Fire TV Cube - Live TV pausing/stuttering unless Users "Allow video playback that requires transcoding" option is disabled

[Merlin999 1]

Hi All

 

I hope you can help me please...

 

I have bought a Fire TV Cube to specifically play Live TV (through a HDHomeRun CONNECT QUATRO) and some stored TV shows & films, and so far have loved the Emby experience & the way the Fire TV Cube works (the remote is great)

 

However, after following lots of advice on here about changing the display & audio settings on the Cube to suit Emby, I am unable to get Live TV from the homerun to play smoothly, UNLESS I untick the "Allow video playback that requires transcoding" in the users profile. Whilst this means LiveTV works perfectly (inc pause/rewind), it does mean that the user cant play my stored content. Please note that the user setting "Play Direct Stream" doesn't work at all - just get the spinning circle when Live TV started

 

So, are there other settings I should be trying please? Could it even be the TV i'm using (an LG 50" Plasma)?

 

Thank you

 

Steve

 

PS. Sorry. Should have mentioned that the Apple TV box I have works perfectly, I just hate how the remote works - that touchpad thing drives me nuts and navigating the TV guide is a pain too...

Edited October 23, 2019 by Merlin999

[ebr 14910]

Hi.  Can you turn that option back on, then create the non-smooth playback and submit the server and any ffmpeg logs from that session as described below?

 

Thanks.

 

How to Report a Problem

[Merlin999 1]

Hiya

 

Firstly an update... I have been tinkering with the Cube settings again, and I cleared the Emby app's cache & data, and now when I play Live TV, the Cube is "direct streaming" (according to the Server dashboard) which I've never seen before

 

However, the playback is better, but still not smooth so I captured the logs after approx 2 mins of Live TV playback

 

Sorry but the emby server log is massive as the Cube was on Live TV all day on the username "Clare"

 

Hope this helps

 

Steve

 

ffmpeg-remux-c5ade9a2-cd87-495d-bc02-89a470bc5bb5_1.txt

embyserver.zip

[ebr 14910]

Hi.  Looks like PAL video?  Is the display also at 25 (or 50)hz?

 

What, exactly, does "not smooth" mean?

[Merlin999 1]

Hiya

 

Yes, you're right, I am using PAL (I'm in the UK), and Yes, you're right again ,the Cube is set to 50Hz (as 60Hz induces a very slight but annoying flicker in my TV)

 

When I say "not smooth" I meant that  I'm seeing random intervals of stuttering (up to 10 micro-pauses all in a row causing jerkiness) and hanging (1 pause lasting up to 5 seconds) affecting both video and audio. These intervals are happening roughly every 10 seconds

 

Just thinking out loud, could it be the TV? This is the only thing I haven't tried differently with the Cube - is there any point in trying it on another TV?

 

Thank you

 

Steve

Edited October 23, 2019 by Merlin999

[ebr 14910]

I doubt it is the TV but make sure it doesn't have any type of "motion smoothing" stuff turned on...

[Merlin999 1]

Hiya

 

Just for troubleshooting purposes, I fired up my old Plex server (a VM) & ran the same Live TV channel on the Plex App on the Fire Cube to see what happened. The answer was no issues at all. The playback was smooth and consistent.

 

So, I grabbed a screenshot of the Plex playback stats & those from Emby for comparison

 

Hope this helps

 

Steve

Edited October 25, 2019 by Merlin999

[ebr 14910]

That indicates the stream is interlaced.  What happens if you turn on the option to de-interlace it on the server?

[Luke 37050]

@@Merlin999 were you able to try this option in the app?

[Merlin999 1]

Hiya

 

Sorry for not replying before... I have been experimenting with Fire TV Cube & Emby... albeit to no avail...

 

I tried the de-interlace setting as suggested, but whilst it worked and solved the problem, the CPU on my server was maxed out to the point that only that one Live TV stream could play, nothing else would

 

So, I played about with lots of settings combinations, and none of those worked. I even re-installed the server, but essentially I gave up as my family couldn't stand the stuttering... I bought a Roku streaming stick & that's working fine

 

So, for the meantime, I have an expensive ornament that is Fire TV Cube-shaped sitting next to my TV. When I get some more time, I'll look to use it elsewhere in the house as a secondary device & see if I can make it work...

Edited November 6, 2019 by Merlin999