Cant fast forward Videos in UMS 9.3.1

[Nadahar]

The problem is that compatibility is most often over-simplified. In reality, there are many parameters that must be supported. H.264/AVC for example, have different profiles and levels within these profiles, and most implementations only support a limited subset. There are many other such details as well, that might make something incompatible, like keyframes and whatnot. The same goes for most codecs, AAC for example is a complete jungle of different sub-specifications where I have yet to see any implementation that supports them all. AAC-LC is one commonly used subset of AAC, but even within that there are technical differences which might or might not be supported.

In addition, implementations often have limitations as to what combinations it supports, like what codec or versions of a codec that can be in a given container. Since these things are as good as never described in detail, getting this 100% can involve a lot of experimentation.

I'm not saying this is the case here, but it could be that the media you're testing has some property in either the video or audio codec (or both) that the Roku doesn't support regardless of what container you wrap it in.

[mik_s]

My problem is that basically all of my videos are already mp4 with mp3 audio, theoretically this should work, but it still trans codes it. Also I have tried multiple different codecs,hevc,avc all with mp4 and mkv but so far nothing plays when I do "no transcoding". Every one of these files plays with trans coding but wont let me fast forward or go to a later time in the video. I have a small video that I keep re-encoding to try different settings, If I find one that works I will report.


Thanks

Sorry missed that bit, If none of those play when using no transcoding, and UMS is transcoding then it is working correctly. Unfortunately it is all down to what is supported by your Roku.

I looked a bit more into why Plex and PlayOn don't have that issue. I think it is because they have their own media app which can run an a few devices and will probably support one format very well, so the server can always transcode media to that one format. Since UMS doesn't have its own player app it can run on devices that you can't install apps to, but has to adapt to work on anything capable of playing streaming media. As @nadahar says, there as a wide range and combinations of formats so is hard to get this right for every device.

Since Plex is an app on Roku, can you install other apps? Might be worth looking to see if there is any other media player apps that have more support.

I was going to suggest using the web Interface if it has a web-browser, but just tried it and you still won't be able to fast forward. I was able to rewind but only tested for a few secs though, not sure if you can do it longer. Think of it like watching a live stream, you can't fast forward if it hasn't happened yet

[Nadahar]

I just remembered: There is a sort-of-workaround for this in UMS. If you enable chapters in the configuration, you will get a "chapters" folder for each video, and inside this folder there is one chapter for every 5 minutes or so. While it's not as good as seeking, or even convenient, it at least lets you jump to the general area you're interested in even when transcoding.

[smokedporkroast]

So far nothing plays without transcoding which is the strange part, Im trying new settings every day when I have time but so far nothing. I did a firmware update check but nothing came up on the roku.

Thanks

[smokedporkroast]

Just an update on the situation with the roku.

My roku just had an update to the media player which has somehow allowed it to play mp4 now, it was software locked before. Now I can fast forward and everything works great.


Thanks

[SubJunk]

Can you please share with us which renderer config is being used for your Roku? It would be really good if we could change our config in the program to add mp4 support, so that other users can benefit from that discovery

[smokedporkroast]

After further troubleshooting the fast forward issue remains in some videos but not others, still looking into the difference between the two types of video but the config is attached.

Thanks

[smokedporkroast]

I turned off transcoding on mp4 which now fixed the problem altogether.