DVR Playback Freezing

[thunderclap 52]

Last night I tried watching a recording I made OTA. I started it when the show was about 40 min. in and within a few minutes it was freezing and unwatchable. While I assume Emby and my server should be able to handle this I decided to wait until the show was done recording and try again. No luck. It still constantly froze. I tried changing the transcode device from QuickSync to the CPU to see if that would fix it but it didn't, so I'm not entirely sure what's going on. Any suggestions would really be appreciated.

Attached are three logs: the main Emby server log and two from when I was trying to play the video.

I should add I currently have the HDHomeRun Connect Quatro (model no.  HDHR5-4US). Is it possible that this older model just isn't up to the task any more?

ffmpeg-directstream-f294dbf1-f4a3-433a-b1c0-76946caede35_1.txt ffmpeg-directstream-d0a02507-ff6e-4c73-a28b-143cfad97cff_1.txt

embyserver.txt

Edited September 20, 2022 by mbuhmann

[Luke 42077]

HI, the Emby Roku app has an option to direct stream mpeg2 video. If you disable this option, how does that compare?

[thunderclap 52]

13 minutes ago, Luke said:

HI, the Emby Roku app has an option to direct stream mpeg2 video. If you disable this option, how does that compare?

I see an option for Allow direct streaming of live streams, but this appears to be live streams only,  not for live recordings. Is this what you’re referring to, or is there another option I’m missing?

[thunderclap 52]

Well I went ahead and enabled it and every show I recorded this evening still freezes. Not sure what’s going on. 

[thunderclap 52]

Just curious if the logs helped at all or if you need additional information. Thank you. 

[thunderclap 52]

Since I'm not getting much response from my post here, I thought I'd post in this section to see if any other users can help troubleshoot my problem. Basically, DVR programs that are DVR'd will play for a few minutes and then freeze before going out of sync, or lock up altogether. This is on a TCL Roku TV.

I have an HDHomeRun Connect Quatro. My Emby server is running in a docker container on Unraid. I have the DVR recording to a dedicated drive, a Seagate 500GB, model number ST3500414CS. Its filesystem is BTRFS and runs at 5900 RPM. It's a "green" drive.

It was recommended in the other thread I enable direct stream on the Roku. I found that option for Live Streams but nothing for DVR'd videos, however enabling it still doesn't help. I've also tried using CPU transcoding as well as passing it through to the iGPU via QuickSync. Neither helps.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what else I can try to get things working smoothly? I'd really appreciate any advice. Thank you.

[Luke 42077]

 

Hi there, let's look at an example. Please attach the information requested in how to report a media playback issue. Thanks!

 

[thunderclap 52]

I posted them in the thread referenced but here they are again. Thank you.

embyserver.txt ffmpeg-directstream-d0a02507-ff6e-4c73-a28b-143cfad97cff_1.txt ffmpeg-directstream-f294dbf1-f4a3-433a-b1c0-76946caede35_1.txt

[MBSki 1114]

@mbuhmann Actually, I think you need to transcode. I use a lot of TS files and they rarely work unless they're transcoding. In the ATV app I use the "TS option" to DISABLE direct play. In the standard Android app, I manually select a different quality, usually around 720p, 4 MB, in order to get it to play back smoothly.

[Luke 42077]

There's an option in the emby Roku app to disable direct stream of mpeg2. Can you try making sure it is disabled?

[thunderclap 52]

18 minutes ago, Luke said:

There's an option in the emby Roku app to disable direct stream of mpeg2. Can you try making sure it is disabled?

Is this the Allow direct streaming of live streams? I’ve tried with this both enabled and disabled. 

[Luke 42077]

Ok so the option only applies to live streams. As a test, can you try lowering the in app quality setting to force a full transcode? Please see how that compares. Just remember you may want to set the option back to what it was afterwards.

[thunderclap 52]

So I did some experimenting and it’s not just Emby but Plex and the official HDHomeRun app too. I went back to Emby and started messing with quality settings during a live feed and as @MBSki mentioned above it seems like anything over 720p starts causing issues. So obviously not strictly Emby, but now I’m wondering why anything over 720p @ 4MB/s causes problems. I will say I’m happy it’s not strictly Emby, but I would like to know why my system is having trouble. And it’s not just Emby on Roku but the Emby app on my iPhone too. 

Edited September 28, 2022 by mbuhmann

[Luke 42077]

On 9/28/2022 at 8:36 AM, mbuhmann said:

So I did some experimenting and it’s not just Emby but Plex and the official HDHomeRun app too. I went back to Emby and started messing with quality settings during a live feed and as @MBSki mentioned above it seems like anything over 720p starts causing issues. So obviously not strictly Emby, but now I’m wondering why anything over 720p @ 4MB/s causes problems. I will say I’m happy it’s not strictly Emby, but I would like to know why my system is having trouble. And it’s not just Emby on Roku but the Emby app on my iPhone too. 

Are you still running into this?

[thunderclap 52]

1 minute ago, Luke said:

Are you still running into this?

Yes, I’ve given up trying to figure out what’s going on. I’ve just reconnected my TiVo for the few OTA shows we watch. 

[thunderclap 52]

Since I don't like things not working as they're supposed to, I have an update. On a whim I swapped out the Seagate with an SSD and it seems like that has fixed the problem, at least with a short test this morning. I will give it a more thorough test this weekend, but there was no pausing in the live playback, and DVR scrubbing seemed to work as expected. I'll give a more complete update once I can run the DVR function for a longer duration.

[thunderclap 52]

SSD seems to have resolved the problem. Playback, fast forwarding, etc. is fine. Two things I’ve noticed: thumbnails for when you fast forward aren’t generated even though it’s enabled. And video frame rate seems to slow every minute or so creating a slight strobe effect, for lack of a better term. But at least it’s watchable now, so I’m happy about that.

Update: Lowering the bitrate from Auto to 10/Mbps fixed the strobing effect. Still no thumbnails though. 

Edited October 18, 2022 by mbuhmann

[Luke 42077]

Thanks for following up.

[MBSki 1114]

9 hours ago, mbuhmann said:

thumbnails for when you fast forward aren’t generated even though it’s enabled.

Just to be sure, you're testing on a completed recording correct? I know thumbnails don't work on Live TV, but after it's recorded it should. Although I'm not sure how long it takes to add the thumbnails.

[thunderclap 52]

25 minutes ago, MBSki said:

Just to be sure, you're testing on a completed recording correct? I know thumbnails don't work on Live TV, but after it's recorded it should. Although I'm not sure how long it takes to add the thumbnails.

With the current one it was at last a half hour after airing, though there are older recordings from last week that don’t have them either. 

[MBSki 1114]

1 minute ago, mbuhmann said:

With the current one it was at last a half hour after airing, though there are older recordings from last week that don’t have them either. 

Got it, yea, that is weird.