ajr30 1 Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Not sure if this is the right place to post this or if this belongs on the Android Server section but anyway... My original setup had Emby server on a Windows PC and direct playing to either Shield TV (2017) or LG Emby app. The Shield TV worked more reliably but still ran into issues with large 4k files. The video would play fine but occasionally stop/pause as if buffering. I assumed this was a network issue and decided to move my server to the Shield so all the files would be directly connected via USB. Unfortunately, this didn't fix the issue. I tried to play my largest file (remux of the 4k release of Lord of the Rings) and still had the same pausing issue. It seemed to be less frequent so I assumed that maybe even the USB connection wasn't fast enough or the Shield itself was too slow. But then I tried opening the file and directly playing it using the default player through X-Plore File Manager... no issues at all. So then I tried downloading Plex and playing the same file... also no issues. So based on that, I can assume it's not the file or the hardware, which leads me to believe maybe something is up with Emby. Since I'm on the Shield TV, I submitted my logs by turning on debug and submitting through the user menu. I wasn't sure how to get them on the Shield and that's what it said to do for the Shield TV on another post. I'd like to continue using Emby as I enjoy it better. Lots of features that seem to be missing on Plex and other players. But of course, if Emby can't play the files smoothly, I'll be stuck moving elsewhere. Hopefully I can get this fixed and would love any help/input/suggestions anyone has. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14903 Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 7 hours ago, ajr30 said: I submitted my logs by turning on debug and submitting through the user menu. Hi. Can you please provide the information requested? Thanks. Quote Then add the following information to your report in the forum: Exactly what you were doing and what happened. Include the name of whatever you played if it is a playback problem The time you sent the log (in Eastern Time please - UTC -5) The name of the Emby user on the local server that was logged in at the time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajr30 1 Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 Playing a video named "The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring - 4k pt1.mkv" Approx. 2am (not positive on the exact time so it may have been a bit earlier) It is Adam or ajr30 (not sure if it'll show up as the displayed name or my Emby Connect name) Hopefully that helps. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37008 Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 HI, can you attach the emby server and ffmpeg log files as well? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajr30 1 Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 Sure. It might be a few days before I can get back home to work on this now but I'll try to figure out how to add those when I get back. So is there an option to add those logs when sending from the Shield TV? I'm assuming I just have to click a few check boxes, replicate the problem, and send the log again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14903 Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 3 hours ago, ajr30 said: Sure. It might be a few days before I can get back home to work on this now but I'll try to figure out how to add those when I get back. So is there an option to add those logs when sending from the Shield TV? I'm assuming I just have to click a few check boxes, replicate the problem, and send the log again? Those logs are found on your server. Directions in the same link above. From the app side it just looks like the data is coming in slowly. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajr30 1 Posted February 14, 2021 Author Share Posted February 14, 2021 Sorry for the late reply but I just got home and tried the video again. It's still happening so I went searching for the server logs but can't seem to find them. I did a Google and forum search but can only find where to find server logs on Windows and how to send client logs on Android TV. I can't find where to find server logs on Android TV which is what I need. Maybe you can help direct me to the right directory in my Shield TV so I can send those logs over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrostByte 5042 Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 A. The server and ffmpeg log location on your server can be found by Click "Manage Emby Server" (the cog wheel in upper right corner) from web client Click "Dashboard" on left side There should be a box labeled Path which lists the location of your logs on the server. Both server/ffmpeg logs are in the same location Or, you can just click "Logs" under the advanced section to find the server and ffmpeg log for the timeframe you want B. The ATV logs you already know how to send, but there is no option to send server/ffmpeg logs from ATV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajr30 1 Posted February 15, 2021 Author Share Posted February 15, 2021 Thanks for your help. Here's the logs I could find. I'm not sure why but after replicating the issue again, when I look at the logs, only embyserver.txt is updated. The ffmpeg logs are not updating and still show a video I watched yesterday. I waited several minutes but the ffmpeg logs (both for the Shield TV client and LG TV client) did not update. They both stayed a day old. I'll upload them anyway since I was having the same issue on those files even though they aren't the same video I've been using here. I also uploaded the two embyserver logs. I played the file, waiting for it to stop and resume, then I exited Emby and took the logs. I did this twice at two different parts of the video just to check that it wasn't an issue with the file itself. I didn't think it was since it happens with other 4k remuxes too and all these files play fine on other media players. Hopefully these will help. Not sure what to do about the ffmpeg logs since they aren't updating. Thanks again. embyserver (A).txt embyserver (B).txt ffmpeg-remux-7366fa88-c407-4744-8557-43e4acf259ae_1 (A).txt ffmpeg-remux-d5237d8e-7625-42ff-9a6f-b692f35bcbf1_1 (A).txt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14903 Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 The item is direct playing so ffmpeg is not involved. What you describe just sounds like a bandwidth bottleneck. What is the bitrate of these items? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajr30 1 Posted February 16, 2021 Author Share Posted February 16, 2021 They range from smaller 10Mbps files to 90+Mbps. This particular one was in the 90s but I since the last post, I've taken the two parts of the movie, merged them with MKVToolnix and removed a lot of extra audio tracks I didn't plan on using (lots of foreign language tracks). Now under "stats for nerds" it in the neighborhood of 70Mbps. I did notice less pausing/stuttering/whatever so it seems like it is an issue with bandwidth but it's odd that even some smaller files (40-50Mbps) still had this issue when suddenly last night, this 70Mbps file was fine again. Also, this is still only in Emby. In fact, before I posted here, I was ready to write this whole issue off as just a bandwidth problem and not even ask for help. But the fact that all of these files play without issue using a standalone media player and using Plex makes me wonder why the issue is only happening when playing with Emby. Is it possible Emby is using more bandwidth because it's accessing both the 1080p file and 4k file even when I only play the 4k file? The only reason I'm asking this is that I noticed the unnamed chapters on the 4k file suddenly got names when grouped with the 1080 version of the movie that has names. So at least for chapter data, Emby seems to be using both files when I'm playing. I don't know if this is normal or not though. Anyway, not sure what else there is to do here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14903 Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 7 hours ago, ajr30 said: Is it possible Emby is using more bandwidth because it's accessing both the 1080p file and 4k file even when I only play the 4k file? No, that is not happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajr30 1 Posted February 16, 2021 Author Share Posted February 16, 2021 3 hours ago, ebr said: No, that is not happening. Well I don't know then. It's using the chapter data from the 1080 file when I play the 4k file so it's accessing it at some point but maybe it just stores that chapter name data beforehand. All I know is that the 4k file doesn't have chapter names, the 1080 file does, and when they are properly labeled so Emby sees them as two versions of the same movie, the 4k version miraculously gets chapter names. Anyway, is there anything else to check or try? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbjtech 4222 Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 (edited) So just throwing this out there as I don't run Emby Server on the Shield myself, just playback, but for 'Direct Play' my understanding is emby still sits 'in the middle' and effectively streams the file (from the USB drive). I'm not sure if this is even possible via the USB connection, but to get 'Direct File' access, you needed to 'mount' the storage on the Shield itself. Emby will THEN play back the file directly without the intermediate step. This 'direct file play' is what the other media players are doing. You need to set this mode in the Shield emby client. https://support.emby.media/support/solutions/articles/44002058112-shield-tv-direct-file-access#:~:text=In%20order%20to%20setup%20direct%20file%20access%20on,sure%20you%20are%20running%20Version%201.8.36G%20or%20later. This may only work for UNC Network Shares but in theory USB is already direct attached ... Edited February 16, 2021 by rbjtech 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajr30 1 Posted February 17, 2021 Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 8 hours ago, rbjtech said: So just throwing this out there as I don't run Emby Server on the Shield myself, just playback, but for 'Direct Play' my understanding is emby still sits 'in the middle' and effectively streams the file (from the USB drive). I'm not sure if this is even possible via the USB connection, but to get 'Direct File' access, you needed to 'mount' the storage on the Shield itself. Emby will THEN play back the file directly without the intermediate step. This 'direct file play' is what the other media players are doing. You need to set this mode in the Shield emby client. https://support.emby.media/support/solutions/articles/44002058112-shield-tv-direct-file-access#:~:text=In%20order%20to%20setup%20direct%20file%20access%20on,sure%20you%20are%20running%20Version%201.8.36G%20or%20later. This may only work for UNC Network Shares but in theory USB is already direct attached ... Before I enabled this setting, it said play method was "direct play" and stream type was "HTTP". I enabled the pass direct path option but that didn't change anything under stats for nerds (it still says HTTP under stream type, not file like in the example image in your link). So maybe I'll have to look into how my library is setup. But yeah, it's all directly connected so I thought "direct play" meant it wasn't sitting in the middle (as you said). I'll keep messing with this to see if it helps. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14903 Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 10 hours ago, ajr30 said: So maybe I'll have to look into how my library is setup When you turned on direct play there was a warning box explaining that things had to be configured exactly correctly. Your "Optional network path" in your library is going to need to translate into the exact path the Android system needs to use to access the media. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajr30 1 Posted February 17, 2021 Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 23 minutes ago, ebr said: When you turned on direct play there was a warning box explaining that things had to be configured exactly correctly. Your "Optional network path" in your library is going to need to translate into the exact path the Android system needs to use to access the media. Yep, after I posted, I went back and looked into a bit more. I originally had the direct path for all libraries but I had to add the network path under optional for it to work. I didn't anticipate needing to use network paths because I was only playing locally on the Shield. Not sure if it matters if I have the local path or network path as the optional but I'm hesitant to change it now that things seem to work. Now when I play anything, I get Direct Play / File instead of Direct Play / HTTP. This seems to have fixed the issue. I watched Frozen and Tangled (both 4k remux) with my daughter today and they played fine. I'll try Lord of the Rings again tonight and see how it does. By the way, for anyone in the future looking for the answer, it's kinda weird how to set it up on the Shield if you've only ever used shared folders on Windows. You have to turn on sharing in the storage menu of the Shield settings, then use that username and PW it gives you and go to to mount the Shield storage on the network back onto the Shield. The menu for mounting storage is right below the one for turning on sharing. So that'll give you two locations for all your files: a local and network location. Then enter both of these in your library. I used the local for the main location and used the network location for the optional one (again, I'm not sure if it matters which is which). Then you can turn on the option that rbjtech mentioned to pass the direct path to the client. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14903 Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 Yes, it is complicated which is why I've resisted having this setting - because we will spend a lot of time with people troubleshooting why it doesn't work for them :). I'm glad you got it going now. Also, since there is only one of those "optional network paths" for the library, it will only work for that one device now as the path you entered won't be valid for any other. Another complication that limits its usefulness unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrossCech 8 Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 (edited) Sorry to hijack. Long time Emby user. I have an Emby Server on a Win10 box using Network paths (\\GRAY\Movies - \\GRAY\TV Series) and I have an Nvidia Shield 2019. I used to have an HTPC as my main playback device before the Shield. I assumed I was Direct Playing File rather than Direct Play HTTP since I don't remember seeing the stream type in SFN. Now with the Shield I'm seeing HTTP for stream type. I've configured the Shield to mount the server \\GRAY with all the shares showing up, thinking this would change the stream type to file since all the libraries on my server are configured with Network paths rather than IP addresses. What am I missing? Do I have to also included the IP address (i.e. 192.169.1.xxx\Movies) of the server? Why? Or do I need to add the local drive (H:\Movies). Again, why? Everything is accessed from my local network and I've always used Network paths. Edited February 18, 2021 by CrossCech Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14903 Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 2 hours ago, CrossCech said: Sorry to hijack. Long time Emby user. I have an Emby Server on a Win10 box using Network paths (\\GRAY\Movies - \\GRAY\TV Series) and I have an Nvidia Shield 2019. I used to have an HTPC as my main playback device before the Shield. I assumed I was Direct Playing File rather than Direct Play HTTP since I don't remember seeing the stream type in SFN. Now with the Shield I'm seeing HTTP for stream type. I've configured the Shield to mount the server \\GRAY with all the shares showing up, thinking this would change the stream type to file since all the libraries on my server are configured with Network paths rather than IP addresses. What am I missing? Do I have to also included the IP address (i.e. 192.169.1.xxx\Movies) of the server? Why? Or do I need to add the local drive (H:\Movies). Again, why? Everything is accessed from my local network and I've always used Network paths. Unless you are having a problem of some sort, there is no need to try to get these to play via file access. Over HTTP they are still direct playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrossCech 8 Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 I'm trying to troubleshoot issues with LIVE TV Recordings not seeking unless you check the TS direct play box but then lose CC (like other users have reported) along with audio issues such as 2-3 second delay until audio kicks in on any & all video files (4K, 1080p MKV MP4 TS). Trying to see if I can get these files to direct play [file] to bypass any of these other direct play http hls direct stream http hls .... to see if these issues go away without all the adjustments being made because of Emby and EXOplayer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14903 Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 3 hours ago, CrossCech said: LIVE TV Recordings not seeking unless you check the TS direct play box You mean un-check that option? I doubt any of what you describe will be impacted by file vs http access though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbjtech 4222 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 (edited) To get the shield to Direct File play - you need to ensure you have mapped the sharenames using all lowercase (the Shield is strict on this), ensure the UNC shares are all accessible and lastly set the Shield emby client to use Direct File access. There are a few long threads on this plus a few wiki articles but agree with ebr, unless there is a reason to force direct file play, then there is little to be gained by going down this access method. The mega thread is here - start from Page 10 ... https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/89635-android-tv-beta-1831/page/13/ Edited February 19, 2021 by rbjtech Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrossCech 8 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 45 minutes ago, rbjtech said: unless there is a reason to force direct file play, then there is little to be gained by going down this access method. My thinking was I was trying to eliminate any reason for Emby to feel it needs to touch the file other than to call the file from my server, when the Shield, LG 4K HDR tv and Pioneer Elite AV receiver I have, support playing every media file type I have. The annoying 1-2-3 second audio delay when starting a show/movie and when skipping around with RW/FF is frustrating. The Shield is an amazing device. I got one, because I got tired of trying to figure out video settings for 4K HDR on my Windows HTPC. But it seems I've traded one annoying issue - video picture quality - for another - audio sync and delay, particularly when using RW/FF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbjtech 4222 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 When I experimented with Direct File access (see my posts in the above thread) - the key reason was performance on a Windows system was being throttled by the emby HTTP server thus high bitrate 4K > 50Mbit were pausing every few seconds. Direct File access solved that - but the 'delay' in starting a file was still within 1 second of using HTTP. The emby team then fixed / updated the problem with the Windows HTTP server very shortly after the creation of this thread - and thus performance streaming high bitrate was no longer actually a problem. 140-160Mbit is now no longer a problem. To note, I now stream via HTTP (it's not 'DirectPlay' if it's modifying the streams imho.. but that's semantics) from my Shield Pro 2019, to LG 4K HDR OLED and Denon AVR. I have zero sync issues. I did need to setup the Shield/Denon 'sync' to get it perfect, but it was set once and I have never needed to touch it since. So in summary, I don't *think* direct file access is going to fix the sync issues for you - but worth trying, even if it is just to eliminate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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