Nzbget somehow is throttling channels DVR?

Channels DVR Server
#1

I use Nzbget to download old tv shows with sonarr to an external USBC hard drive enclosure.

When it’s unpacking things it seems to effect channels DVR, TV shows play but then act like they’re buffering over and over.

I checked the CPU with my m1 Mac and it’s only using 10-15% of its CPU and 5-8GBs of RAM(I have 16GBs of Ram)

Idk if this can be fixed, but as a point of reference Plex plays everything fine, no hiccups nothing. Idk why Channels DVR is being affected this way.

Thanks for any help.

I’m on 2022.02.12.0005 if that matters

On my network the MAC and AppleTV are both hardwired.

#2

Probably maxing your disk out. Usually the software has the ability to use a separate drive for downloading/unpacking I/O

#3

If it’s that wouldn’t you think that every other program would have the same issue? I can play the recordings channels DVR made and it plays fine on my Mac.

I tired another app called Air video HD and it plays fine on my Apple TV with the same videos.

Yes if I totally stop NZBGet Channels DVR returns to being able to play normally.

I just don’t get it and maybe I need to use them when I’m using NZBGet instead of channels DVR if whatever channels DVR is using to display the video just isn’t for whatever reason able to play video while NZBGet is doing its thing.

#4

I don't use Sonarr or Nzbget, but maybe try another Usenet downloader for Mac? Perhaps a different approach could sidestep the issue...

Unison*
NZBin
SABnzbd
NZBVortex 3
Usenapp

#5

No. The Channels app is accessing the DVR, which is running on your Mac along with Nzbget. None of the other streaming apps on your Apple TV need to access your Mac, so that is why you don't see any issues with those other apps. If you had some other app on your Apple TV accessing a server for content (like Plex) that was running on your Mac while Nzbget was doing its thing, you would probably notice the slowdown, too.

But comparing the performance of other streaming apps to Channels in this context is like comparing apples and pigeons ... totally unrelated.

#6

In the OP:

#7

Yes, but also:

So, the comparison stands. The situation is not the same. Maybe a better comparison would be apples and pumpkins.

#8

Comparison doesn’t really stand. OP specifically used Plex as his example of apps that work while nzbget is doing its thing and you said he should compare channels to Plex because it wouldn’t work either.

And this quote just says maybe he should use those other, working apps like Plex instead of channels while his mac is doing its nzbget thing.

1 Like
#9

What would be useful though is more info from the OP on what he’s trying to do in channels when it’s stuttering. Watching a recording or watching live tv? If live whats the live source - custom channel or hdhomerun or TVE channel? Eaxh scenario may require the use of different resources.. then we can really get into discussions of apples and oranges and pumpkins.

1 Like
#10

I beg to differ, but perhaps we should wait until the OP actually chimes in with further details and specifics. Because we are all reading the same things, but interpreting the words differently.

Two data points that would help clarify things:

  1. When Nzbget is post-processing a download, does content from Channels play without issue on the same Mac?
    a. While accessing content through a web browser and the DVR web UI on the Mac?
    b. While accessing the DVR's content through a local media player (VLC, IINA, etc.) on the Mac?
  2. When Nzbget is post-processing a download, does content from a Plex server running on the Mac have any issues?
    a. Are there issues when accessing the Plex content on the Apple TV while Nzbget is post-processing?
    b. Are there any issues when playing Plex content through Plex's web UI in a browser on the Mac?
    c. Are there any issues playing the content directly in a media play with the post-processing is occurring?

These are all significant data points that have not specifically been addressed, and that may help to narrow the issue down. Again, more detail is better, because vague statements only lead to random guesses and misinterpretations.

1 Like
#11

1: Yes, I can play a recording on the Mac with VLC and it plays fine. both where NZBGET is post-processing and where my recording live are on the same hard drives(I have a USBC 8 bay external enclosure that I pool into 1 30TB drive they all store on) Live TV(OTA, TVE etc) seems to be less affected only recordings I want to play.

I'm using VLC, the DVR WebUI has always buffered even when nothing is running even on my PC I had before it died lol

2: Nope it plays fine on the Mac or my Apple TV with Plex or Air video HD on the Apple TV
3: I've never used Plexs web ui to play recordings, but I just tested and it had no issue playing content.

#12

The load averages will include disk IO wait. So open a terminal on your mac server and do something like this:
while true; do uptime; sleep 5; done

and leave the terminal window open. This way you can watch the load averages and see the full history over time. Note what happens when you are running your nzb utility + other things like channels recordings and comskip at the same time. It is likely that all the simultaneous IO is too much for your USB drive to keep up with.

1 Like
#13

For both 2 and 3, was that while Nzbget was post-processing? (You did not indicate, so again we're left to guess.)

#14

Sorry about that, Yes it was while NZBGET was post-processing

#15

Is it possible to switch the post-processing workflow? Use a tool external to NZBget, maybe one that’s more efficient, and/or that doesn’t similarly interfere with Channels DVR serving?

#16

Hopefully idk of any, I might try some others that you suggested like SABnzbd.

#17

Could you also talk a little about what kind of post processing you’re doing? Is it just extraction and file renaming and moving or are you re-encoding anything?

I run sonarr in a container on the channels RPi image and I don’t have any issues when processing so a M1 mac really should be fine with it.

Are you setup to use atomic moves and hardlinks? (See Hardlinks - Atomic Moves - TRaSH Guides)

#18

idk if that tells you anything, but I left it running for almost an hour I had NZBGET running downloading and post processing and watching(trying lol) Channels DVR. This encompasses all of that.

#19

well those load numbers are ok. So maybe its your network. Is the usenet downloads saturating your network connection?

#20

From just looking at it, it's extraction rename and moving to it's final place is all it does, no re-encoding. No I don't use atomic moves and hard links.