On my DS918+, when I try to watch back a video that was recorded via Plex DVR the audio plays fine, but the video locks up every few seconds. If I force it to transcode (even at 20Mbps 1080p) it plays fine.
I have a HDHomeRun CONNECT Duo and the recordings are from Channel 4 HD (UK).
Exactly the same issue occurs on iOS (WifI), Apple TV (Ethernet) and Mac Plex Web (Ethernet). (Interestingly, on Apple TV if I turn Off Allow Direct Play in Settings, it still Direct Streams, and I need to set the individual video to “Convert…” instead of “Play Original Quality”).
Here is a sample file that reproduces the issue: pswd.biz/plex/sample-f1-DS916-freezing.ts (52 MB)
Remove commercials: Enabled
Convert video while recording: Disabled
Anyone else seeing this issue?
Here are the logs.
File output.ts was played at 16:38:30 and froze immediately.
Note that this issue appears to occur for any recording made by the Plex DVR, it’s not just this specific file.
The output.ts file is just the same one that I linked to in my first post (before I renamed it for uploading): http://pswd.biz/plex/sample-f1-DS916-freezing.ts
@trumpy81 said:
The guru wishes to know how many splitters you have between the entry point to your home and the actual HD Homerun and if any, are they 2, 3 or 4 way splitters.
1x 2-way splitter. The HDHomeRun Config shows very good signal stats:
He also advises that you downgrade to Plex version 1.12.2.
I was on 1.12.2, then upgraded to 1.12.3 to see if it resolved the issue, but no change.
do you have dBmv values, similar to:
@trumpy81 said:
Thanks, but we wanted the full unadulterated file if that’s possible, please.
Just uploading the full orig file (it’s 1TB), in the meantime here is a quick recording I did just now that has the same issue: pswd.biz/plex/Pointless%20(2009)%20-%20S19E11%20-%20Episode%2011.ts I’ve not made any changes to this file, it’s the full length of the recording by Plex.
@ChuckPa said:
do you have dBmv values
It’s not a cable box, it’s an over the air antenna:
Please clarify? 1 Terabyte? (as in 1000 Gigabytes) ?
@ChuckPA said:
Please clarify? 1 Terabyte? (as in 1000 Gigabytes) ?
Ha, apologies! I meant to say 1 GB. It’ll be up in 10 mins.
Interesting. Thanks for investigating. I will look into that, would have thought that HDHomeRun reporting 100% Signal Quality and 100% Symbol Quality would have been enough (getting that on BBC1 which still has the same Plex recording issues).
Also curious why Plex is susceptible to freezing on supposed missing frame data, when other apps like VLC, Quicktime etc seem to be able to deal with it fine.
I’ll look into my signal strength and report back.
Thanks for explaining how transcoding can effectively “fix” the file.
However, I’ve since discovered that the Channels iOS & Apple TV apps and the Channels DVR work flawlessly with no change to my setup, so I think I’ll use them for now, until Plex’s Live features are more polished and robust.
