Any tips or tricks to improve (reduce pixelation) recorded show playback

[mattman1968]

I have NPVR setup to record our shows and we watch them back through Roku/Plex on our TVs. All signals received are well in the 90s...I think the lowest signal I get is 88. More often than not, when we watch through Plex there is an annoying amount of pixelation, and often times audio dropout during those moments as well. All shows are recorded to a USB drive but the same results are experienced when I record to an internal drive too.

If I play the recorded show back on the computer, it may momentarily stutter/pause in the same sections but overall the playback is smoother than when streaming to our Plex TVs. I am obviously getting getting interference from somewhere during recording and would like any ideas on how I can improve the signal/recording, if possible.

I don't watch live tv through NPVR but when I test it, it seems to play fine.

Thanks,

[sub]

What's the source of your TV? Over the air ATSC?

Digital TV recordings are pretty much just a dump of what is received from the device. To rule out anything Roku/Plex related, if you play the source file in your PC, in a player like VLC, do you see the pixilation there? If so, it's likely reception issues. Tuners used on PC devices are often not as good as those used in actual TVs, so will often require a better signal. Typical things are checking antenna alignment, removing splitters, checking cables etc.

[Bobins]

The pixilation in a recording is normally caused by poor quality signal (not to be confused with signal strength although related).
The software in the PC is likely handling the quality issue better than the Roku/plex.
The simple answer is you need a better quality signal. Aerial splitters and long extension cables are notorious for causing problems like this.
If you have a splitter, try temporarily bypassing it to see if the problem goes away.

[mattman1968]

Thanks for the answers. I will try a more direct connection when I get home.

[mvallevand]

Check your Plex server load when playing back. Since it has to transcode for the Roku you might not have the CPU to do this effectively.

Martin

[mattman1968]

Check your Plex server load when playing back. Since it has to transcode for the Roku you might not have the CPU to do this effectively.

Martin

How do I check the server load? It's an AMD FX6300 with a passmark of about 6400. FWIW, the recordings stutter/pause on the PC as well...just more gracefully with less (if any) artifacting.

[Bobins]

Whilst Martin has a good point regarding playback, if it happens on the source PC as well, your getting a bad quality recording so signal issues should be your starting point for elimination.

[mattman1968]

Just an update...I removed my amplifier and ran a cable straight to the PC. It did not help the recordings. I then put everything back how it was and watched live TV for an extended time...both on my PC with NPVR, and through Plex (Roku) on my TV (I purchased a 1 month "trial" to test out Plex's DVR). The Live TV through NPVR & Plex was almost perfect! I then decided to have NPVR record to my internal SSD rather than my external USB drive. The recordings on the SSD played back nearly perfectly again. Out of 5 test recordings there was only one instance of slight pixelation through Plex (Roku).
It would appear that my external USB drive is either failing or not fast enough...or both. I will be running this setup for the next week to see how it performs for actual recordings that I care to watch.

[mattman1968]

I just wanted to update the thread/status of the recordings. I purchased another 240GB SSD drive and have it as my dedicated recording drive. All my recordings play back perfectly! No pixelation whatsoever. I am thrilled! For anyone else experiencing freezing/pixelation, etc... it may be worth trying a newer/faster drive.