Playback problem on Roku Express 4K

[scb99 188]

Hi, I just got a Roku Express 4K

I also have a Roku Premiere

All settings are the same on both as far as I can tell, latest Roku OS, latest released Emby version, and display connection speed set to the lowest HD 4Gb

The server is the latest beta 4.8.39

On many MPEG2 files, on the new Roku - the Roku Express -, when playing back I get an effect as per the attached photo (sorry, I just took a photo of the TV screen, didn't know how else to show you!)

They play back fine on the old Roku, the Roku Express 4K

It seems to be only an MPEG2 problem

I attach

1. Image showing the problem

2 ffmpeg log for working Roku

3 ffmpeg log for non-working Roku

Both logs, and the image, refer to the same mkv file so are directly comparable

(By the way, can I just mention that the supposedly "anonymised" logs contained (a) my full name as the user, which I replaced by admin, and (b) the full external ip address and port for the server I was using, which I replaced with xxx:nnnn)

 

ffmpeg-Express (problem).txt ffmpeg-Premiere (Works).txt

Edited July 22, 2023 by scb99

[ebr 14935]

Hi.  The two tests are with two different videos with different resolutions and frame-rates.  Can you test the same exact file?

[scb99 188]

Ah so sorry the first log is the wrong log. Give me an hour or so to be at my desk and I will up the correct one. 

[scb99 188]

OK Here is the log I had meant to upload. It corresponds exactly to the image I posted and is from the same mkv as the working log from the Premiere.

Please note that in fact, the supposedly non-working log from yesterday is from a file which ***DID*** display correctly (I was clicking around various files to see what worked and what didn't), so I was completely misleading you there.

Again, very sorry for wasting your time there. Hopefully this time you have what you need. 

 

ffmpeg-Express (problem).txt

[ebr 14935]

The video being fed to the device is identical in both cases so I would investigate the settings on the Roku devices themselves and look for any differences - especially in the case of display setup.

[scb99 188]

I did do exactly that already before posting, and could find no differences.

is there anything specific you could suggest, that I might have missed?

thanks

[ebr 14935]

Are they attached to the same TV?  All settings inside the Roku Display settings (not Emby) are identical?

[scb99 188]

Yes same TV, i literally pulled the HDMI cable out of one Roku device and plugged it into the other.

Both Roku devices have display set to HD 1080p automatic.

it’s quite repeatable that one device works, the other doesnt, just on 25i MPEG2 I think.

Am I missing something?

[ebr 14935]

Not sure at this point.  Interlaced SD Mpeg 2 is a lot of legacy stuff and something is not handling it well on that box I guess.  You could try turning off HWA on your server just as a test to see if it makes a difference.

[scb99 188]

I did try switching off HWA. No difference.

It’s definitely the 25i that it doesn’t like I think, US DVD stuff all plays fine, European DVD’s not.

Works OK with Plex btw

I’ll try a different TV tomorrow.

[speechles 1920]

Hi. Did you turn off hardware acceleration entirely and make sure in the ffmpeg log that it was using software? Can we see a result of that ffmpeg using software encoding too?

In your first ffmpeg log is the following:
>>>>>>  Hardware Decoders for mpeg2video
        [X] QuickSync JasperLake UHD Graphics - MPEG-2
        [X] VAAPI JasperLake UHD Graphics - MPEG-2

>>>>>>  Hardware Encoders for h264
        [X] QuickSync JasperLake UHD Graphics - H.264 (AVC)

 

I have issues on a 4K Roku streaming stick+ when it won't even begin playback unless I disable the decoder for quicksync. Once I do that and let software handle the decoding it is okay. You can disable these separately in the transcoding settings if you set the hardware acceleration to advanced. The log above does show transcoding occur so this model does not support MPEG2 for direct play. What is the model number of your Roku having the issue?

Edited July 24, 2023 by speechles

[scb99 188]

Hi @speechles

I didn't check the log to make sure, I'll do that in a day or so as I'm travelling tomorrow and packing now. But I never had a problem before to change these settings from my phone, I've done it often when I'm testing stuff and it always works. The HWA on that server is anyway set to advanced because I have quicksync moved up and VAAPI down, and disabled HWA for VC1 (all of that is another story). So all I did was disable hardware (both quicksync and VAAPI) for MPEG2 and hit save.

I'm playing remotely so I think it will always transcode down to the bandwidth? It was anyway transcoding both models, "working" and "non-working" so that's not a differentiating factor.

The "non-working" model is Express 4K 3940X. I'm taking that with me to where I live in Germany tomorrow, where I'll try it with a different TV, and also check the logs from earlier to make sure it did revert to SW transcoding (but to be honest Im sure it would have worked).

Edited July 24, 2023 by scb99

[ebr 14935]

17 hours ago, scb99 said:

I'm playing remotely so I think it will always transcode down to the bandwidth?

Correct.  In your logs that is the reason for the transcode in both cases. 

[scb99 188]

No time for this at the moment. I'll post as and when I have more time to spare. Sorry.