New to Channels..Probs watching Live TV & Recordings

Channels DVR Server Troubleshooting
#1

I am a new Channels DVR user. I am using an HDHomeRun Quatro, Channels DVR server app running on my HTPC
Also using a FireTV 4k stick HDMI plugged into my HT Receiver out to the TV. All devices are connected via e-net except the FireTV which is wifi connected to the same network. The FireTV has the Channels DVR client installed on it.
When I try to watch live TV on the HDHR/Channels DVR client, through the Guide, I see "hiccups" during the program. The "timeline" pops up and a circular arrow rotates for a second or 2 and the video/sound jumps. This happens on all 4 tuners on the HDHR. The same thing happens when I playback a recording from any of the HDHR 4 tuners on the server/PC.
I can go the the actual saved file on the PC, watch it there and it plays without a problem. I can watch programs using the HDHR windows app on any of the 4 tuners with no issues there either.

Th settings are:
Version

2019.09.23.2227
Check For Update

Uptime

19 hours
Started Yesterday at 5:12 PM

Timezone

CDT

OS

Windows Microsoft Windows 10 Home
10.0.18362 Build 18362

CPU

2 cores / AMD A6-6400K APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics

RAM

3.20 GB
25.0% free

Disk

42.9% used

1064.01 GB available

Activity

Recording ch6073 for Outnumbered until 12:03PM.

Basic Setup Enable features and configure tuners

Bonjour

Advertising dvr-hometheater-pc.local. via 1 network: [192.168.0.113]

DVR

Detect Commercials

2 sources found

HDHomeRun QUATRO (1078F10D)

56 channels on 192.168.0.100

DVR: USA-OTA74132

PlayStation Vue

115 channels

DVR: X-TVE

DVR Database Manage your DVR metadata

Stats

27 Passes
37 Shows
28 Recordings

Maintenance

Save Database Backup Last saved 19 hours ago

Guide Database Maintenance tasks for the local fourteen-day guide

Status

Idle

Stats

2 Lineups
9,485 Shows
79,911 Listings
795.61 MB on disk

Maintenance

*Last refreshed 2 hours ago*

Recordings & Passes Default options for new passes and recordings

Padding

Keep

All

Unwatched Only

Last 3 Only

Transcoder Video compression mode used for remote and web-based playback

Transcoder

Software

Deinterlacer

BlendLinear

Adaptive Streaming

OnOff

Automatically adjust bitrate based on available bandwidth

Cache

*2.63 GB on disk*

Web Player Configure the video player built into the web browser (requires transcoding on DVR server)

Server Quality

1080p @ 8mbps

Client Buffer

30 seconds

Remote DVR Access your DVR away from home via my.channelsdvr.net

Enable

OffOn

The log from the time in question is:

019/10/13 20:30:00 [DVR] Starting job 1571016600-12 NCIS: Los Angeles on ch=[6.1]
2019/10/13 20:30:00 [DVR] Waiting 29m59.9822821s until next job 1571018400-11 Life, Liberty & Levin
THIS JOB IS FOR A RECORDING TAKEN FROM PLAYSTATION VUE VIA TVEVERYWHERE.
WHICH RECORDED FINE W/O ANY HICCUPS.
2019/10/13 20:30:00 [TNR] Opened connection to 1078F10D for ch6.1 KOTV-HD
2019/10/13 20:30:00 [DVR] Recording for job 1571016600-12 from 1078F10D ch6.1 into "TV\NCIS Los Angeles\NCIS Los Angeles S11E03 2019-10-13 Hail Mary 2019-10-13-2030.mpg" for 1h29m59.9822821s
2019/10/13 20:30:00 [IDX] Generating video index for job 1571016600-12
2019/10/13 21:00:00 [DVR] Starting job 1571018400-11 Life, Liberty & Levin on ch=[6073]
2019/10/13 21:00:00 [DVR] Waiting 29m59.989286s until next job 1571020200-30 Madam Secretary
2019/10/13 21:00:03 [TNR] Opened connection to TVE-sony_auth-gateway_net for ch6073 FNC
2019/10/13 21:00:03 [DVR] Recording for job 1571018400-11 from TVE-sony_auth-gateway_net ch6073 into "TV\Life, Liberty & Levin\Life, Liberty & Levin 2019-10-13 2019-10-13-2100.mpg" for 1h2m59.989286s
2019/10/13 21:00:03 [IDX] Generating video index for job 1571018400-11
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for already deleted file 101
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for already deleted file 103
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for file 105 (0B). Last access was 0001-01-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for already deleted file 108
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for already deleted file 112
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for already deleted file 115
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for already deleted file 116
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for already deleted file 117
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for already deleted file 121
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for already deleted file 124
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for already deleted file 127
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for already deleted file 128
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for already deleted file 129
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for already deleted file 130
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for already deleted file 132
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for already deleted file 134
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for file 136 (0B). Last access was 0001-01-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for already deleted file 144
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for already deleted file 145
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for already deleted file 146
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for already deleted file 147
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for already deleted file 97
2019/10/13 21:12:34 [CACHE] Deleting cache for file 98 (0B). Last access was 0001-01-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC
2019/10/13 21:30:00 [DVR] Starting job 1571020200-30 Madam Secretary on ch=[6.1]
2019/10/13 21:30:00 [DVR] Waiting 13h29m59.9914163s until next job 1571068800-13 Outnumbered
2019/10/13 21:30:00 [TNR] Sharing existing connection to 1078F10D for ch6.1 KOTV-HD (clients=2, len=0)
2019/10/13 21:30:00 [DVR] Recording for job 1571020200-30 from 1078F10D ch6.1 into "TV\Madam Secretary\Madam Secretary S06E02 2019-10-13 The Strike Zone 2019-10-13-2130.mpg" for 1h29m59.9914163s
2019/10/13 21:30:00 [IDX] Generating video index for job 1571020200-30
2019/10/13 22:00:00 [DVR] Finished job 1571016600-12 NCIS: Los Angeles
2019/10/13 22:00:00 [DVR] Waiting 12h59m59.5557137s until next job 1571068800-13 Outnumbered
2019/10/13 22:00:00 [DVR] Processing file-148: TV\NCIS Los Angeles\NCIS Los Angeles S11E03 2019-10-13 Hail Mary 2019-10-13-2030.mpg
2019/10/13 22:00:01 [DVR] Running commercial detection on file 148 (TV\NCIS Los Angeles\NCIS Los Angeles S11E03 2019-10-13 Hail Mary 2019-10-13-2030.mpg)
2019/10/13 22:03:03 [MTS] Statistics for "TV\Life, Liberty & Levin\Life, Liberty & Levin 2019-10-13 2019-10-13-2100.mpg": skipped=0 unhandled_packets=0 discontinuity_detected=114 transport_errors=0 invalid_pts=0 invalid_dts=0 saw_pcr=false saw_pmt=true highest_pts=3792.626178
2019/10/13 22:03:03 [TNR] Closed connection to TVE-sony_auth-gateway_net for ch6073 FNC
2019/10/13 22:03:03 [DVR] Finished job 1571018400-11 Life, Liberty & Levin
2019/10/13 22:03:03 [DVR] Waiting 12h56m56.475558s until next job 1571068800-13 Outnumbered
2019/10/13 22:15:55 [DVR] Commercial detection finished with 18 markers.
2019/10/13 22:15:56 [DVR] Processing file-149: TV\Life, Liberty & Levin\Life, Liberty & Levin 2019-10-13 2019-10-13-2100.mpg
2019/10/13 22:15:57 [DVR] Running commercial detection on file 149 (TV\Life, Liberty & Levin\Life, Liberty & Levin 2019-10-13 2019-10-13-2100.mpg)
2019/10/13 22:54:02 [ENC] Starting encoder for NCIS Los Angeles S11E03 2019-10-13 Hail Mary 2019-10-13-2030.mpg in G:\Media\Channels DVR\Streaming\file148-ip192.168.0.102\encoder-0-003815676 at 0 (0.000000) (encoder=libx264, resolution=1080, deinterlacer=blend, bitrate=7488 segment_size=1)
[mpegts @ 000000000061ba00] Dropped corrupted packet (stream = 1)
[mpegts @ 000000000061ba00] Dropped corrupted packet (stream = 2)
2019/10/13 22:54:05 [ENC] Segment 1 has unexpected duration 1-2: expected=1.001 actual=1.1011 expected_pts=1.034367-2.035367 actual_pts=0.646200-1.713933
2019/10/13 22:54:09 [ENC] Segment 2 has unexpected duration 3-5: expected=2.469133 actual=3.3033 expected_pts=2.035367-4.504500 actual_pts=1.747300-5.017233
2019/10/13 22:54:28 [ENC] Segment 12 has unexpected duration 21-23: expected=1.3013 actual=1.6016 expected_pts=16.383034-17.684334 actual_pts=15.928133-17.496367
2019/10/13 22:54:32 [ENC] Segment 14 has unexpected duration 25-26: expected=1.7017 actual=2.7027 expected_pts=18.685334-20.387034 actual_pts=18.230433-20.899767
2019/10/13 22:55:22 [ENC] Segment 42 has unexpected duration 66-67: expected=1.334667 actual=2.335667 expected_pts=56.189467-57.524134 actual_pts=55.734567-58.036867
2019/10/13 22:56:01 [ENC] Segment 68 has unexpected duration 95-96: expected=1.368033 actual=2.369033 expected_pts=83.249834-84.617867 actual_pts=82.794933-85.130600
2019/10/13 22:56:42 [ENC] Segment 93 has unexpected duration 121-122: expected=1.935267 actual=2.068733 expected_pts=111.277834-113.213101 actual_pts=110.822933-112.858300
2019/10/13 22:56:43 [ENC] Segment 94 has unexpected duration 123-124: expected=1.001 actual=1.234566 expected_pts=113.213101-114.214101 actual_pts=112.891667-114.092867
2019/10/13 22:56:46 [ENC] Segment 95 has unexpected duration 125-127: expected=1.2012 actual=1.835167 expected_pts=114.214101-115.415301 actual_pts=114.126233-115.928033
2019/10/13 22:57:28 [ENC] Segment 120 has unexpected duration 154-159: expected=1.8018 actual=2.135468 expected_pts=141.674868-143.476668 actual_pts=141.587000-143.689100
2019/10/13 22:57:32 [ENC] Segment 122 has unexpected duration 161-163: expected=1.468133 actual=2.5025 expected_pts=144.511035-145.979168 actual_pts=144.022767-146.491900
2019/10/13 22:57:40 [ENC] Stopped encoder for NCIS Los Angeles S11E03 2019-10-13 Hail Mary 2019-10-13-2030.mpg in G:\Media\Channels DVR\Streaming\file148-ip192.168.0.102\encoder-0-003815676 after encoding 0 to 127
2019/10/13 23:00:00 [TNR] Closed connection to 1078F10D for ch6.1 KOTV-HD
2019/10/13 23:00:00 [DVR] Finished job 1571020200-30 Madam Secretary

Looking forward to your feedback and suggestions on resolution.

WAF IS FADING FAST!!!!

Thanks in advance,
Bob

Channels app and new tivo streaming stick
#2

Is your client connected wirelessly? Is your server? It sounds like the problem you're having is that your network cannot keep up with streams.

Remember, streaming OTA TV streams is quite different than streaming video like Netflix: OTA streams are roughly 5 times the size of Netflix streams.

The best solution is to make sure everything is wired.

#3

the issue here will be the fireTv4k .... it requires very specific settings to make it work well if at all! and there are lots of known issues with interlacing (1080i) and fireTv drivers causing glitches and crashes...

for firetv in my house i set transcoding to hardware and force everything to be transcoded at 720p that seems to fix everything as the fireTV can handle that

#4

AppleTV 4k works great. and can be hardwired gigabit. Its probably bigger than a Fire stick, but still pretty small, I have all my AppleTVs taped to the back of my TVs, aka: they are not visible.

#5

You can also get ethernet adapters for the Fire Sticks for about $10-15. It may only be a 100Mbps connection, but that's more than enough for a client device.

1 Like
#6

Please submit diagnostics from the app after noticing the issue.

The app should be set to Home Streaming Quality: Original.

The interlacing issues mentioned above don't affect you since you are not in the UK.

#7

Thanks for the feedback and replies.I'll update the settings with the recommendation to change Home Streaming Quality. I'll do that and check to see if that helps and add a log entry to this topic.

I have an older FireTV Gen 3 I think..anyway it has e-net capability. I installed it in place of the FireTV 4K.
The same issues showed up during playback. I reinstalled the 4K stick after testing.

#8

My FireStick 4K works just fine with the ChannelsDVR.

The single biggest factor is having as much bandwidth to the DVR server as possible.

My Channels DVR server is a fairly old Mac Mini (2012) and it stores the recordings on an external USB3.0 drive. But I have a gigabit Ethernet connection to my router, which is an 802.11AC model. When I run a speed test from the FireStick to the DVR server I get >300Mb/s.

In fact, I upgrade my router to an AC model, because with the older N model, I was getting only ~30Mb/s with the speed test and the ChannelsDVR experience poor (took forever to jump forward/back and would get the choppy playback behavior you describe).

When you run the speed test from the ChannelsDVR app on the FireStick, what kind of numbers do you see?

#9

Set Home Streaming to Quality. i am curious about this setting. could I get a brief explanation of what it does and how it could effect the problem I am having.

Ran Speed Test - 106.83 MB/S

#10

It transcodes the stream to a lower bitrate, which will then use less bandwidth. So if your wifi is unable to handle the bandwidth of the original stream, you can reduce the rate until you find something that works.
If you device is having issues running the transcode, though, there is very little processing to do if sending the original stream... so this will avoid issues where the device doesn't have enough processing power.

#11

My apologies to all for now responding in a timely manner. I have been testing over several evenings of recording and playback. I also added the e-net dongle for the FireTV 4K stick during this time.

With change to the setting and the e-net dongle addition, I have not seen any more of the "hiccups" in playback.

Thanks to all for their recommendations and comments.

1 Like