Some files not playing on 1st gen ATV4K

Platforms Apple TV
1

After years of problem-free playback of all kinds of media files, I have just started getting this error - com.firecore.media.player error 1, and I suspect I know the root cause, at least in my case. Here is the config:

tvOS - 18.4.1
Infuse - Pro 8.1.4 (5175)
Media Share - local JellyFin 10.8 running natively on Windows 10
Connection - wired, 1000BASE-T (Infuse speed test - average 950Mbit/sec)
AppleTV - A1842, 4K Gen 1

The error happens while jumping to random time offsets of several BluRay rips. One example is Alien (1080p). Infuse always starts playing just fine from the beginning but fails to continue after scrubbing to a random offset. This does not happen on all video files.

Same error happens on the SMB share while playing the same files.

I have another AppleTV connected to the same server, and it plays everything just fine with no “error 1” message on any files. The key difference - it’s the Gen 2 unit!

Does it mean that Gen 1 is no longer supported, and this should be stated officially?

BTW, tvOS VLC player plays the same video files on both Gen 1 and Gen 2 units just fine.

2

Is this happening with all files or just a few?

Can you try running a speed test to see if you are able to download the full file without it stopping?

3

This appears to be happening to many BluRay rips containing uncompressed hi-bitrate audio streams (TrueHD and DTS-HD MA), but not other video files containing compressed audio streams (DD5.1, E-AC3, etc.)

Yes, the affected files can be downloaded at full by the Speed Test without stopping.

I have also noticed that before the error occurs, Infuse begins playing audio, but it fails after about 1 second. Again, this only happens after fast forwarding to some random location of the video or even after just skipping 10s of video. It never fails to start playing from the beginning.

4

Just ripped several episodes of The Last Kingdom off my BR with latest MakeMKV and got this error when I chapter skipped or scrubbed the file.

My Infuse says “An error occurred. This operation couldn’t be completed. (Com.firecore.media.-player error1.)” when I try to scrub or chapter skip.

Ripped it with and without audio just to test it… same error.

Apple TV A1842 64 GB
tvOS 18.4.1
Ethernet connected
Infuse Pro
SMB
Windows 10
USB 3.0 Hard Drive
14gb 1080p file
Speed test averages 400+ Mbps

Spot checked other 1080p and 4K files on the same drive but didn’t get error when chapter skipping or scrubbing.

So it’s either The Last Kingdom files or MakeMKV didn’t rip it correctly.

I will test MakeMKV with a fresh rip of my Amadeus UHD.

Update: 4K Amadeus file chapter skips and scrubs without error. MakeMKV likely not the issue, but will rip a different 1080p BR to verify, and then will re-rip The Last Kingdom.

Submitted diagnostics J9H4E

5

ok, @BlackbeltJones is right - I have just stripped audio and subtitles from my MakeMKV rip of Alien (1080p, H264), and Infuse still fails to skip or jump to random locations with the same error. So, it’s not about hi-bitrate uncompressed audio streams or subtitle streams. It is likely about video bitrate or the frame sequence.

6

Ok, this is interesting… so the Amadeus UHD ripped fine…

…but I ripped a 1080p H264 BR of “She’s Having a Baby” and got the same Chapter Skip and Scrub error.

I then went to a 1080p H265 BR of “Mollys Game “I ripped a few months ago… same issue. The I went back to “Imperium” and “My Own Private Idaho” which I ripped years ago… same issue.

So I think we can rule out MakeMKV.

And appears to be 1080p BR rips only.

My entire UHD collection of 4K MKV files chapter skip and scrub fine. Even tested several old anime 480p DVD rips and no issue.

A licensed MakeMKV is the only to tool I use to rip my disc collection… always the latest version, MKV files only, just one soundtrack (multichannel… best available) and subs for non English films.

My disc collection is primarily UHD so I only noticed this today after ripping The Last Kingdom BR.

No idea how long this has been an issue but it has to be recent.

7

yep, I can also confirm that: here is what fast-forwards and skips just fine in Infuse 8.1.4 on AppleTV 4K Gen 1:

  • DVD rips
  • UHD rips
  • reencoded rips (Handbreak)
  • some 1080p BR rips (examples: Wall Street, Airplane II)

and here is what fails:

  • most 1080p BR rips (example: Alien)

All of the above plays in Infuse on AppleTV 4K Gen 2 and in VLC on both Gen’s.

8

Thanks @avman ! Can confine Wall Street plays fine for me as well.

I have one HD AppleTV and two gen 1 4K models… good excuse to finally update that ancient model to the latest gen Apple TV 4K while they sort it out.

9

right, seems like an easy fix - get a Gen 2 or 3 model - this is exactly what I’m going to do tomorrow :slight_smile:

10

I had the same issue today with a Blu-ray remux with DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio. I had to go back to the long-abandoned MrMC app, which played the file perfectly. This is the third (!) playback issue I’ve encountered with Infuse in the past week. What’s going on with all these regressions lately? There’s not a single mention of playback engine changes in the update logs, yet a lot of things seem to be broken.

11

Did you update the Apple TV? Maybe Apple did something, or maybe you router updated or something else

12

"Hi everyone,

I would like to share my experience with you. While I’m not a professional, I encountered the same issue twice. After consulting with our moderator, it became clear that Infuse either:

  1. Has problems with certain file formats or
  2. The file itself was corrupted

In my case, the file was corrupted. After copying and uploading it again, everything worked perfectly.

Important tip: Avoid AVI formats, as they don’t run optimally with Infuse. I had to convert 200 files to MKV myself. :slightly_smiling_face:"

13

As stated a few posts up these are MKV files ripped with MakeMKV and my AppleTV is fully updated… all data provided above.

Been using Infuse for 6+ years and I can assure you that the MKV files are not corrupted… all played fine prior to recent Infuse update, and played fine on all previous updates.

There is an issue with certain 1080p MKV files on latest Infuse running Gen 1 Apple TV 4K. I’m not saying that is the only issue happening… but @avman and I have at least that piece nailed down.

UHD, DVD rips not impacted.

The current gen ATV arrives tomorrow, so I will re test the scub and chapter skip issue then.

14

Ok… got the current Gen 4K ATV set up and had no issues with chapter skip or scrubbing the same 1080p MKV files that cause issues on Gen 1 4K ATV…

Hopefully Firecore can address this issue.

15

yep, after upgrading to AppleTV 4K Gen 3, A2843, all rips play fine now - skipping and scrubbing work just fine. Anyone needs a cheap Gen 1 AppleTV? :slight_smile:

16

If you’re able to send in one of the problematic files we can test it here.

There is a known issue where the 1st gen ATV4K struggles with certain 1080p files, but this is more of a device limitation.

17

Thing is I’ve been using infuse for years (I’ve been registered here since 2017 :slight_smile: !)… including on an Apple TV HD and Gen 1 4K.

This chapter skip and scrubbing issue on 1080p MKV files is brand new… as in since the last update. Never once had an issue with a 1080p MKV file prior.

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18

Remember, Infuse isn’t the only software that gets updated regularly. The tvOS has had multiple updates recently too. Infuse is as the mercy of Apple when they change the OS.

19

Yeah, that’s a good point re: tvOS. Honestly, Infuse has worked so well for so long it’s easy to take it for granted.

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20

I’ve just uploaded 2 sample files that exhibit this behavior (“All We Imagine as Light” and “Life is Sweet”) to your Dropbox.

As already mentioned, fast-forwarding and skipping don’t work, but more importantly, resuming playback is impossible for these files. I’ve tried every “Streaming Cache” setting value, by the way, and it doesn’t make a difference.

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