Mezzmo on Sony TV (XBR-65X900E) only playing in stereo

[cmassa]

I have a Sony XBR-65X900E which I have been using with Mezzmo. Mezzmo is using the Conceiva Mezzmo (Android) device profile and I have the Mezzmo app installed on the TV. When I try to play a movie from the TV's Mezzmo app which I know has multichannel sound such as DTS it only plays as 2 channel stereo from my receiver. If I use my Galaxy S7 to start the movie on the TV, the audio will play in DTS. Only one audio type is in the file. I have looked through the settings on both the PC and TV Mezzmo apps to look for a setting which would leave the audio to directly stream and can't find anything. If I use another media player on the TV to access the Mezzmo server, it will play the audio correctly in DTS.

The thing is, it was working fine before and I don't know what changed. I have uninstalled the Mezzmo app from the TV and reinstalled but it didn't help.

Any help is appreciated,

Chris

[Peter]

Hi Chris,
when played in the Mezzmo app's internal video player on the TV the audio is decoded as stereo so this explains why it is being played as 2 channel. Possibly the Galaxy S7 is sending the URL for the file to the TV's internal player instead of the Mezzmo app and this is playing the file with DTS, can you please tell us the device selected in the app on the Galaxy S7?

[cmassa]

I have the TV selected as the device in the S7 Mezzmo app. It shows as "Mezzmo (Android BRAVIA 4K GB). The same device is also selected in the Mezzmo app on the TV. The server is my Windows 10 PC. My TV sends the audio to my receiver, not the TV's speakers. When I use the Mezzmo app on the TV it sends 2 channel stereo to the receiver but sends the DTS audio when the same movie is started by my phone.

So the internal player is then unable to play anything but stereo? Although it works when sending the movie from the phone. I don't necessarily mind starting the movie with my phone but then the TV remote control for fast forward, etc... doesn't work to control the TV app. I have to use my phone to control the movie.

Chris

[Peter]

The remote control should be able to control the video when played by the Mezzmo internal video player so I suspect that the phone is sending the video to a different app on the TV even though it is showing the Mezzmo app as the device selected. You can try going to settings in the app and set the option to use the internal video player to off then try playing a video with the app and you will be prompted to select a player app for the video then you can see if selecting a different app plays the audio through the receiver.

[cmassa]

I had tried turning off the option to use the internal player. It works and plays the audio correctly with another player but the controls on the Mezzmo app are a lot better for FF and RW than the media player I have. I was just hoping the internal app on the TV would play the multichannel audio. When the phone sends the video it brings up the Mezzmo app on the TV and plays through that. I don't see it open another media player.

Chris

[Peter]

If you press a button on the remote control while it is playing after starting the video with the phone do any controls appear on the TV (do you see the green progress bar)?

[cmassa]

No. No response at all.

[Peter]

I tried it here on a Fire TV running the Mezzmo app and the remote control when the selection button is pressed or fast forward button causes the timeline and buttons to be displayed in the app's video player so this should also happen on the Bravia. Can you please try playing a file to the app using the Mezzmo application on your PC to see if the same issue occurs?

[cmassa]

When I play the movie to the TV from my PC, the TV's remote controls work. The audio is still stereo but there is a lot of video stuttering with the audio quickly going out of sync.

Chris

[Peter]

In the Transcoding pane in Mezzmo on the PC does it show that the file is being transcoded?

[cmassa]

OK, I think I have figured some things out.

First, the file is not being transcoded. It's an MKV (H.264) and plays directly.

So when I play to the TV using the PC app, it appears to use the TV's internal player rather than the Mezzmo player. In that circumstance, the TV's remote cannot control FF or RW, only pause, play, stop. It's a rather seamless thing so it's not immediately obvious that it's using the TV's video player. But the audio plays correctly. I don't know why, but the TV is listed 3 times in the Play To menu of the PC app.

When I use the Android Mezzmo app on my phone, there are two devices listed. One has an icon that looks like a first gen Chromecast and the other has an icon with the picture of the TV. I assume the chromecast version is the Mezzmo app and player. When using that, the audio is stereo and I can control playback with the TV remote completely. The other device uses the TV's media player and plays the DTS audio but I can only pause, stop or play.

Do you have a recommendation for a different media player that Mezzmo can use so that the audio is played correctly and all of the controls function? Obviously, the less cost, the better, especially when testing things out. Or even a different, full featured media player that can access the Mezzmo server?

I can use the TV's media play to access the Mezzmo server and controls work but FF/RW is quite slow. The interface is also very basic.

Thanks,
Chris

[Peter]

You can try installing the Kodi app on the TV and using this with the Mezzmo plugin or install the VLC app and use this as the video player from the Mezzmo app to see if it plays the audio as DTS.

[cmassa]

I tried a few, including Kodi and VLC and they all play in stereo to my receiver.

I played around with the TV's default media player and it will FF and RW, I was just using the wrong buttons. To FF/RW I need to use the directional control pad and not the arrow keys. And it plays the audio correctly so I've set the Mezzmo app to use it as the default player.

Thanks,
Chris