CCwGTV - 720p recordings are stuttering so bad they are unwatchable

[za46]

1080P content is also an issue. It seems to be content from BBC iPlayer using Get_iPlayer.

[Mr_Gareth]

I think I’m having the same issue - I watch a bit of live TV (it’s still very common in Australia), and some channels are now unwatchable on my CCwGTV (I tried multiple ones, they are all the same).

The Firestick 4K Max and Windows players all play the same TV channels fine!

What I’m seeing is the video constantly stops and the spinning circle appears, then it might play for a split second, then stop etc. When I go to the Windows admin interface to see what it’s reporting, it’s saying it’s “Buffering”.

It’s specifically happening on SBS HD channels (logs are attached of me trying to watch the show “Heritage Rescue”).

I’ve gone through the entire Australian (Melbourne) TV List and found some very inconsistent behaviour… and a lot of the HD channels are now transcoding which they didn’t do before! i.e. even 1080p hw converting to 1080p… !?!

10 Peach - 480i - Direct Stream - Plays fine
10 Bold - 1080p (H.264) - transcodes to 1080p (!!!) but plays fine.
10 Shake - 480p - Direct Stream - Plays fine
10 HD - 1080p (H.264) - transcodes to 1080p (!!!) but plays fine.
ABC TV - 1080i (H.264) - Direct Stream - Plays fine
ABC TV Plus - 480i - Direct Stream - Plays fine
ABC Me - 480i - Direct Stream - Plays fine
ABC News - 480i - Direct Stream - Plays fine
SBS HD - 1080i (H.264) - Direct Stream, buffers like crazy and unwatchable
SBS Viceland HD - 1080i (H.264) - Direct Stream, buffers like crazy and unwatchable
SBS World Movies - 1080i (H.264) - Direct Stream, buffers like crazy and unwatchable
SBS Food - 480p - Direct Stream - Plays fine
NITV - 480i - Direct Stream - Plays fine
7 HD - 1080i (H.264) - Direct Stream - Plays fine
7 two - 480i - Direct Stream - Plays fine
7 Mate HD - 1080i (H.264) - Plays fine
7 flix - 480i - Direct Stream - Plays fine
9 HD - 1080i (H.264) - transcodes to 1080p (!!!) but plays fine.
9 GO! - 480i - Direct Stream - Plays fine
9 Life - 480i - Direct Stream - Plays fine
9 - 1080i (H.264) - transcodes to 1080p (!!!) but plays fine.
9 Rush - 480i - Direct Stream - Plays fine

EDIT - From bbro_spo’s suggestion above, I dropped Home streaming maximum quality down to 720p to force transcoding, and all the SBS channels now play fine like that…

In the previous versions, all channels played fine as Direct Stream (no stuttering, no transcoding etc).

TV Buffering.txt (191.6 KB)

[za46]

This is the media info of a problematic video.

Media

• Duration 10:05
• Bitrate 5192 kbps
• Width 1280
• Height 720
• Aspect Ratio 1.78
• Video Resolution 720p
• Container MP4
• Web Optimized Yes
• Audio Profile lc
• Video Profile high

Part

• Duration 10:05

• File s01e01.mp4

• Size 375.46 MB

• Audio Profile lc

• Container MP4

• Has Thumbnail 1

• Web Optimized Yes

• Video Profile high

• Codec H264

• Bitrate 5064 kbps

• Bit Depth 8

• Chroma Location left

• Chroma Subsampling 4:2:0

• Coded Height 720

• Coded Width 1280

• Color Primaries bt709

• Color Range tv

• Color Space bt709

• Color Trc bt709

• Frame Rate 50 fps

• Height 720

• Level 3.2

• Profile high

• Ref Frames 4

• Scan Type progressive

• Stream Identifier 1

• Width 1280

• Display Title 720p (H.264)

• Extended Display Title 720p (H.264)

• Codec AAC

• Channels 2

• Bitrate 128 kbps

• Language English

• Language Tag en

• Audio Channel Layout stereo

• Profile lc

• Sampling Rate 48000 Hz

• Stream Identifier 2

• Display Title English (AAC Stereo)

• Extended Display Title English (AAC Stereo)

• Codec MOV_TEXT

• Language English

• Language Tag en

• Stream Identifier 3

• Display Title English (MOV_TEXT)

• Extended Display Title English (MOV_TEXT)

[jebrossard]

The 9.16.0.38326-beta does not address this issue.

[another92]

Plex is unusable after latest update on Chromecast with Google TV. Stuttering Street 10 seconds the Plex restart.

Now the skip intros has disappeared too. Never seen such a horrible update. Literally ruined the program.

[jebrossard]

@sixones Any update?

[za46]

Any news please? My kids won’t leave me alone!

[afk013]

Just to add an ‘I have this problem too comment’

Repro Steps
In regards to content the issue appears for me to be 720p content from Get_iPlayer, similar to:

@za46

1080P content is also an issue. It seems to be content from BBC iPlayer using Get_iPlayer.

Casting the same content from the iOS Plex app to the same CCwGTV works fine the same as:

@za46

am also having this issue with my Chromecast with Google TV. All the videos impacted are 720p. Chromecasting from my iPhone seems to work. However, this has it’s own bugs.

Workaround
Following the steps mentioned by jebrossard and knoll

@jebrossard

From this post download the armv7a version.

Plex for Android 9.14.0 Available on Google Play and the Amazon App Store. NOTE: We are performing a staged rollout, which means the update may take a day or two before it becomes available. WHATS NEW: Add support for grouped streaming service preferences. [TV] Feed: scroll to the first item in the feed when the back button is pressed. FIXES: Search: query with no results would result in infinite spinner. Player: support for DTS and DTS:HD passthrough on FireTV Cube 3rd Gen. Player: prev…

Install the APK on the CCwGTV. Google for instructions.
Disable automatic update.

@knoll

Send Files to TV app (install on both phone and TV)
Enable developer options on the Chromecast - Get to the build number under the about option and click it 7 times.
Install a file explorer (FX Explorer is an option) if needed
Make sure to uninstall the Plex App
Send the file from the phone to TV via the Send Files to TV app
Open the file in either the Send Files to TV app or FX Explorer app
It will ask to allow install from unknown sources and toggle the apps to allow from ( Send Files to TV or FX Explorer)
The app will then install

I have been able to restore my plex app to working order on CCwGTV.

One slight difference to knoll’s instructions was that I do not have an android mobile to send the files from. Instead I made use of FX Explorer’s web based file transfer portal (pro feature but can be used for free for 7 days) to transfer the APK from my Mac to the CCwGTV.

Not sure if that helps anyone but thought I’d mention it.

[sixones]

This has been a nightmare to track down but I’ve found the problem was down to a single commit in ExoPlayer v2.80.2. I’ve managed to resolve the problem and can playback the sample without issues on the Chromecast with Google TV now.

Here’s an APK you can try;

Armv7a: https://artifacts.plex.tv/android-experimental/9.17.0.38548-f6625e9e/PlexForAndroid-9.17.0.38548-f6625e9e-Armv7aGooglePlay.apk

Edit: wrong APK link.

[jebrossard]

Awesome news! I’ll try this tomorrow, too busy with work and Valentine’s day to try it today.

[Mr_Gareth]

The 9.17 AKP has fixed my issue with the SBS channels (Live TV) - they actually play now

Phew!!! I look forward to the change being committed back into the baseline

[za46]

Thanks for the effort. At the moment I am not able to side load the APK. I am wondering when it will be live to download the usual way please? Thanks so much.

[jebrossard]

@sixones

Here’s an APK you can try;

This build did fix my issue.

I do have a question. You mentioned ExoPlayer v2.80.2, yet when I go to https://exoplayer.dev/ the latest version is r2.18.2. Is Plex using a custom fork of the code?

[jebrossard]

@za46

I am wondering when it will be live to download the usual way please?

Since this is a development version that isn’t yet in beta test, I would guess you won’t see it through normal channels for a week or two at least.

[sixones]

@jebrossard

I do have a question. You mentioned ExoPlayer v2.80.2, yet when I go to https://exoplayer.dev/ the latest version is r2.18.2. Is Plex using a custom fork of the code?

Apologies should of been v2.18.2, but yes we do use a custom fork of ExoPlayer as we demux everything via FFmpeg and not the ExoPlayer demuxers.

@jebrossard

This build did fix my issue.

It’s likely you are experiencing a different issue then, do you have a sample of a video that has the problem?

[jebrossard]

@sixones

It’s likely you are experiencing a different issue then

Uh, as I said, the APK you linked DID fix my issue!

[sixones]

Sorry, thought you said didnt Thanks for confirming!

[superboredom]

@sixones Appreciate your tracking this down.

Any thoughts as to when this will hit the beta users on Google Play? If it’s a few days I’d prefer to just wait and not have to sideload devices. Thanks again!

I’m assuming this would impact all Android client users on this exoplayer version (Shield Pro, etc)?

(Probably same issue being discussed here: TV shows on shuffle causing plex to crash on Nvidia shield)

[jebrossard]

@sixones

Sorry, thought you said didnt Thanks for confirming!

No problem. I watched three hours of 720p content last night. The only issue I had was the experimental version was it crashing once during playback. Playback got jerky for a few seconds and then the app crashed and restarted.

[sixones]

There was a different memory leak during playback that was fixed in v9.16.1, will update the build tomorrow to include that fix. Short term work around is to back out of playback after an episode plays.

The fix above will be in the v9.17 beta that will be released next week.