DS218+ LiveTV Performance Expectations

Plex Media Server NAS & Devices
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Server Version#: 1.14.1.5488
Player Version#: 3.77.4

I just wanted to check-in with the group to understand expectations around the performance of a DS218+ and Live TV. I’m a long-time Plexpass subscriber who just recently grabbed a HDHomeRun Connect Duo when it went on sale. I only have two OTA channels available to me here in Nova Scotia but many of the shows we like to watch are aired on CTV.

So, I have a DS218+, and Live TV on CBC (720p broadcast) works fine, puts the CPU at about 25-30% CPU utilization. Live TV on CTV (1080i broadcast) is not watchable with pauses every 30 seconds or so. CPU utilization rises over 50%.

After performing other research here, I did confirm that I probably accidentally installed a 32-bit version of PMS on the Synology through the within Plex announced update downloads. Today I installed the latest 64-bit version from Plex’s website and the result is the same. Disabling HW transcoding results in the CPU being pegged at 99%.

So, will this configuration just not have enough power? Or might there be something else going on in my configuration.

Network isn’t an issue as MPEG2 streaming from the HDHomeRun to wireless iOS devices and wired clients is fine. It’s just when you throw Plex in the mix that CTV bogs down.

Any insights would be appreciated. I will happily provide log files if that would assist the troubleshooting process.

Thank you.

Jim

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You have already identified the solution, clients that play MPEG2. Do you have the Plex client on the devices or are you using https://app.plex.tv/web? Browsers want h.264 so the transcoder has to convert and without HW it’s probably not possible.

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Thank you for your response. I have been trying to wrap my head around this and your response has brought clarity. For some reason, I was thinking that in the case of LiveTV, Plex was always going to transcode that content regardless of the client.

If I understand you correctly, the LiveTV experience, through Plex, on a Roku Streaming Stick and an Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K are going to be radically different because of their MPEG2 capabilities.

I (currently) have a house full of Roku Streaming Sticks so I may need to invest client side for this to work as I want it to work.

Thank you!

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You shouldn’t have to invest too much, Roku OS update V9 added support for MPEG2. Follow these instructions to add the Plex Preview app to them, it has the mpeg codec enabled.

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Thank you for all your help. I will give this a go tonight!

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Just to report back. This does allow me to watch Live TV on my Roku Streaming Sticks (2016 version) and an even older Roku 3. The only issue now is… deinterlacing or lack thereof. :slight_smile:

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