M3U channels constantly stuttering/buffering

[Eengert]

I have some M3U channels which work flawlessly when I view them through other IPTV apps, but frequently stutter and buffer and eventually become unwatchable through Channels DVR. It seems like they’re running out of buffer in Channels. Could an option be added to select a larger buffer size, or are there other steps I can take to improve the viewing experience through Channels?

OTA and TVE sources work very well through Channels - it’s just M3U sources which have these issues.

Setup:
Channels DVR on iMac
350 Mbps wired internet
Apple TV 4K 2021

[marcuscthomas]

Have you tried changing the app (android or IOS) streaming quality setting? Also, there is a setting on the APPs for hardware and software transcoding. I am not sure what other IPTV apps you've used, but Channels could have buffering issues at either the server or the app (or both).

[MikeBear]

Go into your m3u playlist source on the server, and change "Stream Format" from HLS to "Mpeg-Ts" save it, and then reload the m3u, and try again to see if it now works.

[Eengert]

I have tried both software and hardware decoding - no noticeable difference. I don't want to lower the stream quality - I would like to watch in the highest possible quality on my 4K television. Like I said, other IPTV apps are able to playback the stream in full quality. Those apps allow you to customize the buffer length up to 10 secs, which I think is the difference.

[Eengert]

I'm not sure why you would assume that I have my M3U source set to HLS in Channels - I don't. It is already correctly set to MPEG-TS since that is the format of the stream.

[Eengert]

I just noticed a new(er) setting to stream using HEVC. After enabling that, if I load a M3U stream channel in Channels on my ATV 4K and turn on stats, it's still showing the video as H.264. Am I missing something?

[marcuscthomas]

I would guess that the hardware on one side or the other (or both) won't handle H265 and that Channels is failing to H264.

[tmm1]

HEVC setting is for the transcoder, and you're not using the transcoder because your streaming quality is set to Original. So it is sent in the original format with no modifications.

If your stream is mpegts and buffering that means it's not coming in fast enough.

If you pause for 10 seconds then play, does it play smoothly?

[Eengert]

Pausing for a bit and then playing does seem to help to some extent, but it doesn't seem to last for very long. It eventually starts pausing to buffer again.

I watched the same channel for ~ 2 hours yesterday in a different app on my ATV 4K with the buffer set to 10 secs, and there wasn't a single hiccup. When I tried before and after that ~2 hour span with that same channel in Channels, I couldn't get more than a few minutes in before it started having issues.

Isn't there a way to allow a configurable buffer duration like these other apps?

[tmm1]

I'm not sure what buffer could be configured. We could pause the player for 10s when starting, but you're saying you did that and it doesn't help.

When you tune in it's live, so we can't go 10s into the future and get data that isn't there yet.

We don't test our app with random IPTV services and M3U streams, because they tend to come from shady servers that are generally far away and not on great internet connections. If another app is able to handle those streams better, then you're best off using that app instead.

[air360]

I have to actually chime in here and say i have seen the same issue recently. I even posted about it a few days back. It just can’t hold the buffer for some reason. Starts off good but then uses the buffer up pretty quick and starts pausing while it rebuffers. Using a single service for multiple years and only seen this starting recently. Other apps play great and stay strong.

[air360]

Update:

As i was still mulling over what the heck was happening, i realized my son had been in the other room watching a few iptv channels for awhile without buffering. I realized he was actually watching one of the channels i had singled out as a test channel since i was consistently having issues with it. This made me scratch my head and proceed to see if there was anything at all different with the two setups.

I found one setting different. The TV i have been having issues with had the Deinterlacing Mode under Settings > Playback > Advanced set to Hardware, while the tv that was working was set to linear (60fps).

I changed the setting to linear and in the past 10min have not had it drop ones and my connections went from hardly being able to have a 1-2mb buffer to over 10.

I can’t confirm 100% it is fixed, but i made it my goal to figure out this issue today and after messing with it for a few hours this change has immediately made the difference.

The key point to me that this has fixed it is that it is reproducible! If i change back to hardware deinterlacing it starts dropping and buffering again. Change back to linear and it’s starts playing consistent again!

[Townsmcp]

@air360 thanks for the tip - I have been getting the same issue recently (also had the same issue in Plex with the same channels) - today I started to pull in a testing m3u with a small subset of my m3u channels to try to work out where my issue lies (I normally run the m3u into xTeve and then over to Channels/Plex) but this post gives me hope to get the ATV working properly without a shed load of playing around and rebuilding! I havent noticed buffering on FireCube or iphone/ipad but I dont really use those devices as much as I do the ATV so just thought it wasnt being used enough to manifest.

DOH! Just checked the ATV and it is set to Linear already
What devices are you using Channels on that setting to 60fps worked for?

EDIT:
So for me, enabling Hardware as the deinterlace mode on Apple TV 4K seems to have worked for stopping buffering. As a side note, I am also running the beta of Channels app, and the weird stuttering I had when I enabled HLS also seems to have stopped by enabling hardware on deinterlace mode