Stuttering on ATV watching live TV without EXTEND transcoding

Channels Apple TV Troubleshooting
#1

I am not sure which version of Channels caused the issue but I have seen it consistently over the past couple of months. Here are a couple of scenarios with what has worked with HD Homerun / Channels app / ATV4k. All devices are hardwired.

Scenario 1 : ATV4k-> 1080p TV, no audio or video stuttering.
Scenario 2 : ATV4k-> 4k or 4k HDR TV, audio is ok but video is stuttering

Solving for Scenario 2 -
Within Channels app, go to Settings -> Transcode -> Set it to "Heavy".

Originally my Transcode setting was set to "none", I set it to Heavy. Stuttering is not totally gone but is significantly reduced.

Apple TV 4K - Stuttering Video
#2

By changing your EXTEND to use Heavy mode you are reducing bandwidth usage by 5x. The original "none" stream uses mpeg2 which is about 2MB per second of video. Additionally the hdhomerun requires very low latency otherwise it starts dropping packets which appears as stuttering.

This means the network connection between your TV and the HDHR is not stable and not fast enough. Is the hardwire Ethernet going to the same switch as the hdhomerun? Or are you chaining multiple switches or using a wireless bridge or power line?

See the pinned faq topic for instructions on how to run a speedtest to the Apple TV.

#3

As I mentioned, everything is hardwired. The stuttering issue only happens with Channels on a 4k TV. You are right about the dropping packets.. the picture is low quality but atleast it is not stuttering :smile:

#4

I understand your network is wired, but I'm saying that something is still wrong and its not getting the speeds you should be for a wired network. If you run a speedtest you can verify whether or not my theory is accurate.

Packet drops cause stuttering. Low quality images use fewer packets, and so there's no packets being dropped.

#5

Just checked the speed. It’s Over 450 mbps downlink to the appletv. I have a gigabit network.

#6

Can you screenshot and post here? Did you use the speedtest that's built into the app, by looking up the IP of your ATV then using http://x.x.x.x:57000/speedtest with that IP while the app is running?

You can also try the free apps VLC or InstaTV on the same Apple TV to see if they stutter or not.

Also after you see the stuttering issue, click Submit Diagnostics at the bottom of the Settings tab and post here with your HDHR ID when the logs finish uploading.

#7

I can connect to port 57000 but i dont quite see the speedtest option on the browser - the screen is blank.

is a screenshot of the speedtest.net on the appletv.

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#8

Just submitted logs. HDHR ID is 1051E46

#10

The speedtest will only work if Channels is active on the screen.

#11

Thanks for the logs. It's showing something very unusual. Can you capture a video sample and email it to us.

#12

How do I capture a video sample ? Sign up for a free month of DVR ?

#13

I provided instructions in the link above

#14

woops.. just saw it. Ill try to get you a sample later tonight. Apologies for the delay.

#15

HEre are 2 samples from different channels

#16

@tmm1 Let me know if you got those. Thanks.

#17

Here is a file from today. https://we.tl/t-T29lutzF8b

#18

Thanks, I have downloaded all three files and will do some testing tomorrow.

I'm also sending you a testflight invite so you can try the beta app to see if our video player upgrade improved anything.

#19

Hey bud. I got the invite but that is for the DVR - i dont have a DVR - do you recommend signing up for a trial ?

#20

Hmm, sorry I forgot the beta only works if you have DVR. You can sign up for the trial if you're interested in trying it out, but you would need to install the DVR server on a PC/NAS as well.

#21

OK .. let me try that for a week or so.