LiveTV Intermittent Buffering not Captured in Logs

Channels Apple TV
#1

Hey guys

I was hoping someone could help me with some suggestions of how to track down an annoying issue I have been facing.

Channels is installed bare metal on a linux server running ubunutu server 20.04. I have plex installed on the same server and it runs without issue

My network is setup with a UDM Pro. I am using a HDHR Prime with cable card.

The trouble devices are hard wired AppleTV 4Ks (A2169 & A1842). The issue doesn't seem to happen when they are on WiFi, or at the very least it happens less.

The issue:

When watching live TV, occasionally the progress bar will appear and the video will stutter for a split second. This happens maybe 2 times an hour, but sometimes more. Sometimes it is even worse, the video will freeze (progress bar will sometimes appear and sometimes not) and I will get the message in the upper right "Network Tuner Problems." which I know is related to the HDHR. When I check the ChannelDVR logs it never seems to capture anything regarding this issue. When I enable the show stats option on the AppleTv, every time this happens it is added to the buffer pauses line, so it is captured there when it happens.

I have tested by mirroring the channel I am watching on my iPad so it is playing the same content, and the iPad on wifi is not affected. Also, while it happens on both of the hard wired apple TVs, it happens less on the A2169 than the A1842.

I have ran an extended ping between the server and the AppleTV and it is good, with low latency. I have also tested this with tuner sharing on and off, but the behavior is still the same. I have checked the HDHR system logs and there is nothing there regarding the issue.

So at this point, I am a little unsure of how to proceed. I would be happy to provide logs, but as mentioned at the moment they are not capturing the issue. I am open to tinkering with the client settings, but would love to have some confirmation as to what is happening before blindly going through the trial and error process.

Any guidance here is greatly appreciated. Specifically wondering if there is somewhere else I should be looking for these logs or a way to make them more verbose. Thanks!

#2

Does it happen with tuner sharing enabled

#3

Yes, I tested with tuner sharing turned on and got the same behavior.

1 Like
#4

I have had this issue for years on my Apple TV's. I have wired and wifi ATV's and my DVR server is a Mac mini that really does nothing else. Channels will just randomly pause, menu bar comes up, channel plays again. I have been in three different homes, with three different networks, routers and antennas.

I see it with tuner sharing on or off. Which to me means the server and the DVR software are not the issue. It's something between the app on the ATV and the HDHR itself.

#5

Thanks for the reply. This is consistent with my experience. I have been using Channels for a few years in a few different configurations, and have always had the same issue on my AppleTVs. Its usually not a big deal but lately its been full on freezing for 3-5 seconds. I am not completely sure that isn't a new unrelated issue but was really trying to see if I could work out what the cause was.

I agree with you regarding it being an issue between the app, ATV and HDHR seeing as Channels works perfectly on other devices

#6

@mtnbkr60 does this also happen to you?

When you get this message its due to a very specific situation, where HDHR is reporting packets are being dropped (the tuner has a very small amount of RAM, and if the network doesn't read packets fast enough they have to be dropped).

#7

Well I have the tuner error messages turned off because my local NBC station is always tripping that message even when the picture is fine. My reception for them is marginal, I can turn it back on and monitor. But the pause/play issue happens an all OTA stations. Has for years, so I am kind of use to it.

#8

I had pretty much stopped worrying about the pause/play issue because, like you, I got used to it and it really doesn't happen often enough to be a major issue. The tuner error that started to pop up coincides with the stream freezing so that has been a bigger issue.

I haven't seen it in a few days, although I have still experienced a few buffers/freezes similar to when I get the message. I'll have to keep monitoring things and see if I can figure out where the issue lies.

#9

I will give you an interesting thing I have noticed about the HDHR. I recently switched all my network gear to Ubiquiti, and the UniFi interface monitors the network like no other router I have used. I noticed that the HDHR will show as offline even when it is online. It seems to go to sleep. I can ping it and it's live. Right now I am watching TV, but the HDHR shows as offline.

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#10

Thanks for the reply. Is it not strange, however, that if I am watching a channel on my iPad at the same time as on the AppleTV, when the error appears on the hard wired appleTV there is no issue on the iPad.

As mentioned, it seems like I have less issues over WiFi than I do with the AppleTVs hardwired. These issue also never occur on any of my other devices, it is only and issue on the AppleTVs. If the network wasn't reading the packets fast enough, wouldn't it be expected that the issue would appear across clients?

Also, is there a --debug flag or some other detailed level logging that might capture the buffers? As mentioned, I can see the buffer pauses counted in the show stats section of the appleTV but they do not appear in the channel-dvr logs. Thanks again for the help!

1 Like
#11

Oh, that is strange. Mine is showing connected!

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#12

I wonder if there is a buffer on the ATV for wifi that is not in play on ethernet,

#13

Not a bad thought. Its also interesting that the play/pause issue happens more on the slightly older ATV. The newer one rarely has issues at all, although it does blip occasionally as well.

At this point i'm happy to hear from someone else who has noticed the play/pause issue on ATV, seemingly completely independent of the configuration. Hoping that maybe the tuner error was resolved when I restarted the whole system. Thanks again for the replies!

#14

The older Apple TVs have 100mbit Ethernet port only. That can cause issues on some networks.

#15

I would recommend a server side setting so all clients are tuner sharing

Then make sure your dvr server and HDHR are plugged into the same physical switch.

#16

I am using the latest 4K models. I really wish it was something network wise, but the issue appears despite several changes in network switches and routers and even the Mac I run Channels on. Only two common elements, the ATV's and the HDHR.

#17

I will turn sharing back on. I have had it off as an experiment to reduce load on the Mac. Mac and HDHR are on the same switch.

#18

There are two separate errors:

  • "Tuner reception problems" (can be disabled)

  • "Tuner network problems" (cannot be disabled)

The OP is presumably seeing the second one.

#19

Correct, I was seeing the second one. I restart of the system seems to have (at least for the moment) resolved it. You mentioned the small amount of RAM in the HDHR Prime - wondering if the reset had an impact.

That said the issue that we are both still facing is the buffering pauses. I am still seeing in the 'show stats' that the buffering pauses are still happening. This issue is both wired and on WiFi (The Network Tuner Problems was only when I was wired)

@tmm1 In reply to your suggestions of making sure the Server and HDHR are plugged into the same physical switch, as well as enabling tuner sharing in the server side settings - I will make these changes and monitor if the situation improves

#20

The HDHR PRIME is particularly sensitive to switch hops because it uses a custom Ethernet chipset and driver.