Chromecast w/ Google TV 4K FRAME DROPS

[Vintage]

Not Stutter, Not Judder.

Frame Drops. A real problem with the CCwGTV4K!

Just top be clear, some definitions:

Frame drops: Scene freezes for a moment, happens occasionally and unevenly. A character on the screen might be talking, and then their lips stop moving for a moment, and then the video catches up. Happens unevenly. Is caused by one or more video frames being missing.

Judder: seen repeatedly and evenly as the camera pans across a scene or as an object crosses the screen. Like a little constant skip that you see when the camera pans: skip...skip...skip...skip... This is caused by a mismatch between the source content and the display. Modern TV's with high frame rates have ways to fix this. 

Stutter: Like a very fast very even "Judder". Seen in fast panning shots as a constant little skip between every frame. Caused by the quick response time of OLED TVs: There is a harsh sudden change from one frame to the next and the viewer can see this with quick panning shots. Sometimes alleviated by features like black frame insertion or motion smoothing.

I ended up returning my CCwGTV 4K because of these frame drops. They happen on all the apps like Prime, Netflix, HBO Max and Vudu.

The native apps on my Samsung S95B does not have the frame drops, and my Nvidia Shield does not have them either. Only the Chromecast has this problem. And the problem happens with the Chromecast on WiFi or hardwired Ethernet.

I'm starting this thread top track this problem because I really like the Chromecast, and would get another if google fixes this.

Please post and complain about the Frame Drop problem here!

[Vintage]

There is another thread where many users have been discussing the Frame Drop issue, but it is mixed in with Stutter and Judder complaints, which are somewhat different:

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Chromecast/Chromecast-w-Google-TV-frame-rate-stutter/m-p/2919...

Lets try and discuss the Frame Drop problem here.

[amh15]

I see this too. I suspect it's actually the same underlying problem as the stutter/judder because I don't remember it happening before the ill fated update, but I might be wrong.

Interested to know if people see it in particular apps more.

[Vintage]

Anybody else seeing this? I think some may be calling it Judder...

[L0L0]

Oh yes.. i see it

Just stop to watch my movie because too many frustrating 

[Jeran]

Hey there everyone,

This has been an issue in the past when someone uses an app whose frame rate is not matched to the Chromecast with Google TV's set resolution and frame rate. For example, if you have the Chromecast set to use 60 frames per second, but an app is using 25 frames per second, the solution would be to see if you can change the app's settings to use the same frame rate as the Chromecast, if you are able to.

I hope this helps, and if you have any other questions or concerns for me, please let me know.

Best regards,
Jeran

[Vintage]

There is update coming... maybe we will get lucky and there is a fix hidden in it too... https://blog.google/products/google-tv/new-content-pages/

[Jeran]

Hey there Vintage,

It is possible that it could help. In the meantime, I would highly recommend you submit feedback via Google TV so that your device logs are sent to the engineering team. That way, if there are any errors occurring with your device, they would appear in those device logs.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Best regards,

Jeran

[Vintage]

That was done long ago... and then I returned the device a week later. I loved the interface, and will immediately buy one again if people start to report it works properly.

But honestly, the judder and frame drop issue is immediately obvious to anyone who knows what the streams are supposed to look like. I am almost certain EVERY CCwGTV 4K exhibits this problem, as the issue is all over reddit and the avsforum and other places. Just google it, LoL.

https://www.google.com/search?q=chromecast+with+google+TV+4K+judder&client=safari&sxsrf=AJOqlzUGoD7D...

The google team either already knows about this and can see it in their own labs, or they don't care. 

[Jeran]

Hey there Vintage,

I was looking around at this issue, and I noticed a trend where people who were experiencing this issue reported that it occurred when using an Ethernet adapter and would resolve as soon as they would use Wi-Fi. When this was a problem for you, were you using an Ethernet adapter or Wi-Fi?

Best regards,

Jeran

[Vintage]

I tried both the ways, wifi and hard wire  gigabit Ethernet.

[RomanSeano]

I can also confirm that the issue occurs with either ethernet or wifi connections. 

[PuertoAzn]

Just bought a google TV and I'm using wifi, it's definitely juddering or frames are dropping. Please update

[BrutalTemps]

I'm having this issue and I'm using an Ethernet adapter to stream 4k content. I'm also having an issue with the output resolution being automatically switched to 1080p on a 4k receiver.

[Adireal]

I also have this problem. I tryed everythink. Resolution, hz, kabel hdmi, port hdmi. Still same. Pls help, very annoying

[TheAF]

It's still happening.  The problem occurs on every app that I've used, regardless of whether I'm on Wifi or Ethernet.  I've tried turning frame rate matching on and off, and also tried matching dolby vision on and off.

Google support was useless.  They made me do a factory reset (third time) and re-setup everything again, to no avail.

Meanwhile, my Firestick 4K Max works perfectly.

[claridagio]

I have this frame drops issue and I've tried *everything* to resolve it. Manually setting frame rates to match content, non-seamless frame rate matching, real cinema (24p) enabled and disabled on the TV. *Nothing* reliably works, when all native TV apps (Netflix, Disney+) work absolutely fine with no dropped frames. To reiterate the OP's point, this is not judder as it doesn't occur evenly. Secret Invasion on Disney+ is a good example to test. Please look into this issue because I'll have to return my Chromecast if it isn't likely to be resolved as it totally defeats the purpose of a unified streaming platform. 

Edit: I think the problem is that most Chromecast apps don't have content frame rate matching enabled. Netflix does and it works fine for me, provided that I choose "non-seamless" under "Match frame rate". So it would be nice if Google were more transparent about this issue - it might not be an issue if you have a 120hz/VRR display, but it is for the vast majority of consumers who notice this sort of thing using standard/older displays.