choppy video starting Kodi 17.0 on ubuntu 16.04

From the moment I updated Kodi to 17.0 till now (Kodi 17.3) on my Ubuntu Lenovo laptop (Intel Core i3 Sandy Bridge processor, 4 Gb RAM, no external graphics) I have a problem with video playback: it is choppy, not enough smooth.

I play video to the 2nd display (HDMI, TV Philips) with Full HD. In addition, in 20 seconds after video starts, the screen becomes blank black (and sound interrupts) for about a second – and then everything plays again without this kind of interruption.

All other players like VLC, Google Chrome built-in player, etc. plays videos smoothly (the same videos too). And even Kodi 14,15,16 works fine on the same machine. So the problem is somewhere inside codecs used by Kodi 17. I’ve read Kodi forums but found no similar situation.

What can I check? What option turn on or off?

Thank you!