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Stop transcoding MPEG2 to Roku


tcjones5305

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Nat Hill remote

Thanks Paul.  To be brutally frank, I'm not sure I'm computer savy enough to back to version 3 in the first place.
I just wish Emby, which I pay for, could do what VLC, which is free, does easily.
Play mpeg 2 streams.
Granted Emby can do a whole bunch of thing VLC can't!

 

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Happy2Play

At the same time you are comparing a Roku to VLC this is still out of Emby's control.  So is the complaint not with Roku?

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Nat Hill remote

As I understand it (and I'm more than willing to concede I do NOT understand it thoroughly), Roku is perfectly capable of directly utilizing MPEG-2, but for some reason the Emby server feels the need to transcode interlaced signals, but does not transcode progressive signals.
Crazy part is I'm paying for my Premier Emby server because it "handles" OTA HDHomeRun signals.  HDHomeRun free software does it better, Kodi and included HDHomeRun app does it better,  HDHomeRun config through VLC does it better, and the beta HDHomeRun roku app does the video just fine.  Now audio?  Not so good on the Beta roku app.  All four of those are free.
That's my concern.  Why the transcoding?
If I don't have that right, let me know.
I understand that Emby is very powerful and can do things way beyond my understanding.
But again, as I understand it, this problem with interlaced signals popped up when the server was updated to version 4.  No problem in version 3, right?
If I've got this wrong, I'm willing to be educated.  I'm don't pretend to be an expert by any means.

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Happy2Play

It has already been stated earlier the issue, as the Roku is probably the most quirky client on the market.

https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/93227-stop-transcoding-mpeg2-to-roku/&do=findComment&comment=962845 and the following post.

So doing one thing removes functionality of other things.

 

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Nat Hill remote

Update:

Installed Plex server, which I am not terribly fond of.
I just know this.
The Plex server does NOT transcode OTA to the Roku, and OTA signals sent by Plex look great on any Roku in my house, old or now..
So I simply do not believe that Roku can be blaimed.
I am recording on both Plex and Emby to see how the playbacks will look.
I noticed that when recording on Emby, the server GPU was doing absolutely nothing.  
it simply transferring the MPEG2 to disk to be transcoded later when I play it back?

PLEASE EMBY, I like your server better. 
re user control and information, the guide allows CableCard and OTA to play nice togethe and allowsr favorite channels.
Lots more to like with Emby.
But this terrible interlaced ROKU OTA picture (needlessly and poorly transcoded) is probably a deal breaker to me when my annual Premiere subscription runs out (3 weeks from today)

Thanks!

Nat Hill IV (my last name is not "remote," no idea how that happened.

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Happy2Play

I don't get this as it has already been explained by the Devs, but if anything is changed it would have to be a user switch.  As more people want the functionality that comes with the conversion vs none with direct.

 

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Nat Hill remote

EBR said: Live TV on the Roku should only be requiring a remux not a full transcode but we'd need to look at a specific example.

Speechless said: Is the stream interlaced? The server is doing this. The Roku is not telling the server to transcode because the stream is interlaced. Certain Roku devices such as Roku express and the older Roku3 and such cannot de-interlace therefore do not report support for MPEG2. But the majority of other devices can indeed deinterlace and properly report support for MPEG2 because of this. For sure Roku TV can since that is where the interlaced broadcast originated that already reports support for MPEG2 and plays perfectly. Once the server is changed the behavior will be back to normal on your Roku.

Speechless said: Thanks for confirm this is a server issue. It shall be corrected. Thanks for hanging with us during the transition. Things will get better.

Speechless said: When you disable transcoding it will only allow the video and audio codec to be copied. This will work on the Roku since it supports both MPEG2 and AC3. But if you were to play an AVI it would fail as these are likely MPEG4 with MP3 and the Roku will fail to support AVI and cannot place MPEG4 inside HLS so it will fail.
The TS container is supported on Roku but you cannot seek backwards into the stream. You can only pause and fast-forward/rewind into the pause buffer Roku has built on the device. This is not as good as having Emby control the buffer. When Emby controls the buffer you can seek the entire progress buffer.

Happy2Play said: I don't get this as it has already been explained by the Devs, but if anything is changed it would have to be a user switch.  As more people want the functionality that comes with the conversion vs none with direct.

So now I’m absolutely confused.  Will direct play be an option, or am I basically being told that transcoding is a feature that is preferable to what I’m seeing now?
And what is meant by a “user switch?”  If it means I could switch to direct view coming from the server to my Roku, sign me up!

FYI, as much as I don’t care for Plex, it just works for me on my Rokus, kludgy interface and all.  Maybe I’m not smart enough to use Emby.  I’m beginning to think so.  L

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Happy2Play
7 minutes ago, Nat Hill remote said:

And what is meant by a “user switch?” 

Exactly that, devs would have to add a option as the majority of users want pause, rewind. fast-forward options that are not fully possible with Direct play as perviously stated by devs.

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1 hour ago, Happy2Play said:

Exactly that, devs would have to add a option as the majority of users want pause, rewind. fast-forward options that are not fully possible with Direct play as perviously stated by devs.

Actually, there was a change in behavior in the server that is causing a transcode here.  We can achieve the seeking with a remux without needing a full transcode.

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Apologies we weren't more direct. The change in server behavior is causing the Roku to transcode. The same behavior as before will occur and the container is all that is not supported. The TS container is repackaged into HLS with an m3u8 manifest containing TS slices. Since the m3u8 manifest controls transport you can keep seek with just a container swap. The MPEG2 stream is copied if the Roku detects support for that codec and the audio is copied if the Roku detects that codec is supported by the HDMI chain connected to that Roku. Once the server behavior changes for this the Roku app will not need an update. It will just start to work as it did before.

Edited by speechles
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Nat Hill remote

ebr and speechles,

I can not thank you ENOUGH for your clear responses to my plaintive cry! 🙂
speechles, I must admit I did not understand one word of your last post 🤣
As I understand it the last two posts, a remux instead of a forced transcoding will be the new normal once the "server behavior changes."
Don't understand how the "server behavior changes" will happen, but I trust they somehow will.  Right❓
Keep me posted!
And again, THANKS!

ps.  love my Rokus, love my Emby.  Can't wait for them to speak the same "don't transcode language!"

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Jason'sEmby
1 hour ago, Nat Hill remote said:

ebr and speechles,

I can not thank you ENOUGH for your clear responses to my plaintive cry! 🙂
speechles, I must admit I did not understand one word of your last post 🤣
As I understand it the last two posts, a remux instead of a forced transcoding will be the new normal once the "server behavior changes."
Don't understand how the "server behavior changes" will happen, but I trust they somehow will.  Right❓
Keep me posted!
And again, THANKS!

ps.  love my Rokus, love my Emby.  Can't wait for them to speak the same "don't transcode language!"

So ultimately you would say you were speechless 🤣. You're not alone most of the time when speechles replies I get totally lost ( reaction below). Glad to see It'll be fixed eventually!

 

tenor.gif

Edited by Jason'sEmby
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  • 11 months later...
Nat Hill remote

REMUX rocks !

You all are true to your word.
Took you just under a year to get it fixed, but it's FIXED!
I am now much more likely to record those 1080i channels over the air instead of through compressed Comcast.

Thanks so very much!

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