freezing video

atoudam

only just started with Ersatz , got it all installed but having issues with stuttering and not sure where to start fixing it

do i need HW acceleration for just one stream ?
do i need more ram? etc (its in a VM)

attached are the troubleshooting files

any pointers in the right direction would be great

ffmpeg started on 2025-09-25 at 21:19:10 Report written to "/home/adam/.local/share/etv-transcode/.troubleshooting/ffmpeg-20250925-211910-transcode.log" Log level: 32 Command line: /usr/bin/ffmpeg -threads 0 -nostdin -hide_banner -nostats -loglevel error -fflags +genpts+discardcorrupt+igndts -ss 00:11:32 -c:v h264 -readrate 1.0 -readrate_initial_burst 45 -i "/media/media01/tv01/The Simpsons/Season 02/The Simpsons - 2x02 - Simpson and Delilah.mkv" -filter_complex "[0:1]aresample=async=1,apad[a];[0:0]setparams=range=tv:colorspace=bt709:color_trc=bt709:color_primaries=bt709[vpf]" -map "[vpf]" -map "[a]" -muxdelay 0 -muxpreload 0 -movflags +faststart -flags cgop -bf 0 -sc_threshold 0 -t 00:00:30.0000000 -video_track_timescale 90000 -b:v 1000k -maxrate:v 1000k -bufsize:v 4000k -c:v libx264 -profile:v high -c:a aac -ac 2 -b:a 192k -maxrate:a 192k -bufsize:a 384k -ar 48k -map_metadata -1 -metadata "service_provider=\"ErsatzTV\"" -metadata "service_name=\"ETV\"" -metadata:s:a:0 "language=eng" -g 96 -keyint_min 96 -force_key_frames "expr:gte(t,n_forced*4)" -f hls -hls_time 4 -hls_list_size 0 -segment_list_flags +live -hls_segment_filename "/home/adam/.local/share/etv-transcode/.troubleshooting/live%06d.ts" -hls_flags append_list+independent_segments /home/adam/.local/share/etv-transcode/.troubleshooting/live.m3u8 Input #0, matroska,webm, from '/media/media01/tv01/The Simpsons/Season 02/The Simpsons - 2x02 - Simpson and Delilah.mkv': Metadata: encoder : libebml v1.3.1 + libmatroska v1.4.2 creation_time : 2015-02-18T23:20:46.000000Z Duration: 00:23:04.00, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 3722 kb/s Stream #0:0(eng): Video: h264 (High), yuv420p(progressive), 1280x720 [SAR 1:1 DAR 16:9], 23.98 fps, 23.98 tbr, 1k tbn (default) Metadata: BPS : 3336644 BPS-eng : 3336644 DURATION : 00:23:03.925000000 DURATION-eng : 00:23:03.925000000 NUMBER_OF_FRAMES: 33181 NUMBER_OF_FRAMES-eng: 33181 NUMBER_OF_BYTES : 577208270 NUMBER_OF_BYTES-eng: 577208270 _STATISTICS_WRITING_APP: mkvmerge v7.5.0 ('Glass Culture') 64bit built on Jan 4 2015 16:48:44 _STATISTICS_WRITING_APP-eng: mkvmerge v7.5.0 ('Glass Culture') 64bit built on Jan 4 2015 16:48:44 _STATISTICS_WRITING_DATE_UTC: 2015-02-18 23:20:46 _STATISTICS_WRITING_DATE_UTC-eng: 2015-02-18 23:20:46 _STATISTICS_TAGS: BPS DURATION NUMBER_OF_FRAMES NUMBER_OF_BYTES _STATISTICS_TAGS-eng: BPS DURATION NUMBER_OF_FRAMES NUMBER_OF_BYTES Stream #0:1(eng): Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), fltp, 384 kb/s (default) Metadata: BPS : 384000 BPS-eng : 384000 DURATION : 00:23:04.000000000 DURATION-eng : 00:23:04.000000000 NUMBER_OF_FRAMES: 43250 NUMBER_OF_FRAMES-eng: 43250 NUMBER_OF_BYTES : 66432000 NUMBER_OF_BYTES-eng: 66432000 _STATISTICS_WRITING_APP: mkvmerge v7.5.0 ('Glass Culture') 64bit built on Jan 4 2015 16:48:44 _STATISTICS_WRITING_APP-eng: mkvmerge v7.5.0 ('Glass Culture') 64bit built on Jan 4 2015 16:48:44 _STATISTICS_WRITING_DATE_UTC: 2015-02-18 23:20:46 _STATISTICS_WRITING_DATE_UTC-eng: 2015-02-18 23:20:46 _STATISTICS_TAGS: BPS DURATION NUMBER_OF_FRAMES NUMBER_OF_BYTES _STATISTICS_TAGS-eng: BPS DURATION NUMBER_OF_FRAMES NUMBER_OF_BYTES Stream #0:2(eng): Subtitle: subrip (srt) (default) Metadata: BPS : 91 BPS-eng : 91 DURATION : 00:22:41.425000000 DURATION-eng : 00:22:41.425000000 NUMBER_OF_FRAMES: 541 NUMBER_OF_FRAMES-eng: 541 NUMBER_OF_BYTES : 15645 NUMBER_OF_BYTES-eng: 15645 _STATISTICS_WRITING_APP: mkvmerge v7.5.0 ('Glass Culture') 64bit built on Jan 4 2015 16:48:44 _STATISTICS_WRITING_APP-eng: mkvmerge v7.5.0 ('Glass Culture') 64bit built on Jan 4 2015 16:48:44 _STATISTICS_WRITING_DATE_UTC: 2015-02-18 23:20:46 _STATISTICS_WRITING_DATE_UTC-eng: 2015-02-18 23:20:46 _STATISTICS_TAGS: BPS DURATION NUMBER_OF_FRAMES NUMBER_OF_BYTES _STATISTICS_TAGS-eng: BPS DURATION NUMBER_OF_FRAMES NUMBER_OF_BYTES Stream mapping: Stream #0:0 (h264) -> setparams:default Stream #0:1 (ac3) -> aresample:default setparams:default -> Stream #0:0 (libx264) apad:default -> Stream #0:1 (aac) [libx264 @ 0x55b19c027580] using SAR=1/1 [libx264 @ 0x55b19c027580] using cpu capabilities: MMX2 SSE2 SSE3 Cache64 [libx264 @ 0x55b19c027580] profile High, level 3.1, 4:2:0, 8-bit [libx264 @ 0x55b19c027580] 264 - core 164 r3108 31e19f9 - H.264/MPEG-4 AVC codec - Copyleft 2003-2023 - http://www.videolan.org/x264.html - options: cabac=1 ref=3 deblock=1:0:0 analyse=0x3:0x113 me=hex subme=7 psy=1 psy_rd=1.00:0.00 mixed_ref=1 me_range=16 chroma_me=1 trellis=1 8x8dct=1 cqm=0 deadzone=21,11 fast_pskip=1 chroma_qp_offset=-2 threads=1 lookahead_threads=1 sliced_threads=0 nr=0 decimate=1 interlaced=0 bluray_compat=0 constrained_intra=0 bframes=0 weightp=2 keyint=96 keyint_min=49 scenecut=0 intra_refresh=0 rc_lookahead=40 rc=cbr mbtree=1 bitrate=1000 ratetol=1.0 qcomp=0.60 qpmin=0 qpmax=69 qpstep=4 vbv_maxrate=1000 vbv_bufsize=4000 nal_hrd=none filler=0 ip_ratio=1.40 aq=1:1.00 Output #0, hls, to '/home/adam/.local/share/etv-transcode/.troubleshooting/live.m3u8': Metadata: service_provider: "ErsatzTV" service_name : "ETV" encoder : Lavf61.7.100 Stream #0:0: Video: h264, yuv420p(tv, bt709, progressive), 1280x720 [SAR 1:1 DAR 16:9], q=2-31, 1000 kb/s, 23.98 fps, 90k tbn Metadata: encoder : Lavc61.19.101 libx264 Side data: cpb: bitrate max/min/avg: 1000000/0/1000000 buffer size: 4000000 vbv_delay: N/A Stream #0:1(eng): Audio: aac (LC), 48000 Hz, stereo, fltp, 192 kb/s Metadata: encoder : Lavc61.19.101 aac [hls @ 0x55b19c140ec0] Opening '/home/adam/.local/share/etv-transcode/.troubleshooting/live000000.ts' for writing [hls @ 0x55b19c140ec0] Opening '/home/adam/.local/share/etv-transcode/.troubleshooting/live.m3u8.tmp' for writing [hls @ 0x55b19c140ec0] Opening '/home/adam/.local/share/etv-transcode/.troubleshooting/live000001.ts' for writing [hls @ 0x55b19c140ec0] Opening '/home/adam/.local/share/etv-transcode/.troubleshooting/live.m3u8.tmp' for writing [hls @ 0x55b19c140ec0] Opening '/home/adam/.local/share/etv-transcode/.troubleshooting/live000002.ts' for writing [hls @ 0x55b19c140ec0] Opening '/home/adam/.local/share/etv-transcode/.troubleshooting/live.m3u8.tmp' for writing [hls @ 0x55b19c140ec0] Opening '/home/adam/.local/share/etv-transcode/.troubleshooting/live000003.ts' for writing [hls @ 0x55b19c140ec0] Opening '/home/adam/.local/share/etv-transcode/.troubleshooting/live.m3u8.tmp' for writing [hls @ 0x55b19c140ec0] Opening '/home/adam/.local/share/etv-transcode/.troubleshooting/live000004.ts' for writing [hls @ 0x55b19c140ec0] Opening '/home/adam/.local/share/etv-transcode/.troubleshooting/live.m3u8.tmp' for writing [hls @ 0x55b19c140ec0] Opening '/home/adam/.local/share/etv-transcode/.troubleshooting/live000005.ts' for writing [hls @ 0x55b19c140ec0] Opening '/home/adam/.local/share/etv-transcode/.troubleshooting/live.m3u8.tmp' for writing [hls @ 0x55b19c140ec0] Opening '/home/adam/.local/share/etv-transcode/.troubleshooting/live000006.ts' for writing [hls @ 0x55b19c140ec0] Opening '/home/adam/.local/share/etv-transcode/.troubleshooting/live.m3u8.tmp' for writing [hls @ 0x55b19c140ec0] Opening '/home/adam/.local/share/etv-transcode/.troubleshooting/live000007.ts' for writing [hls @ 0x55b19c140ec0] Opening '/home/adam/.local/share/etv-transcode/.troubleshooting/live.m3u8.tmp' for writing [out#0/hls @ 0x55b19c140d80] video:3861KiB audio:707KiB subtitle:0KiB other streams:0KiB global headers:0KiB muxing overhead: unknown frame= 720 fps= 17 q=34.0 Lsize=N/A time=00:00:30.00 bitrate=N/A dup=1 drop=0 speed=0.693x [libx264 @ 0x55b19c027580] frame I:8 Avg QP:22.32 size: 32307 [libx264 @ 0x55b19c027580] frame P:712 Avg QP:27.22 size: 5188 [libx264 @ 0x55b19c027580] mb I I16..4: 28.7% 56.2% 15.1% [libx264 @ 0x55b19c027580] mb P I16..4: 3.8% 5.8% 0.3% P16..4: 24.3% 4.6% 2.1% 0.0% 0.0% skip:59.2% [libx264 @ 0x55b19c027580] 8x8 transform intra:58.7% inter:81.1% [libx264 @ 0x55b19c027580] coded y,uvDC,uvAC intra: 13.2% 38.6% 8.4% inter: 6.7% 9.4% 0.3% [libx264 @ 0x55b19c027580] i16 v,h,dc,p: 41% 37% 11% 10% [libx264 @ 0x55b19c027580] i8 v,h,dc,ddl,ddr,vr,hd,vl,hu: 18% 15% 60% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% [libx264 @ 0x55b19c027580] i4 v,h,dc,ddl,ddr,vr,hd,vl,hu: 19% 38% 14% 4% 5% 5% 7% 4% 4% [libx264 @ 0x55b19c027580] i8c dc,h,v,p: 45% 27% 25% 3% [libx264 @ 0x55b19c027580] Weighted P-Frames: Y:0.8% UV:0.4% [libx264 @ 0x55b19c027580] ref P L0: 67.2% 11.7% 12.9% 8.2% 0.0% [libx264 @ 0x55b19c027580] kb/s:1052.94 [aac @ 0x55b19c142980] Qavg: 871.651

{ "Id": 8780, "Kind": "PlexEpisode", "LibraryKind": "PlexLibrary", "ServerName": "XXXX", "LibraryName": "TV Shows", "State": "RemoteOnly", "Duration": "00:23:04", "SampleAspectRatio": "1:1", "DisplayAspectRatio": "1.78", "RFrameRate": "23.976", "VideoScanKind": "Progressive", "Width": 1280, "Height": 720, "Streams": [ { "Index": 0, "Kind": "Video", "Codec": "h264", "Profile": "high", "Language": "eng", "Default": true, "ColorRange": "", "ColorSpace": "", "ColorTransfer": "", "ColorPrimaries": "", "BitsPerRawSample": 8 }, { "Index": 1, "Kind": "Audio", "Title": "", "Codec": "ac3", "Profile": "", "Language": "eng", "Channels": 6, "Default": true }, { "Index": 2, "Kind": "Subtitle", "Codec": "srt", "Language": "eng", "Default": true, "IsExtracted": false } ], "Chapters": [] }

{ "Version": "v25.6.0-linux-x64", "Environment": { "DOTNET_HOSTBUILDER__RELOADCONFIGONCHANGE": "false" }, "Health": [ { "Title": "FFmpeg Version", "Message": "ffmpeg version 7.1.2-0\u002Bdeb13u1 is unexpected and may have problems; please install 7.1.1!" }, { "Title": "Hardware Acceleration", "Message": "The following channels use ffmpeg profiles that are not configured for hardware acceleration (Nvenc, Vaapi, Qsv): 1 - ErsatzTV, 2 - Simpsons 24/7" } ], "Cpus": [ { "Manufacturer": "GenuineIntel", "Name": "QEMU Virtual CPU version 2.5\u002B" } ], "VideoControllers": [ { "Manufacturer": "", "Name": "Red Hat, Inc. QXL paravirtual graphic card (rev 05)" } ], "FFmpegSettings": { "FFmpegPath": "/usr/bin/ffmpeg", "FFprobePath": "/usr/bin/ffprobe", "DefaultFFmpegProfileId": 1, "PreferredAudioLanguageCode": "eng", "UseEmbeddedSubtitles": true, "ExtractEmbeddedSubtitles": false, "SaveReports": false, "HlsSegmenterIdleTimeout": 60, "WorkAheadSegmenterLimit": 1, "InitialSegmentCount": 1, "HlsDirectOutputFormat": "MpegTs" }, "FFmpegProfiles": [ { "Id": 1, "Name": "1920x1080 x264 ac3", "ThreadCount": 0, "HardwareAcceleration": "None", "VaapiDisplay": "drm", "VaapiDriver": "Default", "QsvExtraHardwareFrames": 64, "ResolutionId": 2, "Resolution": { "Id": 2, "Name": "1280x720", "IsCustom": false, "Height": 720, "Width": 1280 }, "ScalingBehavior": "ScaleAndPad", "VideoFormat": "H264", "VideoProfile": "high", "VideoPreset": "", "AllowBFrames": false, "BitDepth": "EightBit", "VideoBitrate": 1000, "VideoBufferSize": 4000, "TonemapAlgorithm": "Linear", "AudioFormat": "Aac", "AudioBitrate": 192, "AudioBufferSize": 384, "NormalizeLoudnessMode": "Off", "AudioChannels": 2, "AudioSampleRate": 48, "NormalizeFramerate": false, "DeinterlaceVideo": true } ], "Watermarks": [] }

atoudam

an update, i have resolve the

"Title": "FFmpeg Version",
"Message": "ffmpeg version 7.1.2-0\u002Bdeb13u1 is unexpected and may have problems; please install 7.1.1!"
},

issue but still have image freezing issues

jason

The Playback Troubleshooting tool is best for helping with playback issues:

Search for any content using the search bar.
Use the overflow/three dots menu on content and select Troubleshoot Playback.
Select the appropriate Playback Settings that trigger the undesired behavior.
Click Play to start playback.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 until the undesired behavior is reproduced.
Click Download Results to have ErsatzTV collect relevant troubleshooting logs (FFmpeg log, FFmpeg Profile, Hardware Capabilities, Media Info, etc) and compress them in a zip file.
Post the zip here or in the discord ⁠support channel https://discord.ersatztv.org along with a description of the problem to receive help.

b3y0ndd34th

I had this issue, didn't matter what Mode I chose for the Playback.

I was able to curb some of this and it seems that most things now load without having to buffer often ( I was noticing a hang every 5 seconds for atleast a second or two, it was very distracting), there are still some hangs but it's not constant.

I went to the Settings then the FFmpeg and I changed the HLS Direct Output Format to MKV.

I also adjsuted the HLS Segmenter Initial Segment Count to 20 so it will buffer a few seconds before starting to play.

Now I only notice stuttering and buffering with 2160p shows and movies. I'll keep poking and let you know if I solve this!