ffmpeg resource usage

[thecubasekid]

Hi Folks,

i just set up nextPVR on a Windows 10 machine for IPTV only, using Kodi as a front end with client version 3.3.19.1 back end 5.0.3.200415 (i am running CoreELEC on cheap android AMLogic s905x box's for Kodi front end)

i am loving how nextPVR loads tv show and movie artwork, and set up was a breeze, but I am having some issue related to the windows install itself.

prior to using next PVR i was using Kodi simple IPTV client and it worked great, but no pause functionality, so i tried out TVHeadend, installing both back-end server and kodi client on my s905x box running CoreELEC. This worked very well on the low powered box, but i didn't like the way TVHeadend sorted channels (not matching m3u) and also the fact that TVHeadend needs a channel to be 'up' when scanning for it to be created, so all my live event channels don't get created when TVHeadend scans, hence trying nextPVR.

I am having choppy playback with nextPVR on any 1080p channel. On investigation it appears to be related to ffmpeg.exe on my win 10 pc (it is a fairly old PC with 6 core 2.5ghz CPU) ffmepeg is using around 600mb memory at any given time when a stream is running and keeps spiking my CPU, and this coincides with playback being choppy (does not happen with SD channels) and is impossible for me to have two concurrent TV streams to different nextpvr clients on my network. for normal streaming of 1080p mkv files i have on my pc, i am able to stream three different films concurrently to different TV's in my house (maybe even more, just have not tried!) without issue, albeit with no trans coding going on...

although my PC is old, it is much more powerful than the s905x box i had both back-end and front end TVHeadend installed on that worked OK, so i am surprised at the CPU/Memory hit on my PC

is there anything i can do to optimize ffmpeg on my PC?

Thanks!

[mvallevand]

Can you not just run Kodi on the old PC and use it for playback and avoid ffmpeg altogether?

Martin

[thecubasekid]

Thanks for the reply, not really. the PC is in my office in my loft, and serves up Movies / TV shows / Music over gigabit Ethernet to the CoreELEC boxes running Kodi i have attached to the 5 TV's i have dotted around the house, was hoping to also add TV, but maybe i need to except the PC cant do the TV bit :-(

[Graham]

I am having choppy playback with nextPVR on any 1080p channel. On investigation it appears to be related to ffmpeg.exe on my win 10 pc (it is a fairly old PC with 6 core 2.5ghz CPU) ffmepeg is using around 600mb memory at any given time when a stream is running and keeps spiking my CPU, and this coincides with playback being choppy (does not happen with SD channels) and is impossible for me to have two concurrent TV streams to different nextpvr clients on my network. for normal streaming of 1080p mkv files i have on my pc, i am able to stream three different films concurrently to different TV's in my house (maybe even more, just have not tried!) without issue, albeit with no trans coding going on...

NextPVR transcodes when sending to the NextPVR Web App ... and does not need to transcode when sending to the NextPVR addon in Kodi.  What is the specific client that is giving you a problem?

[thecubasekid]

i am using kodi client addon version 3.3.19.1 on CoreELEC (an AMLogic minded fork of LibreELEC)

when ever i play a 1080p channel on the client on Kodi, ffmpeg runs on my PC where the back end is and spikes the CPU intermittently, and this coincides with stutters / freezes of playback in my client.

i find exactly the same behavior even without using the client in Kodi - i.e. using the nextPVR windows client that comes bundled with backed 5.0.3.200415, running on the same PC the back-end is installed - when i play 1080p ffmpeg spikes over 90% and playback is choppy, stutters / freezes.

playing the same stream on the same PC with VLC or Kodi using Simple IPTV client, playback is smooth with little change to CPU use and no ffmpeg is running that i can see

if i play an SD channel there is no freezing or stuttering. ffmpeg still has a fair hit on my CPU, but does not spike significantly or go over 60%

note in nextPVR settings i have tried both the default streaming profile, and also the 1080p profile, but did not note any difference.

[Graham]

note in nextPVR settings i have tried both the default streaming profile, and also the 1080p profile, but did not note any difference.

Just to be sure ... in Settings -> Transcoder ... Is ... Avoid transcoding ... ticked?

Please play a problem recording using Kodi ... with nothing else happening to keep the logs simpler ... post logs telling us the time that you played the recording ... https://github.com/sub3/NextPVR/wiki/get-help ... Thanks.

[thecubasekid]

Yes, i have that box checked.

i can try in kodi, but it is not recordings that are a problem though, it is the live TV stream, and this issue is also apparent using nextPVR windows client directly on the PC where the back end is installed with Kodi box powered down, so the issue is there before Kodi client comes in to play...


I will recreate and attach logs a little later today as i have something else running on my PC that needs to complete, and i want only nextPVR running when i recreate...

thanks all for the help so far....

[mvallevand]

You really need to upload your logs, it sounds like your streams aren't IPTV streams that NextPVR recognizes so it is transcoding at the source.

Martin

[thecubasekid]

it sounds like your streams aren't IPTV streams that NextPVR recognizes so it is transcoding at the source.

Martin

this set me thinking, and i may have found and fixed the problem

i use m3u-editor to organize my playlist and map epg, and this has an option to hide my credentials in the m3u behind a re-direct url, so if someone happens upon my playlist url, they cant see my unique key, and i can simply change the playlist url to easily stop unauthorized use.

i just reconfigured m3u editor to leave the stream urls unchanged so the link in m3u goes direct to my IPTV provider, rather than via a redirect url from m3u-editor, and i no longer see ffmpeg on my pc when opening a stream with CPU sitting at around 30% when using the nextpvr windows client (.vs 100% with old url and ffmpeg)

i will update a little later after further testing...

thanks for all the help and advice so far...

[mvallevand]

30% on a PC still sounds like too much for playback (unless it is h265) with NextPVR.exe check that you are using the LAV decoder etc. Glad you got ffmpeg out of the equation.

Martin