# Tivo Stream - Downloads and Stream Video Stuttering



## daithen

Hello, 

I just got my Tivo Stream 2 days ago. I love it, saves me alot of time as I used to have to download and convert for playback on my iOS devices. I am having a playback issue though. Sunday night I downloaded a program from CBS. I noticed consistently the video would freeze and continue almost like a stutter, the audio worked flawlessly. This would happen every 30 sec - 2 min or so, its really annoying. I deleted the video from my iPad and tried streaming and it would stutter in the exact same spots. I thought it may be my iPad since I have the 1st Gen so I tried it on my brand new iPhone 5 and had the exact same problem in the exact same places in the video. I downloaded the program to my computer using Tivo Desktop and it played fine with no stuttering. Last night I rebooted my router, both tivo's, and the Tivo Stream. I downloaded 2 shows from CBS and they did the same thing. I also watched a stream from SciFi and TNT to test and did not have the problem. It worked flawlessly. Although It kind of stopped working when I started a download on one device and tried streaming to another, I had to reboot the Tivo Stream to recover. So far it is only shows from CBS. I have only seen it stutter during the actual program (I haven't watched all the commercials but have not noticed it during the commercials) I also am downloading in Best quality. I have 3 more shows downloaded I haven't watched yet from NBC and Fox. I will check those out tonight, but I have tried watching a few minutes of each one and have not seen this problem. So far the shows that exhibit this behavior have been recorded on the same Tivo Premiere. I am going to try to record a CBS show on the other one and see what happens. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I have 2 Tivo Premieres, Tivo Stream, Linksys E3000 router (Gigabit for ethernet and 802.11n for wireless) iPad 1st gen connecting to the 5 Ghz Wi-Fi and iPhone 5 connecting to the 5 Ghz Wi-Fi


----------



## jcthorne

This sounds like a problem with the video encode on the stream. CBS uses 1080i and for some primetime shows, fairly high bitrates. Not sure what good that does you as there is no way to adjust the video encode parameters the stream is using.

You should file a bug report with tivo CS. This is likely something they will have to fix. As its a download, not just streaming, its likely not network related.


----------



## DeWitt

For what it is worth I downloaded two CBS primetime shows last night. I just checked and they play back fine. I am using Fios with a Netgear Wdnr4500.


----------



## daithen

Last night for fun I reset my router to factory settings and upgraded the firmware. I downloaded 2 CBS primetime shows as well and got the same stutter. I watched a downloaded program from NBC and FOX. NBC had the same stutter but not as often. FOX had 2 through the entire hour episode, totally able to live with that. In my area FOX broadcast odd too, it comes down as 720p with a framerate of 59. Most other stations come down as 1080p w/ a framerate fo 29.97 I am going to try an ABC and CW tonight. I streamed 2 shows from TNT and SciFi and they worked with no problems at all. I am on Cox Cable. I am also going to update the app, one of the updates is Tivo Stream download fix whatever that means. I contacted Tivo and they suggested checking the signal level and noise level which were all within the acceptable range. I download shows from all the networks all the time and convert using videoredo and handbrake and have never had this problem. If all else fails I will try exchanging the stream for another unit as I am beginning to think I got a defective unit.


----------



## Dan203

The signal and noise levels wouldn't matter at all to a Stream. By the time the video gets to the Stream it's pure digital. If you don't notice any visible breakups when watching the recording via the TiVo itself then it's fine and should cause any problems on the Stream.

You might just have a bad Stream.

Dan


----------



## daithen

That is what I am thinking they play fine on tivo and on my computer when I download them also on my iDevice after I trancode them via my computer.


----------



## daithen

Well looks like the Tivo Stream wasn't the problem. I replaced the Tivo Stream box and still am having the same problem. It seems to only happen on local channels like CBS and NBC. Fox isn't as bad and I have yet to try ABC or CW. Cable channels like Comedy Central, TNT and SciFi stream flawlessly. I cant download from these channels as Cox copy protects everything except local channels. So now I am at the point that either it is a problem with the source or network. I am going to try removing the splitter recording directly from the amplifier and even removing my tuning adapter. And see what results I can get. I am also thinking of putting up my old router which was Wireless G and 100MB/sec on ethernet and see what happens. Did notice that the Stream is connecting at Gigabit but the Tivo's themselves are connecting at 100MB. I am thinking the network cards in the Tivo's are not Gigabit.

Still not quite sure why the recording look perfect on my Tivo and there are no problems if I manually convert using kmttg, videoredo and handbrake but stutter when I run it through the Tivo Stream.

I put up a recording of what I am seeing, the stutter happens at about 1 sec in and I am seeing that every couple of minutes, really annoying.

It is located at: https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=7da00196cff5447e&id=7DA00196CFF5447E!119

I would download and view it through quicktime, it was kid of choppy looking at it in the browser

Thanks for any suggestions


----------



## Dan203

That's weird. When it happens does the audio continue to play normal but the video glitch? Or do both glitch?

Dan


----------



## daithen

The audio doesn't glitch at all just the video. I talked to TiVo and they said to try making sure its not a bandwidth problem. Tonight I am going to try or again with only the Steam, Tivos and iPad connected to the network and see what happens.


----------



## Dan203

If the audio doesn't glitch then it's likely an issue with the original stream. The TiVo itself may have a better decoder that can deal with the glitch then the Stream which is why you don't notice it when playing it on the TiVo itself.

If you want to experiment you should download the file to you PC using TiVoToGo. Then try running the file through VideoReDo TVSuite v4 (there is a free trial you can use for the test). Do it once using the Quick Stream Fix feature and another time forcing a complete recode of the video. (use MPEG-2 and similar specs to the source) Then transfer them both back to the TiVo and then transfer via the Stream.

If the QSF works this means there is a simple timecode error in the original stream, and this is likely something TiVo can fix via a software update to the Stream. If the recode version works but the QSF version doesn't, or you see the same glitch in the recoded output file, then this means there is a decoder error and it's less likely TiVo will be able to fix this. Although it's still possible depending on what so of control they have over the decoder. And if neither work then I might be inclined to blame your iPad. Do you have any other iOS devices you can test with?

Dan


----------



## daithen

Great idea, I was already contempleting trying to download to my PC and convert using VideoRedo and transferring back to Tivo, but didn't think of the quick stream fix vs full recode. I will give those a shot. I don't think it is a problem with my iPad, I have a brand new iPhone 5 and it does the exact same thing. I have downloaded one of the glitchy recordings ran it through Quick Stream Fix, and then converted to mp4 using handbrake and the glitch is not present on my iPad or iPhone. I will try doing the qsfix and full recode and transfer to see what happens. 

So if understand you correctly if the qsfix works then you are saying that Tivo can fix it with a software update? How do I go about requesting this?


----------



## Dan203

All QSF does is remuxes the file and fixes timestamp errors. If that's all that's need to fix this then TiVo can just recalculate the time stamps during the recode rather then using the time stamps from the original file.

Dan


----------



## daithen

Well that was a no go. I disconnected everything from my network except my iPad, 2 Tivo Premiere's and Tivo Stream. It did the same thing. I also downloaded a program to my PC and ran it through Videorredo as a qsfix and as a full recode to MPEG-2 format. They both played flawlessly on my computer and iPad once I converted through handbrake. I uploaded them back to both my Tivo Premiere's and tried streaming them back to my iPad and the same video glitch problem came back. Sooooo I guess this weekend I will try and work on the source by doing a direct link into my tivo's (no splitters or tuning adapters) and see if that makes any difference. Am also going to try another router. My signal strength is 70 or so, may call the cable company to see if we can boost that somehow. SNR is at the maxmium acceptable range. Also was noticing the channels I don't have problems with have uncorrected errors, but the channels that are glitching have no errors. Quite honestly I am at a loss at this point.


----------



## Dan203

If the full recode one still has the glitch then it can't be the source. If there were any problems in the source video they would have been removed by the full recode.

This is really weird. Is there anything else unique about your setup that might be causing the problem?

Dan


----------



## daithen

Nothing that I can think of. For the cable I have a single access point which goes through an amplifier this splits the TV from the internet, the internet goes into a cable modem. The TV has a splitter one goes directly into a tuning adapter that in turn goes into one of the Tivo's. The second has a second splitter one goes into the tuning adapter then into the Tivo and the second goes into a computer. The network goes from the cable modem to the router, I have 2 Tivo's, Tivo Stream and a computer hard wired through ethernet. Before the Stream I had a BluRay connected but dicconnected that when I got the stream. All other devices connect through WiFi, The Tivo Stream is the only one connecting at Gigabit speeds all others are connecting at 100MB speeds. I have an iPad, 2 iPhones, Print Server and 2 laptops that connect wirelessly. Nothing I can think of that is unique about the setup. I am going to try a full recode again I may have inadvertently uploaded the wrong file.


----------



## Dan203

Definitely make sure you try the recode. If that still has issues then that pretty much rules out all possibility of it being an issue with the video stream. You might also want to try recoding the audio too, in a different file, just to make sure there isn't an audio glitch causing the problem. (use MP2) If you do both of those and still see the problem then it has to be a hardware issue.

Dan


----------



## daithen

Well I didn't get a chance to try anything this weekend and I am heading out of town on business this week so I will resume when I get back. But strange things I streamed some programs last night from the channels I was having trouble with and they all played almost flawlessly, had a couple of glitches in the video but nothing like I was getting last week. Shrug, I am at a loss. Hopefully the problem is resolved.


----------



## alleybj

Playback pixillates and freezes but audio is perfect


----------



## lukinva

Any resolution to this issue? Seeing same general problem. Highly pixelated video on downloads from Tivo Stream to iPad (first gen). The first program I downloaded was perfect. I then downloaded approx. 6 programs, one at a time, and had an issue with one of them. I thought maybe it was a space issue on the iPad because I came dangerously close to the limit. Third download I was basically grabbing 2-3 programs at a time (total of 12) keeping an eye on storage capacity, and every one of them has the pixelation issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Love the idea of the Stream functionality, although download speed is incredibly slow. And obviously this little glitch makes it unusable....unless the answer is download one at a time.


----------



## Dan203

Download speeds should be about 20-30 minutes per hour of video. If it's slower then that then you may have a network problem that might also be causing the pixelation issue. 

Dan


----------



## lukinva

That is about the same download times I am seeing....anyone else reporting issues with video quality on downloads to iPad? Unfortunately I dont have access to my Tivo Stream but I think the next test will be downloading multiple items one at a time and see what the results are. Could this potentially be a first gen iPad issue? Because I would love an excuse to upgrade


----------



## DeWitt

I have often queued up multiple shows for download with no ill effects. I am also using a first generation iPad, but it has 64 Gig so space is not really an issue.

1 Hour shows have been running 16 to 18 minutes for me at best quality.


----------



## web1b

This thread was allowed to die with no solution.
Did anyone here ever find a fix for this pausing problem on CBS programming?

I have a new thread with a similar issue.
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=9915004#post9915004


----------



## OneCrazyDJ

Go to settings/device preferences/more/display Shut off HDMI CEC first, then go back to display/screen resolution Turn off auto switch to best resolution. Display mode i have at 1080i60hz because i have an older sony tv. Color space depth setting is off, dolby vision enabled, HDR priority has to be on HDR10 and my color space settings are at YCbCr444. Fixed the glitching with mine. It seems like after I changed auto switch to best resolution off and turned HDR Priority to HDR10, it seemed to fix the issue. Play around with the settings in there and it should fix it like it did mine.


----------

