Super Strange Issue (Mezzmo Android)

[ftanner]

I am having a super strange issue that I am about 80% sure isn't necessarily a Mezzmo (android) app issue but I am hoping that someone's seen it and knows how to resolve it.

Firstly, I have three Android TV devices. Two of them are Rocktek G2 devices and one is an nVidia Shield Pro. There is no issue at all with the nVidia. This is strictly related to the two Rocktek devices.

Within the last couple of weeks SOMETHING changed and all of a sudden I get zero audio out of any of my videos that I have converted from their raw format using Handbrake, but videos I have downloaded using Youtube DL from Youtube, the audio is just fine. They're all MP4 format videos. I've made sure that the audio track is checked. I've messed around with the sound settings in the Device Settings. Nothing seems to fix it. Whenever I try to use VLC to play the video, as opposed to the built-in player, VLC crashes. When I try to use MX Player, as opposed to the built-in player, MX player plays at double speed with no audio.

This is the strangest damn thing I have ever encountered. Does ANYONE have any ideas at all?

THank you.

EDIT: I forgot to add. Other apps like Youtube, Youtube TV, Pluto TV, Crunchyroll, and what-not work fine.

[ftanner]

[UPDATE]

I just tried an unconverted MKV file and it exhibits the same symptoms.

[ftanner]

[UPDATE 2]

Playing straight from VLC does the same no-audio thing. However one thing I noticed is that it doesn't crash like when you have Mezzmo call VLC.

[jbinkley60]

I'd start with the basics. Check the Mezzmo device profile being used for the devices in question and make sure they didn't switch. Then check if transcoding is enabled or disabled. Depending upon what you find then onto the next things. On the nVidia and Rocktek devices, what client software are you using VLC, Mezzmo Android app, Kodi etc.. ? It sounds like you are flipping between VLC and the Mezzmo Android app so make sure the device profile is using Conceiva Mezzmo (Android). Also check if Use Only IP Addresses to identify devices is checked in the profile screen. If so, I would disable it .


Jeff

[ftanner]

I'd start with the basics. Check the Mezzmo device profile being used for the devices in question and make sure they didn't switch. Then check if transcoding is enabled or disabled. Depending upon what you find then onto the next things. On the nVidia and Rocktek devices, what client software are you using VLC, Mezzmo Android app, Kodi etc.. ? It sounds like you are flipping between VLC and the Mezzmo Android app so make sure the device profile is using Conceiva Mezzmo (Android). Also check if Use Only IP Addresses to identify devices is checked in the profile screen. If so, I would disable it .

Jeff

Yep. Checked the device profiles before doing anything else. Still set to Mezzmo with transcoding off. The same way taht has worked all along. I was using the Mezzmo playback device, which is what I normally use. I switched to VLC to see if it changed the symptoms. It did not. I never use 'Only Use IP Addresses', but I checked it anyhow to make sure and it is not checked. I am using the Conceiva Mezzmo (Android) device profile. It's bizarre.

On a strange note, I have no idea what I did, but now MX Player is playing sound and at the correct speed.

[jbinkley60]

Yep. Checked the device profiles before doing anything else. Still set to Mezzmo with transcoding off. The same way taht has worked all along. I was using the Mezzmo playback device, which is what I normally use. I switched to VLC to see if it changed the symptoms. It did not. I never use 'Only Use IP Addresses', but I checked it anyhow to make sure and it is not checked. I am using the Conceiva Mezzmo (Android) device profile. It's bizarre.

On a strange note, I have no idea what I did, but now MX Player is playing sound and at the correct speed.

The next thing would be to see if this is related to all files or just some and if just some, is there something in common with the audio track format. You mentioned MP4 format but that is the video container. What is the underlying audio format ? You can see this in the video properties panel for any of the videos and then look at the preferred audio channel. I also use MediaInfo to provide more information. Also, is there a chance that a Rocktek update occurred but since you say it is for files converted with Handbrake it could be a setting there ? I use a different tool than Handbrake so I may not be able to help there but knowing what audio track format Mezzmo is seeing will be key


Thanks,

Jeff

[ftanner]

The next thing would be to see if this is related to all files or just some and if just some, is there something in common with the audio track format. You mentioned MP4 format but that is the video container. What is the underlying audio format ? You can see this in the video properties panel for any of the videos and then look at the preferred audio channel. I also use MediaInfo to provide more information. Also, is there a chance that a Rocktek update occurred but since you say it is for files converted with Handbrake it could be a setting there ? I use a different tool than Handbrake so I may not be able to help there but knowing what audio track format Mezzmo is seeing will be key


Thanks,

Jeff

It's virtually all files. Basically any file that was not downloaded from Youtube. MKV, MP4, you name it. These files were working just fine a couple of weeks ago. Literally, thousands of files. And like I said, these same files work in Mezzmo on the nVidia. Now they also work in MX Player, but not VLC or the built-in Mezzmo media player. If it were a setting in Handbrake, they would have been broken all along. I have been using Handbrake for, literally, a decade for this, and there hasn't been an update to it in months. Literally, just two or three weeks ago they were working just fine. There is only one audio-track on these converted files for exactly that reason. So I don't have to mess around with "what track am I on?".


EDIT: Well, now MX Player is no longer working for audio this morning. Nothing has changed since last night. This makes no sense.
Like I said, this is the strangest, most inconsistent thing that I have seen in a long time.

[jbinkley60]

It's virtually all files. Basically any file that was not downloaded from Youtube. MKV, MP4, you name it. These files were working just fine a couple of weeks ago. Literally, thousands of files. And like I said, these same files work in Mezzmo on the nVidia. Now they also work in MX Player, but not VLC or the built-in Mezzmo media player. If it were a setting in Handbrake, they would have been broken all along. I have been using Handbrake for, literally, a decade for this, and there hasn't been an update to it in months. Literally, just two or three weeks ago they were working just fine. There is only one audio-track on these converted files for exactly that reason. So I don't have to mess around with "what track am I on?".


EDIT: Well, now MX Player is no longer working for audio this morning. Nothing has changed since last night. This makes no sense.
Like I said, this is the strangest, most inconsistent thing that I have seen in a long time.

This is starting to sound like something Android related between Android on the Rocktek devices and the Mezzmo app. I suspect it is a newer version of Android than what is on the nVidia player, since it is much older. Peter will probably need to weigh in here now. I don't have any Android clients other than an old Nexus 7 tablet. What version of Android is running on the Rocktek devices ? Will the Rocktek devices allow you to try and play a file off of a USB stick and if so, how do each of the players (i.e. VLC, Mezzmo, MX etc..) work with a local file ?

FYI, not casting any stones here, but this is one of the reasons I don't use Android clients in my setup. Not enough experience with it and too many mysteries for my taste.


Thanks,

Jeff

[ftanner]

This is starting to sound like something Android related between Android on the Rocktek devices and the Mezzmo app. I suspect it is a newer version of Android than what is on the nVidia player, since it is much older. Peter will probably need to weigh in here now. I don't have any Android clients other than an old Nexus 7 tablet. What version of Android is running on the Rocktek devices ? Will the Rocktek devices allow you to try and play a file off of a USB stick and if so, how do each of the players (i.e. VLC, Mezzmo, MX etc..) work with a local file ?

FYI, not casting any stones here, but this is one of the reasons I don't use Android clients in my setup. Not enough experience with it and too many mysteries for my taste.


Thanks,

Jeff

They're running Android 12, which isn't new by any stretch of the imagination. But it is new as far as being on Android TV devices. I didn't think you were casting stones. This is a strange one...hehehehe

I'm seriously considering factory resetting one of the Rockteks to see what happens. I mean, it would still be Android 12, but I am wondering if something underlying got tweaked weird by an update somewhere.

The reason I don't use something like Kodi is that it's just "too much". It tries to be everything to everyone, which I get. But that makes it a huge bloated mess of features that you have to spend forever trying to find everything. One of the things I like about the Mezzmo Android app is that it's clean and clear. It does one thing. Display and play media. I don't have to flip through 57 menus/pages to get to where I want to be. Some people love it, and I have no beef with that. Different strokes and all that.

[Peter]

Can you please try copying a file to the device and play it in Mezzmo or VLC to see if the audio issue still occurs. If the device does not have internal storage try putting the file on a USB stick.