CVideoPlayerAudio::Process - stream stalled

    I'm using LibreELEC 11.0.6 on my RPI4 (2GiB RAM). Basically everything works well -- all of my movies/tv series play well (x264/x265, mostly mkv, but also mp4 and avi containers), except for one TV series which can't be watched for unknown reasons. So when I play any of the episodes of that TV series, it plays for a short period of time 1-2min, and then it stops altogether (audio and video) -- it simply hangs. The same thing is when I want to start playing from some point in time -- it hangs instantly.

    In the log I just have the following line when the video stops:

    info <general>: CVideoPlayerAudio::Process - stream stalled

    This is the mediainfo output for an example video:

    General
    Complete name                            : /path/to/dotted.mp4
    Format                                   : MPEG-4
    Format profile                           : Base Media
    Codec ID                                 : isom (isom/iso2/avc1/mp41)
    File size                                : 760 MiB
    Duration                                 : 46 min 35 s
    Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
    Overall bit rate                         : 2 281 kb/s
    Frame rate                               : 23.976 FPS
    Movie name                               : dotted
    Album                                    : dotted
    Writing application                      : Lavf58.33.100
    Comment                                  : dotted

    Video
    ID                                       : 1
    Format                                   : AVC
    Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
    Format profile                           : [email protected]
    Format settings                          : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
    Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
    Format settings, Reference frames        : 4 frames
    Codec ID                                 : avc1
    Codec ID/Info                            : Advanced Video Coding
    Duration                                 : 46 min 32 s
    Bit rate mode                            : Variable
    Bit rate                                 : 1 637 kb/s
    Maximum bit rate                         : 14.0 Mb/s
    Width                                    : 1 280 pixels
    Height                                   : 720 pixels
    Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
    Frame rate mode                          : Variable
    Frame rate                               : 23.976 (23976/1000) FPS
    Minimum frame rate                       : 11.987 FPS
    Maximum frame rate                       : 90 000.000 FPS
    Original frame rate                      : 23.976 (24000/1001) FPS
    Color space                              : YUV
    Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
    Bit depth                                : 8 bits
    Scan type                                : Progressive
    Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.074
    Stream size                              : 545 MiB (72%)
    Writing library                          : x264 core 148 r2715 7e75228
    Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=4 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x111 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=120 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=6 / lookahead_threads=1 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / stitchable=1 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=16 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=240 / keyint_min=121 / scenecut=0 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=240 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=24.0 / qcomp=0.50 / qpmin=6 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=14000 / vbv_bufsize=14000 / crf_max=0.0 / nal_hrd=vbr / filler=0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:0.80
    Codec configuration box                  : avcC

    Audio
    ID                                       : 2
    Format                                   : E-AC-3
    Format/Info                              : Enhanced AC-3
    Commercial name                          : Dolby Digital Plus
    Codec ID                                 : ec-3
    Duration                                 : 46 min 35 s
    Bit rate mode                            : Constant
    Bit rate                                 : 640 kb/s
    Channel(s)                               : 6 channels
    Channel layout                           : L R C LFE Ls Rs
    Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
    Frame rate                               : 31.250 FPS (1536 SPF)
    Compression mode                         : Lossy
    Stream size                              : 213 MiB (28%)
    Language                                 : Polish
    Service kind                             : Complete Main
    Default                                  : Yes
    Alternate group                          : 1


    The files play well on my desktop/laptop computer (linux/mpv). They also work well when I stream them from RPI to my phone using the Kore app and VLC as a player.


    What could be wrong with the video?

    It looks like that disabling "Allow hardware acceleration with DRM PRIME" fixed the issue. Is there any explanation for it? I mean, why all other videos work just fine with this option turned on, except for the aforementioned tv series?

    Code
    2024-04-07 13:05:18.389 T:1107    debug <general>: OnPlayBackStarted: CApplication::OnPlayBackStarted
...
2024-04-07 13:05:29.383 T:1473    debug <general>: CPtsTracker: pattern lost on diff 83389.000000, number of losses 1
...
2024-04-07 13:07:28.544 T:1473    debug <general>: CPtsTracker: detected pattern of length 1: 41708.24, frameduration: 41708.333333

    It might be odd timestamps in the file. I see ^ logged which matches the "couple of minutes" theory. The file plays fine here on RPi5, but that's because RPi5 doesn't hardware decode H264 media (so it's the same workaround as disabling DRMPRIME).

    popcornmix  HiassofT might be able to explain more. I don't have an RPi4 around in current location.

    We've had a look. The unusual feature of the file is the SPS/PPS headers initially report the aspect ratio, then at ~2mins stop reporting it. While that is not illegal, it is strange and it triggers a bug in the firmware processing (it repeatedly reports "aspect ratio has changed", but as there is no aspect ratio to update to, that condition never stops).

    I've had a go at fixing firmware. The guy show needs to sign off on this is on holiday, but you could test it from here.

    Extract start4x.elf and fixup4x.dat and replace the files start.elf and fixup.dat on the first partition of your sdcard.

    (Keep a copy of the original versions just in case).