Running Telly: FFMpeg

# FFMpeg = true             # if this is uncommented, streams are buffered through ffmpeg; 
                            # ffmpeg must be installed and on your $PATH
                            # if you want to use this with Docker, be sure you use the correct docker image

What's FFMpeg?

FFMpeg.org

"A complete, cross-platform solution to record, convert and stream audio and video."

Why would I turn it on?

Normally, Telly just redirects Plex to the provider stream. If this stream is incompatible with Plex, or if network problems occur, Plex can give you that dreaded "Failure to tune" error.

With FFMpeg enabled, Telly will retrieve the stream and run it through FFMpeg on the way to Plex to convert it into a format known compatible with Plex. It can also smooth out network hiccups by providing a small buffer.

What do I have to do to turn FFMpeg on?

First, install FFMpeg and ensure it is in your system path.

On Ubuntu linux, just open a terminal and type:

sudo apt install ffmpeg

On a Mac with Homebrew installed:

brew install ffmpeg

For other systems:

Download FFMpeg

On Windows, install it in a directory with no spaces [i.e. C:\ffmpeg rather than C:\Program Files\FFMpeg].

If your path is correctly configured, you will be able to open a terminal or command window and type "ffmpeg" to run it, without changing into any particular directory first.

apt and brew will take care of that step for you. On windows, you'll need to add the install directory to your path.

If you are using docker, choose the tellytv/telly:dev-ffmpeg docker image. FFMpeg is installed in that container.

Choosing a Docker Image

Then, in your config, uncomment the FFMpeg line:

FFMpeg = true             # if this is uncommented, streams are buffered through ffmpeg; 
                            # ffmpeg must be installed and on your $PATH
                            # if you want to use this with Docker, be sure you use the correct docker image

That's all you need do. Restart telly [or its docker container] to get it to read the config file again and telly will send all streams through ffmpeg on the way to Plex.

You can verify that telly is using ffmpeg by watching its logs. There are examples of what the telly log looks like while playing a channel with and without ffmpeg in the Troubleshooting section of the wiki.