Channel help

[rejovic]

Hi guys

I just want to know if this is only happening to me. all the C-SPAN channels stutter for me both in video and sound all the time; and CCTV (not CTV) always freezes. I'm specifically interested in knowing who is not experiencing this that is using the provided APK on their boxes - for OK2

[nobodyspecial]

Hi guys

I just want to know if this is only happening to me. all the C-SPAN channels stutter for me both in video and sound all the time; and CCTV (not CTV) always freezes. I'm specifically interested in knowing who is not experiencing this that is using the provided APK on their boxes - for OK2
you might want to mention what player you are using too

channels running fine on a buzz 3000 and global box

[rejovic]

you might want to mention what player you are using too

channels running fine on a buzz 3000 and global box

Okay thanks for the suggestion. So I have good news and bad news.

Changing the decoder from native to either software or hardware fixes the issue with C-SPAN channels.

It also fixes the freezing with CCTV except now I have no pictures the black screen. So that does fix some issues but not fully. Any idea what gives???

[rejovic]

bump......

[Emporium]

Okay thanks for the suggestion. So I have good news and bad news.

Changing the decoder from native to either software or hardware fixes the issue with C-SPAN channels.

It also fixes the freezing with CCTV except now I have no pictures the black screen. So that does fix some issues but not fully. Any idea what gives???

If you are using an android box with the ok2 APK, it is quite possible that your box is not powerful enough to decode the h265 streams. If not in native and you get black screen and just audio, it is one of the signs of an h265 video stream which is not being decoded. What kind of Android box are you using (I'm assuming android box, since you mentioned APK in your first post).

[rejovic]

If you are using an android box with the ok2 APK, it is quite possible that your box is not powerful enough to decode the h265 streams. If not in native and you get black screen and just audio, it is one of the signs of an h265 video stream which is not being decoded. What kind of Android box are you using (I'm assuming android box, since you mentioned APK in your first post).

its nvidia shield ... its supposed to powerful enough not?

[Emporium]

its nvidia shield ... its supposed to powerful enough not?

Yes, Shield should not have any issues.. I'm using a Mii Box 3, and h265 is not a problem with it so for sure no issue with a shield.

Was it working fine before ? I know the Mii Box just got an AndroidTV OS update from 6.0 [marshmallow] to 8.0 [oreo] (actually mine got pushed both last night). Didn't the Shield just get a major update also recently ? Is it possible something with the new OS Update ?

I just checked the 3 C-SPAN channels and CCTV and there is no freezing. Mind you, I am using Perfect Player 1.4.6 on my Mii Box instead of the official OK2 apk. But I'm pretty sure the ok2 apk would be the same.

Actually the C-SPAN channels are a little strange.. When I first switch to them, it seems like everything is in slow-motion for about 3 seconds, and then it continues as normal without any issues after that. Not a big issue, but figured I'd mention it.

[Emporium]

OK some more testing....

I'm using Mii Box 3 android boxes, which have been updated to Android TV 8.0 (oreo).

Using Perfect Player 1.4.6, with decoder set to "Auto", all 3 C-SPAN channels and CCTV work without issues.

Using OK2 apk however, it is not as simple :(
With Decoder set to Native: CCTV works fine... However I cannot even stream any of the C-SPAN channels.. I get the spinning spindle when I select the channel, and then it just goes red and stops.. Tried that with all 3 C-SPAN channels and always the same issue. It's as if it doesn't recognize the stream or something.
With Decoder set to Software: CCTV I only get Audio, But all the C-SPAN channels work fine.
With Decoder set to Hardware: CCTV I only get Audio, but all the C-SPAN channels work fine.

I've pretty much switched to Perfect player as my daily player. Takes a little longer to start I find. But overall it is more stable I find. Still has some issues occasionally, but nothing I can't live with until I decide to just get a buzz box :)

[rejovic]

OK some more testing....

I'm using Mii Box 3 android boxes, which have been updated to Android TV 8.0 (oreo).

Using Perfect Player 1.4.6, with decoder set to "Auto", all 3 C-SPAN channels and CCTV work without issues.

Using OK2 apk however, it is not as simple :(
With Decoder set to Native: CCTV works fine... However I cannot even stream any of the C-SPAN channels.. I get the spinning spindle when I select the channel, and then it just goes red and stops.. Tried that with all 3 C-SPAN channels and always the same issue. It's as if it doesn't recognize the stream or something.
With Decoder set to Software: CCTV I only get Audio, But all the C-SPAN channels work fine.
With Decoder set to Hardware: CCTV I only get Audio, but all the C-SPAN channels work fine.

I've pretty much switched to Perfect player as my daily player. Takes a little longer to start I find. But overall it is more stable I find. Still has some issues occasionally, but nothing I can't live with until I decide to just get a buzz box :)

Thank you Emporium so much for doing this - I experience exactly the same thing you do. What I'm wondering though, is that since this is some kind of a bug, would it be in the power of OK2 devs to simply update the APK to the latest perfect prayer ( or update the player that the APK is based on)? I mean I'm not saying that I know that this is trivial but I'm just wondering.

Honestly problem with using perfect player are those minor issues that you referred to - they just become annoying over time.

[Emporium]

Thank you Emporium so much for doing this - I experience exactly the same thing you do. What I'm wondering though, is that since this is some kind of a bug, would it be in the power of OK2 devs to simply update the APK to the latest perfect prayer ( or update the player that the APK is based on)? I mean I'm not saying that I know that this is trivial but I'm just wondering.

Honestly problem with using perfect player are those minor issues that you referred to - they just become annoying over time.

Perfect player is not bug free, but I find it is smoother than the native OK2 apk (since it has come a long way since the version that the ok2 apk was based one). Only 2 real complaints however:

the amount of time to load the channel/EPG info upon initial launch (2 or 3 minutes). But that could just be because of the URL options. m3u_plus type is pretty heavy in terms of info. (may be overkill - but I haven't had time to test)
on occasion, when switching back/forth between 2 channels (back button) one channel (or both) will not be able to change to properly. You'll get the spinning wheel, and then it goes red. Solution is to switch to an unrelated channel (an stay on that channel for about 30 secs) and then switch back to one of the other channels. It is annoying, but probably something about recognizing the stream. I haven't played much with it, but can probably fix the problem, if I force a specific decoder for those channels instead of the "auto" option. At least with Perfect player, you can customize the decoder on a per channel basis also, and override the default global one for certain channels.


I don't know what agreement the ok2 devs/admins have with the author of perfect player. May have been a one time deal with sources. I can't answer that.

[rejovic]

Perfect player is not bug free, but I find it is smoother than the native OK2 apk (since it has come a long way since the version that the ok2 apk was based one). Only 2 real complaints however:

the amount of time to load the channel/EPG info upon initial launch (2 or 3 minutes). But that could just be because of the URL options. m3u_plus type is pretty heavy in terms of info. (may be overkill - but I haven't had time to test)
on occasion, when switching back/forth between 2 channels (back button) one channel (or both) will not be able to change to properly. You'll get the spinning wheel, and then it goes red. Solution is to switch to an unrelated channel (an stay on that channel for about 30 secs) and then switch back to one of the other channels. It is annoying, but probably something about recognizing the stream. I haven't played much with it, but can probably fix the problem, if I force a specific decoder for those channels instead of the "auto" option. At least with Perfect player, you can customize the decoder on a per channel basis also, and override the default global one for certain channels.


I don't know what agreement the ok2 devs/admins have with the author of perfect player. May have been a one time deal with sources. I can't answer that.

How could I ever thank you.... :wove:

[rejovic]

So I've done some more research and here's what I found out:

The 'newer' ok2 app posted, the one I think made by IPTV smarters does not have any of these problems. However, it has a horrible interface, and is clunky. Some of the main issues it had for me is:

1) if I go to the section with the guide it excludes some channels .. I'm not sure why .. As a result if I want the old channels I have to go to the non-guide section

2) this 2nd issue is more critical - the interface is in general horrible compared to the older ok2 app that has problems playing the content of some channel. For example, when I Add channels to the favourites section, and then I go to the favourites section to click on a channel, let's I want to then change channel to another 'favourite' channel ; I press okay on my remote, and now it no longer shows me the favour channels, to see favourites again I have to go back and it's a whole process.. I don't think this is a BUG... I think this is just an extremely poorly thought interface.

I have a huge favour to ask from ok2 team: please abandon the IPTV Smarter app ; instead just fixed the old one which had a very intuitive interface or at least it worked well for very basic needs. Currently I have a powerful box ( the shield) and I can't take advantage of your service effectively. Perfect player as I and Emporium pointed out has problems, every time you want to open it takes 1 minute to load everything. So please help us who don't have the Buzz or Formuler.

Thank you

[rejovic]

So I've done some more research and here's what I found out:

The 'newer' ok2 app posted, the one I think made by IPTV smarters does not have any of these problems. However, it has a horrible interface, and is clunky. Some of the main issues it had for me is:

1) if I go to the section with the guide it excludes some channels .. I'm not sure why .. As a result if I want the old channels I have to go to the non-guide section

2) this 2nd issue is more critical - the interface is in general horrible compared to the older ok2 app that has problems playing the content of some channel. For example, when I Add channels to the favourites section, and then I go to the favourites section to click on a channel, let's I want to then change channel to another 'favourite' channel ; I press okay on my remote, and now it no longer shows me the favour channels, to see favourites again I have to go back and it's a whole process.. I don't think this is a BUG... I think this is just an extremely poorly thought interface.

I have a huge favour to ask from ok2 team: please abandon the IPTV Smarter app ; instead just fixed the old one which had a very intuitive interface or at least it worked well for very basic needs. Currently I have a powerful box ( the shield) and I can't take advantage of your service effectively. Perfect player as I and Emporium pointed out has problems, every time you want to open it takes 1 minute to load everything. So please help us who don't have the Buzz or Formuler.

Thank you

I mean I honestly think the best model is Perfect Player - it's carefully designed and works well - I think I'm going to be using that as a workaround like Emporium - I just hope that the recurring minor bugs in it will either be solved by the developer or through an update by you...

[Emporium]

So I've done some more research and here's what I found out:

The 'newer' ok2 app posted, the one I think made by IPTV smarters does not have any of these problems. However, it has a horrible interface, and is clunky. Some of the main issues it had for me is:

1) if I go to the section with the guide it excludes some channels .. I'm not sure why .. As a result if I want the old channels I have to go to the non-guide section

2) this 2nd issue is more critical - the interface is in general horrible compared to the older ok2 app that has problems playing the content of some channel. For example, when I Add channels to the favourites section, and then I go to the favourites section to click on a channel, let's I want to then change channel to another 'favourite' channel ; I press okay on my remote, and now it no longer shows me the favour channels, to see favourites again I have to go back and it's a whole process.. I don't think this is a BUG... I think this is just an extremely poorly thought interface.

I have a huge favour to ask from ok2 team: please abandon the IPTV Smarter app ; instead just fixed the old one which had a very intuitive interface or at least it worked well for very basic needs. Currently I have a powerful box ( the shield) and I can't take advantage of your service effectively. Perfect player as I and Emporium pointed out has problems, every time you want to open it takes 1 minute to load everything. So please help us who don't have the Buzz or Formuler.

Thank you

I tried the IPTV smarters app a while back and although it has a fresh look, it is just not designed for use with a remote. It actually works better with an android tablet :) For your point #1, there is an option in the settings which filters out only channels with EPG content. The biggest deal breaker for me was when scrolling up/down in the EPG, all the contents scrolls left right. And depending on the programs, you may eventually find yourself in a totally strange timeline. On a tablet it is not an issue since it scrolls without selecting, so it doesn't keep shifting. It's another option which was provided by the IPTV smarters dev team I think (I could be wrong).

The 1 or 2 minute load time on Perfect player, may be an annoyance, but I can live with it. Especially since I can still change channels, even though it is loading in the background so if there are EPG entries in the list, I can still see them and change channels as needed.. Only thing you can't do is go into the menus or "properly" exit the app, until it has finished loading. I can live with it, until I get a buzz box :)

[rejovic]

I tried the IPTV smarters app a while back and although it has a fresh look, it is just not designed for use with a remote. It actually works better with an android tablet :) For your point #1, there is an option in the settings which filters out only channels with EPG content. The biggest deal breaker for me was when scrolling up/down in the EPG, all the contents scrolls left right. And depending on the programs, you may eventually find yourself in a totally strange timeline. On a tablet it is not an issue since it scrolls without selecting, so it doesn't keep shifting. It's another option which was provided by the IPTV smarters dev team I think (I could be wrong).

The 1 or 2 minute load time on Perfect player, may be an annoyance, but I can live with it. Especially since I can still change channels, even though it is loading in the background so if there are EPG entries in the list, I can still see them and change channels as needed.. Only thing you can't do is go into the menus or "properly" exit the app, until it has finished loading. I can live with it, until I get a buzz box :)

i agree totally - Perfect player is well worth it in spite of the issues I just wish that either ok2 devs where aware of these issues and could have mentioned it in the 1st place or that they could mention it to the developer of perfect player. Again there are those of us that will not be getting a buzz or formuler and have perfectly capable boxes....All that's needed is for the apk that's based on perfect player to be updated. I wish this place provided a bit more respect for customers that are respectfully pointing out issues. I feel that you're the only one that has actually helped out, there could be be some better policy of response here from the core devs...

[Emporium]

i agree totally - Perfect player is well worth it in spite of the issues I just wish that either ok2 devs where aware of these issues and could have mentioned it in the 1st place or that they could mention it to the developer of perfect player. Again there are those of us that will not be getting a buzz or formuler and have perfectly capable boxes....All that's needed is for the apk that's based on perfect player to be updated. I wish this place provided a bit more respect for customers that are respectfully pointing out issues. I feel that you're the only one that has actually helped out, there could be be some better policy of response here from the core devs...

This is not a forum for ok2. Yes many of us use the service, but there is no "official" support for any of these IPTV services. This is a forum for users to help help users. Yes some people have additional connections to people behind some of the scenes, but there is no obligation for them to do anything.

The reality is that most IPTV services in the past were strictly for the STB users. There was no m3u lists for use with other 3rd party apps. The option for m3u was added as a service to help those toying with it, when all the other methods (iks, etc..) started becoming less and less favorable. If you want the proper experience, closer to a cable service, then an STB, like the buzz 3000, is the real way to go.

At the price we pay, you can't expect anything more than the basic support either (typically provided by the reseller). It is a "hobby" and we enjoy it while it's there. But some expect the same service as the big cable/sat/etc.. providers who's taxes on the bill are greater than the amount we pay for the complete monthly service :)

Have you looked at the xml file generated by the EPG link ?

http://ok2.se:8000/xmltv.php?username=xxx&password=xxx&type=m3u_plus&output=ts
Take the link, add your username/password, and plug it into your web browser and take a look at the shear amount of info.
The playlist URL is 2 lines per available channels and VOD entry. Each entry contains multiple fields: tvg-ID, tvg-name, tvg-logo, group-title, etc... Each of these entries is needed to be able to match the entries in the EPG xml which is generated. Then it puts a list together to match it all and create the EPG with the events, logos, names, etc.. as we see. It is not a complex task, but it does take time to process, and it just gets longer and longer as more VOD entries are added.

What I would like to see, is a server side mod, which would allow us to just get playlists while filtering only for liveTV, and keep VOD separate (since most players, including perfect player, allow you to treat the separately) That way for each VOD entry in the playlist, the program doesn't waste time trying to do a lookup for any possible EPG entries. IT would be a simple php script which would be slightly different for each option (livetv, vod, or both livetv+vod). Can probably mod the existing script and just add a parameter option (which may already exist - and we don't know about it).

Anyhow, I like the service, and for me it is a bonus above and beyond my OTA channels :)
I'll enjoy it while it's there.

cheers

[rejovic]

Thank you again for your help emporium by the way the latest perfect player update makes things much better. I still really wish that I knew this from the beginning. I would really avoid any APKs provided by OK2 and stick to perfect player for a good experience. Just my view.


This is not a forum for ok2. Yes many of us use the service, but there is no "official" support for any of these IPTV services. This is a forum for users to help help users. Yes some people have additional connections to people behind some of the scenes, but there is no obligation for them to do anything.

The reality is that most IPTV services in the past were strictly for the STB users. There was no m3u lists for use with other 3rd party apps. The option for m3u was added as a service to help those toying with it, when all the other methods (iks, etc..) started becoming less and less favorable. If you want the proper experience, closer to a cable service, then an STB, like the buzz 3000, is the real way to go.

At the price we pay, you can't expect anything more than the basic support either (typically provided by the reseller). It is a "hobby" and we enjoy it while it's there. But some expect the same service as the big cable/sat/etc.. providers who's taxes on the bill are greater than the amount we pay for the complete monthly service :)

Have you looked at the xml file generated by the EPG link ?

http://ok2.se:8000/xmltv.php?username=xxx&password=xxx&type=m3u_plus&output=ts
Take the link, add your username/password, and plug it into your web browser and take a look at the shear amount of info.
The playlist URL is 2 lines per available channels and VOD entry. Each entry contains multiple fields: tvg-ID, tvg-name, tvg-logo, group-title, etc... Each of these entries is needed to be able to match the entries in the EPG xml which is generated. Then it puts a list together to match it all and create the EPG with the events, logos, names, etc.. as we see. It is not a complex task, but it does take time to process, and it just gets longer and longer as more VOD entries are added.

What I would like to see, is a server side mod, which would allow us to just get playlists while filtering only for liveTV, and keep VOD separate (since most players, including perfect player, allow you to treat the separately) That way for each VOD entry in the playlist, the program doesn't waste time trying to do a lookup for any possible EPG entries. IT would be a simple php script which would be slightly different for each option (livetv, vod, or both livetv+vod). Can probably mod the existing script and just add a parameter option (which may already exist - and we don't know about it).

Anyhow, I like the service, and for me it is a bonus above and beyond my OTA channels :)
I'll enjoy it while it's there.

cheers

[dishuser]

should just buy a buzz or a global and simplify things...lol