Hardware/Software Transcoding for different sources

[Scott D 69]

In chasing down a problem with Live TV (HDHomeRun source), I have found that Hardware transcoding is creating a problem.  A few channels (not all) will not start and tend to leave fragments of the .ts files to be deleted manually.  If I turn off hardware transcoding, things seem to work as desired.  All personal media seems to be working with no issue when using Hardware transcoding, so I would like to be able to Hardware transcode everything but the Live TV stream coming from the HDHomeRun.

This problem has been occurring for quite some time, so it is not a recent change problem.  Not looking to dive into log files, as enough time has been spent looking into the problem.  Just trying to find a way to have a mix of Hardware/Software transcoding to maximize the experience.  Hardware on media files, Software on Live streams.  Currently running software only, and all seems to be working fine.  But, I have not pushed the server with more than 2 active users.  

I am getting this error in the log file when the channel does not start. 

16:47:53.989 [mpeg2video @ 000001b894ce8f40] Invalid frame dimensions 0x0.

Last message repeated 42 times

[Luke 42083]

 

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

 

[Scott D 69]

Not looking to determine the cause of the problem, as I have been down this rabbit hole many times.  I am just inquiring as to whether there is an option (or way to) specify that hardware encoding be used on any media files, while any media sourced from the HDHomeRun utilize only software transcoding.

[Luke 42083]

There is no such option. But things change over time. I think we should go down the rabbit hole again.

[Q-Droid 989]

What you could try is disable the hardware decoders for mpeg2. Most of the US OTA broadcast is mpeg2 while most other sources are AVC/HEVC which would use HW accel for those.

 

[Scott D 69]

47 minutes ago, Q-Droid said:

What you could try is disable the hardware decoders for mpeg2. Most of the US OTA broadcast is mpeg2 while most other sources are AVC/HEVC which would use HW accel for those.

 

Thanks for pointing me in that direction.  I had not put that together.  I will give it a try.

[rbjtech 5284]

1 minute ago, Scott D said:

Thanks for pointing me in that direction.  I had not put that together.  I will give it a try.

'Here' as I was about to reply anyway ..

 

[Q-Droid 989]

Also, as illustrated by @rbjtech if you have multiple decoders for mpeg2 you could try one or the other or preference order to see if there's an issue specifically with one of them. If they both give you trouble then you can disable both.

 

Edited August 28, 2023 by Q-Droid