Playback troubleshooting

1Start with the session2Inspect evidence

Start with the symptom#

Do not assume every playback problem is transcoding. Identify whether the failure occurs while resolving a source, loading a manifest, fetching a segment, decoding a frame or transitioning to another episode.

Slow start#

1. Open Playback & Transcoding and identify the selected method.
2. For Direct Play, inspect storage latency and the first byte-range request.
3. For remux, check whether the requested segment is generated or waiting.
4. For transcode, inspect queue position, hardware backend and first-frame time.
5. Pause optional scans if CPU or disk is saturated.

A minute-long start is not acceptable merely because a transcode eventually succeeds. The diagnostic should distinguish queue time, packaging time and client decode time.

Buffering during Direct Play#

Compare delivered bitrate with sustainable network throughput. Verify that the proxy preserves byte ranges and does not stall large responses. A browser may report a demuxer data-source error when the connection disappears even though the codec is valid.

Audio plays but video is blank#

If the tab is hidden, browsers may suspend presented-frame callbacks. Finetic's first-frame watchdog measures visible active playback time and must not replace a healthy session solely because the document is hidden.

When the tab is visible, capture resolution, ready state, decoded/dropped frames and the last media request. A genuine decoder failure may require remux or transcode despite optimistic browser capability reporting.

Playback repeats or jumps backwards#

Stable HLS uses one absolute timeline. Repeated audio or a jump to an earlier phrase can indicate overlapping segment timestamps, incorrect keyframe boundaries or a stale source being reattached. Record the exact wall-clock time and media position.

Seeking fails#

Confirm the full runtime is advertised and the requested position is within the engine's seek range. Direct files require reliable byte ranges. Remux seeks require indexed random-access points and deterministic segment numbering.

Subtitles are missing or will not turn off#

Check whether the current delivery is a sidecar text track or burn-in. Sidecar cues can be inspected independently. Burn-in requires a new source without the subtitle filter when disabled.

Next episode does not start#

Verify that the current episode completed, a real next episode exists, and the queue crosses season boundaries correctly. The previous activity session must be finalised without reusing its source for the next episode.

Error categories#

Use Copy diagnostic code and include what you selected immediately before failure. See Diagnostics and support.