Fire Stick stops playing live tv every few minutes, exits to guide. ([FFmpeg] [ERROR] [tls @ 0x81b7e740] Error in the pull function.)

Plex Players Streaming Devices
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168

When I installed Channels DVR on Windows, it prompted me to turn off Flow Control on the NIC in the server. According to Wikipedia this stops traffic upon congestion. Channels says this specifically causes issues with HD Homerun devices.

While my FireTV’s are all on ethernet, the Plex server running the DVR is at another physical location 30 miles away (other side of a mountain for better reception). So if others having the issue are on WiFI, could it be that Flow Control is kicking in when latency occurs, and is causing issues where the Plex server interrupts the stream and that in turn causes the HD Homerun to stop the stream?

When installing I noted that I should retry Plex with this disabled once I confirmed I didn’t have the same issues with Channels, but Channels has been working so well, and I had shut off the Plex Server on that machine, since I was only using it to get Live TV from a better reception area (have another server on my LAN for my library).

So something someone could try if running on Windows - I also disable all the other power saving / green features on the NIC while in there. I had turned them off in Windows power settings, but didn’t realize there were additional ones in the adapter properties.

169

DMing server logs.

170

After the last public update this problem has become much worse for me. Happening on ROKU and fire sticks on all of my devices more often than not where before it was limited to just 2 of my 6 primary devices. This update also seams to have effected my fast forward and rewind (Glitchy and sometimes doesn’t work at all on both live TV and recordings - did not have this problem before) and my commercial detection no longer works - I get no skip button during commercials anymore. Start from beginning option also seams broken now.

The only consistency I’ve found is when a live tv show is showing in “Now Playing” in my dashboard it continues to stream fine, when a stream starts and it doesn’t appear in now playing it cuts off within minutes.

FYI, I run Plex server on a windows 10 pro box that never goes about 20% resource usage.

171

Will this fix be in 8.13 when it’s released?

172

Update to my previous post… Commercial skip is working for new recordings, just not the ones before the last update.

173

Hi Dave,
Well, I"ve run into this issue for a while now., (but I swear it seems like it used to work), that is Plex live TV quitting after 4 minutes. I can disable closed captions and it works fine, but since I don’t hear well, I use the Roku. However, I bought a mean nasty router that does 1300 Mbps 5GHz and any buffering I had is gone!!, but still with the closed captioning 4 minutes and “poof” it’s gone. I honestly believe is something simple. It works too well for it to consistently crap out like that. I mean until 4 minutes it’s just fine. I really wish someone at Plex would look at this. Why? Well, using Plex for live TV means you can go back to the guide to see what’s on. I think I have 30 something channels and with the TV tuner and commercials, it’s just not as nice as Plex’s guide, so I use the Roku which works just fine and dandy for closed caption Plex live TV. I’m going to monitor this page as it looks like someone is on the case. But I’m not going back to the buggy version. Thanks all.2021-02-05T05:00:00ZPlex Media Server Logs_2021-02-05_11-03-17.zip (5.8 MB)

174

You are right, it used to work on android tv (fire stick/shield) but something ~October/November caused this bug. When using closed captioning, Exoplayer (what plex for android tv uses) is unable to direct play the content without a transcode to burn the subtitles in. Whatever they use for the Roku app does not have this issue so you are likely getting a direct play with CC on the roku and not seeing the issue. Relevant issue: EIA_608 subtitles causing transcodes; not supported in container

Honestly if the player could just support subtitles/CC without transcode that would solve a lot of problems. That being said I have no idea what that looks like or if it is even possible at this time for the devs.

175

Can confirm, used to work. Fails miserably now. Roku is working fine. Fire Stick fails. Google Chromecast with google TV fails (newest model that has remote). Thankfully I have an extra Roku Stick to watch the superbowl tonight. I just don’t understand how a paid feature (DVR requires plex pass…) can go on broken for months and nobody at plex seems to care at all. Terrible customer service.

3 Likes
176

Hi @sixones,
Can you provide any updates on this issue with Fire Stick 4k? The latest Plex for Android 8.13.0.22830-beta has all of the same issues as 8.12.
Let me know if you need any logs or anything to help troubleshoot.
Thanks.

177

I’ve also been experiencing this issue with multiple tuners (Homepauge USB & HD HomeRun) and Plex servers (Windows and Synology) on my four 4k Fire TV sticks (wired). Looking forward to a fix soon. As others have stated, recordings work just not live tv.

Thanks everyone at Plex for all of your hard work!

178

Hi @daioio & @sixones,
I just tested the latest Android beta and it still has the buffering and seeking on the Fire Stick 4k when watching transcoded interlaced live tv. This issue still starts at exactly 300 seconds every time.
@sixones has previously fixed this bug by in 8.13.0.22739, although it introduced other bugs. There was a “rogue seek during an update of the HLS manifest”.
Let me know if there is anything I can do to help get rid of this bug. It has been around since 8.6 was released in September 2020.

02-09 13:29:00.114  i: [FFmpeg] [INFO] [https @ 0x865be800] Opening 'https://192-168-1-140.2ade9dc280a0409ca0bdac9cf513b313.plex.direct:32400/video/:/transcode/universal/session/c2ba770c8a492cb4-com-plexapp-android/base/00313.ts?X-Plex-Incomplete-Segments=1' for reading

02-09 13:29:00.247  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] videoDisabled [eventTime=315.17, mediaPos=310.00, window=0, period=0]
02-09 13:29:00.253  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] audioDisabled [eventTime=315.17, mediaPos=310.00, window=0, period=0]
02-09 13:29:00.255  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] videoEnabled [eventTime=315.17, mediaPos=310.00, window=0, period=0]
02-09 13:29:00.263  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] audioEnabled [eventTime=315.18, mediaPos=310.00, window=0, period=0]
02-09 13:29:00.264  i: [FF] Seeking outside buffer
02-09 13:29:00.271  i: [FF] Loading canceled (released: false)
02-09 13:29:00.272  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] timeline [eventTime=315.19, mediaPos=305.00, window=0, period=0, periodCount=1, windowCount=1, reason=SOURCE_UPDATE
02-09 13:29:00.274  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger]   period [305.00]
02-09 13:29:00.275  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger]   window [305.00, true, false]
02-09 13:29:00.276  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] ]
02-09 13:29:00.277  i: [Player][ExoPlayer] onTimelineChanged (Position: 305004 ms, Duration: 305004 ms)
02-09 13:29:00.278  i: [EngineEventManager] onBufferingStarted (isSeeking: false)
02-09 13:29:00.279  i: [TranscodeSession] Updating session status
02-09 13:29:00.283  i: [TranscodeSession] Media choice updated
02-09 13:29:00.285  i: [TranscodeSession] Pausing...
02-09 13:29:00.288  i: [TranscodeSession] Direct Play
02-09 13:29:00.289  i: [Player][Buffer] Buffering due to network too slow
02-09 13:29:00.292  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] state [eventTime=315.21, mediaPos=305.00, window=0, period=0, BUFFERING]
02-09 13:29:00.293  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] isPlaying [eventTime=315.21, mediaPos=305.00, window=0, period=0, false]
02-09 13:29:00.295  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] videoInputFormat [eventTime=315.21, mediaPos=305.00, window=0, period=0, id=0, mimeType=video/avc, bitrate=20505000, codecs=h264, res=1920x1080, fps=29.97003]
02-09 13:29:00.300  i: [FF] Input has been seeked to 305004730us.
3 Likes
179

I just installed version 8.12.4.22902 on a fireTV 4k. Live TV no longer kicks me into the guide but now continuously stops and starts and buffers after about 5 minutes.

1 Like
180

It seems like this is a common result of installing one of these beta updates. Everyone is seeing the same issue and has provided logs so I’m hopeful for a quick fix as the variables are few (relatively speaking).

Also bump.

181

Hi @daioio & @sixones,

I just tried the latest App version: 8.13.0.22986 on Fire Stick 4k. From here: Plex for Android - #375 by daioio
This still does not fix the 5 minute (300 seconds) buffering and seeking issue.
This bug happens every time Live TV is played on a Fire Stick 4k (which requires transcoding of interlaced live tv).
@sixones had fixed the issue previously by finding a “rogue seek during an update of the HLS manifest” but it has since been reverted back. Can you please look into and fix this again? We haven’t been able to play Live TV on the Fire Stick 4k since September 2020.

02-15 15:17:36.334  i: [FFmpeg] [INFO] [https @ 0x87066800] Opening 'https://192-168-1-140.2ade9dc280a0409ca0bdac9cf513b313.plex.direct:32400/video/:/transcode/universal/session/c2ba770c8a492cb4-com-plexapp-android/base/00323.ts?X-Plex-Incomplete-Segments=1' for reading
02-15 15:17:36.453  i: [PlaybackTimeBehaviour] Time: 317626 IsStarted: true
02-15 15:17:36.504  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] videoDisabled [eventTime=325.32, mediaPos=317.50, window=0, period=0]
02-15 15:17:36.505  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] audioDisabled [eventTime=325.32, mediaPos=317.50, window=0, period=0]
02-15 15:17:36.506  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] videoEnabled [eventTime=325.32, mediaPos=317.50, window=0, period=0]
02-15 15:17:36.514  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] audioEnabled [eventTime=325.33, mediaPos=317.50, window=0, period=0]
02-15 15:17:36.516  i: [FF] Seeking outside buffer
02-15 15:17:36.520  i: [FF] Loading canceled (released: false)
02-15 15:17:36.522  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] timeline [eventTime=325.34, mediaPos=309.01, window=0, period=0, periodCount=1, windowCount=1, reason=SOURCE_UPDATE
02-15 15:17:36.524  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger]   period [309.01]
02-15 15:17:36.525  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger]   window [309.01, true, false]
02-15 15:17:36.526  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] ]
02-15 15:17:36.527  i: [Player][ExoPlayer] onTimelineChanged (Position: 309008 ms, Duration: 309008 ms)
02-15 15:17:36.528  i: [EngineEventManager] onBufferingStarted (isSeeking: false)
02-15 15:17:36.533  i: [TranscodeSession] Media choice updated
02-15 15:17:36.534  i: [TranscodeSession] Pausing...
02-15 15:17:36.538  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] state [eventTime=325.36, mediaPos=309.01, window=0, period=0, BUFFERING]
02-15 15:17:36.540  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] isPlaying [eventTime=325.36, mediaPos=309.01, window=0, period=0, false]
02-15 15:17:36.542  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] videoInputFormat [eventTime=325.36, mediaPos=309.01, window=0, period=0, id=0, mimeType=video/avc, bitrate=20505000, codecs=h264, res=1920x1080, fps=29.97003]
02-15 15:17:36.544  i: [FF] Input has been seeked to 309008738us.
02-15 15:17:36.545  i: [FFmpeg] [INFO] Demuxer is applying pending seek to 319008738 us, original target was 309008738 us.
02-15 15:17:36.549  i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] audioInputFormat [eventTime=325.37, mediaPos=309.01, window=0, period=0, id=1, mimeType=audio/ac3, bitrate=20505000, codecs=ac3, channels=6, sample_rate=48000, language=english]
02-15 15:17:36.551  i: [TranscodeSession] Updating session status
02-15 15:17:36.556  i: Fetching [method:GET] https://192.168.1.140:32400/transcode/sessions/c2ba770c8a492cb4-com-plexapp-android?X-Plex-Token=...gYad
02-15 15:17:36.594  i: [FFmpeg] [INFO] [https @ 0x8ad47000] Opening 'https://192-168-1-140.2ade9dc280a0409ca0bdac9cf513b313.plex.direct:32400/video/:/transcode/universal/session/c2ba770c8a492cb4-com-plexapp-android/base/index.m3u8?X-Plex-Incomplete-Segments=1' for reading
02-15 15:17:36.602  i: [FFmpeg] [INFO] [hls @ 0x89ffe200] Opening 'https://192-168-1-140.2ade9dc280a0409ca0bdac9cf513b313.plex.direct:32400/video/:/transcode/universal/session/c2ba770c8a492cb4-com-plexapp-android/base/00308.ts?X-Plex-Incomplete-Segments=1' for reading

Thanks for looking at this!!

3 Likes
182

8.13 was released today. Was the fix for the original issue (playback stopping and returning to the menu after 5 minutes) included in it?

1 Like
183

Hi Dave,
Well, really anybody who’s reading this. I updated Plex server today 2/17/21, but no difference … except. When Plex/Android or Firestick, plays “Live TV” like over the air from antenna, with closed captions (which forces transcoding), now instead of aborting after 4 minutes, it plays 4 minutes then buffers like crazy, like not even a minute, boom, boom, boom. Unwatchable, unless I turn closed captioning off, then I’m good. 2021-02-17T05:00:00Z[Plex Media Server Logs_2021-02-17_16-41-24.zip|attachment] Pretty sure this is the Android software, but then you never know. (upload://cfbDRpSLOvtbZA4scr0PvMTVxt0.zip) (4.7 MB)

184

Hey there - just setting expectations here that @sixones and @daioio are the plex staffers within this thread. I would love to help in any way possible but without access to the source code all we can really provide is logs of the issue happening. Otherwise all we can do is wait… and complain :wink:

1 Like
185

Lets opensource this project and get it fixed this week! I’m all in. :muscle:

2 Likes
186

My Firestick devices (4k/2nd gen) seem to get stuck in a loop after a random amount of time while using Live TV & DVR. All of a sudden it will skip backwards 10-30 seconds and replay what I just seen over and over again. Once it’s in this loop there is no way to fix it without changing the channel or stopping the stream. A Roku user I have doesn’t seem to have this issue so I’m pretty sure it’s just android devices…

Can we please get this problem fixed on the next release?

187

This is a known issue that is being tracked internally

1 Like