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Pixelation and Glitching in Recorded TV using Emby DVR


EmbyKiwi
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dranderson402

Will be interesting to see how @@dranderson402 goes with their new server with 16GB RAM also.

Was just heading here to report.

 

I did a quick test this weekend and watched a show while the recording was in progress on my new unraid server. I actually didn't notice any pixelation problems this time. This show/test wasn't on a usual channel where I have noticed this problem in the past so I still need to test more.

 

A few posts earlier I see where the problem could be direct streaming on the shield. That could very much be a possibility. On my old server I never used to have this problem. We always used to start watching shows currently recording for the sole purpose of skipping the ads. I don't know for sure when this problem first started occurring for me, but I remember back in the days when we could auto transcode the recording on the fly to an mkv file I didn't have this problem. Didn't transcode on the fly either.

 

When that feature went away I remember something about the duration of a show when watching while the recording was in progress wasn't correct or something of that matter. Also it didn't remember where you were if you stopped. I didn't have the pixelation problem then either. I don't recall what was done to solve the show duration issue but I think it was sometime around the direct streaming fix where a .ts container needed to be remuxed during playback.

 

Point is, my 4th gen i5 with 8 gig ram on a gigabit lan didn't used to have this problem. I know my system is showing it's age and found a bad drive in my raid, which is why I moved up to the new unraid server, but I feel the remuxing for playback may be the problem.

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Exactly the opposite of what I would have expected but, perhaps, it is the direct stream that causes the issue.

 

If you use the "Playback Correction" option in the Android TV app until stats for nerds says that the item is transcoding, can you then also not cause the problem?

 

Tried it again tonight while forcing the server to transcode. Same exact issue, get pixelation and glitching in the recording at the time I was skipping through an earlier part of the currently recording show. Don't know what else to try. I tried a Mibox but had the same issue there too. Only place I had no problem was with the web player so seems like this is an android TV thing.

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 so seems like this is an android TV thing.

 

I'm not sure what the app could be doing directly to affect the recordings so, while, I understand how it looks, it has to be related to how the file is playing and other things that are happening on the server.

 

It may just be that the player in Android is requesting larger chunks of data at a time or seeking faster or...?

 

The basic issue, however, appears to be related to resources at the server end which could be a sticky wicket to figure out but we need to somehow.

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SHSPVR

Can you two disable you AV and are writing temp buffer to boot drive an SSD ? also check space usage when this happen.

As ebr point out it maybe it network issues check see if Jumbo frame is enable or maybe Transmit buffer are to high 

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Q-Droid

I'm not sure what the app could be doing directly to affect the recordings so, while, I understand how it looks, it has to be related to how the file is playing and other things that are happening on the server.

 

It may just be that the player in Android is requesting larger chunks of data at a time or seeking faster or...?

 

The basic issue, however, appears to be related to resources at the server end which could be a sticky wicket to figure out but we need to somehow.

I watch in progress recordings almost daily though mostly limited to 30 minutes, news shows. Have not encountered this problem.

 

If you can come up with test cases I would be willing to run through some.

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I watch in progress recordings almost daily though mostly limited to 30 minutes, news shows. Have not encountered this problem.

 

If you can come up with test cases I would be willing to run through some.

 

The key is seeking within the in-progress recording - either a lot or for long periods - I believe.  It is during those seek operations that the recordings become corrupted.

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EmbyKiwi

The key is seeking within the in-progress recording - either a lot or for long periods - I believe.  It is during those seek operations that the recordings become corrupted.

@@ebr you are correct. Simply watching in progress recordings doesn't seem to be a problem. I suspect the issue is more of a problem with longer recordings as you do more ad skipping etc Certainly when I first noticed the issue to be quite bad, the recording was about 4 hours long with a 1 hour + build up , much of which I skipped through.

 

If the issue is a "resource issue on the server end" as per your earlier post, then I guess longer recordings may also be likely to fill buffers, expose a memory leak, etc than a 30 minute show. Is there a recommendation from the Emby team for server RAM when using the DVR that I've missed somewhere?

 

Out of interest, what spec is your server @@Q-Droid ? Particularly interested in RAM but also what hardware is doing the transcoding?

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Q-Droid

The key is seeking within the in-progress recording - either a lot or for long periods - I believe. It is during those seek operations that the recordings become corrupted.

I do seek, a lot. The reason I watch them while recording is to give the show a head start. Then I can pause, rewind and skip through the commercials. Sometimes I reach the live point other times I don't. But I haven't seen the corruption.

 

I could try with longer broadcasts.

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Q-Droid

Out of interest, what spec is your server @@Q-Droid ? Particularly interested in RAM but also what hardware is doing the transcoding?

Intel i3 8100 on Linux, 8gb of RAM. No transcoding of the stream, remux of the container. Records to HDD RAID, transcodes to dedicated SSD.

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dranderson402

 I don't think the length of the recording is the problem. I think it is the (looking for the correct term here) codec? 1080 vs 720? Not sure but I've recorded news shows for a test and had little problems. I usually see it with recordings that are in full HD with dolby sound.

 

Also, I think maybe it might have to do with the transcoding buffer. I've noticed the buffer is like 2 maybe 3 minutes maybe but in my case most of my skip forwards are more like 3 to 5 minute skips. Which would mean the buffer runs out?

 

Shows we sometimes watch while the recording in progress, in case someone wants to test.

Survivor - 1080i MPEG2VIDEO AC-3 Stereo

All the Chicago shows - 1080i MPEG2VIDEO AC-3 5.1

Grey's Anatomy - 720i MPEG2VIDEO AC-3 5.0

 

My server where I noticed this was an i5 with 8GB ram using an SSD for the OS and temp transcode folder. I watched the network utilization during a test and the highest I saw was 45Mbps on a gigabit connection. This is while 3 shows are recording and watching 1 of those in progress. Also to note, the corruption at the skip forward point would be in all 3 recordings, not just the show I was watching. So while watching Survivor while it was recording and I skip forward at 20 mins in to the show, when I reach that point in the recording I not only have pixelation in Survivor, Chicago Med (which records at the same time) would also have pixelation at 20 mins.

 

I should fire up the old server and do a test again but this time use my fire tv pendant or my roku stick plus. But I don't know if those devices would direct stream like the shield. If it's a worthwhile test, let me know and I'll find some time to do it. I could also test using the web app directly from the server or another pc if it would be helpful.

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  • 4 weeks later...
dougward

I'm not sure if this thread is still active, but I too am having problems with playback.  It happens for sure when I start playing back an active recording and it seems to happen after I've been into it for 30-40 minutes.  The pixelation sort of looks like a poor OTA signal, but I don't believe that's the case.  It also doesn't appear that the video file is corrupted, since when I go back and watch the video/show after the recording is finished, I don't believe it exhibits the same problem.  I am watching on a Fire TV Cube with the Emby app. This is a relatively recent occurrence since I know this has been OK in the past, though I'm not sure I could tie it to the latest version of Emby Server.  The server version I'm currently running is 4.4.0.40 on Windows 10 Pro 1909.  The server is an I7-3770 with 16GB of RAM.  The OS and transcode folders are on an SSD and the libraries and DVR are on mechanical drives.  I will try tonight with Survivor and let the recording complete before starting to watch.  If I were to roll back to the previous version of Emby, are there any particular steps I should take to preserve the settings/recording schedule?  Thanks.

Edited by dougward
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dougward

I'm not sure if this thread is still active, but I too am having problems with playback.  It happens for sure when I start playing back an active recording and it seems to happen after I've been into it for 30-40 minutes.  The pixelation sort of looks like a poor OTA signal, but I don't believe that's the case.  It also doesn't appear that the video file is corrupted, since when I go back and watch the video/show after the recording is finished, I don't believe it exhibits the same problem.  I am watching on a Fire TV Cube with the Emby app. This is a relatively recent occurrence since I know this has been OK in the past, though I'm not sure I could tie it to the latest version of Emby Server.  The server version I'm currently running is 4.4.0.40 on Windows 10 Pro 1909.  The server is an I7-3770 with 16GB of RAM.  The OS and transcode folders are on an SSD and the libraries and DVR are on mechanical drives.  I will try tonight with Survivor and let the recording complete before starting to watch.  If I were to roll back to the previous version of Emby, are there any particular steps I should take to preserve the settings/recording schedule?  Thanks.

Not sure if anyone is still looking at this.  Waiting until the dvr has finished recording eliminates the pixelation problem.  There were no problems going back and playing the video which was having pixelatiion problems after the recording is finished.  There doesn't see to be a problem with the video file. I only have a problem when playing a show as it's recording, waiting 15 minutes or so after the show has started recording to start playback so I can skip through commercials.  I also had the pixelation problems after the recording had finished if I had started playback while the show was recording, then the recording would finish while I was still watching, Exiting out of the show then resuming playback would eliminate the pixelation problem.  I did not have this problem in the past, though I'm not sure when this issue cropped up.  This is one of the main features we use being able to start a playback while the show is recording.

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EmbyKiwi

Hi @@dougward

 

Your symptoms seem to be a version of the issues being discussed. Waiting till the program has finished recording results in a clean playback very consistently. Similarly, starting playing when the recording is 15 minutes in and skipping forward over the recording buffer to the start of the actual program will result in pixelation at the 15 minute mark and then at whatever time it was recording when you skip the ads. I upgraded from 8GB to 16 GB in my server and the pixelation seems a 'bit' better than it was, but still a problem. I've sort of got into the habit of not watching programs till they are finished. Not so good for sports that you want to watch before you know the results but strangely there isn't a lot of sports going on at the moment so perhaps one small benefit of Covid 19! :-)

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dougward

I am pretty positive this oddity is a recent occurrence, and as I mentioned the video appears to be unaffected if playback is stopped then started over when the DVR is finished recording, there is no pixelation in the actual file.  One of the features we have used for months is the ability to watch a program while it is being recorded.  I'm not saying this is a deal breaker, but it is a pretty important feature.  Is anyone investigating this issue?  Thanks.

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aja07

For me this issue seems to have gotten worse since the last Emby server (4.4.0.40) / ATV (1.7.92g) update (they rolled out pretty close together).  I did experience it before that but it was minimal.

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dougward

I noticed on the latest Beta version, there is a fix called 'Resolve intermittent active recordings display problem.'  Does this address the issue described above?  If so, will this be incorporated into a stable release fairly quickly since IMO, this is a relatively serious problem?  Thanks.

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Spaceboy

I noticed on the latest Beta version, there is a fix called 'Resolve intermittent active recordings display problem.' Does this address the issue described above? If so, will this be incorporated into a stable release fairly quickly since IMO, this is a relatively serious problem? Thanks.

different issue I’m afraid
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dougward

There have been no moderator posts on this issue in 6 days.  I realize this thread started a few months back, but it seemed like the correct place to post.  Is it worth starting a new thread?  It appears some people have this issue so I don't think the problem is unique to me.  Are there only a few who use this feature?  It happens every time when I try to watch a recording in progress.  I've even started playing around with Plex again even though I have a lifetime pass for Emby.  Thanks.

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maegibbons

I use DVR everyday and do not usually see this ussue. When my NAS was rebuilding the other day I did experience this or something similar.

 

So i would say a lot of people use the emby DVR without issue.

 

Krs

 

Mark

 

Sent from my SM-N976B using Tapatalk

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EmbyKiwi

Hi @@dougward .

The issue is certainly not unique to you. Some of us have just got used to working around the issue now that we understand the cause of the problems, thanks to the input of people on this thread. Given what else is going on in the world at the moment, it is also probably not the highest priority for people! :-)

 

Out of interest @@maegibbons ... what spec is your Emby server and what client do you use for playback? 

 

Cheers

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dranderson402

I have since moved over to an i7 running emby server in a docker in Unraid. I watched NCIS last night while it was recording and happy to say I didn't have any of the problems I had on my old server. Old server was an i5.

 

I suspect that the problem is either the windows version or hardware. However, when I first built my i5 system 5 or 6 years ago, I didn't have this issue. I just started having the issue several months ago, maybe a year at the most. So it's possible my system was getting too old and starting to fail or the requirements for emby grew to the point my old system just had a hard time.

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EmbyKiwi

@dranderson402  Good to hear that your new build is working well! :-)

 

Now... the question is whether it is the Core i7 that has fixed the issue or moving to Unraid instead of Windows .... I seem to remember that you had 16GB RAM in your new system so hopefully it doesn't require the 32GB that some are using! :-)

 

My server is only a Core i5 (not an i7) but it is a fairly new one as it was only bought mid-last year and looking at CPU usage during concurrent recording/playback, there doesn't seem to be any huge spikes of overloading... but Windows reporting isn't always accurate! 

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dranderson402

My Unraid server is an i7-4790k with 16gb ram. The emby container is running on an nvme.

 

My old system is an i5-4460 with 8gb ram running Win10pro.

Edited by dranderson402
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EmbyKiwi

My Core i5 is an 8400 so not the latest generation but not too old. Probably not far off performance of your Haswell  i7 but without any Hyper-threading.

 

Do you use the inbuilt graphics for any required transcoding or do you have a graphics card in your Unraid server?

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dougward

I didn't intend to sound disgusted, I think we have left the house twice in the last two weeks.  Anyway, I mentioned in my first post the specs of my server which is a Dell 9010, i7 and 16GB of RAM, SSD for the OS and transcode, and mechanical drives for the libraries, so it's not a new machine, but no slouch either. The mechanical drives are not the originals. There is no discrete video card.  I think I have an SSD (though on the small side) I can try for the DVR to see if that helps.  I'd rather not switch to Plex, just trying things out.  Thanks.

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