Just updated our Roku streaming stick to Uno and still the MPEG2 streams from our HDHomerun unit which stream the 3 network channels in MPEG2 are displaying as choppy with pixelation. This behaviour has been there across all Preview versions, and yes I have the video set to Original and the MPEG2 box checked on settings.
Fyi I use a Firestick on another tv in our home on the same wifi network and it streams those MPEG2 channels flawlessly.
On our TCL Roku tv in the living room the MPEG2 channels stream fine on Preview, with the only difference being that the Roku firmware is still vers. 8, the firmware on the stick is vers. 9.x.
@elan Would be great if Plex could get this resolved, especially since the UI on the Firestick is now inconsistent with the Roku OS, and wife acceptance is getting tenuous!
Which channels are these and what resolution are they? I tested a 1080i MPEG2 channel last night and it was ok. I can check a few more channels today.
These are the NBC/ABC/CBS channels. All others are not MPEG2. The Roku stick is running firmware 9.x, thanks
Here is an example of the MPEG2 display: https://photos.app.goo.gl/CVBqoao4BbmPsRPX8
Are you doing OTA or Cable?
In your video I saw which local NBC network you had listed, so I checked in with a friend at that location with Comcast and OTA (I won’t state the location in case you’d rather not have it mentioned). Here’s what he said–
- The NBC affiliate was having those blocking troubles on OTA a few weeks ago during a cable outage, but is clear tonight (hockey game). He hadn’t checked in a while.
- The ABC (720p) and CBS (1080i) affiliates are clear on OTA. Said they both looked great.
All channels are also clear on Comcast.
This was on a current-gen Stick+ on wifi with MPEG2 enabled, and were doing a direct stream for both audio and video. I confirmed this was on the UNO beta.
This is really weird. Just out of curiousity, what happens if you force transcoding, either by disabling it MPEG2 on the Roku, or reducing the bit rate?
If I force transcoding by disabling mpeg-2 then it plays for perhaps two to three minutes then buffers then plays for another minute or so and buffers and eventually then eventually stops and produces the weak signal error message
Also from what I recall this was fixed back in preview version 6.2.x. version 6.3 and newer versions did something to cause it to recur as described here
I have had nothing but trouble, someone suggested I clear the setting on the web client (I skipped setting this, as it should not be relevant…) but changing this setting, restarting plex finally fixed my roku streaming live tv!
@pressorv specifically which setting??
Web Player -> Quality -> Automatically Adjust Quality (Beta) is DISABLED (note: I know this is supposed to only affect the Web player, THIS IS THE SETTING THAT FIXED IT FOR ME! The rest I already had set:
Remote Access -> Manually Specific Public Port (32400) is ENABLED.
Remote Access -> Internet Upload Speed is EMPTY - No upload speed set
Network -> Treat WAN IP as LAN Bandwidth is ENABLED
Restart Plex server after changes are complete
Thanks but after making those changes the MPEG2 streams are still pixelated and choppy
While it is possible to direct stream MPEG2, it’s not supported by Roku. We’ve found that some devices don’t handle some streams well. I have one Roku that has choppy pixelated playback when direct playing MPEG2, whereas other Roku devices play the same video fine. In addition to that, not all devices have the same wi-fi capabilities and performance. Outside of device compatibility the most likely culprit is insufficient bandwidth (due to wi-fi limits or signal strength and the fact that MPEG2 is a bandwidth hog). Transcoding to a low enough quality should fix either compatibility or bandwidth issues, but that relies on the server being powerful enough to handle the transcode (if it’s not you’re going to get excessive buffering).
Funny timing, I literally just ran into this tonight. Really fascinating. The Roku plays recorded MPEG2 fine (OTA 720p and 1080i, including proper deinterlacing). But I have a few early blu-rays that were mastered in MPEG2 instead of h264, and they’re choking the Roku.
In my case, both are current-gen Roku’s, one is a Stick+, and the other is the Ultra (or whatever it’s called now). The Ultra is wired, the Stick+ is of course wireless. Both handle full-quality HD OTA fine without transcoding, as well as full-quality h264 Blu-Ray.
I can confirm that my Blu-Ray MPEG2 (apparent) compatibility issue is resolved by swapping to a 20mbps transcode session.
Just wanted to mention all this here as a data point for you, since I dealt with it earlier tonight. I have a couple blu-ray titles if they’re of any use to you for testing.
{moving to new thread} wait for link…
@ruuk I agree with your assessment oh, it seems that my Roku sticks cannot play live stream mpeg2 video without the pixel ization issues. I just purchased a Roku ultra and when it arrives I’ll test it with live streaming for mpeg2 and report back here.
It would be great if Plex published a list of which Roku devices are better at streaming the mpeg2 videos so that new customers have a better shot at satisfaction.
Everyone with this issue, please reply to this thread: https://forums.plex.tv/t/pixilation-live-tv-crashing-plex-media-server-flooding-clients-roku-players-affected-as-maybe-others/390548?u=pressorv
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