Satellite internet (HughesNet) streaming woes

[bardmaster 17]

Hey gang, I've got a new one for you.  I have a cabin in the mountains where my only option for internet access is satellite.  I picked HughesNet, which has 25Mbps download speeds but only 1Mpbs upload speeds and latency in the thousands of ms.  Netflix and YouTube stream just fine, but I cannot get Emby to stream reliably from my Emby Server back at my normal home.  Whether recorded video or live streaming, it constantly buffers - more frequently for the live stream.  I've tried dropping my bitrate all the way down to SD levels with no noticable effect, so it doesn't seem to be a bandwidth issue.  I have Verizon wireless up there and any videos stream almost flawlessly on my phone up there, even with 2 bars.  I can actually use my phone as a wi-fi hotspot for my 43" LG TV, and it works pretty well too.

 

This all leads me to believe Emby is having trouble working with the latency (or maybe limited upload speeds?) of the satellite internet.  If Netflix and YouTube works, maybe it's a configuration setting somewhere?

 

I've attached three separate tests for your review, all testing streaming of the same video:

1 - Roku Stick

2 - web app on my laptop

3 - LG smart TV

 

Appreciate any help!

ffmpeg-roku.txt

server log-roku.txt

ffmpeg-webapp.txt

server log-webapp.txt

ffmpeg-lg.txt

server log-lg.txt

[Luke 42083]

Hi @@bardmaster, can you try a low bitrate video file that can direct play under these circumstances and see how that compares? thanks.

[pir8radio 1312]

In some high latency testing I've done, it seems to help to start emby playing and pause it so that it can buffer a big chunk first (web app)..   If that works for you then it might be how close emby stitches the file chunks together..   I find sometimes emby has one chunk still downloading when the prior chunk is ending.  causing a similar situation.   Just something to test, not to interfere with Lukes suggestions.   

Edited April 15, 2018 by pir8radio

[bardmaster 17]

OK @@Luke I tried with a file whose total bitrate between video and audio was less than 1mb/s and SD - logs attached.  It still buffered every 20-30 seconds.

 

@@pir8radio I will try your suggestion this weekend when I'm back up there, thanks for the idea (should have thought of this).

ffmpeg log.txt

ffmpeg log 2.txt

server log.zip

space 1999-black sun.txt

[bardmaster 17]

Update: I did try the suggestion by @@pir8radio to pause a video at the start to aid in buffering, and it helped but didn't resolve the issue.  Eventually it appears the feed "catches up" and I get the same buffering pauses.

[Luke 42083]

Can you try the new release of emby server? Thanks.

[bardmaster 17]

Can you try the new release of emby server? Thanks.

No change.  It's simply unusable.

[pir8radio 1312]

No change.  It's simply unusable.

 

Its tough to stream video on high latency networks like that.  Emby would have to buffer a huge chunk before you even started to play.  Does things like Netflix and plex work with it?   Oh you said yes...    strange...

Edited June 14, 2018 by pir8radio

[bardmaster 17]

Its tough to stream video on high latency networks like that.  Emby would have to buffer a huge chunk before you even started to play.  Does things like Netflix and plex work with it?   Oh you said yes...    strange...

Netflix yes...flawlessly!  They must have some kind of corrective algorithm for high-latency (which tests between 1200-1500 ms) and everything else under the sun.  It does take a bit longer to start videos than when I run it at home with my Comcast internet, but not too long - like 20-30 seconds.

 

Plex = no, same issues as Emby.

 

Now I haven't tried Youtube...will try that when I go back up there this weekend.

Edited June 14, 2018 by bardmaster

[speechles 2055]

Netflix makes use of this: https://openconnect.netflix.com/en/

 

Which is basically described here: https://gizmodo.com/this-box-can-hold-an-entire-netflix-1592590450

 

Whereas, your emby server is a single location. Somewhere along your route from your satellite dish to your emby server is a bottle neck. Maybe its something done intentionally to cripple streaming over satellite unless its from a confirmed partner (like netflix). 

 

You need to run a tracert from your satellite connection to the IP of your emby server. In the list you should see the problem link. It is likely intentionally slowing things down as the source isn't known.

 

Also, how do you get around their unacceptable FAP (fair access policy)? Are you buying those tokens to get extra bandwidth?

Edited June 14, 2018 by speechles

[bardmaster 17]

Here is my tracert - interesting, it seems the real bottleneck is within Comcast's own network, bouncing from node to node:

 

  1    <1 ms    <1 ms    <1 ms  192.168.42.1

  2    <1 ms    <1 ms    <1 ms  100.71.11.49

  3   584 ms   559 ms   578 ms  host977212956.direcpc.com [97.72.56.129]

  4   605 ms   557 ms   578 ms  host9772461.direcpc.com [97.72.61.4]

  5   629 ms   599 ms   609 ms  phn4-edge-03.inet.qwest.net [72.164.12.205]

  6   634 ms   598 ms   618 ms  los-brdr-02.inet.qwest.net [67.14.102.226]

  7   636 ms   589 ms   769 ms  67.128.19.38

  8  1814 ms   603 ms  1908 ms  be-11587-cr02.losangeles.ca.ibone.comcast.net [68.86.83.17]

  9   645 ms   788 ms   958 ms  be-11015-cr02.sunnyvale.ca.ibone.comcast.net [68.86.86.97]

 10   610 ms   651 ms   673 ms  be-7922-ar01.santaclara.ca.sfba.comcast.net [68.86.90.94]

 11   642 ms   637 ms   585 ms  162.151.86.58

 12   616 ms   659 ms   632 ms  po-1-rur01.pleasanton.ca.sfba.comcast.net [162.151.78.210]

 13   620 ms   598 ms   658 ms  lag-1-acr01.pleasanton.ca.sfba.comcast.net [162.151.31.46]

 14  1300 ms  1162 ms   644 ms  c-73-70-214-60.hsd1.ca.comcast.net [myip]

 15  c-myip.hsd1.ca.comcast.net [myip]  reports: Destination host unreachable.

 

Thoughts, @@speechles?  Also to answer your question, I am not up at this place a lot - it's a cabin retreat up in the mountains - so don't use internet a ton up here.  But it would be really nice to be able to watch our Emby media content at night!

[choqni@gmail.com 0]

bardmaster, did you get emby to work over hughesnet? I see this 2-year old thread, but I am having the exact same problem now. Cabin in the mountains trying to access my emby server back home (which is on fios). I can't even log in from the cabin. Incidentally, I also cannot access my ftp server. And before switching to hughesnet, over Dish internet I was able to access both. So this seems to be a hughesnet problem. 

One other thing I didn't see noted in the thread is that I have had the video data saver on. I just turned it off, so when I go back out I can see if it works now. Don't know why it would affect ftp though.

[bardmaster 17]

@choqni@gmail.com I got the streaming to work fine for saved videos at a fairly low but acceptable resolution & quality (I seem to recall 720P HD - 1.5 Mbps was the sweet spot).

Live TV I could get to stream, but even with a long pause to allow buffering it would still quickly freeze up for buffering every 30 seconds for about 15-20 seconds.  It would stream fine at a super-low resolution, but then all you see is fuzzy blocks on the screen!

But I sold the cabin earlier this year so am happily done with HughesNet.  Good luck!

[choqni@gmail.com 0]

As an update, I discovered that turning off video data saver on hughesnet helps - but doesn't totally fix - emby server access over satellite. The problem is also the emby client software (Android app in my case, but I also tried over chrome). I was able to log into Emby and see my media, but could not stream and it wasn't clear if downloading was working. I tried the Yatse app (which I already had on my phone from when I used a Kodi server before discovering emby connect). If you plug the external ip and login for Emby server into the Yatse app, it works great to download and stream over hughesnet. Ditching emby connect and trying a direct ip address connection on the emby app does not help. So the bottom line for connecting to your Emby server over hughesnet satellite internet is that Emby Connect does not work over satellite, but you can still access the server if you - 1) turn off the hughesnet video data saver; 2) don't use the Emby client app (for android anyway) - Yatse does work (you need to pay a few bucks once for the app's streaming plugin).

Emby, please fix your android app so we can use emby connect over satellite! Thanks!

Edited September 29, 2020 by choqni@gmail.com

[Carlo 4561]

Hi, Can you try this for us?  Using Emby Connect, try forgetting the existing server that shows up and let it find your server again.

Did it work after doing this?