Stuttery playback on live HD channels

Channels Apple TV
#1

Hi

I am in the UK and have three Apple TV HDs (4th Generation) connected to a Channels DVR server running on a Mac Mini M4 and a HDHomeRun Connect (HDHR4-2DT). The Channels app on the Apple TVs are all running v7.0.2 and the Channels server is running 2026.02.09.1530. The Apple TVs are all connected via ethernet and the Channels speed test shows an average ping of 3.6ms and a download speed of 93Mbps. The reported signal strength and quality are usually around 96% and 99% respectively.

When I view any HD channel live, the playback stutters very frequently making it almost unusable to watch. Looking at the stats output, I often see hundreds of dropped frames over the course of a minute. Interestingly, if I play any recorded tv shows, the number of dropped frames is almost zero.

Is there anything I can do to improve this, as we would like to switch over to using Channels full time, but at present the stuttering on live TV is not going down well with the family!

Thanks
Chris

#2

There is a similar issue being discussed here Live TV Playing In Slow Motion on Apple TV 4k

If that's not it, try changing your Channels client settings on the Apple TV 4K
Settings > Playback > Streaming Quality > Home Streaming = Original
Settings > Playback > Streaming Quality > Original Quality Delivery = Direct
Settings > Playback > Advanced > Tuner Sharing = Off

This will make the Apple TV get the stream directly from your HDHR tuner, instead of going through the DVR Server (to rule out the server and network path from tuner to server).

#3

Thanks. I have seen that post about Live TV playing in slow motion, but I don't think it's quite the same. Also, just to confirm that I'm running Channels on the older Apple TV HD models.

I have just checked and Home Streaming is set to Original, Original Quality Delivery is set to Direct and Tuner Sharing is off.

#4

Try changing the settings on one to see if it helps
Settings > Playback > Streaming Quality > Original Quality Delivery = Stream

#5

I tried changing one of the Apple TVs to stream from the DVR server, and unfortunately the video still stutters.

However I have tried installing the latest tvOS beta and with all the settings back to default live HD tv playback seems a lot better. In the few minutes I've tested it, I've observed one instance where the video briefly paused. Will keep testing this and will report back!

Thanks again.