --extra-cflags=-fno-common --enable-gpl --enable-libx264 --disable-ffplay --disable-ffprobe --disable-ffserver --enable-runtime-cpudetect --extra-cflags=-U__STRICT_ANSI__
libavutil 50.24. 0 / 50.24. 0
libavcore 0. 6. 0 / 0. 6. 0
libavcodec 52.86. 1 / 52.86. 1
libavformat 52.78. 3 / 52.78. 3
libavdevice 52. 2. 1 / 52. 2. 1
libavfilter 1.37. 0 / 1.37. 0
libswscale 0.11. 0 / 0.11. 0
[matroska,webm @ 0182cae0] Estimating duration from bitrate, this may be inaccurate
Input #0, matroska,webm, from 'H:\Pilots Eye\PilotsEye tv - Malediven Blu-ray 1080i Divx Plus HD GER LPCM 2.0-M866.mkv':
Duration: 00:50:15.84, start: 0.000000, bitrate: N/A
Stream #0.0: Video: h264, yuvj420p, 1920x1080, PAR 1:1 DAR 16:9, 25 fps, 25 tbr, 1k tbn, 50 tbc
Stream #0.1(ger): Audio: pcm_s16le, 48000 Hz, 2 channels, s16, 1536 kb/s
At least one output file must be specified


I checked, if the file is being transcoded or streamed as-it-is. Checked the CPU-usage - it seames if it is streamed as it-is.
Loading the File CPU-usage raised, but playing it it is on one level.

I checked your link for replacing ffmpeg.exe, but it isn`t (temporary?) available for x64 System... :(

Greets
Sebastian

[RMerlin]

Hi Sebastian,

ffmpeg: the 32-bit version runs fine under 64-bit Windows, it will just lack a few minor optimizations. However it it still much faster at transcoding files since it's multithreaded and able to use all CPU cores at once. Sadly, your problem doesn't seem to be caused by slow transcoding.

Something's odd with your file, as it doesn't mention what bitrate the video stream is. Can you see what bitrate is reported by Mediainfo? You can find it at http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net/en . I'd be surprised that it would be a bitrate issue when you're over 100 Mbits Ethernet, but just to be sure - I'd like to rule it out before the good Conceiva folks can get back to you after the weekend.

[D12turb3d]

Hi RMerlin,

also it doesn`t seems to be a transcoding problem, i replaced the ffmpeg.exe with the one you suggest. But the Problem is exact the same, no changes.

Here is the MediaInfo from the File:


General
Complete name : H:\Pilots Eye\PilotsEye tv - Malediven Blu-ray 1080i Divx Plus HD GER LPCM 2.0-M866.mkv
Format : Matroska
File size : 3.14 GiB
Duration : 50mn 15s
Overall bit rate : 8 936 Kbps
Encoded date : UTC 2009-04-13 07:50:41
Writing application : mkvmerge v2.4.2 ('Oh My God') built on Jan 18 2009 17:30:28
Writing library : libebml v0.7.7 + libmatroska v0.8.1

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.0
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 3 frames
Muxing mode : Container profile=Unknown@0.4
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 50mn 15s
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 25.000 fps
Standard : PAL
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Color primaries : BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4, SMPTE RP177
Transfer characteristics : BT.709-5, BT.1361
Matrix coefficients : BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4 709, SMPTE RP177

Audio
ID : 2
Format : PCM
Codec ID : A_PCM/INT/LIT
Duration : 50mn 15s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Language : German


Sebastian

[RMerlin]

I managed to find the user manual for your TV. According to it, the TV doesn't support playing anything other than MPEG-TS when videos are streamed over the network. Here is the list of support streamed formats (in French - I couldn't find any English version of the manual):



■Format de données applicable
Photo : JPEG (sous-échantillonnage 4:4:4, 4:2:2 ou 4:2:0)
Résolution d’image - 8 × 8 à 30 719 × 17 279 pixels
●MOTION JPEG et Progressive JPEG ne sont pas pris en charge.
Video : MPEG-2 (format PS et format TS)


The list of formats supported when using a USB disk is much more complete:



Formats de données pour les cartes SD / les cartes mémoire flash USB
●Photos : L es photos enregistrées avec des appareils photo numériques compatibles avec les fichiers JPEG
des normes DCF∗ et EXIF
Format de données - Baseline JPEG (sous-échantillonnage 4:4:4, 4:2:2 ou 4:2:0)
Résolution d’image - 8 × 8 à 30 719 × 17 279 pixels
●Vidéos : L es fichiers compatibles avec les normes SD-Video Standard Ver. 1,2 [MPEG-2 (format PS)] et
AVCHD avec un format audio MPEG-1/Layer-2 ou Dolby Digital
(Les données modifiées avec un ordinateur peuvent ne pas être affichées correctement.)
DivX p. 87
●Musique : Format de données - MP3 et AAC (Les fichiers protégés contre la copie ne peuvent pas être lus.)


Reference: http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/Support/Downloads/220239/index.html#anker_220239

The profile will need to transcode your video files. Unfortunately, I'm no expert at profile tweaking, so you will have to wait for Conceiva to get back to you on this on Monday. But the good news seems to be that it shouldn't be a problem to get your videos streaming. :)

[D12turb3d]

Hello RMerlin,

i checked my Manual too. You`re right, for streaming it accepts only MPEG-2 (TS and PS). But something I don`t understand...

In Mezzmo I choosed the Profile for Panasonic Viera TV`s.
This Profile should regard that my TV only can play this type of mediafiles and because of this it should transcode other Files. Thats what a Media Server like Mezzmo is for?! :confused: -It`s for (among other things) transcoding Files, that my TV can`t play?!
So iàm wondering, why it doesn`t transcode this File? :confused:

I also tried to watch this Movie from USB-Stick, but the TV doesn`t recognize the file.

So I think i have to wait for Conceiva Support...

Anyway, thanks for your effort!
Greets
Sebastian

[RMerlin]

This Profile should regard that my TV only can play this type of mediafiles and because of this it should transcode other Files. Thats what a Media Server like Mezzmo is for?! :confused: -It`s for (among other things) transcoding Files, that my TV can`t play?!
So iàm wondering, why it doesn`t transcode this File? :confused:

I also tried to watch this Movie from USB-Stick, but the TV doesn`t recognize the file.


Mezzmo can determine what to stream and what to transcode based on the device profile that you use. It's possible that some Panasonic TVs are able to stream different formats, while your model might be limited to mpegts (just a guess here).

All it should take is a modified version of the device profile file for Mezzmo to start transcoding those files into mpegts - something Conceiva should be able to provide.

[Paul]

We have your log files and will check them out shortly. We'll be in touch with a new device profile to test soon. Thanks.

[rimelis]

I have stucked on the equaly same situation with the Panasonic TX-P50V20E. The high def. movies (1080p) aborts randomly after several seconds or minutes.
I have used the built-in "Panasonic Vierra" profile. My TV is attached to the wired 100mbit ethernet. The computer has Intel Quad Q6600, RAM 4GB so it is powerfull enough for transcoding process.
BTW, the TV set recognizes these 1080p movies as the MPEG2-PS format items. This shows that transcoding should be perforfmed here.

I have send the error logs and problem description to support email.

My mezzmo is still on evaluation. I am going to buy this nice tool if this problem would be fixed.

[Paul]

If the files are being transcoded as you think, then the problem will likely be that Mezzmo is transcoding the file but it is not fast enough to keep delivering transcoded data to your TV. When the TV does not get enough data, then it may abort playing the file. To confirm this, try playing the file. When it stops playing on your TV, wait a few minutes and try playing it again. Whilst waiting don't play any other file - just wait. After 5 minutes, play the file again and if it plays longer this time, then it confirms that transcoding is not fast enough to deliver your file to the TV.

Once Mezzmo has finished transcoding the whole file, the next time you play it, it will not be transcoded again - Mezzmo will deliver the already-transcoded file, so it should play in full and smoothly.

Transcoding is very CPU and memory intensive, so make sure your computer has as much CPU and memory available as possible when running Mezzmo. Close other applications if you can. Use Task Manager on your computer to check available CPU and memory. Also, some formats take longer to transcode than others. As you would expect, transcoding a full length HD movie can take many minutes.

[TheArmCommander]

Hey, It appears I am having the exact identical problem with exactly the same TV.

It would appear the file is not being transcoded fast enough ... which is impossible in my particular case because the streaming server the mezzmo runs on is Intel i7 3,6 Ghz quadcore CPU, Tripple channel 6GB of RAM. I need to perform some more testing on this though ... but it would seem that for whatever reason only 1 core of the CPU is used.

Oh and here is a link to my previous more detailed topic on this precise issue: http://forum.conceiva.com/showthread.php/418-Streaming-to-Panasonic-VIERA-TX-P42V10E.

[RMerlin]

It would appear the file is not being transcoded fast enough ... which is impossible in my particular case because the streaming server the mezzmo runs on is Intel i7 3,6 Ghz quadcore CPU, Tripple channel 6GB of RAM. I need to perform some more testing on this though ... but it would seem that for whatever reason only 1 core of the CPU is used.

The ffmpeg version Conceiva supplies with Mezzmo isn't multithreaded. Make a backup of the ffmpeg.exe executable in the Mezzmo install folder, and replace it with a version from this site:

http://ffmpeg.arrozcru.org/autobuilds/

These are able to use all 8 threads on my i7 860 when transcoding.

Note that the 32-bit version will work fine under a 64-bit OS.