Server Version#: 1.20.3.3437
Playback of LiveTV/DVR/OTA of 1080i channels is not at 60fps.
If I choose the default video player, the server will send the raw 1080i/MPEG2 stream to the AppleTV but the AppleTV de-interlaces it to 30fps. It makes live sports broadcasts look lousy.
If I choose the “old” video player in the settings, the Plex server will transcode to H264 but not before also de-interlacing it to 30fps.
Is there a fix in the works for this?
This isn’t really broken behavior. A 1080i broadcast may be 60fps, but once it is deinterlaced, it is 30fps. This is why ABC, FOX and ESPN all broadcast in 720p – it’s better for live sports.
Let’s call it 60 fields per second rather than 60 frames per second. The motion is still jumpy and it should be fixed. If I watch the same broadcast (OTA) via my TV’s built-in tuner, the motion is very smooth.
Does your Apple TV connect to the TV with a 60i connection? Why would it be deinterlacing, I wonder, instead of just sending it straight to the TV.
The connection is 4K/Dolby Vision. The AppleTV upscales everything to 2160p. The TV is a Vizio P659-G1.
I don’t have an Apple TV, but I’m curious, so I was trying to find out whether it deinterlaces everything automatically.
I ran across the following screen. Do you have a screen that looks kind of like this on v14 or whatever you are running?
And then this tech support article which has #2 sub note at the bottom.
2. Apple TV matches the frame rate of content encoded at 60, 50, 30, 25, and 24fps. Frame rates match the refresh rate appropriate for your region, for example 29.97fps for NTSC. 25fps and 30fps content uses frame rate doubling to display at 50Hz and 60Hz when available, matching its original appearance while preserving a fluid user interface.
Well, I don’t know what’s going on anymore… I found the setting for “Match Frame Rate” in the AppleTV - it was off. But turning it on doesn’t seem to have an effect. And now I’m not able to get my Plex server to send an OTA stream to my ATV without transcoding it first, regardless of how I set the “Use old video player” option in the Plex app.
All I know is this: If I watch one of the local 1080i broadcast channels using Plex via AppleTV, the video is not smooth. It’s clearly reducing 60fps to 30fps. This is particularly evident when watching scrolling tickers. If I watch the exact same broadcast using the Fubo.tv app on AppleTV, it’s perfectly smooth.
What you’re seeing is normal. 1080i video is not smooth when there is a lot of motion – after all, it’s 30 frames per second. Your TV’s tuner is going to do the best job deinterlacing. I have no idea how Plex or the Apple TV deinterlaces, but things look pretty good for me when watching a 1080i cable stream.
Fubo is giving you a 1080p60 stream. It’s not going to be true 60fps, but it’s going to most likely look a lot smoother.
I disagree. It is NOT normal. The quality is reduced.
If I watch a 1080i live OTA broadcast using the Plex AppleTV app, the motion isn’t smooth (30fps).
if I watch the exact same broadcast using my Vizio TV’s built-in OTA tuner, the motion is perfectly smooth.
Likewise, if I stream the same channel live using the fubo.tv app on AppleTV, the motion is perfectly smooth.
Whatever type of de-interlacer the Plex server’s transcoder uses is definitely not as good as it could (or should) be.
One other data point:
I have another TV with a Roku Streaming Stick+ (3810X). It’s plugged into a 1080p-capable TV. If I use the Plex app on Roku, the server streams the 1080i OTA video in native format (no transcode) and the Roku de-interlaces and plays it back with perfect smoothness. It’s definitely better than the AppleTV.
I would say it appears the Apple TV is probably the issue. If direct playing, the Apple TV should be doing the deinterlacing. If PMS is transcoding it first, I think the deinterlacing is then handled by the server. I can’t say that I’ve noticed an issue using the enhanced player with frame rate matching off.
I don’t know how hard it would be for you to setup a Channels DVR or Emby Server to test and see how they handle the OTA signal on the Apple TV, but it might be worth some test data to know if Apple TV is doing something weird to all interlaced signals.
Fubo is likely sending a progressive image.
Plex on AppleTV is using mpv on the backend. The app is only able to perform spatial deinterlacing to 30fps rather than doing both spatial and temporal deinterlacing for 60fps–which is what you are after.
@Achilles- I guess this begs the question: Will the AppleTV app ever be updated?
Side question: Will the native Vizio app ever be able to do this?
It will be, but it’s also about the performance of the chip in the Apple TV, and what it can handle. We did some extensive testing prior to releasing the new player to determine what it could handle. What we have at the moment is the best that was possible to cover both hardware and software decoded video.
It will be updated when a future AppleTV can handle video post-processing with a spatial and temporal deinterlacing filter such as yadif frame doubling.
Is something like the latest iPad pro (A12Z) running post-processing with a spatial and temporal deinterlacing filter such as yadif frame doubling?
We haven’t specifically looked at that model (I don’t know if we have one of those internally for testing at this time)
How about for any A processor better than an A10x. The iPhone 11, for example.
@Achilles - Are you saying the Apple TV 4K doesn’t have the necessary hardware to support more advanced deinterlacing algorithms? If so, how come other native Apple TV apps (i.e., Fubo) are able to do this? Or do those services de-interlace the streams at the server end into native 60p format? Would it be possible for Plex server to do the same?
