Skrumpy 3 Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 My users are having difficulty in getting consistently smooth playback of Live TV and Movies/TV. The issue is usually on their end (poor WiFi), but I am looking to be able to provide an easy solution (for them) to this issue. Since LiveTV doesn't buffer, this seems to be the biggest issue. I know you can go into each video and select the playback quality, which this level of granular control would be the best option as then they can maximize their playback quality to their particular connection. However, I don't think the majority of them know what 720p, 1080p or even what mbps is, so that is rather out of the question. What I've done is essentially just limit each user's streaming bandwidth to 3 mbps as I assume, even the most poorly configured WiFi network should be able to handle that. But to my question, is there a better way of handling this? Or should I just assume most of them have crap WiFi and just bump up the speed for those that don't? The only issue I see for bumping up the speed is that then when they go from WiFi to their cell network (or even to a different crappy WiFi) they are going to get crappy playback again. Unless there is a way around this I'm not seeing? It may even be nice to have playback profies (ideally autodetected) so that when a user gets on direct connect they can go to the max streaming bitrate, if on WiFi they can go up to a lower bitrate, then if they go on a cell network it drops the max to like 2 mbps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest asrequested Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 If the issue is their bandwidth, there's nothing you can do but transcode to match it. To that point, I recently added a user who has terrible internet bandwidth. I tested it at 3,5 Mb/s, but wouldn't stream above 1 Mb/s (jerky playback). They are upgrading to a better service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37249 Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 hi there @@Skrumpy, can we please look at an example of a time where an issue occurred? if you could please attach the information requested in how to report a media playback issue, we'll do our best to help. thanks ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skrumpy 3 Posted April 13, 2018 Author Share Posted April 13, 2018 Hey @@Luke, this wasn't really a bug that I've noticed. Playback just always proceeds at the maximal bandwidth provisioned, which can lead to choppy playback if not limited for users as they move from different connection environments, especially when playback outpaces the buffer. I think the biggest culprit is Live TV where there isn't a buffering mechanism. I guess the only option right now is to just limit those users as @ suggested and work with each 1 on 1 to define an optimal limit. I was just seeing if there were other options aside from the obvious. I'll just have to do a PSA to those members and probably lend my WiFi expertise out a bit more.. hah. Thanks guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37249 Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 Playback just always proceeds at the maximal bandwidth provisioned On the local network, yes. When away from home we do perform some bandwidth measuring tests although these are not always perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skrumpy 3 Posted April 13, 2018 Author Share Posted April 13, 2018 On the local network, yes. When away from home we do perform some bandwidth measuring tests although these are not always perfect. Yea, again you can't really be expected to fully correct for crappy WiFi or cell signals. I think the best option is to just limit everyone until I get complaints of quality. Maybe have users with multiple profiles (each with different streaming limits), one each for their mobile, WiFi, and wired devices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest asrequested Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 The users can also adjust it in the apps. Maybe educate them on if playback isn't smooth, they can lower it until it plays smoothly? If you cap it it at say 4Mb/s in the server, then they can adjust to they're needs, in the app. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skrumpy 3 Posted April 13, 2018 Author Share Posted April 13, 2018 The users can also adjust it in the apps. Maybe educate them on if playback isn't smooth, they can lower it until it plays smoothly? If you cap it it at say 4Mb/s in the server, then they can adjust to they're needs, in the app. Yea, in their profile and also on a per-video basis? Some of these individuals think a megabyte is something they take when they eat a Big Mac, they aren't really the type intrepid enough to undertake something like that (no matter how easy it actually is). They just want to push a button and make it work. I think different speed (user) profiles might be the solution (even if it's a big uglier initially) to get them to a point where they wouldn't really have to do much. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest asrequested Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 Yea, in their profile and also on a per-video basis? Some of these individuals think a megabyte is something they take when they eat a Big Mac, they aren't really the type intrepid enough to undertake something like that (no matter how easy it actually is). They just want to push a button and make it work. I think different speed (user) profiles might be the solution (even if it's a big uglier initially) to get them to a point where they wouldn't really have to do much. The problem with that is if they hop from ISP to ISP (mobile data, a friend's wifi, public WiFi etc) that bandwidth will change. It becomes more micromanagement, than set and forget. There isn't really a fix all, solution, unless you make huge compromises. Of course, if you know they have only one device, that will only ever be used on one network, the out can take some liberties. For my user, for now I had to set a hard limit of 0.75Mb/s, until they get their fiber, installed in a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skrumpy 3 Posted April 13, 2018 Author Share Posted April 13, 2018 (edited) The problem with that is if they hop from ISP to ISP (mobile data, a friend's wifi, public WiFi etc) that bandwidth will change. It becomes more micromanagement, than set and forget. There isn't really a fix all, solution, unless you make huge compromises. Of course, if you know they have only one device, that will only ever be used on one network, the out can take some liberties. For my user, for now I had to set a hard limit of 0.75Mb/s, until they get their fiber, installed in a week. Yea, I was thinking of giving them an account for mobile (used on any mobile device), because really, do they ever need to get 1080p video on ANY mobile device? Using this calculator and putting in a 15 inch diagonal screen (guesstimate for an ipad or small laptop monitor), they really can't see a full difference between 720p and 1080p unless they're holding the device between 2-3 feet. On a smaller screen (like a cell phone) I don't think it's possible to discern a difference unless the screen is an inch from your eyeballs. According to Twitch's streaming specifications 720p30fps should be good from 2.5 to 4 mbs. So maybe I'll try at just 2.5 and go from there. With my library I'm sure that will result in literally everything getting transcoded, but the system can handle it and it's worthwhile to provide a better experience. Does 0.75 mbs even allow for 480p? Fiber is definitely going to be a huge difference for that user.. hah. Edit: Links Edited April 13, 2018 by Skrumpy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest asrequested Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 At 0.75, it's horribly compressed. Fortunately, they don't care about HD. I just need to get it streamed, consistently. The wifi to their device is crap, too. I was testing playback over their WiFi, from 4ft away from the router, and anything above 1Mb/s would frequently, buffer. So you may have to juggle, a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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