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Roku 4 Playback issues


RedBaron164

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RedBaron164

I picked up a Roku 4 on sale hoping it would play hevc/x265 files without the need to transcode them all. However when I played a variety of x265 files I found that the files were still transcoding. I've attached one of the transcoding logs for review. I kind of expected audio to transcode but was hoping the video would play straight through. I set the maximum bandwidth on the Roku client app to 30mbps but that had no effect. Is it possible I have something configured wrong or was I mistaken and the Roku 4 is just not going to play h265 files without transcoding?

 

The main reason I picked the Roku 4 was to get a streaming box that would stream h265 content without transcoding. So if the Roku 4 or the Emby app on Roku can't handle playing h265 content without streaming then I'd be ok with returning the Roku 4 and trying something else like the Fire TV.

 

I've also noticed another issue with the Roku 4 specifically. While playing some large h264/h265 files, the video playback isn't perfectly smooth and somewhat jittery (audio is fine). It's almost like the refresh rate isn't perfectly lining up with the TV. It wasn't an issue on the same tv with the previous Roku 2. I've compared the transcoding logs and in both cases the file is being transcoding into h264. I've tried with both wired/wireless connections and at multiple bandwidth settings and the issue appears to be present regardless of what settings I've tried. I monitored the cpu usage of ffmpeg and it uses 99% of the cpu regardless of what Roku client I'm using, so I don't think that's causing my issue. I even bumped the server from 6-cores up to 8 and it didn't change anything. I'm starting to think it's just an issue with the Roku 4 and maybe I should return it and get an Amazon Fire TV.

ffmpeg-transcode-46c26f82-aa78-4905-8bc3-4a490b44f277.txt

Edited by RedBaron164
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Try the blue neon app and use "force directstream" on that video. The video has dts-hd in 7.1, but that should pass the dts core to the roku in 5.1. The hevc the roku4 does support. This should solve the issue. :)

 

On an items detail screen will be a "more ..." button. Use this button, and it creates a dialog and in this dialog you will find the options to force rather than use auto-detection. Make sure to go through the options/preferences and raise video bandwidth to 40Mbps and change other settings as you see fit. Avoid changing codec settings at first, leave all those default. Raise the max framerate allowed to 61fps. This will allow full ~60fps hevc or h264 to pass through. Only change the codec settings if you have problems. Changing them when you dont may cause problems.

Edited by speechles
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RedBaron164

Not working, I've attached a server log.

 

Update: I've tried a few different file types. Some H265's fail to play outright but some others work. Some play without Audio and some do.

server-63610531200.txt

Edited by RedBaron164
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Not working, I've attached a server log.

Does the roku pop up an error dialog that the video ended prematurely?

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Edited by speechles
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RedBaron164

This one file I'm testing with says "Playback Error! video player closed prematurely. Your play method is Force Direct stream. change play method to use auto detection." I wonder if the audio track is causing it. This file is DTS-HD MA 7.1. I've done further testing and some H265 files play with no sound and some do play fine. The only ones I've found so far that work ℅100 are TV shows.

 

The direct play of MPEG2 also does not appear to work.

Edited by RedBaron164
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This one file I'm testing with says "Playback Error! video player closed prematurely. Your play method is Force Direct stream. change play method to use auto detection." I wonder if the audio track is causing it. This file is DTS-HD MA 7.1. I've done further testing and some H265 files play with no sound and some do play fine. The only ones I've found so far that work ℅100 are TV shows.

 

The direct play of MPEG2 also does not appear to work.

Yeah, the mpeg2 is so far only shown to work on rokuTV because it supports native liveTV and has a dual tuner (PiP). Shame roku didnt add mpeg2 to all devices.

 

The native roku video player is used. When you force directstream this tells the roku to just play the file, dont determine if it can, just play it. This means the roku video player actively refused it as unsupported. It might be a certain level inside the hevc the roku doesnt like. When hevc is transcoded into hls this unfortunately means converting to h264. The stream cant be copied as hls is strict about what streams can be packaged within. There are new roku models on the horizon. These new devices may be better, at this point its only speculation. You may want to wait a few months to consider a device choice.

Edited by speechles
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RedBaron164

Yeah, I'm thinking this Roku 4 isn't going to work the way I'd hoped. Any idea if the Fire TV would be better at playing without transcoding?

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Yeah, I'm thinking this Roku 4 isn't going to work the way I'd hoped. Any idea if the Fire TV would be better at playing without transcoding?

The only current device truly capable of hevc without limits is the shieldTV. The fireTV models are presently less capable than roku4. This is why if you want it now, bite the bullet and get a shield. Otherwise wait 60 days, by that time the landscape will have changed considerably. The new devices by roku and amazon will pop up. These may put heat on the shield. The shield is heavily vested in gaming, and that $50 to get a real tv remote blows, but right now thats the only game in town. Pun intended because the shield is so gaming focused. Edited by speechles
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RedBaron164

Yeah, my problem is paying $300 for the shield but I guess you get what you pay for. I thought the FireTV's could use VLC which I was thinking might help. Only reason I got the 4 now was that it was on sale and my existing Roku2 has been super flaky.

Edited by RedBaron164
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Yeah, my problem is paying $300 for the shield but I guess you get what you pay for. I thought the FireTV's could use VLC which I was thinking might help.

The fireTV is built for amazons content. So if you are to consume primarily from their ecosystem well then, there you go. Hevc is hardware heavy. If the system doesnt support it (firetv doesnt) and vlc is used, it is using software to emulate the hardware so it can render frames to the buffer. This will drop frames, might lose sync and pace behind/forward in a regular cycle. It all depends on what is under the hood. If I were you I would wait until the new devices are released.
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RedBaron164

Yeah, I'm thinking I'm just going to return the Roku 4 and wait. I checked Amazon's page and for the FireTV it said H265 is supported.

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Yeah, I'm thinking I'm just going to return the Roku 4 and wait. I checked Amazon's page and for the FireTV it said H265 is supported.

Yeah, my bad.. its apple that never took the jump. The 4k fireTV does have hevc.

 

http://lifehacker.com/4k-set-top-box-showdown-roku-4-vs-shield-tv-vs-fire-1787055398

 

This article makes some good points. Especially this part when speaking of the fireTv, "It also showed the most lag while streaming of any box I tested.".

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

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