Solving playback issues

[atc98092]

Yes, remuxing the audio using a DLNA server doesn't take much processing power. Even taking the lossless codecs and changing them to basic DD is a light load. It's the video transcoding that takes the horsepower. 

I only have one ripped Blu Ray with basic DTS audio (all the rest are some version of DTS MA), and RMP can't play it smoothly. Since my DLNA server (Serviio) transcodes all the other versions of DTS to DD using HLS, they play fine. I don't know what's going on with the RMP developer. He hasn't responded to any queries on our beta group in many months. There hasn't been an update to RMP since February, and the past few updates were solely focused on music playback. They haven't done much for video playback in close to a year. 

[pppandam1]

I will add the to list of people who have playbacks issues with MKV containers including DTS audio. I use a Roku Express 4K. App doesn't matter, jellyfin plex all have the same problem. Audio plays fine but video stutters.  Only solution seems to be to let server remux the file into a different container.

I picked this thing up to replace my 8-9 year old Roku 3 because I trusted Roku to give a decent experience but holy moly the experience actually went backwards. It is disgraceful that this issue is not addressed since months. And if I realized in a timely manner that the device had such an unresolved issue, I would have returned it in a heartbeat.

Roku, never again...

[andyj682]

I gather this is just screaming into the void at this point but add me to the list of folks who are beyond frustrated that this bug still hasn't been fixed. I bought a Roku Express 4K to replace my Roku 3, which I've loved and has always handled any file I threw at it, only to find that as with the Roku Ultra, files with DTS result in jerky playback.

[MisterYost]

Same problem here. Spent about an hour problem checking before I discovered that if I scrape the DTS-HD audio from the file the video plays perfectly... then Google lead me here.

Is there an alternative player that will work for local files? I was hoping I could load a high quality file on a USB drive an play at my father's place.

[spoc]

March 30 2023 the customer service replied to my inquery. They told me they are aware of the problem and are working on a solution. I keep checking for software updates, but nothing yet.

[atc98092]

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@MisterYost wrote:

Is there an alternative player that will work for local files? I was hoping I could load a high quality file on a USB drive an play at my father's place.

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There is no other video player for Roku devices. Chaneru was the only other option, but it doesn't appear to have had an update for years. Plex will not work for playing files from a USB port, nor will Emby. 

That said, I think the DTS stutter might be resolved with Roku OS 12, which is just beginning to roll out. I don't use my Roku players much for local playback anymore, since they won't support the lossless audio codecs or image based captions. There's also a bug with M2TS/TS files that doesn't allow pausing or any other trick play. I'll try to remember to test my 4800 later today and see if the DTS stutter is gone. I know I have at least one HD movie with standard DTS audio, so I can test with that one.

[atc98092]

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@spoc wrote:

March 30 2023 the customer service replied to my inquery. They told me they are aware of the problem and are working on a solution. I keep checking for software updates, but nothing yet.

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RMP doesn't appear to be in active development. I don't know if Roku is giving up on it, or just feel they have other priorities at this time. RMP hasn't had a meaningful update for video playback in over two years. 

[MKV_DTS]

I too am very disappointed in Roku for not addressing this issue for so many years.  Since it's obviously affecting many users, I though I'd share my workaround:

Similar to the Avidemux solution, suggested by others, this method can more easily process an entire folder of MKV files in a batch.  It's called FFmpeg Batch AV Converter.  Add your files/folder to the batch processing list and then use the parameters below (and save them to a Preset if you prefer, for future use).

-map 0 -c:v copy -c:a copy -c:s copy

What this does is simply copy the video and audio streams, along with all subtitles and chapters metadata, to a new MKV file.  Most importantly, it also adds the Global and stream tags back to the MKV container.  As discussed in this thread, the file tags somehow make the Roku Ultra understand and correctly decode MKV videos with DTS audio.

I rip my Bluray discs to MKV files and store them on a Network Attached Storage (NAS) running a Jellyfin server for easy access.  These re-processed files now play DTS movies without any stutter.

I hope this helps some other Roku users.

[MKV_DTS]

I forgot to add:  don't use mkvtoolnix to remux the MKV files after running them through FFmpeg Batch.  While it appears mkvtoolnix will pass through the file tags, the output file (with DTS audio) will stutter again when played.  I don't know why this is.

I've always used mkvtoolnix as the last step after ripping my Bluray discs.  Now I have to remember not to.