I cannot play a live stream on my LG G4 phone running Android 6. A picture first appears “paused”. then a stream plays a second or so, then the picture freezes, then it says weak signal. It happens whether the phone is connected to WiFi or Verizon’s network with full 4 bars. The funny thing is, I can play live TV without issue on a Roku in my house and on my office computer via web browser miles away from my house. I paid $120 for this feature to use on my phone, and it is very frustrating. Does anyone have a proposed fix? My server runs on a Windows 7 machine, and I use a new HDHomerun 4 Tuner Connect. Thanks.
@“Andrew Barbaccia” said:
Confirming same on my end.
I read somewhere that this is an issue with the latest Android Tv update - not Plex, live channels or other apps.
IIRC It’s related to tuners not getting released properly. So when you switch channels you use up using all the tuner slots and then get a generic weak signal error.
I’ll wait for next android update before buying larger/ faster storage for shield.
I read the same on the SiliconDust website (link below). I started to see the weak signal message when I was running a single PMS on a 2017 Shield TV 16gb with 128GB 3.0 USB drive with 2 HDHomerun Connects. I’ve since moved my PMS to a 2015 Shield TV Pro and I still see the issue (only 1 PMS running). I plan to disable my Live Channels and any other app that may be using my HDHomeruns, so that both HDHomeruns will hopefully be dedicated to my PMS.
I’ve got a similar situation. High signal strength but low signal quality in my downtown apartment. My TV’s tuner and the HDHomeRun apps are able to work well with low signal quality, but Plex is unusable with the same signal.
Reached out to the HDHomeRun team and they said my signal quality is hovering right below minimum requirement. Not sure how Plex has implemented Live TV/DVR, but I’ve had better luck making my own DVR scripts using HDHomeRun’s API (https://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/hdhomerun_http_development.pdf). I’m able to do simple cURL commands via a cron job. Once I’ve sent the outputted file through HandBrakeCLI, I move the file to a folder Plex can see. The final mp4 files are phenomenal with no issues when playing on Apple TV.
If you get the same issue with Plex Live TV, try using VLC’s UPnP/DLNA feature on Apple TV or any supported device.
tl;dr I’ve proved that there’s a way for Plex to make their Live TV/DVR feature a lot more efficient and less signal greedy.
I’d been experiencing the same issue…HD Homerun accessed via an i7 Intel NUC PMS… when trying to watch live tv remotely on a fire TV stick. Movies and tv shows from library fine, iPlayer channel on Plex fine, live tv pauses and shows weak signal.
I think I’ve fixed it in my case. In server settings I filled the (blank) transcode directory with a dedicated new directory on the C: drive (an M.2 v fast drive). Standard directories on the server such as video and downloads are mounted network drives from my NAS, which are clearly slower and plex may default to one of those. At the same time I changed a player setting to allow auto speed adjustment.
Now sitting in a hotel room in Alberta, using hotel Wi-Fi to watch live TV from my PMS server back in the UK.
I am also having this issue with Live TV & DVR since setting it up a few days ago. The service is unusable. Constant pixelation and freezing, “Weak signal” message popping up. I have a HDHomeRun Connect Quattro with PMS running on a late 2012 Mac Mini 2.6GHz Qaud Core i7 with 16GB RAM. Plex clients running on Apple TV’s (4th Gen) round the house. Storage location for my Movies and TV Shows is on a Qnap TS-853 Pro NAS drive with 8GB RAM. I am running the latest versions on everything. Watching Movies and TV Shows from my library is not and has never been an issue. Just the Live TV doesn’t work for me. Not to a usable standard anyway. I use Devolo powerline adapter to get LAN to certain points of the house and I worried that it it might be causing a bottle neck so I temorarily ran some cables along the floor to cut those out. But the issue remains.
I’m using a Nighthawk X10 router as the Plex Server. I have the HDHomerun Connect Duo. When I watch TV through the “channels” app on my apple TV, it’s perfect! When I watch that exact same channel on PLEX, it’s choppy and pauses every 2-3 seconds with a “Weak Signal” message. I ALSO thought the TL-8010P Powerline Adapters that I’m using could be an issue so thank you for doing that test for me and saving me some time. The TP Link software shows a connection o 200+mbps.
Should I buy an HDHomeRun Extend to see if that fixes the issue? I’d really like to have a DVR but this is getting old quick.
Also, I’ve tried using my high end gaming laptop for a PLEX server and the CPU never goes over 40% usage, but the problems are exactly the same as on my Nighthawk router so I think the problem lies in the PLEX software and not the hardware I’m using.
Update: Just downloaded an apple called Signal GH on my apple phone. Watching channel 2.33 (WGRZ) and the Quality is 100%, signal is 100%. The plex channel is stuttering like crazy!!! Why!!! Someone please help!
I have Transcoding turned OFF on both servers.
I have the same issue. But i’m using NVidia Shield with HDHomerun. My symptoms are the exact same, picture and playback / stream fine in HDHomerun app, but in Plex… ‘weak signal’ stuttering before ‘Error - playback has stopped because the connection to the Plex server was lost’.
For me… it’s unusable until it’s out of Beta
Hi all. I’m having the same ‘Weak Signal’ issue with live TV running through my HomeRun Quatro.
My Plex server is on my Synology DS918+ and I’m using Apple TV 4k but have also tried direct through the app on my TV.
Everything is cabled to the network and I have tried everything I can think of to fault find.
It all seems to point towards Plex as I can play live TV no problems direct off of the Quatro through VLC on the TV.
Everything else is working great.
I love Plex but am now starting to regret buying the HomeRun!
I hope this is fixable.
Cheers
Something I have found which seems to help with this is: Under network settings, set ‘Secure Connections’ to ‘Disabled’. Seems to substantially minimise the 'weak; signal issue for me.
Hi PristDean.
Thanks so much for the suggestion.
I have turned off secure connections ‘always’, it was on ‘preferred’ before.
Touch wood that seems to have fixed the issue.
Does this leave my setup susceptible to unwanted visitors?
Thnks again.
Hi, no problem, it didn’t remove it for me, but minimised it and reduced the lag. Your setup should be fine and secure too. I assume you have a secure Wifi which is likely the only way to access your cabled network via an external source.
Solid catch on that setting. Seems to have worked like a charm for me. I too was getting the weak signal on my hand held devices but my PCs were fine. I’ll list my specs and setup below.
PMS running on a i3-3227U with 16bgs ram installed on an SSD (os drive). All my libraries are located on my Synology NAS ( DS216J) which seems to be a commonality here.
additional info: hd homerun has always worked fine as well but i hate the app so its really nice to see that this fixed plex live playback for me.
Once again great catch.
All, This has got to be part of a bigger problem. I believe this software on nVidia Shield just isnt ready for Beta, let alone GA.
I’m on a managed UniFi network, with WiFi speeds on the local network at 200-250mbps.. Internet connection is fiber with 1,000/300. For TV, I’m running an HDHomerun Quattro, connected to an external antenna within eyesight of the TV tower. You can’t possibly get a better signal.
I record the news and watch 1-2 30minute shows each morning (national and local news). I watch both on the local network, and remotely.
I have collected about half the error screens that occur. I cannot get through a 30 minute show or live stream without at least a half a dozen errors. Attached are just a fraction of the screenshots.
I really want Plex on nVidia Shield to be successful, but the juice just isn’t worth the squeeze.
Has anyone tried Amazon’s new DVR?
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I’m in the same boat as the rest here. Except I tried out Plex Live TV/DVR both on a Netgear ReadyNAS 214 (with the optimized version of Plex for that platform) and on a Windows 2012 R2 Server with a Phenom2x4-3150 chip with 16 GB of RAM and a Nvidia GTX 475 video card and use hardware acceleration checked.
HDHomerun Quattro
HDHomerun, no problems
DVRing no problems, better picture quality than I used to get on cable, and it cuts out the commercials!
Live TV = Weak Signal
I’ve been having issues with Plex Live TV as well on my shield. all year long, I’ve tested new versions and betas as they have come out. Using an hdhomerun OTA quatro currently. I’ve tested a prime, but had the same issues with pausing about 10 months ago. My main issue has been with pausing live TV for a few minutes or longer and then resuming. When I resume it will play for a few minutes and eventually stop playback by getting stuck (pausing) and then I get the weak signal error at the bottom of the screen. I have tried public releases and I am currently on the beta for both PMS and the Android TV player as of today. I have also ran the server on Windows 10, Shield, and a WD PR2100. I get the same results. So it has to be local to the Android TV. This happens on the MI box as well. Ruku does fine. Another issue I’ve noticed is playback on h.264 recordings. No audio and choppy playback. Funny thing is when I play the files without logging in to the client they play fine. Strange. I’ve also opened a couple topics in the forums with no response. Currently using Channels Plus DVR withe OTA and TV Everywhere. I have been hoping it will eventually be fixed, but losing faith.
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