Philips 8404 AVI playback?

WicklowRacer

I have a 37" 8404 which is fantastic - but AVI playback from a memory stick is poor. I lose audio synch almost immediately and soon afterwards video playback becomes jerky. Interestingly, hitting FF and the play restores synch on both for another couple of minutes.

This is not good, so anyone any suggestions on what the optimal codecs for playback are ? Previous posts suggest good success with MP4 ?

I am using latest FW - 026.066.

Here's an interesting blog on Philips consumer support - wonder is this option open to Irish customers ?

http://blog.hznet.nl/2009/11/philips-8000-series-became-a-9000-series-for-free/

Richersounds.ie: John

WicklowRacer wrote: »

I have a 37" 8404 which is fantastic - but AVI playback from a memory stick is poor. I lose audio synch almost immediately and soon afterwards video playback becomes jerky. Interestingly, hitting FF and the play restores synch on both for another couple of minutes.

This is not good, so anyone any suggestions on what the optimal codecs for playback are ? Previous posts suggest good success with MP4 ?

I am using latest FW - 026.066.

Here's an interesting blog on Philips consumer support - wonder is this option open to Irish customers ?

http://blog.hznet.nl/2009/11/philips-8000-series-became-a-9000-series-for-free/

Wicklow,

thanks for the post - we already have a number of detailed technical queries in with Philips Tech Support re the 8404 - however given the holiday period we don't expect to hear back until the new year.

It would be nice to be able to swap 8404 for 9664 - however I know that will not be an option (otherwise I would be a wealthy man - and I've accepted now that's never going to come to pass ) However there is no problem upgrading and please give us a shout after Christmas if you would like to do this.

Thanks again and keep us posted if we can assist,

ATB,

John Mc & The Philips crew

cool_cat

Hi Guys,

Glad to see I'm not the only one with this issue!

I have a 3 week old 37PFL8404 and overall very happy with it but I have this same issue with avi / divx playback over USB and over the network. After 4 to 5 minutes playback, the video become jerky and audio is off sync. To fix it, I have to press "pause", then "rewind" for a split second, then hit "play" again. Everything is fine for another 4-5 min and it starts again...

The files play perfect on PC, and the issue happens over USB (several devices tested) and over DLNA from my PC

Thanks in advance for posting any update you may get from Philips!

mckildare

have this issue also and I thought it was because I was using an external hard drive and it couldnt keep up with it or something so I improvised and now play it via the xbox since I have that hooked up to the tv anyway. Not a good solution if you dont have an xbox I guess! I also watch stuff from the lapop via HDMI and this seems to work fine

I would be interested to know if they can solve this problem though, does anyone know if the tv can handle .srt files straight from a USB or external HD? I never checked

PCDub

I had similiar issues at the beginning using an old usb flash drive and external usb harddrive, my tv is the 5604h though. I bought a new fast usb flash key and haven't had any probs since. Not sure if that helps but maybe the port on the tv is a little more select than that of a pc so may just need to try a few different keys.

cool_cat

Hi PCDub

Could you let us know what model of USB key you have that works, or its specs if you can?

Thanks a mil

PCDub

This is the one i got
http://cgi.ebay.ie/NEW-8GB-SAMSUNG-MEMORY-USB-FLASH-PEN-DISK-DRIVE-STICK_W0QQitemZ270473579813QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_FlashDrives_SM?hash=item3ef97b4d25

I use handbrake to rip the movies to xvid with an mp3 soundtrack and i usually keep the resolution below 640x480 to save space.

Richersounds.ie: Dave

Hi guys, just wanted to comment on PC Dub's post.

That may be working for you if you are keeping the res down and with an MP3 soundtrack, the TV is having to do less work.

It's possibly the larger files or heavier soundtracks that the other guys are having the problems with.

Cool / Kildare & Wicklow, can you let us know what size the files are, what frame rate and what audio tracks are with them so that we can pass this on to Philips ?

Cheers


Dave

DublinWriter

We have the same issues with our recently purchased 47' 9704.

Wasn't using a USB stick though - tried it wired and wireless with our NAS box set up as a DNLA server.

Eventually gave up and are using the PS3 for MPEG4 playback.

cool_cat

Hi there

I attached a few screenshots showing details of 3 files with the same issue - they are all different types of encoding etc.. hope this helps.

Thanks for your help

mckildare

Dave,

I just tried a few files there using my external hard drive and the issue has vanished. I am using a newer WD hard drive now though, the last was a toshiba or something like that. If I get time over the weekend I'll go through some different files and see if any are slower, possibly the larger better quality files will be suspect.

I noticed though that when watching something via USB, the Volume control and option to change picture setting do not function. Hopefully Philips could sort this one out in an update?

Thanks,
Martin

TobiasP

Hello everyone,
I have a 42pfl8404 and the same issues with avi-playback (stuttering, using usb and NAS Media Server). The Xbox360 works fine, no problems using my media server.

I talked to the philips customer-support this morning and they told me, that the problem is the frame rate, which is 23,976 fps on most of my avi.files (see-coolcats jpg's - all 23,976 fps). The TV can only display 24 fps correctly.
So it's just the poor TV which can't handle these files. Maybe you guys have another idea?

Althought I am from germany and found this site via google.

Greets from germany,
Tobias

The Ritz

Mod Comment:


I have moved this thread here from the Richersounds Forum because its a discussion of a technical issue rather than a commercial interraction issue solely with Richersounds. I'm also conscious that Philips TVs can be bought from a range of suppliers and a thread here is likely to be useful to a wider audience on Boards.

I'm stickey'ing this thread and would ask posters to keep discussion of the issue here, rather than starting new threads etc.


Thanks,


Ritz.

cool_cat

TobiasP wrote: »

Hello everyone,
I have a 42pfl8404 and the same issues with avi-playback (stuttering, using usb and NAS Media Server). The Xbox360 works fine, no problems using my media server.

I talked to the philips customer-support this morning and they told me, that the problem is the frame rate, which is 23,976 fps on most of my avi.files (see-coolcats jpg's - all 23,976 fps). The TV can only display 24 fps correctly.
So it's just the poor TV which can't handle these files. Maybe you guys have another idea?

Althought I am from germany and found this site via google.

Greets from germany,
Tobias

Ok that's progress, although there is no mention of this restriction on Philips' FAQ on supported formats (http://www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/dcbint/faqview?scy=GB&subrequest=1&mid=Link_FAQs&new_tmpl=1&session=20100108130952_78.109.14.129&desc=Philips+LCD+TV+37PFL8404H+37%22+Full+HD+1080p+digital+TV+with+Ambilight+Spectra+and+Pixel+Precise+HD&view=aa12_view_full.html&list=aa12_list_partial.html&slg=ENG&refnr=0074893&refdisplay=MTV_LCD_E_TV543_QAC_74893&dct=QAC&ctn=37PFL8404H/12)

Does anyone know if it's possible to change the frame rate on the files to 24fps so this can be tested?

Thanks

Update: I changed frame rate with Frame Rate Changer 1.10 from 23.976 to 24fps (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/AVI_Frame_Rate_Changer.htm) but it didn't work, problem started again after 5-6 minutes. Not sure if that's a proper test but there you go.

TobiasP

cool_cat wrote: »

Ok that's progress, although there is no mention of this restriction on Philips' FAQ on supported formats (http://www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/dcbint/faqview?scy=GB&subrequest=1&mid=Link_FAQs&new_tmpl=1&session=20100108130952_78.109.14.129&desc=Philips+LCD+TV+37PFL8404H+37%22+Full+HD+1080p+digital+TV+with+Ambilight+Spectra+and+Pixel+Precise+HD&view=aa12_view_full.html&list=aa12_list_partial.html&slg=ENG&refnr=0074893&refdisplay=MTV_LCD_E_TV543_QAC_74893&dct=QAC&ctn=37PFL8404H/12)

Does anyone know if it's possible to change the frame rate on the files to 24fps so this can be tested?

Thanks

Update: I changed frame rate with Frame Rate Changer 1.10 from 23.976 to 24fps (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/AVI_Frame_Rate_Changer.htm) but it didn't work, problem started again after 5-6 minutes. Not sure if that's a proper test but there you go.

Maybe you have a problem with your router and multicast-streaming. I read an article about that during my search-progress. Look in your router manual if you can find something about it.
The router disables the connection because the TV can't answer that it is using the streaming from your media server.

I found out, that the best framerate is 29,97. I changed two video files from 23,97 to 29,97 and it worked perfect. But you have to re-encode the file, so the audio is in snyc.
so lots of work. I'm using my Xbox360 now - even though it has an extreme fan-noise.:(

cool_cat

TobiasP: this issue happens over USB and over the network in the exact same manner, so it's not my router. I have even tried several USB devices with same results. I might try re-encoding with higher frame rate but I'm not too hopeful at this stage...

Thanks

LeperKing

Richersounds.ie (Dave) wrote: »

It's possibly the larger files or heavier soundtracks that the other guys are having the problems with.

Cheers
Dave

Dave,
Can you tell us what files or exact video encoded details were philips using to test that their TVs were working correctly as per the online details.

i.e. Video codec, audio codec, resolution, framerate etc

Thanks,
LK.

Scrum001

Again same issue with 42pfl8404h. I have a Philips DVD Player - Model No. DVP5990 connected to the TV via HDMI. Playback of avi files via USB is perfect from the DVD player, but once plugged directly into the TV the audio goes out of sync. Have also tried streaming using Windows Media and Tversity as media players but again the same sync issues develop. Hope this can be resolved as otherwise this is an excellent TV.

WicklowRacer

TobiasP wrote: »

I found out, that the best framerate is 29,97. I changed two video files from 23,97 to 29,97 and it worked perfect. But you have to re-encode the file, so the audio is in snyc.
so lots of work. I'm using my Xbox360 now - even though it has an extreme fan-noise.:(

Hi Tobias,

Thanks for your useful post - which software did you use to change the framerate ?

Thanks,

sthapitb

I am from Singapore and recently bought the 42PFL 9664 TV. Since last week i have noticed that when i play media files (AVI format) through my USB flashdrive using the USB input of TV, after around 4 mins the picture judder starts and also the audio goes a little out of sync. It is quite unpleasant to watch. I tried to experiment with various settings for the Digital Natural Motion and 200 Hz setting but with all different settings the result is the same. When you play a AVI file, for the first 4 minutes or so everything is fine and smooth but after around 4 mins of playback, inevitably there is judder and out of synch audio. But if i press the rewind or forward button quickly and press play again, it plays the file very well again till about 4 mins again. So at every 4 minute interval one needs to press rewind or forward button quickly to avoid the judder. I thought it was only my TV set's problem but now i know (after googling) that others have also experienced this with other Philip TV models.

I have raised this issue with Philips Customer care and waiting for their feedback on this. If someone has something to share, please let that be known. Someone here mentioned that he got rid of the problem after he bought a new and faster USB flash thumbdrive. Well the one that i am using is a new one from Sandisk and it says it is especially meant for Videos. So i think the USB thumdrive has little to do with this issue. Don't you think?

I can be contacted at sthapitb@hotmail.com if you wish to write to me direct.

B

TobiasP

WicklowRacer wrote: »

Hi Tobias,

Thanks for your useful post - which software did you use to change the framerate ?

Thanks,

Hi WicklowRacer,

I am a MAC-User so I use Handbrake. But there is a lot of freeware out there. Some Windows-User take VirtualDub or ffmeg (?). Just google with framerate change + avi. You should find a lot of stuff.

Still, I am not happy with my Xbox360 solution (damn fan-noise...). :mad:

Cheers, Tobias

roc_racer

There is a new firmware upgrade available at;

http://www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/dcbint/cpindex.pl?ctn=37PFL8404H/12&slg=en&scy=IE

This is version 026.069.

I've installed it but it does not fix my AVI playback problem. Be curious to hear how others get on.

cool_cat

Hi there

This upgrade did not solve my avi playback issue either

roc_racer

Richersounds.ie (John) wrote: »

Wicklow,

thanks for the post - we already have a number of detailed technical queries in with Philips Tech Support re the 8404 - however given the holiday period we don't expect to hear back until the new year.

Hello John,

It is now well into the new year and I was wondering if you'd heard back from Philips ? This is a poor customer experience in my opinion.

Thanks,

mattman

people!

anyone know if i can get a tv either 22 inch or 24 or 26 . in which i can put my movies on it in someformat be it avi mpg4 or whatever and play them on the telly, via my USB memory stick.

m.

LeperKing

Changelog doesn't refer to avi playback, but there's a generic statement that all aspects of the TV are improved when Philips updates are released.

LK.

eoinf

Sorry to drag this up again but has anyone heard anything from philips in relation to this problem. I have upgraded the firmware but the problem persists. It's kind of annoying because I have my tv wall mounted with nothing connected to it as I thought I could stream everything via the Ethernet cable connected to it. Also has anyone tuned in the rte mpeg trials ? I have but I can't seem to get the dog to display. Has anyone noticed this problem?

roc_racer

An update on this - clearly Philips/richersounds are not interested in resolving this issue - I have been watching the firmware updates and no fix has been released.

I bought a 40 euro DVD player from LIDL and use it to play movies from my USB stick via HDMI to the TV just fine.

I'd never buy another Philips product after this experience.

Griffinx

Having the same problem on a 42PFL5604H on the latest firmware, has Philips done anything about this yet?

gx