Weird "bug" with AAC sound and skins.

[Pablouchka]

First of all I have to thank you all for this great piece of software XBMC4XBOX ! I still use 2 xbox at home and can't even think about changing them. Thanks for you very good and appreciated work !

Well, I noticed a weird thing since release v3.1 (using v3.2 and even v3.3b2 on one of my 2 systems) when playing some MP4 files. I usually encode my videos with XVID4PSP as follows :

- video as H264 and 800kbps maximum bitrate (but usually lower) - Never bigger than usual DVD NTSC resolution (720x480)
- audio as AAC stereo 128kbps

When MP4 files are bigger than (less or more) 500MO I just have no sound at all, AAC is recognized by XBMC (it appears on video properties) but not looks like it's not played.

Smaller encoded files with same settings and same software works fine while other "foreign" H264/AAC big files works too (tested with 800MO file).

Another weird thing is that I usually run XBMC with Confluence or Confluence light skins in XBMC. If I choose and old skin like PM3HD, the same "faulty" big files gets sound

Any idea ?

Thanks for any answers

[Dom DXecutioner]

You're encouraged to upload the debug log (might want to turn on debug mode under settings) and uploaded to pastebin, then provide a link so that someone can review it; otherwise it makes it near impossible to speculate any potential issues.

[Pablouchka]

Thank you very much ! It's the very first time I ask for something here and I am not really used to. I'll follow the steps like you said asap ! Thanks again

By the way, where is the debug log file located ?

[BuZz]

There is a sticky post at the top of this forum with the headline "IMPORTANT INFORMATION - read BEFORE posting"..

http://www.xbmc4xbox.org.uk/forum/viewt ... p?f=6&t=65

[Pablouchka]

Hi again, thanks for the information. I followed the steps and here is a link to my newest xbmc.log : http://www.xbmclogs.com/show.php?id=27739

You will be able to see many attempts to open the video file because video displayed but no sound at all... Hope it will be helpfull ! Thanks again for your time

By the way, I changed the skin to PM3HD and got audio ! Could it be related to memory usage ?

[BuZz]

This is using Confluence skin from 3.2 right ? This skin uses a lot of ram, and you are running out.

Please try using 3.3, and then post a log with debugging on as detailed here http://www.xbmc4xbox.org.uk/forum/viewt ... p?f=6&t=65

[Pablouchka]

Yes, I changed from Confluence to PM3HD. Also tried with Confluence light but got the same trouble. I'll do a clean install with 3.3 and test

By the way, how could we explain the relation between file size and insufficient memory ? I mean, does the player "parse" the whole file in some way ?

[BuZz]

By the way, how could we explain the relation between file size and insufficient memory ? I mean, does the player "parse" the whole file in some way ?

there is no relation. there is a relation between memory usage and codecs though. some codecs need more ram. although when you have posted your debug log we can review what is actually going wrong in this case.

[BuZz]

I also noticed from your debug log you had "full codec support" enabled. you dont need this enabled to play the most common formats, and this uses a fair amount more ram than the slimmed down set of libs.

[Pablouchka]

I also noticed from your debug log you had "full codec support" enabled. you dont need this enabled to play the most common formats, and this uses a fair amount more ram than the slimmed down set of libs.

Thanks for that ! I usually play two type of video files :

MP4 with H264/AAC
AVI files with XVID/MP3.

Will they work ? Where can I find information about that ?

[BuZz]

should do but depends on bitrate/resolution etc. h264 can be cpu intensive so really on SD is viable for h264.

[Pablouchka]

should do but depends on bitrate/resolution etc. h264 can be cpu intensive so really on SD is viable for h264.

The highest video resolution I play is like 720x480 (1000kbps) but more often are 640x360 (800kbps and lower).

[Pablouchka]

I changed the "FULL CODEC SUPPORT" option and guess what ? I am able to play all my files THANK YOU !!! It looks like that the sound hoing away is really related to a lack of memory !

I'll update my XBMC4XBOX install DVD with the latest 3.3 beta and make a clean install. Again : THANK YOU VERY MUCH !!!