Block artifacts for 5 seconds at start of TS with H.264

[bemar491]

I have a file which plays back with blocky artifacts for about 5 seconds in VLC Player (v 2.0.1 Twoflower, on Windows 7 64 bit) however in Windows Media Player the same segment plays without artifacts. Screenshot of VLC vs Windows Media Player here:

.

This happens at the very start of the file, which is a transport stream with H.264 video. I have access to some transport stream analyzers but they don't report any errors. The very first frame doesn't seem to have artifacts, but right after that the frames have problems, for about 5 seconds.

Does this look like it could be a player bug? Other info I should provide?

Notes:
Resetting the VLC preferences and restarting VLC did not help.
I am running a core i7 3770 (not the K version, so not overclocked!)
OS is Windows 7 Professional 6.1.7601
I can reproduce on my machine every time I play back the file.

[bemar491]

Is there a location I can upload this clip to?

Also video encoder used is x264 (newest current stable version, says 'version 124' in the code, commit on git hub says '1c97f3570fba02f768fbf649b9f7d48beb720048') but it's not using the first few encoded GOPs of data. When encoding from the start of the data produced by x264 I don't see any artifacts.

[Lotesdelere]

Please open Tools -> Messages (set Verbosity to 2) before you start the playback and then paste the full resulting log here or on Pastebin.com if it's too long.

Also upload a short sample of a problematic file to either http://streams.videolan.org/upload/ or to MirrorCreator.com or to EmbedUpload.com, so it will upload the file for you to several other hosts, and then post the link to the file here.

[bemar491]

I uploaded the file to http://streams.videolan.org/upload/ and included in the description the link this this discussion. I didn't see any link to the file once uploaded though - did I go anything wrong?

Here is the message log:

main debug: adding item `artifacts_at_start.ts' ( file:///C:/Users/myUser/Desktop/artifacts_at_start.ts )
qt4 debug: Adding a new MRL to recent ones: file:///C:/Users/myUser/Desktop/artifacts_at_start.ts
main debug: rebuilding array of current - root Playlist
main debug: Creating an input for 'artifacts_at_start.ts'
main debug: rebuild done - 1 items, index -1
main debug: processing request item: artifacts_at_start.ts, node: null, skip: 0
main debug: resyncing on artifacts_at_start.ts
main debug: artifacts_at_start.ts is at 0
main debug: starting playback of the new playlist item
main debug: creating new input thread
main debug: Creating an input for 'artifacts_at_start.ts'
main debug: using timeshift granularity of 50 MiB, in path 'C:\Users\myUser\AppData\Local\Temp'
main debug: `file:///C:/Users/myUser/Desktop/artifacts_at_start.ts' gives access `file' demux `' path `/C:/Users/myUser/Desktop/artifacts_at_start.ts'
main debug: creating demux: access='file' demux='' location='/C:/Users/myUser/Desktop/artifacts_at_start.ts' file='C:\Users\myUser\Desktop\artifacts_at_start.ts'
main debug: looking for access_demux module: 3 candidates
main debug: no access_demux module matching "file" could be loaded
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.126 ms - Total 0.126 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.126 ms)
main debug: creating access 'file' location='/C:/Users/myUser/Desktop/artifacts_at_start.ts', path='C:\Users\myUser\Desktop\artifacts_at_start.ts'
main debug: looking for access module: 3 candidates
filesystem debug: opening file `C:\Users\myUser\Desktop\artifacts_at_start.ts'
main debug: using access module "filesystem"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.104 ms - Total 0.104 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.104 ms)
main debug: Using stream method for AStream*
main debug: starting pre-buffering
main debug: received first data after 0 ms
main debug: pre-buffering done 1024 bytes in 0s - 71428 KiB/s
main debug: looking for stream_filter module: 4 candidates
main debug: no stream_filter module matching "any" could be loaded
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.057 ms - Total 0.057 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.057 ms)
main debug: looking for stream_filter module: 1 candidate
main debug: using stream_filter module "stream_filter_record"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.050 ms - Total 0.050 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.050 ms)
main debug: creating demux: access='file' demux='' location='/C:/Users/myUser/Desktop/artifacts_at_start.ts' file='C:\Users\myUser\Desktop\artifacts_at_start.ts'
main debug: looking for demux module: 55 candidates
ts warning: lost synchro
ts debug: skipping 132 bytes of garbage
ts warning: lost synchro
ts debug: skipping 76 bytes of garbage
ts warning: lost synchro
ts debug: skipping 20 bytes of garbage
ts warning: lost synchro
ts debug: skipping 152 bytes of garbage
ts warning: lost synchro
ts debug: skipping 96 bytes of garbage
ts warning: lost synchro
ts debug: skipping 40 bytes of garbage
ts warning: lost synchro
ts debug: skipping 172 bytes of garbage
ts warning: lost synchro
ts debug: skipping 116 bytes of garbage
ts warning: lost synchro
ts debug: skipping 60 bytes of garbage
qt4 debug: IM: Setting an input
ts debug: PATCallBack called
ts debug: new PAT ts_id=1 version=1 current_next=1
ts debug: * number=1 pid=512
ts debug: PMTCallBack called
ts debug: new PMT program number=1 version=0 pid_pcr=1536
ts debug: * es pid=1024 type=27 fcc=h264
main debug: selecting program id=1
ts debug: * es pid=1104 type=15 dr->i_tag=0xa
ts error: MPEG-4 descriptor not found
ts debug: found language: eng
ts debug: * es pid=1104 type=15 fcc=mp4a
filesystem warning: unimplemented query 4097 in control
main debug: using demux module "ts"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 8.768 ms - Total 8.768 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 8.768 ms)
main debug: looking for a subtitle file in C:\Users\myUser\Desktop
main debug: looking for decoder module: 31 candidates
main debug: no fetch required for (null) (art currently (null))
avcodec debug: libavcodec initialized (interface 0x360a64)
avcodec debug: trying to use direct rendering
avcodec debug: allowing 4 thread(s) for decoding
avcodec debug: ffmpeg codec (H264 - MPEG-4 AVC (part 10)) started
avcodec debug: using frame thread mode with 4 threads
main debug: using decoder module "avcodec"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 5.344 ms - Total 5.344 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 5.344 ms)
main debug: looking for packetizer module: 21 candidates
main debug: using packetizer module "packetizer_h264"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 1.026 ms - Total 1.026 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 1.026 ms)
main debug: looking for decoder module: 31 candidates
main debug: using decoder module "faad"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.097 ms - Total 0.097 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.097 ms)
main debug: looking for packetizer module: 21 candidates
packetizer_mpeg4audio debug: running MPEG4 audio packetizer
packetizer_mpeg4audio debug: no decoder specific info, must be an ADTS or LOAS stream
main debug: using packetizer module "packetizer_mpeg4audio"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.060 ms - Total 0.060 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.060 ms)
ts debug: DEMUX_SET_GROUP 0 00000000
main debug: looking for meta reader module: 2 candidates
lua debug: Trying Lua scripts in C:\Users\myUser\AppData\Roaming\vlc\lua\meta\reader
lua debug: Trying Lua scripts in C:\Program Files (x86)\VideoLAN\VLC\lua\meta\reader
lua debug: Trying Lua playlist script C:\Program Files (x86)\VideoLAN\VLC\lua\meta\reader\filename.luac
main debug: no meta reader module matching "any" could be loaded
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.530 ms - Total 0.530 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.530 ms)
main debug: `file:///C:/Users/myUser/Desktop/artifacts_at_start.ts' successfully opened
ts debug: pid[1536] unknown
main debug: Buffering 0%
ts warning: first packet for pid=1024 cc=0x1
main debug: Buffering 26%
main debug: Buffering 53%
packetizer_h264 debug: found NAL_SPS (sps_id=0)
packetizer_h264 debug: found NAL_PPS (pps_id=0 sps_id=0)
main debug: Buffering 80%
main debug: Stream buffering done (320 ms in 0 ms)
main debug: looking for text renderer module: 2 candidates
freetype debug: Using Arial as font from file C:\windows\Fonts\arial.ttf
freetype debug: using fontsize: 2
main debug: using text renderer module "freetype"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.746 ms - Total 0.746 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.746 ms)
main debug: looking for video filter2 module: 18 candidates
swscale debug: 32x32 chroma: YUVA -> 16x16 chroma: RGBA with scaling using Bicubic (good quality)
main debug: using video filter2 module "swscale"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.575 ms - Total 0.575 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.575 ms)
main debug: looking for video filter2 module: 18 candidates
yuvp debug: YUVP to YUVA converter
main debug: using video filter2 module "yuvp"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 1.257 ms - Total 1.257 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 1.257 ms)
main debug: Deinterlacing available
main debug: deinterlace 0, mode blend, is_needed 0
main debug: Opening vout display wrapper
main debug: looking for vout display module: 6 candidates
direct3d debug: creating Vout EventThread
direct3d debug: DirectXCreateWindow
main debug: looking for vout window hwnd module: 2 candidates
qt4 debug: requesting video...
qt4 debug: Video was requested 0, 0
main debug: using vout window hwnd module "qt4"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 39.034 ms - Total 39.034 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 39.034 ms)
direct3d debug: created video sub-window
direct3d debug: Vout EventThread running
direct3d debug: disabling screen saver
main debug: VoutDisplayEvent 'resize' 736x578 window
direct3d warning: trying surface pixel format: YV12
direct3d debug: selected surface pixel format is YV12
direct3d debug: Using D3DTEXF_LINEAR for minification
direct3d debug: Using D3DTEXF_LINEAR for magnification
direct3d debug: Direct3D scene created successfully
direct3d debug: Direct3D device adapter successfully initialized
main debug: using vout display module "direct3d"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 125.699 ms - Total 125.699 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 125.699 ms)
main debug: original format sz 720x406, of (0,0), vsz 720x406, 4cc I420, sar 203:270, msk r0x0 g0x0 b0x0
main debug: removing module "freetype"
main debug: looking for text renderer module: 2 candidates
freetype debug: Using Arial as font from file C:\windows\Fonts\arial.ttf
main debug: VoutDisplayEvent 'resize' 720x540 window
freetype debug: using fontsize: 2
main debug: using text renderer module "freetype"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.460 ms - Total 0.460 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.460 ms)
avcodec debug: using direct rendering
main debug: End of video preroll
main debug: Received first picture
direct3d debug: Created 277x36 texture for OSD
main debug: Post-processing available
main debug: Decoder buffering done in 174 ms
ts warning: first packet for pid=1104 cc=0x1
packetizer_mpeg4audio debug: detected ADTS format
packetizer_mpeg4audio info: AAC channels: 2 samplerate: 48000
faad warning: decoded zero sample
main debug: creating audio output
main debug: looking for audio output module: 2 candidates
aout_directx debug: Opening DirectSound Audio Output
aout_directx debug: found device: Primary Sound Driver
aout_directx debug: found device: Speakers / Headphones (IDT High Definition Audio CODEC)
aout_directx debug: using device: Speakers / Headphones (IDT High Definition Audio CODEC)
aout_directx debug: found device: Digital Output (S/PDIF) (IDT High Definition Audio CODEC)
aout_directx debug: found device: Communications Headphones (IDT High Definition Audio CODEC)
aout_directx debug: device supports 2 channels (DEFAULT!)
aout_directx debug: device supports 1 channel
aout_directx debug: Windows says your SpeakerConfig is stereo
aout_directx debug: creating DirectSoundThread
main debug: using audio output module "aout_directx"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 12.183 ms - Total 12.183 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 12.183 ms)
aout_directx debug: DirectSoundThread ready
main debug: output 's16l' 48000 Hz Stereo frame=1 samples/4 bytes
main debug: mixer 'f32l' 48000 Hz Stereo frame=1 samples/8 bytes
main debug: filter(s) 'f32l'->'s16l' 48000 Hz->48000 Hz Stereo->Stereo
main debug: looking for audio filter module: 14 candidates
audio_format debug: f32l->s16l, bits per sample: 32->16
main debug: using audio filter module "audio_format"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 1.305 ms - Total 1.305 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 1.305 ms)
main debug: conversion pipeline completed
main debug: looking for audio mixer module: 2 candidates
main debug: using audio mixer module "float32_mixer"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.158 ms - Total 0.158 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.158 ms)
main debug: input 'f32l' 48000 Hz Stereo frame=1 samples/8 bytes
main debug: looking for audio filter module: 1 candidate
scaletempo debug: format: 48000 rate, 2 nch, 4 bps, fl32
scaletempo debug: params: 30 stride, 0.200 overlap, 14 search
scaletempo debug: 1.000 scale, 1440.000 stride_in, 1440 stride_out, 1152 standing, 288 overlap, 672 search, 2400 queue, fl32 mode
main debug: using audio filter module "scaletempo"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.191 ms - Total 0.191 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.191 ms)
main debug: filter(s) 'f32l'->'f32l' 48000 Hz->48000 Hz Stereo->Stereo
main debug: conversion pipeline completed
main debug: filter(s) 'f32l'->'f32l' 48000 Hz->48000 Hz Stereo->Stereo
main debug: conversion pipeline completed
main debug: filter(s) 'f32l'->'f32l' 52800 Hz->48000 Hz Stereo->Stereo
main debug: looking for audio filter module: 14 candidates
main debug: using audio filter module "samplerate"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.087 ms - Total 0.087 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.087 ms)
main debug: conversion pipeline completed
main debug: End of audio preroll
main debug: auto hiding mouse cursor
main warning: audio output out of sync, adjusting dates (107047 us)
main warning: not synchronized (107047 us), resampling
main warning: buffer too late (106630), up-sampling
main debug: picture might be displayed late (missing 0 ms)

[Lotesdelere]

I can't reproduce the issue, it's playing fine for me with VLC 2.0.2.

Try another video output module:
http://wiki.videolan.org/WindowsFAQ-2.0 ... _output.3F

You can also try to enable or disable some video options such as Overlay and/or Hardware YUV -> RGB conversions.

[bemar491]

I tried different video output modules, and I still saw the artifacts. However when checking "Use GPU accelerated decoding" in "Inputs & Codecs" I can play the file without artifacts. This is with version 2.0.2.

I tried 2.0.2 on a laptop (Core 2 Duo T6500) and there were no artifacts. I can verify if GPU decoding is on or off.

I will test on more machines tomorrow and will report my findings.

[bemar491]

I tried on other machines.

Core i7 2600k: no artifacts
Xeon E5506: no artifacts

Then I tried on another i7 3770 and it does have artifacts while playing. Both machines are HP h8-1240t with 8GB of RAM.

[craigcrawford1988]

I also had this issue with HD H.264 files. I disabled "Use GPU accelerated decoding" and the problem disappeared.

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

Can you share the logs?

[craigcrawford1988]

Can you share the logs?

Absolutely. Just an FYI, I get artifacts randomly throughout HD video and not just 5 seconds in. Normal video appears to be unaffected.

Code: Select all

main warning: resampling stopped after 8014065 usec (drift: 470) main debug: auto hiding mouse cursor main debug: auto hiding mouse cursor main warning: early picture skipped mkv debug: seek request to -1 (0.367000%) mkv debug: seek got 5789543000 (34%) main debug: Buffering 0% main debug: Buffering 0% main debug: Buffering 4% main debug: Buffering 9% main debug: Buffering 14% main debug: Buffering 20% main debug: Buffering 24% main debug: Buffering 29% main debug: Buffering 34% main debug: Buffering 40% main debug: Buffering 45% main debug: Buffering 50% main debug: Buffering 56% main debug: Buffering 61% main debug: Buffering 66% main debug: Buffering 71% main debug: Buffering 76% main debug: Buffering 81% main debug: Buffering 86% main debug: Buffering 92% main debug: Buffering 97% main debug: End of audio preroll main debug: Stream buffering done (6757 ms in 245 ms) main debug: auto hiding mouse cursor main debug: End of video preroll main debug: Received first picture main debug: End of video preroll main debug: Decoder buffering done in 1852 ms main debug: End of audio preroll main warning: picture is too late to be displayed (missing 29 ms) main warning: buffer too early (-85334), down-sampling main debug: audio output is starving (-1360938), playing silence main debug: auto hiding mouse cursor main warning: resampling stopped after 9238565 usec (drift: -459) main debug: auto hiding mouse cursor main debug: auto hiding mouse cursor main debug: auto hiding mouse cursor

Also, it appears as though this output does not change when GPU acceleration is enabled or disabled. I'm thinking this may be a AMD driver issue, I'll see if there's an update.

Edit: No change since updating from Catalyst 12.6 to 12.7 Beta.

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

I need more logs.

[craigcrawford1988]

I need more logs.

Sorry, here's one that was opened before I opened the video file, plus a few minutes in.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/24882205/vlc_debug/log1.txt

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

Try to disable GPU decoding.

[craigcrawford1988]

Try to disable GPU decoding.

I did, and the problem went away. Though, I'd like to be able to use it.

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

What is your driver version?

[craigcrawford1988]

12.7 beta. 12.6 also has this issue.

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

Try 12.4

[craigcrawford1988]

12.4 appears to be fine, perhaps a you guys could communicate with AMD to have this fixed?