Random playback stutters

[Vinny956]

Hi everyone!

Half of the times when I am trying to play a movie, the playback starts stuttering. If I restart the playback or wait a while - the stutters disappear. However, they usually come back after some minutes. 

It happens during a direct playback. If transcoded to 5mb/s bit rate, the playback is smooth but the video quality suffers a lot.

I have been trying to pin down the issue for weeks but to no avail.

My Setup
Server: Jellyfin Server 10.10.7 running in a docker container on a TrueNAS host.
Client: Jellyfin for Android TV 0.18.8 running on the latest Fire TV 4K Max.

If this is relevant, my TV is TCL C635 outputting audio to an Onkyo Receiver TX-SR252 via ARC.

Example of the playpack which was stuttering:
[2025-05-02 10:27:34.416 +02:00] [INF] [27] IntroSkipper.Manager.QueueManager: Running enqueue of items in library "Movies"
[2025-05-02 10:27:34.418 +02:00] [INF] [27] IntroSkipper.Manager.QueueManager: Running enqueue of items in library "Shows"
[2025-05-02 19:55:20.954 +02:00] [INF] [58] Emby.Server.Implementations.Session.SessionWebSocketListener: Sending ForceKeepAlive message to 1 inactive WebSockets.
[2025-05-02 19:55:32.954 +02:00] [INF] [58] Emby.Server.Implementations.Session.SessionWebSocketListener: Sending ForceKeepAlive message to 1 inactive WebSockets.
[2025-05-02 19:55:44.953 +02:00] [INF] [88] Emby.Server.Implementations.Session.SessionWebSocketListener: Lost 1 WebSockets.
[2025-05-02 19:56:57.128 +02:00] [WRN] [58] Emby.Server.Implementations.HttpServer.WebSocketConnection: WS "192.168.1.154" error receiving data: "The remote party closed the WebSocket connection without completing the close handshake."
[2025-05-02 19:56:57.134 +02:00] [INF] [58] Emby.Server.Implementations.HttpServer.WebSocketManager: WS "192.168.1.154" closed
[2025-05-02 21:23:33.612 +02:00] [INF] [46] Emby.Server.Implementations.IO.LibraryMonitor: "movies" ("/movies") will be refreshed.
[2025-05-02 21:23:33.645 +02:00] [INF] [50] MediaBrowser.MediaEncoding.Encoder.MediaEncoder: Starting "/usr/lib/jellyfin-ffmpeg/ffprobe" with args "-analyzeduration 200M -probesize 1G -i file:\"/movies/Ash (2025)/Ash.2025.2160p.MULTI.WEB-DL.SDR.H265-AOC.mkv\" -threads 0 -v warning -print_format json -show_streams -show_chapters -show_format"
[2025-05-02 21:23:34.323 +02:00] [INF] [46] Jellyfin.Server.Implementations.Trickplay.TrickplayManager: Creating trickplay files at 320 width, for "/movies/Ash (2025)/Ash.2025.2160p.MULTI.WEB-DL.SDR.H265-AOC.mkv" [ID: b8d3d6e6-d6bc-ea89-8974-e29301378d78]
[2025-05-02 21:23:34.323 +02:00] [INF] [46] MediaBrowser.MediaEncoding.Encoder.MediaEncoder: Trickplay generation: "/usr/lib/jellyfin-ffmpeg/ffmpeg -loglevel error -threads 4 -i file:\"/movies/Ash (2025)/Ash.2025.2160p.MULTI.WEB-DL.SDR.H265-AOC.mkv\" -an -sn -vf \"fps=0.10000000149011612,setparams=color_primaries=bt709:color_trc=bt709:colorspace=bt709,scale=trunc(min(max(iw\,ih*(a*sar))\,320)/2)*2:trunc(ow/(a*sar)/2)*2,format=yuv420p\" -threads 4 -c:v mjpeg -qscale:v 4 -fps_mode passthrough -f image2 \"/tmp/jellyfin/a98b59818f6644d7835d0dc55af50af9/%08d.jpg\""
[2025-05-02 21:24:36.560 +02:00] [INF] [21] IntroSkipper.Services.Entrypoint: Initiating automatic analysis task
[2025-05-02 21:24:36.624 +02:00] [INF] [21] IntroSkipper.Manager.QueueManager: Running enqueue of items in library "Movies"
[2025-05-02 21:24:36.641 +02:00] [INF] [21] IntroSkipper.Manager.QueueManager: Running enqueue of items in library "Shows"
[2025-05-02 21:24:36.650 +02:00] [INF] [21] IntroSkipper.Services.Entrypoint: No libraries selected for analysis. To enable, check library configuration > Media Segment Providers.
[2025-05-02 21:46:34.266 +02:00] [INF] [33] Emby.Server.Implementations.HttpServer.WebSocketManager: WS "192.168.1.154" request
[2025-05-02 21:46:43.655 +02:00] [INF] [80] Jellyfin.Api.Helpers.MediaInfoHelper: User policy for "user". EnablePlaybackRemuxing: True EnableVideoPlaybackTranscoding: True EnableAudioPlaybackTranscoding: True
[2025-05-02 21:47:37.353 +02:00] [INF] [52] Emby.Server.Implementations.Session.SessionManager: Playback stopped reported by app "Android TV" "0.18.8" playing "Ash". Stopped at "9226" ms
[2025-05-02 21:48:59.978 +02:00] [INF] [80] Jellyfin.Server.Implementations.Trickplay.TrickplayManager: Finished creation of trickplay files for "/movies/Ash (2025)/Ash.2025.2160p.MULTI.WEB-DL.SDR.H265-AOC.mkv"
[2025-05-02 21:53:25.704 +02:00] [INF] [59] Emby.Server.Implementations.HttpServer.WebSocketManager: WS "172.16.2.2" request

I would appreciate any help since this inconsistency is driving me crazy

Thank you all in advance!

[Winifred Benedict]

Hi everyone!

Half of the times when I am trying to play a movie, the playback starts stuttering. If I restart the playback or wait a while - the stutters disappear. However, they usually come back after some minutes. 

It happens during a direct playback. If transcoded to 5mb/s bit rate, the playback is smooth but the video quality suffers a lot.

I have been trying to pin down the issue for weeks but to no avail.

My Setup
Server: Jellyfin Server 10.10.7 running in a docker container on a TrueNAS host.
Client: Jellyfin for Android TV 0.18.8 running on the latest Fire TV 4K Max.

If this is relevant, my TV is TCL C635 outputting audio to an Onkyo Receiver TX-SR252 via ARC.

Example of the playpack which was stuttering:
[2025-05-02 10:27:34.416 +02:00] [INF] [27] IntroSkipper.Manager.QueueManager: Running enqueue of items in library "Movies"
[2025-05-02 10:27:34.418 +02:00] [INF] [27] IntroSkipper.Manager.QueueManager: Running enqueue of items in library "Shows"
[2025-05-02 19:55:20.954 +02:00] [INF] [58] Emby.Server.Implementations.Session.SessionWebSocketListener: Sending ForceKeepAlive message to 1 inactive WebSockets.
[2025-05-02 19:55:32.954 +02:00] [INF] [58] Emby.Server.Implementations.Session.SessionWebSocketListener: Sending ForceKeepAlive message to 1 inactive WebSockets.
[2025-05-02 19:55:44.953 +02:00] [INF] [88] Emby.Server.Implementations.Session.SessionWebSocketListener: Lost 1 WebSockets.
[2025-05-02 19:56:57.128 +02:00] [WRN] [58] Emby.Server.Implementations.HttpServer.WebSocketConnection: WS "192.168.1.154" error receiving data: "The remote party closed the WebSocket connection without completing the close handshake."
[2025-05-02 19:56:57.134 +02:00] [INF] [58] Emby.Server.Implementations.HttpServer.WebSocketManager: WS "192.168.1.154" closed
[2025-05-02 21:23:33.612 +02:00] [INF] [46] Emby.Server.Implementations.IO.LibraryMonitor: "movies" ("/movies") will be refreshed.
[2025-05-02 21:23:33.645 +02:00] [INF] [50] MediaBrowser.MediaEncoding.Encoder.MediaEncoder: Starting "/usr/lib/jellyfin-ffmpeg/ffprobe" with args "-analyzeduration 200M -probesize 1G -i file:\"/movies/Ash (2025)/Ash.2025.2160p.MULTI.WEB-DL.SDR.H265-AOC.mkv\" -threads 0 -v warning -print_format json -show_streams -show_chapters -show_format"
[2025-05-02 21:23:34.323 +02:00] [INF] [46] Jellyfin.Server.Implementations.Trickplay.TrickplayManager: Creating trickplay files at 320 width, for "/movies/Ash (2025)/Ash.2025.2160p.MULTI.WEB-DL.SDR.H265-AOC.mkv" [ID: b8d3d6e6-d6bc-ea89-8974-e29301378d78]
[2025-05-02 21:23:34.323 +02:00] [INF] [46] MediaBrowser.MediaEncoding.Encoder.MediaEncoder: Trickplay generation: "/usr/lib/jellyfin-ffmpeg/ffmpeg -loglevel error -threads 4 -i file:\"/movies/Ash (2025)/Ash.2025.2160p.MULTI.WEB-DL.SDR.H265-AOC.mkv\" -an -sn -vf \"fps=0.10000000149011612,setparams=color_primaries=bt709:color_trc=bt709:colorspace=bt709,scale=trunc(min(max(iw\,ih*(a*sar))\,320)/2)*2:trunc(ow/(a*sar)/2)*2,format=yuv420p\" -threads 4 -c:v mjpeg -qscale:v 4 -fps_mode passthrough -f image2 \"/tmp/jellyfin/a98b59818f6644d7835d0dc55af50af9/%08d.jpg\""
[2025-05-02 21:24:36.560 +02:00] [INF] [21] IntroSkipper.Services.Entrypoint: Initiating automatic analysis task
[2025-05-02 21:24:36.624 +02:00] [INF] [21] IntroSkipper.Manager.QueueManager: Running enqueue of items in library "Movies"
[2025-05-02 21:24:36.641 +02:00] [INF] [21] IntroSkipper.Manager.QueueManager: Running enqueue of items in library "Shows"
[2025-05-02 21:24:36.650 +02:00] [INF] [21] IntroSkipper.Services.Entrypoint: No libraries selected for analysis. To enable, check library configuration > Media Segment Providers.
[2025-05-02 21:46:34.266 +02:00] [INF] [33] Emby.Server.Implementations.HttpServer.WebSocketManager: WS "192.168.1.154" request
[2025-05-02 21:46:43.655 +02:00] [INF] [80] Jellyfin.Api.Helpers.MediaInfoHelper: User policy for "user". EnablePlaybackRemuxing: True EnableVideoPlaybackTranscoding: True EnableAudioPlaybackTranscoding: True
[2025-05-02 21:47:37.353 +02:00] [INF] [52] Emby.Server.Implementations.Session.SessionManager: Playback stopped reported by app "Android TV" "0.18.8" playing "Ash". Stopped at "9226" ms
[2025-05-02 21:48:59.978 +02:00] [INF] [80] Jellyfin.Server.Implementations.Trickplay.TrickplayManager: Finished creation of trickplay files for "/movies/Ash (2025)/Ash.2025.2160p.MULTI.WEB-DL.SDR.H265-AOC.mkv"
[2025-05-02 21:53:25.704 +02:00] [INF] [59] Emby.Server.Implementations.HttpServer.WebSocketManager: WS "172.16.2.2" request

I would appreciate any help since this inconsistency is driving me crazy  Baseball Bros Game
Thank you all in advance!

Have you tried monitoring your server's CPU/RAM or I/O speeds while streaming? Is it possible that the Docker container is limiting resources or that TrueNAS is running a background task that is impacting the streaming experience?

[Vinny956]

Have you tried monitoring your server's CPU/RAM or I/O speeds while streaming? Is it possible that the Docker container is limiting resources or that TrueNAS is running a background task that is impacting the streaming experience?

Yes, CPU and RAM usage stay roughly the same when I start playing a video. This is, however, is not surprising given that my TrueNAS system has a Ryzen 7 5825U, up to 4 cores of which can be allocated to the Jellyfin container. I suppose it is more that enough for a direct play. The RAM is plenty as well with most of it either allocated to my ZFS Cache with a ~3Gb free.

Haven't tried monitoring the IO speeds though. The videos are located on Seagate X18 drives. When playing, the read spikes up to ~30MiB/s.

[Vinny956]

Sometimes videos play just fine, sometimes the same videos are freezing every few seconds. The container is barely using any resources. I am honestly beyond confused at this point