Choppy playback on some platforms (FireTV and Android TV)

Channels DVR Server
#1

I was on the original Channels DVR beta and ran the software until Jan 2018. The software is fantastic but for me I found some video’s to be choppy and not 100% reliable so decided to give it a break. Fast forward to Sept 2018 and decided to give it another try in hope of them fixing those original issues or it least get the software to a point that is is highly reliable.

Here is my setup.

NAS QNAP TS-251+ running Channels DVR
Apple TV (Gen 3)
Android TV (Nvidia Shield)
Alexa TV Fire Cube

My entire house is ethernet and none of these devices are connected via wi-fi (unless noted).

Unfortunately it looks like the software still has some issues.

I recorded King of the Hill and noticed how it ran on all the different platforms:

  • Apple TV (runs very smooth)
  • Android TV (very choppy and unwatchable)
  • Alex TV Fire Cube (very choppy and unwatchable).
  • Windows 10 (web UI): Wont’ even stream (just has circle cursor) – Remux runs then pauses after 5 seconds)
  • iPhone: very smooth (wi-fi)

Then you get some programs that were recorded that play fine on ALL three platforms. Then others are choppy In fact I recorded Conan and the same thing, runs fine on Apple TV but not very choppy on Android and Fire TV. Thoughts?

Here are some log files:
Windows 10 attempt

Then I set the playback bandwidth to some low rate like 360p and 0.7 Mbps and I hear audio only.

Here is the wierdest thing.

After I set it to 360P and now back to Original, it works on Android TV (very smooth). Bizarre!!! FireTV still very choppy and unwatchable.

Log files for when I attempt on Windows 10

Windows 10

2018/09/05 16:10:30 [HLS] Starting transcoder for file16-ip192.168.1.149 at 30s from 192.168.1.149 (encoder=remux, resolution=1080, deinterlacer=hardware, bitrate=6000)
[mpegts @ 0x2dfb480] Dropped corrupted packet (stream = 0)
2018/09/05 16:10:46 [HLS] Pausing transcoder (out: 5m37.904s, view: 31s)…
2018/09/05 16:10:51 [HLS] Stopping transcoder session file16-ip192.168.1.149 @ 5m37.904s
2018/09/05 16:10:51 [HLS] Resuming transcoder (out: 5m37.904s, view: 31s)…

Fire TV

2018/09/05 16:10:30 [HLS] Starting transcoder for file16-ip192.168.1.149 at 30s from 192.168.1.149 (encoder=remux, resolution=1080, deinterlacer=hardware, bitrate=6000)
[mpegts @ 0x2dfb480] Dropped corrupted packet (stream = 0)
2018/09/05 16:10:46 [HLS] Pausing transcoder (out: 5m37.904s, view: 31s)…
2018/09/05 16:10:51 [HLS] Stopping transcoder session file16-ip192.168.1.149 @ 5m37.904s
2018/09/05 16:10:51 [HLS] Resuming transcoder (out: 5m37.904s, view: 31s)…

dropped streaming to 360P 0.7 Mbps hoping it would work when I put it back to original but still choppy.

05 16:27:33 [HLS] Starting transcoder for file16-ip192.168.1.254 at 0s from 192.168.1.254 (encoder=remux, resolution=1080, deinterlacer=hardware, bitrate=8000)
[mpegts @ 0x2688300] Dropped corrupted packet (stream = 0)
2018/09/05 16:27:34 [HLS] Stopping transcoder for file16-ip192.168.1.254 after seek to 2m29s (out=55.68s, finished=false)
2018/09/05 16:27:34 [HLS] Starting transcoder for file16-ip192.168.1.254 at 2m29s from 192.168.1.254 (encoder=remux, resolution=1080, deinterlacer=hardware, bitrate=8000)
[mpegts @ 0x3576440] Dropped corrupted packet (stream = 0)
2018/09/05 16:27:37 [HLS] Pausing transcoder (out: 8m50.005333s, view: 3m25s)…
2018/09/05 16:28:00 [HLS] Stopping transcoder session file16-ip192.168.1.254 @ 8m50.005333s
2018/09/05 16:28:00 [HLS] Resuming transcoder (out: 8m50.005333s, view: 4m3s)…
2018/09/05 16:28:30 [HLS] Starting transcoder for file16-ip192.168.1.254 at 0s from 192.168.1.254 (encoder=h264_vaapi, resolution=360, deinterlacer=hardware, bitrate=700)
[mpegts @ 0x3317500] Dropped corrupted packet (stream = 0)
Last message repeated 313 times
[h264 @ 0x335df80] co located POCs unavailable
WARNING: Invalid RefPicListX[] entry!!! It is not included in DPB
[mpegts @ 0x3317500] Dropped corrupted packet (stream = 0)
Last message repeated 1 times
[h264 @ 0x33a66c0] co located POCs unavailable
[mpegts @ 0x3317500] Dropped corrupted packet (stream = 0)
Last message repeated 2 times
[h264 @ 0x33c2a80] co located POCs unavailable
[mpegts @ 0x3317500] Dropped corrupted packet (stream = 0)
Last message repeated 16 times
Too many packets buffered for output stream 0:1.
[aac @ 0x334b900] 2 frames left in the queue on closing
2018/09/05 16:28:31 [HLS] Stopping transcoder for file16-ip192.168.1.254 after seek to 1s (out=0s, finished=true)
2018/09/05 16:28:31 [HLS] Starting transcoder for file16-ip192.168.1.254 at 1s from 192.168.1.254 (encoder=h264_vaapi, resolution=360, deinterlacer=hardware, bitrate=700)
[mpegts @ 0x3ee5440] Dropped corrupted packet (stream = 0)

#2

Hi,

First, please update your DVR to the latest pre-release. v2018.09.05.0007 was released yesterday and has improvements to the web player which should fix the issues you saw on Windows. To update, hold the SHIFT key on your keyboard and click the Check For Updates button.

For the client devices, you should definitely leave Home Streaming at Original so you get a direct stream so there’s no transcoding involved. It sounds like the SHIELD is playing things okay at Original now, but the FireTV isn’t?

I’d recommend running a speedtest from a wired computer to your SHIELD and to your FireTV Cube. To to that, first look up the IP address of both devices. Then, in a browser on the computer, open http://x.x.x.x:57000/speedtest using the IP of the SHIELD and then the IP of the FireTV. Let me know what kind of speed you’re seeing.

Finally, after playing on the FireTV and things are choppy, go to the Player settings tab and click Submit Diagnostics > Video Player

#3

3 posts were split to a new topic: Live TV starts buffering repeatedly after some time

#6

I have not upgraded to the pre-release as of yet and will when I have a break from recording programs. And you are correct the Shield TV seems to be working now. Originally on the Shield when I tried to play a certain episode of King of the Hill and Conan it was choppy just like Fire TV. Now, Shield is working fine and FireTV still has the issue. Again, only certain files are an issue. FireTV plays other shows just fine.

Just noticed something strange

When I tested that certain episode of King of the Hill that would not play on my Fire TV but test it on my iPhone and on and on my local network, it plays smoothly. HOWEVER, when I play that same episode of King of the Hill OUTSIDE my network , it plays choppy just like the FireTV. Even stranger with my iPhone other episodes of King of the Hill play fine in both scenarios (inside or outside my network).

Here are the speed tests you asked for:

Shield TV - SPEED TEST

Download - 4.77 Mbit/s
Latency - 6.68 ms
Jitter - 1.21 ms

Fire TV Cube

Download - 99.35 Mbit/s
Latency - 4.72 ms
Jitter - 1.95 ms

I also did send my diagnostics of the Fire TV Cube a few moments ago.

#7

I assume since you mentioned Conan, you’re recording off of Premium TV channels? Was the King of the Hill that’s giving you issues recorded via Premium TV or OTA? There are some known issues with Premium TV remote/web playback which are fixed in the latest DVR pre-release.

According to the FireTV logs you submitted, the app is connected in remote mode instead of talking to the DVR locally. That’s why you’re hitting the same remote/web playback issues. If you restart the app it should reconnect locally and the choppiness will go away. Similarly once you upgrade the DVR the issue will be fixed as well.

#8

The King of the Hill episode in question was Premium TV. I am still waiting for the opportunity to install the latest DVR pre-release. It is still pending? Do you know how I can over-ride it so it just does the install?

Regarding Fire TV, how is that it is connecting remotely? Is there a bug? Will this occur again?

#9

I actually just did an official release, so its now available for everyone. You can just click Check For Updates, and then the DVR will restart itself as soon as its done recording. If you want to force it, you could stop/start the DVR from the QNAP apps interface.

Re: remote connect, that only happens if you click the “Login to Remote DVR” button in the app. That’s generally meant to be used when you’re not at home, but it’s a bit confusing at the moment. I’m working on some improvements right now so its easier to tell if the app is in local or remote mode.

1 Like
#10

Well this makes perfect sense then. Remember when I mentioned that the Shield TV was not playing certain videos and was choppy and then it suddenly fixed itself. I remember clicking the “Login to Remote DVR” and in the end restarting the app so that why it fixed itself. Similar to the Fire TV Cube as I just restarted the app and everything is working fine.

I do have one final question. I did ask you this question about a year ago but things have changed since then. I do have a Shield TV (NOT THE PRO) but with an external hard drive. Right now Channels is running on my QNAP TS251+ NAS. However with Shield TV released to Oreo, would it be best to run Channels on my Shield TV or keep running it on my NAS?

#11

The SHIELD DVR has gotten a lot more stable, but if you have a NAS already I’d say just keep the DVR on there.

#12

BTW, this is quite slow for ethernet so I would double check that the SHIELD is using a cat6 cable and all the connections are secure. You should be seeing speeds of 800Mbit/s or more on a gigabit wired network.

#13

Thanks for the feedback. I will keep it on the NAS

#14

And you are correct. I am using a DECA interface which appears to be slow for some odd reason.