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.
Live channels
Section titled “Live channels”It stutters or freezes when the connection dips
Section titled “It 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.
This belongs to the playlist, not to the device, and it is only offered for playlists added with a server address, username and password.
It plays at a few frames a second
Section titled “It 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 has no hardware decoder for. The default engine then decodes them in software, which a small box cannot keep up with, and it never reports an error because as far as it is concerned it is playing. VLC decodes 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, when a live channel plays at a handful of frames a second.
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.
It is too far behind the broadcast
Section titled “It 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.
It will not start at all, or the picture is green or torn
Section titled “It will not start at all, or the picture is green or torn”Set Player engine to VLC. If that does not help, turn Hardware decoding off.
Films and episodes
Section titled “Films and episodes”It takes a long time to start
Section titled “It 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.
It plays, then stops to buffer
Section titled “It 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.
It stutters on weak Wi-Fi, or on a small box
Section titled “It 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 up to three minutes of film and a large share of the memory the app is allowed, which is a lot on a box with 2 GB of memory.
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 and Low latency live take effect the next time something starts playing. Changing one while a channel is open does nothing until you leave it and open it again. Not pause, leave.
- Live stream format belongs to the playlist. If you use two playlists, change it in both.
- Fetch films over several connections is on Android only. It is not on the iPhone, the iPad, the Apple TV or Windows.
- Anything other than Same as above in Engine for live channels also stops the app changing engine by itself when a channel will not play. That automatic change 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 |
On a television these are under Settings → Playback → Player, and a playlist’s own screen is reached from Settings → Playlists, OK on the playlist, Edit.