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Video not starting to play


mailtomark

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mailtomark

I am not sure which category to post this to, so for now I am posting it in the one for my player.

 

I am using the Emby app on a Roku2, my server is located on an Asustor AS304T.

I have a bunch of videos that I recorded on my iPhone 5s (running iOS 10.1.1)

I am connecting the Roku directly to the Emby server without using EmbyPremiere or logging into an Emby account.

 

I uploaded the videos to the Asustor NAS into the folder that is linked into the Emby library.

The videos do show up there. I am able to play them from there when I use the browser to connect from my PC to the Emby web interface of the Asustor NAS.

 

On the Roku2 Emby app, the videos are listed in the library folder. When I select a video, it opens the detail screen for the video with the "Play" button. I select "Play" and it looks like it starts loading, then does not do anything for a few seconds, then drops back to the screen for the selected video with the "Play" button.

 

Why can I not play that video?

 

I also tried Plex with the same video files. In Plex, I am also unable to load the original video (apparently due to encoding, size, and/or the weak server) using the Roku2 Plex app, but I am able to have Plex re-encode the video for mobile devices and then the Roku will play that re-encoded version fine. That version is a lot smaller and has less bandwidth.

 

I have not found an option to explicitly make Emby re-encode my video, so I am not sure if the reason for Emby playback failing is the same as for Plex playback failing on that same original file.

 

What do I need to do to play my videos?

 

Thank you in advance!

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  • 3 weeks later...
mailtomark

Hello,

sorry for the late reply. Attached are the log files.

I tried to play back some time after the 10:03:00 timestamp mark.

 

This time the behaviour was a little different: It did say "retrieving" for about 30 seconds or so, then started playing a little bit (approx. one second), then cut over to a blck screen that said "loading".

I have a feeling the server might try to re-encode for a different bitrate on the fly and is just not able to keep up. It is pretty weak hardware I guess...

Is there a way to just not reencode on the fly and instead do it offline in advance? How do I know what settings to re-encode to for the Roku 2?

 

Thank you...

server-63617306408.txt

ffmpeg-transcode-a26539fd-d70a-4022-970b-dfff1f06d588.txt

ffmpeg-transcode-7f0de510-dc86-4d0b-89ba-d29f1b1a431a.txt

ffmpeg-transcode-7cf92a8d-9cf5-4466-9f45-e90b9ec686f2.txt

ffmpeg-transcode-08df822c-db62-48a9-92b6-acbf6b88ac20.txt

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mastrmind11

 

Is there a way to just not reencode on the fly and instead do it offline in advance? How do I know what settings to re-encode to for the Roku 2?

 

 

 

Use the sync option and select Roku from the list of pre-configured settings.  Then when you try to play, the server will automatically serve the appropriate media to your device(s).

Edited by mastrmind11
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Yea these failures are just due to not getting fast enough transcoding.

 

If you'd like to pre-encode then what you can do is check out our wiki on folder sync:

 

https://github.com/MediaBrowser/Wiki/wiki/Folder%20Sync

 

You can setup a folder and Emby will sync additional copies of the media to that folder. Then when you try to play from Emby apps, they can direct play those synced copies. Let us know how it goes. Thanks !

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Happy2Play

Looks like you have the app Video Qualtiy at default 3.2.  So adjusting the Video Quality in the Roku app  Options-Preferences-Video Quality to a higher bitrate should cause Remux instead of Transcode also.

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mailtomark

Assuming that there is no transcoding required, I would expect that the movies are really being "streamed" as opposed to being downloading the entire file? Meaning they are delivered bit by bit and playback will start once the first bit is available, not after first downloading everything, correct?

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mailtomark

Looks like you have the app Video Qualtiy at default 3.2.  So adjusting the Video Quality in the Roku app  Options-Preferences-Video Quality to a higher bitrate should cause Remux instead of Transcode also.

 

Could you please provide more details on this? Which criteria are considered in the decision of Remux vs Transcode? Bitrate only? Resolution? Encoding format? Frame rate?

What needs to match? What is the best setup/configuration for this particular hardware combination (videos originally shot with iPhone 5 and iPhone 6 playing back on Roku 2)?

And server running on Asustor NAS (model AS304-T), although I suspect that this should not really matter...

Edited by mailtomark
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All of the above.

 

Things such as bitrate, codec, level, refframe, codectag, framerate, maxaudiochannels, etc.. There are many variables taken into account for the auto-detection to make the right choices. How you set the preferences in the app also affects decision making.

 

You may want to try the blue neon night app on your roku. This app has better codec support, has separate max bandwidths for local, remote, and liveTV. It also allows you to "force" playmethods, includes video player fallback and playback error dialogs. Both apps can exist side by side on your roku homescreen.

 

For more info see here:

https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/24151-theme-blue-neon-night/

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

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