Remote streaming buffering

Channels DVR Server Troubleshooting
#1

I’ve been noticing here lately that my remote streams are randomly buffering more and more when the client is set to anything other than Original quality. I’ve now had the issue in 2 different homes. 1 is my mom with ATT 35mbps download and appletv 4K and the other is a buddy in my neighborhood with fiber 150mbps down/up on TiVo streams.

I too am on fiber 150mbps down/up. I know my internet bandwidth isn’t the issue. When I changed my moms streaming quality from 8mbps to original she said it’s working fine.

I’m wondering if something has changed on the dvr or client that doesn’t transcode well. My DVR is sitting on a Synology 1019+.

Any help would be appreciated.

#2

I just submitted my DVR logs. My transcoder is running at 1.00x and sometimes dipping below to .98x or .99x.

I changed my playback for home streaming to 8mbps so I could eliminate anything internet related and was getting the same experience with the transcoder not able to keep up.

#3

I just tried the old transcoder and I’m now running >1.00x. Should I just run with that for right now?

1 Like
#4

@tmm1 is there anything else that you want from me in regards to this?

#5

0.9-1x is normal for live TV.

I'm not really sure what's going on, but perhaps @eric has some idea. We'd need diagnostics from the client after the issue occurs.

#6

@eric have you had a chance to review what I sent to the support email?

#7

#8

This is normal for live tv. What is the rate and FPS for a recording?

#9

Keep in mind that this is for remote viewing.

1.00x I agree is normal after it buffers...but it is dropping to below 1.00x for extended periods of time where the client will then wait for the buffer to catch up. The moment that I turned on the old transcoder, I saw a difference in how the transcoder was performing. It would jump up to 1.48x and slowly come back down then hover at 1.00x and never dip below. When using the new transcoder it would always go below 1.00x and struggle to keep up.

#10

0.9x is normal for live tv and not related to the problem I think. Comparing speed on recording will show the actual capabilities of the transcoder. The measurement technique on the old and new transcoder changed and the new one is more accurate in the math.

#11

Ok...I just turned the old transcoder off...let me play around with it again and see if I run into the issue again.

#12

I've made an improvement to the way the transcoding speed is reported for Live TV that should hopefully clear up the confusion of the rate being reported as slightly less than 1x. I've seen it much more consistently reporting 1x speeds. To try it out, please press-and-hold on the Check For Updates button in the Settings page of your DVR.

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#13

Where do we find the ‘Check for Updates’ setting?

I’m having issues with buffering of recorded shows.

server on Windows 10
Chromecast TV with Google

Thx

#14

On the DVR settings web UI on your PC

1 Like
#15

Anyway to address this while away from home?

#16

You can click the button from my.channelsdvr.net

3 Likes
#17

Channels Pre-Release

2 Likes
#18

Circling back to this topic.

I just changed my configuration around and my mom has told me that Channels Remote Streaming doesn't buffer at all anymore. She's just been living with all of her live tv viewing buffering multiple times randomly during her show.

My current setup is my Mac Mini connected to a QNAP TR-004. This setup has resolved all buffering.

My previous setup was a Beelink box with N5095 connected to my Synology NAS. My DVR directory lived on the NAS.

I now have my DVR directory living on the TR-004 and use my NAS as the 2nd storage path. I tried the TR-004 on the Beelink but it was still buffering. Tried the Mac Mini and Synology combo for my DVR directory, still buffered.

Sounds like I had 2 problems at the same time. But for me, having my DVR directory on the NAS resulted in buffering from any dedicated server box.