Sync'ing and Downloading TV episodes to Phone is Terrible

[yakuzah 0]

I have just moved across from Plex to Emby on my Unraid server as I prefer the interface.

 

One of the key features for me with Plex was sync'ing and downloading a copy of a TV show onto my device to watch whilst on the move.

 

I encoded and syncronized 3 episodes of a TV show yesterday to watch on my journey to work.

 

However, every episode was terrible. Stuttering and Video frame dropouts making the video impossible to watch. All three episodes were the same. I couldn't find where the files were stored so could not test with another player.

 

If this is not resolvable I will have to dump my subscription and move back to Plex as this is a key feature for me.

 

I have searched the forums and although there are similar cases raised in the past, I have found no potential resolution to the issue.

 

The device I am sync'ing to is  Google pIxel 2 XL.  Plenty of horse power.

 

thanks in advance,

Gary

[Diedrich 368]

What are the original file formats, container, video bit rate/resolution, audio bit rate/format? Did you try just downloading the "Original" file?

[yakuzah 0]

What are the original file formats, container, video bit rate/resolution, audio bit rate/format? Did you try just downloading the "Original" file?

 

The file format is MKV H.264 5Mbps video, DD for audio 640k. Copying the file directly to the device plays perfectly.

 

So I could copy the original, but if it was a movie which I might want to watch, copying the original may take a lot of space.

 

The idea is the file format is transcoded/ re-encoded for the device, which is the same way Plex used to deal with copying files to your devices.

 

Interestingly, sync'ing the same content to an Apple iPad with the same bitrate (4 Mbps) works!

 

Looking at the video, it looks like it's synchronized at the wrong framerate. Dropping every other frame.

[Luke 39648]

Did you play the file in the app, or using a different video player?

[yakuzah 0]

Did you play the file in the app, or using a different video player?

I used Emby app and MXPlayer.  Both jerky.

[Luke 39648]

Can you provide the sync ffmpeg log? Thanks.

[yakuzah 0]

Can you provide the sync ffmpeg log? Thanks.

Sure where do I pull that from please?

[Luke 39648]

How to report a problem. Thanks.