Samsung TV streaming issues !

[Sh!zzmoo]

I have a series 8 Samsung 65" TV.
On demand video's from different apps play fine on 4k.
But when I go to live stream twitch or Kayo sports for example in HD (1080p and higher) the TV just stutters and buffers.

 

The streaming works fine on my phone, PC or Xbox connected to the same network. And didn't matter if it's wireless or wired connection on the TV. I've put it down to the network card in the TV being shit but has anyone else experienced this or have a solution?

 

I've done the basics : 
Software updates
Reset TV and cache
Wireless/wired connection.....

 

It's definitely not my ISP or home network, my APs and ISP connections are 1Gbps into the house and WIFI network and 10Gbps wired between devices (obviously not all the device support 10GBps).

 

I can be downloading games and have multiple 4K streams simultaneously with no issues. 

Anyone got any possible solutions other than using a separate device like stream from Xbox or PC to TV. I would like to be able to use the TV apps

[OddOod]

Welcome to the forums!

My best guess is that there is an encoding issue and you're pretty much boned unless you want an HTPC or streamstick or whatever. That being said, if you have a 10G internal network, you probably have the spare cash to toss together a halfway decent rig for an HTPC which is the ultimate source for a TV

 

[johnt]

You didn't mention what year model your series 8 was

 

I have a 2016 era model 8 (or 8 series) and I can tell you a couple things I've noticed...

 

1) Samsung TVs don't stream in 4k. The TV apps just don't do it. Either Samsung or the app providers limit the quality even though some apps report 1080p or 4k resolutions (like YT). My best guess at my TV's apps is 720p on a good day. HDR is also limited. Could be the age of the TV, but the increase in quality from set top boxes is noticeable.

 

2) How are you getting twitch on a Samsung tv? There is no official app for it

 

3) The only device with the best all-around experience is the Apple TV. You don't want a spare device and I can respect that, but your TV is lying to you.

 

I was streaming "4k" content on my TV apps and I had no issues with my bandwidth cap. I bought an Apple TV and we hit our bandwidth cap month after month. I finally realized it was actually streaming in 4k and my Samsung TV apps were not. I mean the same video from Apple TV+ would take 1 GB of bandwidth on my TV apps (barely measurable), but over 10 GB of usage playing on the Apple TV. Plus my apps were giving me errors left and right. Disney+ would give us an error message about an unsupported device when my kids were screaming for something... best timing ever! Never once have I had an issue with my Apple TV.

 

I don't know how Samsung gets away with it. That and the fact they NEVER publish a change log for their updates, the other fact that it keeps reinstalling apps that I delete, umm... I'm shopping elsewhere next time.

 

Sadly I don't think TV apps are well regarded on any TV.

 

Also also also, DO NOT put together an HTPC and expect that it will solve your problems. You cannot stream 4k HDR from some streaming services no matter what the internet says, no matter what browser your use, no matter what CPU you use. They are really limiting with what devices they want you using to stream 4k content in general.

 

You might not be an Apple fan and that's fine. Unfortunately it's the only device I've found that has the most compatibility with every modern theater standard. The Amazon products don't support Dolby Atmos or DTSX whatsoever (again even though the advertisement says it does). There is a difference between device support and app support. Just because a device supports it does not mean the app does on that particular device.

 

I guess I'm ranting at this point.

[johnt]

1 hour ago, OddOod said:

decent rig for an HTPC which is the ultimate source for a TV

Absolutely fake news if you are using streaming services. It's the worst device for streaming.

 

An HTPC is ideal for ripped movies, whether legit back ups from your owned collection or whatever source, and blocking ads on YouTube for free.

[Sh!zzmoo]

It's a Samsung UA65NU8000 https://www.samsung.com/au/support/model/UA65NU8000WXXY/

 

can't remember what year it is.

Under the "app store" on the TV the is indeed a Twitch app just like on your phone or Xbox ..... sooo yeah dono I'm assuming it the android app . It streams fine on 480p but looks trash. When I try stream in 936p or what ever twitch is it cant play more that a second before buffering/stuttering. It dose have a built in apple TV app but I haven't used it. I might see if that's any better.

 

I do believe the YouTube a dose play in 4k although compressed but still. I definitely notice a difference between 1080 and 4k with VODs. 

 

I guess I'll just have to use the Xbox to stream live HD stuff.

I haven't tried live streams from YouTube TV app yet so might see if that's any different.

 

I am looking into a NAS / streaming set up for all my Blurays to rip onto but got better thing to spend money on at the moment and tech hardware is a lot more expensive in Aus than the US or Canada. I have 350+ Blurays about 20 of them are 4k so it's a lot of storage and time to rip all them and I work away. 

 

I guess I'll deal with it until I get a upgraded TV but this one is still really good 

[johnt]

4 hours ago, Sh!zzmoo said:

I guess I'll deal with it until I get a upgraded TV but this one is still really good 

Sadly that was the biggest problem with the built in apps... I didn't realize how good my tv was until it actually streamed in 4k and HDR. The xbox will serve you better.

 

I just looked it up and apparently Twitch came out with an app for Samsung TVs about 8 months ago. It took Twitch nearly a decade to make this app smh

[OddOod]

On 3/30/2023 at 10:44 PM, johnt said:

if you are using streaming services. It's the worst device for streaming.

This is news to me. Could you elaborate? Or at least send me an article talking about it? 

[Donut417]

9 hours ago, OddOod said:

This is news to me. Could you elaborate? Or at least send me an article talking about it? 

Which premium video streaming formats are supported?
If you’re a Premium subscriber, you can watch shows in 4K, Dolby Vision or HDR10 video formats on supported devices below that are connected to a 4K/DV/HDR10 capable TV.

• iPhone or iPad
• Apple TV 4K HDR (5th Gen)
• Android phone, tablet or TV
• Fire TV (4K Stick, Cube)
• Roku

Find supported premium video content fast! Content that is 4K, Dolby Vision and/or HDR10 enabled will be marked with badges on the show page. Note: Some movies will have premium formats, and this information will be included in the description box, so be sure to check it!

 

That's from the help page for Paramount Plus. Notice that a Web browser/ PC is NOT included on the list. Part of the reason for this is piracy concerns as PC's can have software installed that could record the content, well at least thats what they think. 

[johnt]

16 hours ago, OddOod said:

This is news to me. Could you elaborate? Or at least send me an article talking about it? 

Bro... where have you been? No streaming service lets you watch in 4k or HDR, or some don't even allow 1080p streaming. If this is news to you, then you are not up to speed at all... this has been an issue with every streaming service since it began. Netflix in 2016 was like "fine we will let you stream in 4k if you have a kaby lake or newer processor and win 10 and edge browser only" when the 7000 chips came out from Intel. It all quietly went away. No other streaming service bothered thereafter for browser streaming. Most usually limit Chrome to 720p. Some of the win store apps supposedly let you play in 4k. But a quick search shows that doesn't always work as intended either.

 

I don't even want to consider the lack of support for surround sound options when using a PC either. That's a separate disaster.

[seanondemand]

Yeah, PCs as streaming boxes are tricky. You can get Netflix and Prime Video in 4K HDR by downloading their dedicated apps, but last I looked with most other services is that you're SOL. 

 

A bunch of the dedicated TV apps on Samsung TVs also don't stream in 4K HDR (you can pull up the info screen to figure that out pretty quickly) which just tells you that the processing chips in TVs aren't geared towards apps/UI, they're geared toward picture processing (100mbps ethernet, anyone?), and the experience just tends to be worse than almost any streaming box you could buy.

[circeseye]

On 3/30/2023 at 7:17 PM, Sh!zzmoo said:

 

wrong post

[Steam.exe]

I personally always go with a dedicated device. The onboard software or hardware is often limited, and the track record of most companies to maintain their smart TV up to date and secure is rather abysmal. At least with the dedicated device it's rather easy to swap if something happens. 

I have a LG TV and can speak specifically about WebOS. It is quite a nice OS. Very smooth. LG didn't make WebOS, they bought it. You can use the LG remote if you use built in apps. The built in apps are usually better than the ones you get in all but the top of the line shield or apple TV because they are made for LG TV and access the hardware directly. The built in apps will support both Dolby vision and HDR, something not true of all boxes. They will also handle 24fps correctly, while external boxes will usually just up convert them to 60fps. And the TV up converts hd to 4k better than anything that's not the shield or apple TV

You can hook a hard drive to the TV's USB port and play back just about anything with the built in media player, including 4k blu-ray rips. It will read NTFS, too. 

The downside is the LG store is very small. It is missing a lot of apps. But if the apps you want are there, then you're good. It does have the major ones Netflix Amazon Disney YouTube YouTube TV. HBO (2018 and later models)

I use the built in apps whenever I can, and use external box to fill in the gaps.

 

[OddOod]

On 4/6/2023 at 1:26 AM, johnt said:

Bro... where have you been?

glances at linux ISOs

Clearly out of the game. Thanks for catching me up! 

On 4/5/2023 at 6:36 PM, Donut417 said:

Part of the reason for this is piracy concerns as PC's can have software installed that could record the content, well at least that's what they think. 

As if capture cards don't exist lol

 

 

Thanks all for the info! I've apparently been out of the streaming game for too long

[seanondemand]

37 minutes ago, OddOod said:

As if capture cards don't exist lol

That’s what HDCP is for. 

[OddOod]

16 minutes ago, seanondemand said:

That’s what HDCP is for. 

20$ HDMI splitter strips the HDCP. Had to use one to keep my parents' ancient plasma TV running.