Server Version#: Version 1.27.0.5897
Player Version#: 4.76.1 (Web)
Player Version#: 8.4 (iOS)
Player Version#: 1.47.1.3086-6c3d964f (Mac)
Live TV channels are constantly cutting / dropping after 3-4minutes of playback.
No matter what version of Plex I use (server or client), regardless of which app or device, AND regardless of which settings I apply either in Plex the issue ALWAYS seems to occur.
When I play the VERY SAME source in any other app - VLC, IPTV Smarters, literally anything - the stream works perfectly with no issues, buffering or dropouts.
So why is this happening, and why has this not been solved already considering the number of threads I can see on the forums…?
Otherwise I am moving from Plex after being a user for 5+ years, I have spent way too much time trying to get this to work (even switching server, provider, literally everything). Clearly Plex has major issues playing Live TV feeds.
I’d recommend having a look at this thread, in particular the last sixty or so comments. There’s some discussion as to why the IPTV via xTeVe instability occurs, and a potential solution (using TVHeadend as the backend for the IPTV streams). It’s very interesting reading and it was confirmed to work for the user who followed the advice and implemented it.
Ive noticed that Plex seems to drop connection to the feed for some unknown reason, once the drop occurs it is unable to continue playback (heartbeat in dashboard completely flatlines).
HOWEVER when the freeze happens if I instantly close the player and click the very same channel, it starts right back up.
So Plex devs need to work on how the Live feed is handled when a dropout occurs, and at least offer some kind of extended buffering option which can combat any dropout.
Honestly if I can restart the feed instantly (manually) then I dont see why the player can’t do this by itself…
As for what causes the dropout - it has to be Plex
