Constant buffering issues on Channels DVR (FFMPEG Issue)

[fishmanj98]

Hi Folks

I have an legacy I7 desktop where I run Window 10 Ver 21H2 Most times when I start Channels I get constant channel buffering with fits and starts with every channel. I notice that when I start to play any channel or station, I also see 2 instances of ffmpeg in Windows Task Manager.

I have a much older and slower I5 desktop that runs Channels much faster and rarely has bufffering problems like this. I also notice that ffmepg does not run on this box when I fire up Channels to watch TV.

Could ffmpeg be my culprit?

Here are some specs on the PC which shouldn't be a problem

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790 CPU @ 3.60GHz
Number of cores 4 (max 4)
Number of threads 8 (max 8)
Memory 32GB DDR3

Video
Name SB270 on NVIDIA GeForce GT 710
Current Resolution 1920x1080 pixels
Work Resolution 1920x1040 pixels
State Enabled, Primary
Monitor Width 1920
Monitor Height 1080
Monitor BPP 32 bits per pixel

NVIDIA GeForce GT 710
Manufacturer NVIDIA
Model GeForce GT 710
Device ID 10DE-128B
Revision A2
Subvendor Gigabyte (1458)
Current Performance Level Level 0
Current GPU Clock 135 MHz
Current Memory Clock 405 MHz
Current Shader Clock 405 MHz
Voltage 0.887 V
Technology 28 nm
Bus Interface PCI Express x8
Temperature 38 °C
Driver version 22.21.13.8476
BIOS Version 80.28.a6.00.4b
Physical Memory 2047 MB
Virtual Memory 2048 MB
Count of performance levels : 1
Level 1 - "Perf Level 0"
GPU Clock 135 MHz
Shader Clock 405 MHz

If there any Channels diagnostics please ask and I will provide.

thank you

Jeff

[tmm1]

What client device are you watching on?

[fishmanj98]

Client device?

[tmm1]

Where are you watching the video? Channels app? on Android? Apple TV? In a browser?

[fishmanj98]

Ahhh yes tmm1 ;-). Channels App under Chrome ... Or Brave

[tmm1]

ffmpeg is used to convert the video into a format which is compatible with browsers.

You would have a better experience using the regular Channels app. Or you can try the VLC integration.

[fishmanj98]

thank you tmm1. Is there a guide on VLC integration with Channels?

[fishmanj98]

And another note. On an older desktop runnin the same version of Channels and Windows 10 Pro/Ultra I do not see ffmpeg running. Very interesting.

[tmm1]

You're probably watching a channel which doesn't need to be converted then?

Allow alternate player app from DVR web UI

Heads up: As of this beta release... .. you need to go Settings >> Integrations and check off VLC links: [image] To be clear: you still need to install the vlc-protocol from above.

Allow alternate player app from DVR web UI

No, but it is not difficult. Follow the "Easy bat-only install" instructions here: Basically: Download the EXE from the releases Download the BATs from the repository Drop all of them off in the your VLC directory Run "vlc-protocol-register.bat" as an Administrator [image]

[fishmanj98]

tmm1.

Will those new settings prevent those channels from being converted via ffmpeg?

I set up those checkboxes under Channels and downloaded those exe packages and successfully ran the bat file under VLC. In the DOS Prompt I saw the EXE was updated successfully

Are there instructions how to use this under VLC. This is totally new to me.

Thank you for your patience.

Jeff

[tmm1]

[fishmanj98]

Still not seeing the VLC integration under the Watch Tab. And I did close down the browser and restarted.

. though I successfully updated the BAT command.

[fishmanj98]

**tmm1 **

FIXED

**I fixed the problem myself. The VLC Links checkbox was not clicked. I thought that was supposed to be unclicked but it works beautifully now. **

thank you. clean and beautiful playback now

[Baller2452]

I'm having a similar problem playing from web browsers, except the stream never starts, just says "waiting", and when trying to play using vlc, just a blank screen. This has only been happening for a couple days. Tried reinstalling from scratch and even changing computers for the server. Is it an account issue?

[tmm1]

You would have to check the Log to see what's going on, or narrow down the issue by seeing which sources are causing the issue. If its an HDHR source then you can try the official HDHomeRun app see if it can play from that source.

[Baller2452]

Using the troubleshooters, I see a problem: Remote Access
Could not connect to 3452c3b82254.u.channelsdvr.net. Check if the port is mapped.

[Baller2452]

It's all sources. I didn't change any mapping, that I'm aware of. Interesting thing is the client apps work fine. But I would like to watch video using my browser. Any suggestions?

[tmm1]

You can try:

• upgrade to prerelease
• change Transcoder setting to Software
• use VLC integration

[Baller2452]

2023/03/31 17:21:06.738622 [HLS] Stopping transcoder session ch6035-dANY-ip192.168.1.100
2023/03/31 17:24:07.140525 [NAT] Found 2 UPnP routers
2023/03/31 17:24:07.155347 [NAT] Successfully mapped port 8089 using upnp

2023/03/31 17:24:08 [Recovery] 2023/03/31 - 17:24:08 panic recovered:
runtime error: invalid memory address or nil pointer dereference
runtime/panic.go:260 (0x3a14b5)
runtime/signal_windows.go:255 (0x3a1485)
github.com/fancybits/channels-server/http_dvr_clients.go:188 (0x1570c31)
github.com/fancybits/channels-server/http_device.go:655 (0x15630e9)
github.com/gin-gonic/[email protected]/context.go:169 (0x155be81)
github.com/fancybits/channels-server/http_device.go:87 (0x155bdac)
github.com/gin-gonic/[email protected]/context.go:169 (0x1553c03)
github.com/fancybits/channels-server/http.go:273 (0x15538f7)
github.com/gin-gonic/[email protected]/context.go:169 (0x155386a)
github.com/fancybits/channels-server/http.go:250 (0x155384f)
github.com/gin-gonic/[email protected]/context.go:169 (0x1553727)
github.com/fancybits/channels-server/http.go:242 (0x155309a)
github.com/gin-gonic/[email protected]/context.go:169 (0x9857c1)
github.com/gin-gonic/[email protected]/recovery.go:107 (0x9857ac)
github.com/gin-gonic/[email protected]/context.go:169 (0x984906)
github.com/gin-gonic/[email protected]/logger.go:240 (0x9848e9)
github.com/gin-gonic/[email protected]/context.go:169 (0x10a30b9)
github.com/gin-contrib/[email protected]/sessions.go:65 (0x10a30a5)
github.com/gin-gonic/[email protected]/context.go:169 (0x109d2c1)
github.com/gin-contrib/[email protected]/gzip.go:47 (0x109d299)
github.com/gin-gonic/[email protected]/context.go:169 (0x15544a5)
github.com/fancybits/channels-server/http.go:363 (0x1554491)
github.com/gin-gonic/[email protected]/context.go:169 (0x983a10)
github.com/gin-gonic/[email protected]/gin.go:598 (0x983678)
github.com/gin-gonic/[email protected]/gin.go:554 (0x9831b1)
net/http/server.go:2947 (0x67968b)
net/http/server.go:1991 (0x674966)
runtime/asm_amd64.s:1594 (0x3bef20)

[Baller2452]

Probably has something to do with dual NAT through my ISP. Strange that it was working fine until 2 days ago.