jackthedoc 9 Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 My home network is currently TP-Link mesh, using multiple Deco X20 units, using Wi-Fi 6 protocol with internet access 100 Mb/s. My LG OLED TV is connected to my Apple TV 4K (Wi-Fi 6) and Google Chrome TV (Wi-Fi 5). I have the EMBY app on both of these. When I play a 4K movie using these devices, there is stutter and jerking. If, on the other hand, I play these movies on my iPad Pro, the movie plays without issue. And there are no problems when I play the file on the desktop computer that carries the EMBY server. Does anyone have any idea how I can improve my TV experience? Are there settings that can fine-tune the 4K experience. My EMBY server is on my desktop computer, which is running the latest iteration of Windows 11 Pro (23h2) and is connected to my home Wi-Fi network using protocol 6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusher11 851 Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Logs? Both server and ffmpeg logs, if the latter is present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackthedoc 9 Posted March 17 Author Share Posted March 17 Thanks, I will search how to create these logs and get back with the results. Best wishes John Norris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathanael 4 Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Is your server powerfull enough for transcoding? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanmaCanada 345 Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 For the Apple TV, I would blame the Apple TV as it more than likely is forcing your server to transcode the files. Emby devs have been fighting with it for years, so I would suggest you just pay for Infuse or pirate it, and your experience will be far better. As for the Google Chrome TV, I have not heard of that model/device. Chromecast with Google TV yes, Google Chrome TV, no. But if it's casting and not direct playing, that would fall back to your server not being powerful enough. When you experience this stuttering and jerkiness are the files direct playing, or are they being transcoded? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackthedoc 9 Posted March 18 Author Share Posted March 18 Yes, of course you are correct: it is a Chromecast with Google TV and not a Google Chrome TV... The neologism was the result of me being a bit too casual in my nomenclature. My PC was purchased in 2018 and has the following components. Since purchase, I have added a wifi-6 card. Motherboard: GIGABYTE Z370 HD3: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs (RGB Ready) 1 1 CPU: Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-8400 (2.8GHz) 9MB Cache 1 Memory (RAM): 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 2400MHz (2x8GB) 1 Graphics Card: 6GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 - DP, HDMI, DVI (VR Ready) Is this powerful enough to do all that is required? Where do I find the "transcoding" settings? Is the information available within the app interface? Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I am fairly computer savvy, but I have no skills in networking hook-ups Regards and thanks John Norris Australia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanmaCanada 345 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 If you have Premiere, yes as it would use the Nvidia card or the built in Asics on the i5-8400. If you don't have Premiere, than no, as you would be software transcoding. So when you are experiencing stuttering, is it transcoding, or direct playing? You can go to the server dashboard and it will tell you, and then go to the User Sessions tab and it will give you more information. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackthedoc 9 Posted March 18 Author Share Posted March 18 Thanks, RanmaCanada, I found the server dashboard and it told me that I was playing a certain film last night, with beginning and ending the viewing process noted, but where exactly is the User sessions Tab? I cannot find this. Simply unfamiliar with the software. Your help is greatly appreciated. I should point out that I am a 75 year old punter with a lot of "on the fly" learning. Regards John Norris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanmaCanada 345 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 3 minutes ago, jackthedoc said: Thanks, RanmaCanada, I found the server dashboard and it told me that I was playing a certain film last night, with beginning and ending the viewing process noted, but where exactly is the User sessions Tab? I cannot find this. Simply unfamiliar with the software. Your help is greatly appreciated. I should point out that I am a 75 year old punter with a lot of "on the fly" learning. Regards John Norris When you go to the server dashboard you will notice a column on the left hand side margin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwhodges 1530 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 I think you need the diagnostics plugin to see the User Sessions. Paul 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackthedoc 9 Posted March 18 Author Share Posted March 18 Thanks, Paul. Where do I locate and install the diagnostics plugin? Thanks to both of you for your patient understanding and help! John N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwhodges 1530 Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 It's in the standard plugins catalogue (Catalog tab of the Plugins page on the Dashboard menu.), in the General section, named "Emby Diagnostics". It is advised not to try changing things with it though, unless the devs ask you to try something out. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackthedoc 9 Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 Well, I've installed the diagnostic plugin for what it's worth and will now stand by for any further instructions. Thanks, responders John Norris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37066 Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 On 3/16/2024 at 10:22 PM, jackthedoc said: My home network is currently TP-Link mesh, using multiple Deco X20 units, using Wi-Fi 6 protocol with internet access 100 Mb/s. My LG OLED TV is connected to my Apple TV 4K (Wi-Fi 6) and Google Chrome TV (Wi-Fi 5). I have the EMBY app on both of these. When I play a 4K movie using these devices, there is stutter and jerking. If, on the other hand, I play these movies on my iPad Pro, the movie plays without issue. And there are no problems when I play the file on the desktop computer that carries the EMBY server. Does anyone have any idea how I can improve my TV experience? Are there settings that can fine-tune the 4K experience. My EMBY server is on my desktop computer, which is running the latest iteration of Windows 11 Pro (23h2) and is connected to my home Wi-Fi network using protocol 6. Hi there, let's look at an example. Please attach the information requested in how to report a media playback issue. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanmaCanada 345 Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 (edited) 38 minutes ago, jackthedoc said: Well, I've installed the diagnostic plugin for what it's worth and will now stand by for any further instructions. Thanks, responders John Norris Ok since you've installed it, check to see that the User Sessions tab is available. If it is, great, means we can go to the next step which is to play something and check the User Sessions tab and click on the user that is playing something. It will tell you everything you need to know. If you are completely confuzzled about it, feel free to post a screen shot and we can decipher it for you. This is your Dashboard view. This is your user session view. As you can see it tells me on the dashboard it is transcoding, and the user session screen tells me exactly HOW it is transcoding and WHY. In this instance it is using quicksync, denoted by the (h264_qsv) and the bold green letters that say QuickSync. The WHY reason is due to quality setting. I've had to limit this user to 5mbit as their ISP throttles all streaming traffic. Edited March 19 by RanmaCanada Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanmaCanada 345 Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 This is the eventual next area we are going to go to, once you post your screen shots. BTW do you have Premiere or not? Or do you not know? haha There would be a section on the Dashboard under server that you would click on called Emby Premiere (I have the tab because I have Premiere, not sure if it shows up if you do not) and it will let you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackthedoc 9 Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 Just to get it out of the way: yes, I have the Premium version of Emby 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackthedoc 9 Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 I have been experimenting with casting to my Chromecast with Google TV device and so far the playback is now smooth and unbuffered with no hint of any problem. I checked the "user session" tab on my Emby server software and it shows: Stream MKV (59.7 mbps) ￫ Direct Play Video 4K Dolby Vision HEVC ￫ Direct Play (59.7 mbps) Audio English TRUEHD 7.1 (Default) ￫ Direct Play Subtitles English (SRT) Play Position 22:34 Transc. Pos Transc. Buffer Does this mean that all is OK? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackthedoc 9 Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 From the examples given above, it appears that it is "better" if the server can "direct play" rather than transcode? Is that correct? I really apologise to those who understand the intricacies of server function; it must be very distressing when someone with very little knowledge tries to ask a question! But you have all been very kind to me, and I am extremely grateful for your advice. John Norris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanmaCanada 345 Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 So the fact it is direct playing means that it may be an issue with your wifi. Casting is in my informed opinion, bad, and everything should be played directly. I don't think you're actually casting to your Chromecast with Google TV as it should have the Emby app installed on it, and it should be playing it directly, IF I understand how that device works. Unless you are playing it from your phone to the TV? How about when you play 4k content from your other devices? Is the LG TV direct playing, and I know for a fact the Apple TV won't be haha. For your second question, for 4k content, yes, absolutely yes. It is always best to play it directly than to transcode it. I know this is asking a lot, but if you have another Android device, like a phone or tablet, can you grab wifi analyzer from the google play store and check to see how much noise there is in your home from competing wifi networks. The app will show you how many networks there are, what channels they are using, and how they are overlapping. It may mean you need to either change your channels, or possibly upgrade your hardware to something that can be hardwired, as hardwired is the absolute best way to transfer 4k content. I do not know if this app can be installed on the Chromecast or not. It might be able to. Now as for the Apple TV, 4k content is a mess on it, and you would be best to pay for Infuse, install the Emby plugin, and have a much better experience. There are threads about it in the Apple TV section of the forum on how to do this (I hate Apple TV with a passion, so I can't help you with that, I'm sorry). And as for your LG TV, it could be the audio track or video profile causing transcoding, or again the wifi acting up (test both to see so you can understand what is going on). Hardwire would be best. Overall I would run one cable to where your entertainment section is, then plug it into a gigabit network switch, and then plug each device if possible, into the switch. I hope this helps and that I haven't given you too much information, or I haven't missed anything. If I have, I hope someone else will chime in and correct me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackthedoc 9 Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 No. That was a very instructive tutorial, and I am very grateful for the time you have taken. You are quite correct, I am obviously not casting to my Chromecast, it does have the Emby app installed. The problem that I originally reported may, indeed, be a Wi-Fi issue. The stutter and buffering were more a feature of my Wi-Fi setup before I changed over to a mesh system that appears to be able to produce a strong signal throughout my house (2 levels with a lot of brick and concrete). Now I can head off and experiment a bit more with my Emby/Chromecast setup and will probably give the Apple TV 4K a miss ... as you suggested. Thanks again to everyone who offered help. Much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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