Stuttering, and which setting is for which
Live channels and films fail differently, so the settings that help are different too. Find your symptom below. Everything here is per device unless it says otherwise, so changing it on the television does not change your phone.
If nothing on this page helps, reporting a problem says what to send.
To tell whether a stutter is the stream or the device, turn on Settings → Player → Show FPS counter on a television, Windows, the Mac or an LG or Samsung TV: a frame-rate readout appears in the top-right corner. On a phone, Player settings → Stream info shows the frame rate.
A live channel stutters or freezes when the connection dips
Section titled “A live channel stutters or freezes when the connection dips”Set Live stream format to HLS, in the playlist’s details (the pencil in Settings → Playlists).
MPEG-TS arrives as one continuous stream at a single quality, so when your connection drops below what the channel needs, the picture stops. HLS arrives in pieces and can step down to a lower quality instead of stopping. The cost is that it runs further behind the broadcast.
It is set for each playlist, on each device, and it is only offered for playlists added with a server address, username and password.
A live channel plays at a few frames a second
Section titled “A live channel plays at a few frames a second”Set Engine for live channels to VLC, in Settings → Player.
Some channels, especially older ones that broadcast in two half-pictures, use a format your box cannot play at full speed on the built-in engine. It shows no error, because as far as it is concerned it is playing. VLC plays those itself.
Films stay on the engine in the row above, so you keep the faster seeking there.
The app will sometimes tell you this itself, with a message that the channel is being decoded in software on this device and a suggestion to try the VLC engine for live channels.
Edges look like a comb when things move
Section titled “Edges look like a comb when things move”Turn on Deinterlacing, in Settings → Player. It works on the VLC engine only, and there are three steps so a weaker box can take the cheap one.
A live channel is too far behind the broadcast
Section titled “A live channel is too far behind the broadcast”Turn on Low latency live, in Settings → Player.
It has the most effect on channels that arrive in pieces. Where a channel already arrives as one continuous stream you are close to the edge anyway and the switch changes nothing. A weak connection will stutter more with it on, and with Buffer size on Large or Very large it gives away part of its gain. On an iPhone, iPad and Apple TV it works only on continuous channels played by the VLC engine, and a channel in HLS played by VLC ignores it everywhere.
A live channel stops every few seconds
Section titled “A live channel stops every few seconds”Raise Buffer size to Large or Very large. On live channels those hold more before the picture starts, so the channel starts a moment later and stops less often. Buffer size is on Android phones, tablets, Android TV and Fire TV, and on Apple TV once VLC is picked as an engine. A channel in HLS played by VLC keeps its own buffer and ignores this setting.
A live channel freezes and does not come back
Section titled “A live channel freezes and does not come back”The app opens a channel whose stream stopped again by itself, and shows Reconnecting while it does. If the picture is not back within about half a minute, press Restart channel in the player: it opens the channel again from your provider in one press, on every device. See Restart channel. If it keeps happening, set Live stream format to HLS; Buffer size does not change it.
Every channel stops, on every device in turn
Section titled “Every channel stops, on every device in turn”On an account that allows one stream at a time, two devices take it from each other. The app says Your provider allows one stream at a time and they are all in use. Stop the other device first.
Pausing or going back on a live channel
Section titled “Pausing or going back on a live channel”That is Timeshift, in Settings → Player on Android phones, tablets, Android TV, Fire TV, the iPhone, the iPad, Apple TV, Windows, the Mac and LG TVs, see Timeshift.
A channel will not start, or the picture is green or torn
Section titled “A channel will not start, or the picture is green or torn”Set Engine for live channels to VLC. If the picture is still green or torn on VLC, turn Hardware decoding off.
A film takes a long time to start
Section titled “A film takes a long time to start”No setting fixes this, and the buffer least of all. It is the shape of the file and how fast your provider serves it. Slow starts and buffering explains what does help.
A film plays, then stops to buffer
Section titled “A film plays, then stops to buffer”Raise Buffer size to Large or Very large, in Settings → Player. This holds more of the film ahead of you, so a connection that stalls in bursts stops interrupting you. It does nothing for a connection that is simply slow.
A film stutters on weak Wi-Fi or on a small box
Section titled “A film stutters on weak Wi-Fi or on a small box”Make sure Fetch films over several connections is off, in Settings → Player, and set Buffer size to Small.
With that switch on, the app fetches the beginning of a film over several connections at once, which helps where a provider caps the speed of a single one. On a weak Wi-Fi the several connections compete with each other and it can be the thing making the film stutter. It is off unless you turned it on, and it exists on Android only.
The whole app feels heavy on an older box
Section titled “The whole app feels heavy on an older box”Set Buffer size to Small. Auto holds a long stretch of film, which takes a large share of the memory on a box with little of it.
Four reasons a correct change looks like it did nothing
Section titled “Four reasons a correct change looks like it did nothing”- Buffer size, Deinterlacing, Low latency live and the engine apply when playback starts. You do not have to pick another channel: go back to the channel you were on and it restarts with the new setting.
- Live stream format is set per playlist, on each device. If you use two playlists, change it in both, and on the television as well as the phone.
- Fetch films over several connections is on Android only. It is not on the iPhone, the iPad, the Apple TV, Windows, the Mac or LG and Samsung TVs.
- Native, VLC or AetherEngine in Engine for live channels also stops the app changing engine by itself when a channel will not play. That automatic change, which Auto keeps, is often what was rescuing you, so set it deliberately.
Where each one lives
Section titled “Where each one lives”| Setting | Where |
|---|---|
| Live stream format | the playlist’s details: the pencil in Settings → Playlists |
| Engine for live channels | Settings → Player |
| Player engine | Settings → Player |
| Buffer size | Settings → Player |
| Low latency live | Settings → Player |
| Deinterlacing | Settings → Player |
| Hardware decoding | Settings → Player |
| Fetch films over several connections | Settings → Player |
| Show FPS counter | Settings → Player, on a television and a computer |
| Restart channel | in the player, on a live channel |
On a television these are under Settings → Player, and a playlist’s own screen is reached from Settings → Playlists, OK on the playlist, Edit.
