if it is some kind of cable tv box, it is possible that it has multiple ips assigned internally, which may (or may not) be confusing or affecting the local/remote detection of the client, causing it to think it is remote when it should be local.
I don’t think so, because I assigned static IP’s on the LAN for them, trying to get direct play to work. As far as I can see, there’s only one place to configure the network.
It;s not a cable TV box, it is an Android TV device, with an app that connects to the streaming service provided by the cable TV provider. You have to download the app from the Google play store. I have the app installed on my android phone as well, so I would imagine it’s unlikely that the app can assign multiple IP addresses there.
I don’t know (or for that matter care) about the technical details, but the streaming service is a completely different animal then the regular TV. I believe SaskTel (my internet provider) actually uses IPTV, rather than standard cable TV technology in both cases.
New logs attached.
Server started at 2:55 PM
Play on Android TV at 2:57 PM
Play stopped on Android TV at 2:58 PM
The settings you mentioned previously earlier were enabled.
AndroidLogs.txt (1.1 MB)
Plex Media Server_AndroidTest.zip (4.0 MB)
Say, did you have issues with ‘DNS rebinding protection’ (in your router) or with Plex’s ‘Secure Connections’ in the past?
Did you already change some settings in your router to deal with it?
Do you ‘require’ Secure Connections in
Settings - Server - Network
?
DNS rebinding: None that I’m aware of. The only thing I’ve changed in the router is to set up the port forwarding, and that was eons ago.
Secure connections is set to “Preferred”
Which model of router is it?
Actiontec V1000H, supplied by the internet provider.
Is there limited access to the advanved configuration options, like DNS Server or the above mentioned ‘DNS rebinding protection’?
HaHa… we’re getting into an area I’ve never looked at, cause things just worked. The only thing I see in the Advanced settings is a “Dynamic DNS” configuration page that even comes close. I’ve never altered anything there, I’m quite sure.
I’m probably going to have to do some homework, if you need more info.
It still seems odd to me that changing the Remote quality to Maximum allows direct play, and anthing less than forces a remux. But I’m trusting you, you’re the expert. 
Because the Android app deems itself as if it is not in the same network as the server. So it applies the bandwidth restriction for remote connections. And that is triggering the transcoding.
I have looked into the manual for your router.
There is only one setting that applies here.
Advanced Setup - WAN IP Address - 5. DNS Type
Set that to ‘static’ and put 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 into the input fields for primary and secondary DNS
Afterwards reboot the router first
and then after a few minutes the server
and after a further few minutes the clients as well.
I knew I had been there once before, but couldn’t find it. I did change them to those addresses at one time, but at some point in time a year or so ago, one of the techs at Sasktel remotely reset my router.
Give me a few minutes.
If you’re still around, I’ve rebooted everything. Time for another test?
Please do.
Was there a reason why they resetted your router back then? Did something not work? You better verify that too.
It was some time ago, but I believe it was becaise I couldn’t get the HD streams from the IPTV service, only SD. I think it was one of those “let’s try this first things”
No luck, still direct streaming. Once again, thanks for bearing with me.
I’m going to have to sign out. Have some other commitments. If I see you helping out tomorrow or in the next few days I’ll bump this for more suggestions. Have a good holiday season.
One final note, the devices did direct play about two weeks ago. I believe the Android TV app was updated, and, perhaps coincidence, but that’s about when the problems showed up.
You may be right about the app update.
We have filed an internal bug report about this now.
I’m going to add a new wrinkle here.
Just for fun, I disconnected the ethernet cable, and connected to the wi-fi network. Instant direct play. Reconnecting the ethernet and disabling the wi-fi returned playback to direct stream. With both types of connection, I just used DCHP… Configuring a static IP didn’t help anyways, as I mentioned earlier.
I still experience the drop-outs in connection to the server with both methods I described earlier, and occasionally the app just quits working and goes to the home screen for the Android TV. You can actually watch the droputs with the new dashboard feature in Plex web. If the connection is “lost” for a longer time than usual (which isn’t good, but it does seem to re-connect), then the app will crash.
No extensive testing, but if I cast to the device from the chrome browser or other device, the dropouts seem to disappear, although the app still direct plays or direct streams depending on the connection type.
I apologize for the many posts on this thread, I’m not belaboring the problem.just trying to make the app work. I can provide more logs if they assist in any way.
Curious about one thing @leelynds which could possibly change things depending on setup (probably a stretch but worth asking).
What are the IPs you get when connected over WIFI and Ethernet?
