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quaffapint

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quaffapint

Been using Plex and trying Emby because of Plex having buffering issues on my 4K TCL Roku TV.

 

Running via hard wired ethernet. Emby on the Roku TV. In the middle of watching Live TV it will 'randomly' show a Loading bar screen. I have to hit back and hit ok in the guide to get back to it and it will start playing again. Using an HD Homerun and cable card. My server has an older graphics card so the stats for geeks shows its not using hardware acceleration and that its always an incompatible container.

 

I have two ffmpeg logs around the same time, I dont know which ffmpeg log captured it but it doesnt show any error in the end it just shows it received a q command.

2019-08-15 21:00:52.973
Emby Server version: 4.2.1.0

App: Roku SG 3.0.175
55' TCL Roku TV
...
[segment @ 0000000aad0518c0] Opening 'F:\EmbyCache\transcoding-temp\574647217334f66dff7ee2816bdce628.m3u8.tmp' for writing
SegmentComplete=video:0 Index=630 Start=1890.262522 End=1893.298889 Duration=3.036367 offset_pts=0 start_pts=1890262522 Frames=91 filename=hls/574647217334f66dff7ee2816bdce628/574647217334f66dff7ee2816bdce628630.ts
[segment @ 0000000aad0518c0] Opening 'F:\EmbyCache\transcoding-temp\574647217334f66dff7ee2816bdce628631.ts.tmp' for writing
elapsed=00:31:29.82 frame=56670 fps= 30 q=-1.0 size= 2728621kB time=00:31:34.06 bitrate=11801.5kbits/s throttle=off speed=   1x    
elapsed=00:31:30.37 frame=56681 fps= 30 q=-1.0 size= 2729269kB time=00:31:34.43 bitrate=11802.0kbits/s throttle=off speed=   1x    
elapsed=00:31:30.91 frame=56696 fps= 30 q=-1.0 size= 2730024kB time=00:31:34.93 bitrate=11802.2kbits/s throttle=off speed=   1x    
elapsed=00:31:31.46 frame=56710 fps= 30 q=-1.0 size= 2730823kB time=00:31:35.40 bitrate=11802.7kbits/s throttle=off speed=   1x    


[q] command received. Exiting.

[segment @ 0000000aad0518c0] Opening 'F:\EmbyCache\transcoding-temp\574647217334f66dff7ee2816bdce628.m3u8.tmp' for writing
SegmentComplete=video:0 Index=631 Start=1893.298889 End=1895.801389 Duration=2.502500 offset_pts=0 start_pts=1893298889 Frames=73 filename=hls/574647217334f66dff7ee2816bdce628/574647217334f66dff7ee2816bdce628631.ts
elapsed=00:31:31.90 frame=56718 fps= 30 q=-1.0 Lsize= 2731544kB time=00:31:35.66 bitrate=11804.2kbits/s throttle=off speed=   1x    
video:2631878kB audio:99666kB subtitle:0kB other streams:0kB global headers:0kB muxing overhead: 0.000000%
T=2.641s
Local Time: 21:00:45

I would LOVE to get this figured out so I can convince the mrs to move to this over our Verizon DVR boxes that keep going up in monthly cost. Thanks for any help.

 

Update - Just read this...

https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/72715-live-tv-frequently-sticks-on-loading/

...Looks to be the same issue. Just need to figure out why its happening on the rokus.

ffmpeg-directstream-0ac16022-5b7a-4204-881d-81d28673ee79_1.txt

Edited by quaffapint
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The issue looks related to the Roku firmware. Because we are direct stream the item it is copy the video and audio stream. Something in the original stream is causing the issue. You can "force transcoding" to work through this but it comes at the price of fully transcoding the video stream to h264 from mpeg2. This should work through those errors that cause the Roku to hang on "loading". 

 

Play your channel. Press down to open the OSD. Find the cog icon and click it. Choose "playback correction" and this will force transcoding for LiveTV. Once fully transcoding the issue should vanish. It will take longer to start a stream when fully transcoding. It will also take longer to seek. This is the best we can do at the moment.

 

Roku is working on fixing their MPEG2 codec as HD-Homerun recently came out with their own application for Roku and it is suffering the exact same issues that Emby is dealing with MPEG2. Roku has promised to do better and is supposed to have a new firmware version to address MPEG2 issues at any time. We just have to wait until that time unfortunately. Apologies...

 

 

Follow along on Roku forums:

MPEG2 Patent: https://forums.roku.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=114433&p=650508

 

HD Homerun: https://forums.roku.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=154331&p=650134

Edited by speechles
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quaffapint

Thanks @@speechles. I'll have to move to a PC that has video card hardware transcoding, since that would kill my current PC. Do you happen to know of any other hardware (shield, firetv, etc) that will currently play LiveTV without these issues?

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The shield should be more resilient. The Roku TV once it gets that firmware update should be good to go but who knows when that drops. The shield costs a ton. You might be able to use the HD homerun app directly on your Roku. Compare it to Emby. Maybe they know something we do not and their player works better? Worth a shot.

 

Never accept that the platform is done until you exhaust all player options. Once the new Roku TV firmware hits I know Emby will rock with MPEG2. It is just a rocky road getting to the pavement. We are not on paved roads yet with Roku but I feel the closer we get to the holidays Roku will end these shenanigans and finally produce some rock solid firmware love. Until then all I can do is suggest patience. It isn't the end of the road and we just haven't hit the pavement where we can do freeway speeds. :)

But true answer, the shield is your best bet but will hurt the most. It is the most expensive device on the Emby tree of platforms. You do get what you pay for in that device. You just need to love Android. It feels and acts very Android. It also has other uses besides just a simple media player. The shield can host Emby server and serve to other devices(your Roku TV) and itself. There is a reason it exists...low power Emby server.

Edited by speechles
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quaffapint

I would try the hdhomerun app on roku, but it looks like that is over the air only. I'm using a cable card.

 

Is there a way to force transcoding for livetv (so you dont have to select it everytime)? I know I tried that in Plex and it just was horrible with constant buffering, but that might be my PC and only having a GT1030 card.

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I would try the hdhomerun app on roku, but it looks like that is over the air only. I'm using a cable card.

 

Is there a way to force transcoding for livetv (so you dont have to select it everytime)? I know I tried that in Plex and it just was horrible with constant buffering, but that might be my PC and only having a GT1030 card.

 

Yikes... the GT1030 is your issue entirely...

 

https://developer.nvidia.com/video-encode-decode-gpu-support-matrix

 

It is the bottom of the barrel. It lacks nvenc and no codec support. Only nvdec support strangely. They must not have been allowing "record your gaming" on that card. That is entirely the reason video cards even have this is so gamers can record their gaming in real time. :)

Edited by speechles
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quaffapint

Ok. I have another PC I can test on that has a better card. Is there a way to always force transcoding of LiveTV?

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Ok. I have another PC I can test on that has a better card. Is there a way to always force transcoding of LiveTV?

 

Presently the only way to force transcoding is to drop your quality/bitrate below what the stats for nerds shows as the bitrate for that channel. Then it will always transcode but it will be based on bitrate not actually always transcoding. This also may/does suffer quality loss as it will be reduced to the bitrate you set for quality not the original bitrate any longer.

 

This is the best we can do at the moment as we do not want to expose options that "break the magic/spell" unless absolutely necessary. We want "it just works". Not I had to toggle knob A to X and knob B to Y. Hope you understand.

 

If necessary eventually we can discuss such an option to force transcoding. We may need an option like we do with LiveTV in-progress recordings that allows direct stream or transcode for LiveTV when it isn't in-progress recording. So you can get your transcode there too for just plain-jane ordinary everyday LiveTV and it might solve us some headaches and head scratches down the road this way. Perhaps.. It has been discussed several times we need to give users better control than just "auto" for edge-cases just like yours. LiveTV is a priority too so let me see what can happen in that area too. Let me get with the team and discuss. Thanks for the use case and reason for needing it. That helps sell the idea. ^_~

Edited by speechles
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Let us know if forcing transcoding helps. Chances are that's probably what we should be doing anyway, it's just not always easy to determine that. Thanks !

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bizarro252

I am having a very similar issue, I will give @@speechles's force transcode trick a shot as well!  My server is plenty powerful enough to support this until we get a FW fix.

@@speechles, do you see the same issues in my logs here?

 

 

https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/76671-live-tv-keeps-bufferingstalling-and-not-recovering/

 

edit: I am also on a RokuTV (TCL), stalking speechles around the Roku section it looks like you just got yourself one as well last month for testing and are seeing a lot of this weirdness too - crossing my fingers you get it figured out :)  Until then I will test the trans-coding force method.

Edited by bizarro252
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I actually have 2 of the exact same model of 50 inch Roku TV side-by-side for consistency checking.

 

Soon we will delve into the why is a Roku express so much darker showing everything than a Roku TV? The answer is downscale = darker. Roku TV uses native scale. A 4K device used with a 4K Roku will use native scale. I want to fix it so users on models that downscale don't have dark shades, darker colors, and less brightness on everything. This will be possible to match exactly with two identical tv side-by-side. 

 

Only if you have both a 4K Roku TV and a Roku express will you know there is even a difference. Only people with a 4K TV and 4K Roku device get the real native experience. The people with 1080P/720P televisions and lower just expect this darker experience because that is all they have ever seen. It is actually supposed to be much brighter than that. 1.5x brighter to be exact. Exactly 1.5x less dark on colors. This does make a big difference and along with higher resolution backgrounds this will come too. Also will come better protection for the limited texture memory cache Roku uses. All of this will happen soon as consistency is the goal. We also will improve loading speed on items and improve overall speed images get rendered onscreen. An much faster grid presentation to scroll through because of the improved image loading speed and better mangement of texture cache.

 

1) 4K Roku TV running the Roku TV

2) 4K Roku TV running the Roku express

 

Make 1 and 2 look identical as far as brightness, opacity, and color. Resolution of course won't match. This is coming eventually as we want users to be able to have the same consistent experience no matter the Roku device. Only resolution should differ not anything else in our presentation.

 

( Note: If 1 and 2 look identical every single model in between will as well. :) )

 

RokuTV is due to get a firmware update before the normal Roku STB to address the Mpeg2 issue. Roku has made that much known to me.

Edited by speechles
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bizarro252

@@Luke

I will need some more time to confirm, left the TV on with forced transcode on for an hour or two last night and was glitch free so yes, working so far, will report back when I have more time logged :)

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Direct streamed video with random spurious dropouts?
...or...

Transcode the video stream and stream forever?

Depending on where you are and quality of the signal and such a setting seems a logical thing to have.

 

We will need to make a setting to allow directstream or transcode of liveTV when it starts. The same exact way in-progress recordings have a setting for this. Then this will let you get where you need to be without having to always correct. If you don't mind manual correction when you need to you can leave the setting on directstream and use your playback correction. Having multiple ways to your media acheives the your media your way.

 

This setting would be quick to implement and easy to incorporate and will be fast tracked as LiveTV is priority. Thanks for the feedback. :)

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@@speechles

Is it expected to have to select it multiple times to get it to transcode? Same behavior in release and beta. See my post #29 here for details:

 

 

https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/72715-live-tv-frequently-sticks-on-loading/page-2&do=findComment&comment=778593

 

Reference: Fix #568: [VideoPlayer] Fix playback correction display

 

 

Edited by speechles
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bizarro252

I guess I am still confused on what happens after the first press. Both the server and stats for nerds do not show transcoding until I press it again. Sorry just not sure I am understanding your explanation there :)

 

I like your idea to offer this as an option up front when you tune to the channel. Perhaps on the server side we could also get a force option on live TV to always force transcode if the hw can support and you have these issues (aka use a Roku on this current firmware apparently lol).

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I guess I am still confused on what happens after the first press. Both the server and stats for nerds do not show transcoding until I press it again. Sorry just not sure I am understanding your explanation there :)

 

I like your idea to offer this as an option up front when you tune to the channel. Perhaps on the server side we could also get a force option on live TV to always force transcode if the hw can support and you have these issues (aka use a Roku on this current firmware apparently lol).

 

On the first press if it is already directplay and has not had an error it will fallback to directstream when you press playback correction. If it has an error during directplay it will natively fallback to directstream. Pressing playback correction is identical to simulating as if an error just occured. With that type of correction it changes playback method, hence playback correction. So you can cascade through each method on the way to transcoding. 

 

What wasn't happening is the app was shorten the name for "directplay" and "directstream" into just "direct" and this causes the playback correction to mistake what to do. It should now properly display what it will do and will do what it says now.

 

But we could once you enable transcoding on the settings page ask on a dialog as you tune to the channel "Do you really want to transcode?" you choose [yes] and off you go. Then those who never set to transcode and want direct stream never see that dialog. Those who change it see that dialog. Choose no on that dialog it will directstream. Then it offers easiest convenience without having to needlessly press more buttons.

 

On the settings page for LiveTV have a setting sort of like this:

 

Direct stream LiveTV [ YES ]                         When direct stream LiveTV is used this is experimental.

                                                                           Support will suggest using "NO" for this option when you experience issues.

 

( notice it says WHEN in the above setting. Not IF. That is key verbiage that should clue users in that eventually NO is the way to go )

Edited by speechles
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bizarro252

@@speechles

Found an issue though, at least with HDHomerun tuner but I think its not releasing/closing the stream properly once playback correction in enabled...

 

I fired it up just now to let it run and watch for errors but it told me I didn't have an available tuner, looked at my tuner status in HDHomerun and both were still showing in use from the channels we watched last night.  Restarted it and tested again.

If I select playback correction and then leave the channel, it does not release that tuner back, must not be closing the stream correctly.

I just tested and selected one channel, hit playback correction, and hit 'back' on the Roku remote to get back to the guide, HDHomerun still shows tuner 1 active on that channel, selected a different channel, did NOT enable playback correction and pressed 'back' to get back to the guide and it released the tuner normally.

 

DOH!

 

Thanks

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We're looking into this. We think this content should probably be doing a full transcode anyway, and that will probably end up resolving it.

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bizarro252

Thanks @@Luke, for the stream not closing issue I discuss in post 21 not sure if that is on the Roku or server side, it only is not closing the stream if I force full transcoding in Roku.  "normal" viewing and backing out to the guide closes the stream properly and the HDHomerun stops the tuner.

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