Can not record any program from ION, Channel 33.1 in Seattle. Transcoder Error

Live TV & DVR
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@sa2000 Still broken with new Version 1.17.0.1376.

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That is a Plex Desktop app version
Is the issue limited to just when using that app?

As you mentioned before it is probably something specific in the data stream from this channel that is leading to the issue.

I don’t have any update on this from the development team

At the moment I only have two users showing as impacted by this - with such a low number, it is difficult to get it to the top of the priority list of issues to address and I believe it is only when transcoding. Any plex clients that Direct Play I do not believe would have the issue

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@sa2000 I’m an idiot. No it is not specific to using the app. I meant to put the server version that came out today: 1.20.1.3252-a78fef9a9. To quote Maxwell Smart: “Sorry about that Chief.”

It is strange I can WATCH the channel with a client (PC, Android), but I can’t record it.

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Well, anyone in the Seattle market would have this issue, and from other threads I believe it is a problem for anyone in the USA trying to record ION Television.

Since I can’t record, I don’t know how the client transcoding has anything to do with this.

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Still having this issue with Windows PMS 1.20.3.3483

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Still broken with version 1.21.0.3616. I can live play, but recordings fail within a few seconds.

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@jebrossard Hi. Does the problem still exist with recordings on ION using the current release of Plex Media Server 1.21.1.3876 ?

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Same problem “There was a transcoder error”. Still only a problem with this channel. And as before I can “watch now” the channel, I just can’t record it.

And thanks for checking, I appreciate it.

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Thanks - I am giving it a bump and see if we can get it reproduced

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Any updates on this topic? I have the exact same issue recording with Plex and my HD Homerun Extend on ion channel 63.1 in Indianapolis. All other channels work, it is just ion that does not.

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@sa2000 Please see the post above.

No update, it still doesn’t work for me. I suspect nobody can record the main ION channel in the US using Plex.

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Trying to get developer in the US to schedule a recording for ION

My suspicion is that the issue is to do with timezones and what the streamed data contains in terms of timestamps

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Tests of 2 scheduled recordings completed ok and did not terminate prematurely - this was for channel 36.3 : KXANDT3 (KXANDT3 Affiliate: ION: Independent Television)

Is the problem intermittent ? Or solid ?

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@sa2000 Solid and ONLY occurs on the main channel 33.1 in my case, the sub-channels record fine. For your test you should probably record 36.1.

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@sa2000 Just checked with the latest beta. Problem remains, I can livestream 33.1 in Seattle, but recording it fails. No issues with 33.2 through 33.7

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Hi @jebrossard - I found a developer in Tacoma, WA and tried a recording for 33.1 ION but it did not fail ! Two recordings of episodes of Blue Bloods were recorded ok last week

Does the issue arise with all recordings on 33.1 ION ?
And is the issue still the same - in that recordings terminate prematurely soon after starting ?

Any non standard timezone settings ?
I presume your server is running in PST Time zone (at UTC - 8 hours) ?

Could i get fresh server logs from current beta - 1.22.0.4157-d1699ac4a with debug logging and captured at end of DVR EPG Refresh to see the channel callsign and logs also captured soon after a truncated scheduled recording

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WTF? Really? Yes, all recordings of 33.1 are affected.

I wonder if the tuner has anything to do with this? I’m using a HDHomeRun Extend which does transcoding in hardware . The firmware is current. I will upgrade to the current beta and gather some logs.

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I am waiting for confirmation that we were transcoding for the tests carried out

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@sa2000 I think we have narrowed down the issue. With the HDHomeRun Extend set to “Highest Quality” per Live TV & DVR (Set Up and Manage) | Plex Support the 33.1 ION recording fails in seconds. When set to “Original Quality” it appears the recording succeeds.

So now I have to ask, why is Plex transcoding a stream that has already been transcoded by the HDHomeRun Extend? Or is something else going on?

I tested this with Version 1.22.0.4163.

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The test was using an HDHR5-2US Connect Duo Dual Tuner which does not transcode

Could you get me logs from latest version of Plex media server with two tests - one with original quality and one with highest quality - please note the times of the tests - I will have a look next Tuesday