Plex Live TV Wont Release Tuners

Live TV & DVR
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1

Server Version#: 1.18.9.2578 on Windows 10
Player Version#: Plex Web 4.22.3 & AppleTV4 2.15 (14696)
TV Tuner Version#: HDHomeRun Quatro (Firmware 20200225)

SUMMARY
Plex Media Server appears to have an issue where it does not properly “release” TV tuners when the player (client) ends the stream. This issue seems to be consistent among various operating systems that host Plex Media Server and use TV tuners, not just Windows or HDHomeRun. It appears that releasing tuners is a problem Plex has had since since shortly after the introduction of Live TV. I did open a support request with SiliconDust but they indicated this was a Plex issue.

SIMILAR ISSUES
#1 PLEX LiveTV not releasing tuners for HDHomeRun Prime
#2 Not releasing Tuners on HDHomeRun from Linux Docker
#3 Plex not releasing tuners on Hauppauge WinTV-quadHD

DETAILS
Using a single Plex player, i’m able to view four different channels, one at a time, but when I attempt to view fifth channel I receive a different error based on the player.

Plex Web
“Playback Error: Could not tune channel. Please check your tuner or antenna.”

AppleTV 4
“Recording Failed: Live TV - Session”

Looking at the system logs on the HDHomeRun Quatro, I can see that Tuner0 isn’t being reused when I switch from channel 2.1 to 4.1. Instead, Tuner1 is used to tune channel 4.1 and Tuner0 is still tuned to channel 2.1 even though i’m not actively watching it and there are no active recordings. Each tuner becomes available again after almost exactly 15 minutes of inactivity.

Here’s a snippet from my HDHomeRun system log where you can see what i’m describing…

20200331-02:40:10 Tuner: tuner0 tuning 2.1 KCBS-HD (8vsb:575MHz-1)
20200331-02:40:11 Tuner: tuner0 streaming http to 10.10.10.10:62765
20200331-02:40:27 Tuner: tuner1 tuning 4.1 NBC4-LA (8vsb:605MHz-3)
20200331-02:40:28 Tuner: tuner1 streaming http to 10.10.10.10:62863
20200331-02:40:36 Tuner: tuner2 tuning 5.1 KTLA-DT (8vsb:599MHz-3)
20200331-02:40:36 Tuner: tuner2 streaming http to 10.10.10.10:62938
20200331-02:40:45 Tuner: tuner3 tuning 7.1 KABC-DT (8vsb:177MHz-1)
20200331-02:40:46 Tuner: tuner3 streaming http to 10.1.1.11:62993
20200331-02:40:54 HTTP: rejecting request from 10.10.10.10 - all tuners in use
20200331-02:55:58 Tuner: tuner0 http stream ended (remote closed)
20200331-02:56:11 Tuner: tuner1 http stream ended (remote closed)
20200331-02:56:20 Tuner: tuner2 http stream ended (remote closed)
20200331-02:56:28 Tuner: tuner3 http stream ended (remote closed)

I have the associated “Plex Media Sever.log” with debug enabled and will happily provide it to a Plex employee for review.

Hopefully @DaveBinM or someone at Plex can shed some light on this issue.

2

It’s intentional that it doesn’t immediately release the tuner, in case you accidentally exit out and want to get back in, but I can’t remember the exact time it’s supposed to hold it. There are a number of Live TV & DVR changes in 1.19.1, so have a look there, and try updating :slight_smile:

3

Hi Dave,

The issue was that it didn’t ever release the channel hold. Only way to release it was on a reboot of the plex server.

4

That’s different to what the OP reported :man_shrugging:

Need to see some logs to know what’s going on

5

Same problem here. Plex holds on to the tuner until I restart the tuner box. How can this be fixed? The HD Homerun software works fine. In general I cant get Plex to work well. Seems to be junk.

6

5 months later… I continually apply the most recent updates to the Plex server, clients and the tuner firmware and this is still an issue. Plex hangs on to a tuner for almost exactly 15 minutes after it is no longer being used. I have 4 tuners, and this issue makes flipping through more than 4 channels in 15 minutes impossible.

7

I have a Hauppauge DualWin Tuner and am running Plex Server on NVIDIA Pro. Experiencing a similar situation except that the DVR setup page indicates that I have 2 tuners with 14 tuners in use. The number in use continues to increase over time and never seem to be released no matter what I do. I’m interested to know if a solution has been identified. This is quite disappointing given the investment in hardware, lifetime Plex Pass and my time. Please advise on next steps.

1 Like
8

DaveBin, these people deserve an answer. They have a problem that prevents them from using Live TV effectively. It seems that the server is hanging onto the tuners for excessive periods of time. After all the time that has gone by, you would think someone could at least answer the question “how long does the server hang on to the tuner after stopping a live tv stream?” Perhaps, it might have something to do with the exact way that they are closing the stream but they should at least be able to get an answer to a basic question, after months of having the same problem.

9

Last I checked in here, I asked for logs so I could investigate. Doesn’t appear that I ever received any. I was flicking through half a dozen channels yesterday (I only have four tuners) over a ten minute period, so it’s not something that’s trivial to reproduce or give an answer to. I’d need to see the logs I requested back in April in order to investigate further

10

Is the amount of time a secret? It was never provided and would be rather helpful to people that are trying to reproduce the problems for you.

11

No one ever said it’s a secret. It’s a few minutes, but I can’t remember exactly how much time it is. In any case, regardless of how long it holds them for, it shouldn’t block people accessing other channels. Hence why I need the logs to see what’s going on.

12

Having the same problem with PLEX not releasing tuner without a reboot with a win TV on Nvidia Shield.

13

I too am having this issue, I’d be happy to pull logs but not sure exactly how to do that

14

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