642 sync issues

redninja · 2nd January 2005, 07:04

ok i have an xvid with mp3 cbr audio,whick will play fine untouched,,if i ff or time skip,then it is way outta sync,,i've tried the menu button thing and just letting it try to fix itself,,,,,than i have another movie plays in sync on the pc but is way outta sync in my 642,,this sucks,,any ideas

SeeMoreDigital · 2nd January 2005, 14:02

The way the audio and video stream has been muxed to gether often causes the problems you are experiencing!

You could do some tests with say, AVI-mux or VirtualDubMod. To see what happens when you de-mux and re-mux the streams in your encodes!

Cheers

redninja · 3rd January 2005, 03:41

thanks for reply,,,i use avi-mux most the time as vdub freaks out over vbs,,,anyway should i just demux and remux in the future,,i mean will avi-mux pretty well solve this prob???

manono · 3rd January 2005, 11:14

Hi-

If it was muxed with AVIMux originally, then SMD is suggesting that you try it with VDubMod (not VDub) and see if it plays any better. And it's a good suggestion.

SeeMoreDigital · 3rd January 2005, 11:16

Quote:

Originally posted by redninja
... should i just demux and remux in the future,,i mean will avi-mux pretty well solve this prob???

I don't have one of these players so I really don't know!

If you do find a solution that works for you, can you tell us about it please... Just in case somebody else encounters the same problem?

Cheers

giannid · 4th January 2005, 01:13

I had sync issues with an .avi film that was recorded with AC3 at around 448kbs for the audio. I read for another Divx-certified player that they recommended a bitrate of around 128kbs, and I'm pretty sure that the high audio bitrate was causing the sync problems. For me it started fine, but would get out of sync as time went on. After a few minutes it was annoying. The doubleclick on the system menu would resync it, but it would be out of sync again 2 minutes later.

You can use GSpot to check the audio part of the file - to see if it's AC3 and or the bitrate used.

gircobain · 4th January 2005, 01:52

I never had sync problems with ac3 audio on the 642
That is certainly not a general issue
Nor is the bitrate, 128kbps refers to mp3 audio, not ac3
Seems like it is due to broken muxing settings most likely
Since I'm not so sure what would be the optimal settings, I hope someone else will step in and enlighten us

giannid · 4th January 2005, 13:38

gircobain,

You're right. Last night I played a different film with AC3 and similar bitrate (448kbs), and it played fine.

Perhaps the problems I had with the other film had to do with the bitrate of the video (1246kbs) or maybe even the combined bitrate of the audio and video which would be 1694kbs. The file plays fine on the computer but desyncs on the DVP, so I'm not sure if it's muxed related.

My apologies for wrongly blaming AC3.

redninja · 29th January 2005, 22:08

i've taken the cbr audio and turned it to ac3 mux back together with avi mux with open dml unchecked and the interleave at 100kbs,,,still gets way outta sync using ff or time skip,,,any ideas on a mux that works

redninja · 30th January 2005, 02:20

ok i tried avi mux with the same settings as vdub,as far as i can tell,,,still screws up after ff

fewtch · 30th January 2005, 02:31

I've got the 642(-37) and this player is notorious for being too disc-sensitive, at least with AVI files. Also, IMO the entire FF/REV function needs to be chucked and reprogrammed in the firmware. These are my main complaints with this player.

Try an experiment: Create a small .AVI file (around 1MB) and burn it at the end of the disc, after the main movie. Now try playing back the main movie & see if it still has problems. Doing this has fixed some FF/REW issues for me.

redninja · 30th January 2005, 05:12

that would be the same as having multiple avi's on a dvdr wouldn't it??which i have the same problems on,,it has to be in the mux,,because some files play flawlessly with vbr,cbr,ac3,,,,,,then others,,well you know

fewtch · 30th January 2005, 07:37

For me, if it's last (or only movie) on the disc it won't play right on the 642. So I came up with the plan of putting a small, useless AVI last on the disc, and the main movie(s) first, and it seems to nearly always work. I do occasionally get out of sync issues, but not very often anymore. It could be in the mux, as you say.

redninja · 30th January 2005, 18:44

it has to be in the mux,,,i took the file with cbr audio that would get outta sync,and remuxed with avimux gui,,it still would get outta sync when ff,,so i took the same file again and remuxed with vdub,,and it worked perfect after ff and time search,,so i applied the same settings as vdub in avimux,,interleave every 1 frame and so on,,also tried avi container 1 and 2 but it still would screw up after ff,,,so it has to be in the muxing,,as for not using vdub all the time,,i dont think i can mux vbr or ac3 with it,,and it would suck havin to rencode every audio source to cbr to ensure a cool playback,,is there any other muxing tools besides avimux??or is there a way i can use vdub for vbr or ac3 muxing???with this player as old as it is,,i figure someone has to have a solid idea by now..

fewtch · 1st March 2005, 09:02

VirtualDubMod muxes ABR/VBR and AC3 audio just fine. In fact, I rarely use plain old VirtualDub anymore.

absinthe · 5th August 2005, 19:40

Well I've arrived at this thread via a link from SeeMoreDigital's player information thread.

Here's what I have to add. I have 2 of these units (642). One is upstairs and is connected to a TV via analog outs (both vid and aud). The newer unit is downstairs and is hooked to a surround system via the digital audio out.

I want to stress that I have never had a single sync issue in my upstairs unit. It plays everything flawlessly. Downstairs, however, I'm having the sync issues everyone here is describing. The only difference is the mode of audio connection (analog, downmixing to 2-channel, vs. digital). Of course, the same files on the same discs that play perfectly upstairs experience the skipping and desyncing downstairs.

Curiously, the downstairs unit plays digital audio off of a plain old DVD just fine.

I have not yet tried a firmware upgrade, and I suppose the ultimate test would be to unhook the unit and hook it back up via the analog audio connectors to see if the problem persists. Also, I suppose swapping my 2 units could be instructive.

But I thought I'd throw this in and see if anyone had any thoughts. I'm suspecting the unit does not pass a digital stream from an AVI file correctly ... or something (by the way, it has the problem with 2- and 6-channel AC3 as well as MP3 audio, so it's not just high-bitrate audio that's the problem).

-abs

2nd January 2005, 07:04	#1 \| Link
redninja Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 17	642 sync issues ok i have an xvid with mp3 cbr audio,whick will play fine untouched,,if i ff or time skip,then it is way outta sync,,i've tried the menu button thing and just letting it try to fix itself,,,,,than i have another movie plays in sync on the pc but is way outta sync in my 642,,this sucks,,any ideas

2nd January 2005, 14:02	#2 \| Link
SeeMoreDigital Life's clearer in 4K UHD Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Notts, UK Posts: 12,420	The way the audio and video stream has been muxed to gether often causes the problems you are experiencing! You could do some tests with say, AVI-mux or VirtualDubMod. To see what happens when you de-mux and re-mux the streams in your encodes! Cheers __________________ \| I've been testing hardware media playback devices and software A/V encoders and decoders since 2001 \| My Network Layout & A/V Gear \|

4th January 2005, 01:13	#6 \| Link
giannid Registered User Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 30	I had sync issues with an .avi film that was recorded with AC3 at around 448kbs for the audio. I read for another Divx-certified player that they recommended a bitrate of around 128kbs, and I'm pretty sure that the high audio bitrate was causing the sync problems. For me it started fine, but would get out of sync as time went on. After a few minutes it was annoying. The doubleclick on the system menu would resync it, but it would be out of sync again 2 minutes later. You can use GSpot to check the audio part of the file - to see if it's AC3 and or the bitrate used. Last edited by giannid; 4th January 2005 at 01:31.

4th January 2005, 13:38	#8 \| Link
giannid Registered User Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 30	gircobain, You're right. Last night I played a different film with AC3 and similar bitrate (448kbs), and it played fine. Perhaps the problems I had with the other film had to do with the bitrate of the video (1246kbs) or maybe even the combined bitrate of the audio and video which would be 1694kbs. The file plays fine on the computer but desyncs on the DVP, so I'm not sure if it's muxed related. My apologies for wrongly blaming AC3. Last edited by giannid; 4th January 2005 at 13:58.

5th August 2005, 19:40	#16 \| Link
absinthe Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: North Carolina, USA Posts: 270	Well I've arrived at this thread via a link from SeeMoreDigital's player information thread. Here's what I have to add. I have 2 of these units (642). One is upstairs and is connected to a TV via analog outs (both vid and aud). The newer unit is downstairs and is hooked to a surround system via the digital audio out. I want to stress that I have never had a single sync issue in my upstairs unit. It plays everything flawlessly. Downstairs, however, I'm having the sync issues everyone here is describing. The only difference is the mode of audio connection (analog, downmixing to 2-channel, vs. digital). Of course, the same files on the same discs that play perfectly upstairs experience the skipping and desyncing downstairs. Curiously, the downstairs unit plays digital audio off of a plain old DVD just fine. I have not yet tried a firmware upgrade, and I suppose the ultimate test would be to unhook the unit and hook it back up via the analog audio connectors to see if the problem persists. Also, I suppose swapping my 2 units could be instructive. But I thought I'd throw this in and see if anyone had any thoughts. I'm suspecting the unit does not pass a digital stream from an AVI file correctly ... or something (by the way, it has the problem with 2- and 6-channel AC3 as well as MP3 audio, so it's not just high-bitrate audio that's the problem). -abs __________________ The perfect browser is now completely free: Opera. Get it. Love it.

3rd January 2005, 03:41	#3 \| Link
redninja Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 17	thanks for reply,,,i use avi-mux most the time as vdub freaks out over vbs,,,anyway should i just demux and remux in the future,,i mean will avi-mux pretty well solve this prob???

3rd January 2005, 11:14	#4 \| Link
manono Moderator Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Hawaii Posts: 7,406	Hi- If it was muxed with AVIMux originally, then SMD is suggesting that you try it with VDubMod (not VDub) and see if it plays any better. And it's a good suggestion.

4th January 2005, 01:52	#7 \| Link
gircobain Registered User Join Date: May 2002 Location: Brasil Posts: 218	I never had sync problems with ac3 audio on the 642 That is certainly not a general issue Nor is the bitrate, 128kbps refers to mp3 audio, not ac3 Seems like it is due to broken muxing settings most likely Since I'm not so sure what would be the optimal settings, I hope someone else will step in and enlighten us

29th January 2005, 22:08	#9 \| Link
redninja Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 17	i've taken the cbr audio and turned it to ac3 mux back together with avi mux with open dml unchecked and the interleave at 100kbs,,,still gets way outta sync using ff or time skip,,,any ideas on a mux that works

30th January 2005, 02:20	#10 \| Link
redninja Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 17	ok i tried avi mux with the same settings as vdub,as far as i can tell,,,still screws up after ff

30th January 2005, 02:31	#11 \| Link
fewtch Registered User Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 208	I've got the 642(-37) and this player is notorious for being too disc-sensitive, at least with AVI files. Also, IMO the entire FF/REV function needs to be chucked and reprogrammed in the firmware. These are my main complaints with this player. Try an experiment: Create a small .AVI file (around 1MB) and burn it at the end of the disc, after the main movie. Now try playing back the main movie & see if it still has problems. Doing this has fixed some FF/REW issues for me.

30th January 2005, 05:12	#12 \| Link
redninja Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 17	that would be the same as having multiple avi's on a dvdr wouldn't it??which i have the same problems on,,it has to be in the mux,,because some files play flawlessly with vbr,cbr,ac3,,,,,,then others,,well you know

30th January 2005, 07:37	#13 \| Link
fewtch Registered User Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 208	For me, if it's last (or only movie) on the disc it won't play right on the 642. So I came up with the plan of putting a small, useless AVI last on the disc, and the main movie(s) first, and it seems to nearly always work. I do occasionally get out of sync issues, but not very often anymore. It could be in the mux, as you say.

30th January 2005, 18:44	#14 \| Link
redninja Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 17	it has to be in the mux,,,i took the file with cbr audio that would get outta sync,and remuxed with avimux gui,,it still would get outta sync when ff,,so i took the same file again and remuxed with vdub,,and it worked perfect after ff and time search,,so i applied the same settings as vdub in avimux,,interleave every 1 frame and so on,,also tried avi container 1 and 2 but it still would screw up after ff,,,so it has to be in the muxing,,as for not using vdub all the time,,i dont think i can mux vbr or ac3 with it,,and it would suck havin to rencode every audio source to cbr to ensure a cool playback,,is there any other muxing tools besides avimux??or is there a way i can use vdub for vbr or ac3 muxing???with this player as old as it is,,i figure someone has to have a solid idea by now..

1st March 2005, 09:02	#15 \| Link
fewtch Registered User Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 208	VirtualDubMod muxes ABR/VBR and AC3 audio just fine. In fact, I rarely use plain old VirtualDub anymore.