Audio stutters every 10 seconds, but only when provided metadata

[GregCKrause]

I'm submitting a...

[ ] Regression (a behavior that used to work and stopped working in a new release)
[x] Bug report  
[ ] Performance issue
[ ] Feature request
[ ] Documentation issue or request
[ ] Other... Please describe:

Expected Behavior

Audio should play smoothly, with or without metadata.

Current Behavior

Audio stutters every 10 seconds when metadata is provided to addAudioPlayerPlayDirective. This problem persists for a couple of minutes, and then the audio eventually plays smoothly.

This issue does not occur when expectedPreviousToken and audioItemMetadata are removed.

Possible Solution

I have tried updating the device software, hard resetting for 30 seconds, and reducing metadata image size. None of these fixed the issue.

Steps to Reproduce (for bugs)

const LaunchRequestHandler = {
  canHandle(handlerInput) {
    return (
      Alexa.getRequestType(handlerInput.requestEnvelope) === "LaunchRequest"
    );
  },
  async handle(handlerInput) {
    const playbackInfo = await getPlaybackInfo(handlerInput);

    const speakOutput = "Playing the eighties channel.";
    const playBehavior = "REPLACE_ALL";
    const streamUrl = "https://la2.indexcom.com/hls/80s/64k/program.m3u8";
    const audioItemMetadata = {
      title: "The '80s Channel",
      subtitle: "Non-Stop '80s Hits!",
      art: {
        sources: [
          {
            url: "https://theotic-static-hosting-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/the-80s-channel/the-80s-channel-logo.jpg",
          },
        ],
      },
      backgroundImage: {
        sources: [
          {
            url: "https://theotic-static-hosting-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/the-80s-channel/the-80s-channel-background.jpg",
          },
        ],
      },
    };

    return handlerInput.responseBuilder
      .speak(speakOutput)
      .addAudioPlayerPlayDirective(
        playBehavior,
        streamUrl,
        playbackInfo.token,
        playbackInfo.offsetInMilliseconds,
        null,
        audioItemMetadata
      )
      .getResponse();
  },
};

Your Environment

• ASK SDK for Node.js used: Issue occurred with both 2.7.0 and 2.11.0
• Operating System and version: Skills developer console default

Node.js and NPM Info

• Node.js version used for development: Skills developer console default
• NPM version used for development: Skills developer console default

[GregCKrause]

Not entirely sure what the root cause was, but this example provided by Dabble Lab did not have the same issue.