TVE Low Stream Quality Issue

namwoljr · September 7, 2019, 3:33pm

I've noticed that the stream quality for many channels is definitely worse than the stream in the standalone app. It looks to be about 480p in Channels DVR vs 1080p in their respective apps. I especially notice it with ESPN, where in the ESPN app, it will start off looking like 480p, and then snap up in resolution once the buffer catches up, whereas the stream in Channels DVR just stays in 480p and never goes up in resolution.

Is there a chance Channels DVR is accidentally requesting a lower quality stream in my setup? I'm running on a Raspberry Pi 4, which might not officially supported, so maybe there's something in that build that's different than other builds?

tmm1 · September 7, 2019, 4:50pm

The DVR always tries to pick the highest bandwidth stream. Do you see this behavior all the time on ESPN or only randomly? Any other channels affected?

namwoljr · September 7, 2019, 5:08pm

It's all the time on ESPN. US Open tennis is noticeably sharper in the ESPN app compared to Channels DVR. I also compared other ESPN shows just to rule out maybe something wrong with their particular feed from the US Open. I've been running Channels DVR on my Pi for almost a week, and I wanted to be sure about it before I posted this issue, so I checked another channel I watch less frequently (FX), and it appears low resolution as well when comparing to the native app feed.

tmm1 · September 7, 2019, 5:14pm

What device are you running Channels on? Is it at home and set to Original quality?

If you make an ESPN recording and check View Details on it via the web UI, what does it show for resolution?

namwoljr · September 7, 2019, 5:38pm

The DVR is on my Raspberry Pi 4, and I'm running channels on an Apple TV 4K. Settings are Home and Original quality.

When I check View Details for Pardon the Interruption on ESPN, it says 720p HDTV.

tmm1 · September 7, 2019, 5:52pm

If you watch the recorded file in VLC does it look the same as on the app?

The espn website is giving us a 720p 60fps 10mbps feed which is what the DVR records. It seems like that's what's in your recorded file.

namwoljr · September 7, 2019, 7:52pm

It may technically be 720p, but it's definitely low bit rate. Watching live or recorded in the Channels app is the same. I'd try to watch in VLC, but my Pi 4 is headless and I don't have file sharing set up, so that's not something I can do quickly.

If it helps, my provider is Spectrum. I also had Channels DVR set up on my MacBook Air a couple of months ago, and didn't notice any difference in quality, so it might be something specific to the Raspberry Pi. I definitely can see a difference. In the ESPN app, it starts at what looks like 480p, and then "snaps" to HD after about 5 seconds and you can see the resolution jump, just like in Netflix. In Channels, it never "snaps" to HD...it just stays in low resolution for whatever reason.

tmm1 · September 7, 2019, 8:14pm

The ESPN app starts at low bitrates and switches once it starts playing.

The DVR always starts at the highest bitrate from the beginning. You should be getting a 10mbps stream.

The DVR code is the same regardless of where it's running, so the RPI shouldn't make a difference.

Do you notice a difference between the ESPN app and espn.com in a browser?

koltasi · September 10, 2019, 12:16am

Same experience for me. Using the ESPN app on AppleTV 4K looks amazing. Using via channels is def appears to be maxing out on a lower quality stream. Watching MNF.

tmm1 · September 10, 2019, 12:53am

The quality looks the same as what I see on http://www.espn.com/watch/player

The feeds in their Apple TV app do look better, so they must be using different higher quality feeds for their app as compared to their website.

koltasi · September 10, 2019, 12:56am

Gotta say, AppleTV 4K PQ is fantastic on an OLED. Thx.

tmm1 · December 6, 2019, 6:42pm

We made some improvements to ESPN quality in the latest dvr build. Please try it out and share your experiences.

namwoljr · December 14, 2019, 4:57pm

I have noticed ESPNs streaming quality is improved and seems to match the quality in their native app. Just out of curiosity, what exactly was changed under the hood?

tmm1 · December 14, 2019, 5:25pm

We found a way to request a higher quality stream from their servers.

Matt_Maynard · January 9, 2020, 1:51pm

espn looks great to me in the channels app but I have a similar experience as above with local fox sports channels. I get motion blur and what looks like some dropped frames in the channels app but the fox apps look great. I'm using a fire stick 4k on a 4k tv... set to original quality and hardware decoding. Software decoding seems to be a little worse. Could a better stream be available from fox sports as well?