Only Transcode MPEG-2 or by source?

Channels DVR Server
#1

I'm using a Fire Stick 3rd Gen and HDHomeRun Prime, and just like everyone else, it's having issues decoding the OTA mpeg-2 streams. When I switch it to using the 8 mbps transcoder, it works great. However, I also have some TVE Channels and Virtual Channels. When it transcodes those, they look ridiculously bad.

So, my question is: is there a way to only transcode the MPEG-2 streams, or set the transcode settings based on source? Keeping TVE and Virtual on Original and using 8 mbps on HDHomeRun would be amazing.

I apologize if this has been asked before, but I couldn't find it with the searches I tried. Thanks!

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#2

I'm curious to hear the official answer as I would think that TVE wouldn't transcode with an 8 mbps setting (no TVE I've seen is that high a bitrate) Guess I was wrong TV Everywhere stream details in Google Sheet

When you say OTA mpeg2 streams, do you mean the local network channels from your Prime tuner, or do you also have an OTA (Over The Air) tuner?

#3

Hmm, maybe it was only the Virtual channels that were being re-transcoded. I'll have to confirm that now.

Sorry, that was the incorrect use of OTA. I meant the ones coming from the Prime.

#4

What exactly is the issue with mpeg2 on your device?

Did you try switching Settings > Playback > Advanced > Video Decoder

#5

Locking up after 20-30 minutes.

I did. Hardware dies after some time, and the software/hybrid options are dropping like half of the frames almost immediately. I did pull the power on the Fire Stick just to see if it was a memory issue or something, but there is no real change. mpeg4 streams will play for hours without an issue.

#6

One of the many reasons that my 3 firesticks went into the trashcan. Switched to Appletv and cant be happier now.

2 Likes
#7

3rd Gens are old ... get a FireTV 4K or Max no problem playing anything I throw at them.

#8

I assumed the regular 4k was a no-go, since it's 2 years older than the 3rd gen. I'll give that a try, I guess.

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#9

Just to be clear, I have both the 4k and the 4k MAX and the MAX is notably snappier. At $40 I would go for the 4k MAX.

#10

3rd Gen is 1080P and has less horsepower I am sure you can trade them in for discount. Like KRYPTO said 4K max is the way to go.

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#11

Yeah. I cheaped out and bought my kids FireTv Stick 4K max's when they went to college this year. It didn't take a week for both of them to call me complaining about how much worse the experience is than with the AppleTV's that they are used to at home. I sent them each an AppleTV and they couldn't be happier. I told them to trash the FireTV Sticks. I tried using one for my travel streamer in hotel rooms because of the size and I travel a lot. I ended up buying an AppleTV travel case on Amazon and now use an AppleTV for my travels. The smaller size isn't worth the trouble.

#12

Can you please expand on exactly what the problem your kids had with the FireTV sticks? I'd really like to know how they compare to the Apple products remotely. What exactly do they mean by "how much worse the experience is?" I'm trying to justify the cost difference when the Apple devices are 3 to 5 times the price.

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#13

Agreed. That's a big pill to swallow, especially since there are four TVs in the house that have cable boxes I want to dump.

#14

Well, the Fire Stick 4k Max seems to have fixed any issues with MPEG-2 decoding. I'll need to give it a few more days to be sure, but it definitely didn't lock up or drop a lot of frames in the couple of hours I was running it yesterday.

Guess I'll replace them all.

#15

I use Firestick 4K Max devices as my main streamers and they are working just fine for me. But they do have one significant problem, they have very limited storage memory. Channels using the client memory for its live tv pause and you may end up with less than 10 min of pause time. If you want more pause time, there are two choices: 1. Add an interface cable to connect a USB flash drive and move the Channels app to this memory or 2. Use the Beta Channels app and select the Debug option to Always use HLS. This can give you a four hour or more live TV pause capability.
AppleTV devices come with much more storage memory which is probably one of the reasons users highly recommend them. But I added memory to my Firestick Max units for less than $15, which is still much cheaper than the Apple devices. But I recommend trying the HLS option first to see if works for you.

#16

@Michael_Birk
Good suggestions for FireTV users ... I also have added storage to my Firetv Max's and I have 2 Cheap Toshiba FireTVs which I use HLS on.

#17

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