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At a loss for H.264 success

By Mcoco @mcoco
    2025-01-31 18:40:14.106Zassigned to
    • @david

    Hello Tinypilot staff,

    I can't get H.264 to work. I have updated to 2.6.5, here is the janus status log:

    ● janus.service - Janus WebRTC gateway
     Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/janus.service; enabled; vendor preset: ena>
     Active: active (running) since Fri 2025-01-31 13:33:15 EST; 53s ago
       Docs: https://janus.conf.meetecho.com/docs/index.html
    Process: 1999 ExecStart=/usr/bin/janus --disable-colors --daemon --log-stdout (>
   Main PID: 2000 (janus)
      Tasks: 9 (limit: 3754)
        CPU: 370ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/janus.service
             └─2000 /usr/bin/janus --disable-colors --daemon --log-stdout

Jan 31 13:33:15 tinypilot janus[2000]: Loading transport plugin 'libjanus_websocket>
Jan 31 13:33:15 tinypilot janus[2000]: libwebsockets logging: 0
Jan 31 13:33:15 tinypilot janus[2000]: Websockets server started (port 48002)...    
Jan 31 13:33:15 tinypilot janus[2000]: JANUS WebSockets transport plugin initialize>
Jan 31 13:33:15 tinypilot janus[2000]: [WARN] Transport plugin 'libjanus_mqtt.so' h>
Jan 31 13:33:15 tinypilot janus[2000]: [WARN] Transport plugin 'libjanus_http.so' h>
Jan 31 13:33:15 tinypilot janus[2000]: [WARN] Transport plugin 'libjanus_pfunix.so'>
Jan 31 13:33:15 tinypilot janus[2000]: [WARN] Transport plugin 'libjanus_rabbitmq.s>
Jan 31 13:33:15 tinypilot janus[2000]: WebSockets thread started
Jan 31 13:33:15 tinypilot systemd[1]: Started Janus WebRTC gateway.

    Here is the debug log: https://logs.tinypilotkvm.com/g8odX5pM

    I am using Tailscale, currently in the same network. Please let me know what troubleshooting steps I can follow.

    Reply
    • 10 replies
    1. David @david2025-02-03 12:12:38.141Z

      Hi @mcoco, I'm sorry H.264 streaming isn't working here.

      Thanks for sharing the TinyPilot log and all those details. It looks like everything is running normally, so we'll have to investigate a little further.

      If your client machine and TinyPilot are both on the same local network (i.e., disconnected from a Tailscale network), does H.264 work (with or without a STUN server)?

      Could you tell me more about your client machine and the browser you're using to access the TinyPilot web interface? For instance, the make and model of computer, its operating system, and whether you're using Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc.

      Please let me know if you have any questions.

      Reply
      1. M
        In reply tomcoco⬆:
        Mcoco @mcoco
          2025-02-05 16:03:29.516Z

          Disabling NAT on the router stops all external internet connections, but tinypilot still accessible over WAN/LAN. With NAT disabled, H264 still doesnt work.

          Reply
          1. M
            In reply tomcoco⬆:
            Mcoco @mcoco
              2025-02-06 15:32:20.500Z

              ok i got JSON dump for webrtc. There is nothing regarding tinypilot there. Its only 3 lines with mostly empty dict entries.

              I tried enabling H264 with stun and checking the webrtc dump again, nothing different in the JSON file.

              Ive tried edge and brave, same result, no H264.

              Best,
              mcoco

              Reply
              1. David @david2025-02-07 12:11:21.860Z

                Thanks for all those details, @mcoco.

                I'm not sure what the issue is here. It's possible the reason your TinyPilot and browser cannot establish the correct connection for H.264 is network related, rather than there being any software issues.

                My only thought right now would be to perform a factory reset to put your TinyPilot into its default state to see if that helps in case there is a software or configuration issue, but I'm not that confident it would help. You're welcome to try a factory reset, however.

                I don't have any other suggestions right now, unfortunately. We're discussing this internally to try and figure out what the issue could be and how to resolve this. I'll get back to you as soon as I can, but that may be early next week.

                Please let me know if you have any questions in the meantime.

                Reply
                1. MMcoco @mcoco
                    2025-02-08 13:50:19.647Z

                    I dont have Pro anymore. Any chance I could get a 1 time exception to the current version flash? thanks!

                    Reply
                    1. David @david2025-02-10 12:08:42.106Z

                      Based on your TinyPilot logs from before it looks like its software is running as expected, so I'm not confident a factory reset would work. We can avoid a factory reset for now.

                      Could you try connecting to your TinyPilot's web interface using a different client machine (a phone or tablet will work)? It's possible there's an issue with the client machine you're using - like security software, blocked media, or missing video codecs.

                      Could you share some more details about your current target machine, like it's make, model, and operating system? That may help us understand if there's anything else that could explain this behavior.

                      Please let me know if you have any questions.

                      Reply
                      1. MMcoco @mcoco
                          2025-02-10 17:40:35.901Z

                          Tried two machines, didnt work on both tailscale or LAN connections, brave and chrome/safari.

                          MSI katana a15 Windows 11, hw acceleration, with all relevant codecs ( i think).
                          Iphone 13.

                          So i've tried 2 IPs on 2 machines on 2 browsers. Thats 8 combinations none of which succeed in H264. It used to work a year and a half ago, I think its a tinypilot update that did it?

                          Reply
                          1. David @david2025-02-12 11:55:55.897Z

                            Thanks for all those details, @mcoco.

                            I think its a tinypilot update that did it?

                            It seems unlikely because we haven't made many changes to our H.264 implementation. However, if you'd like to try an older version to see if it helps, I'm happy to try that with you. I'll reach out via email to help with this.

                            Please let me know if you have any questions in the meantime.

                            Reply
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                    with handling this problem
                  • M
                    Mcoco @mcoco
                      2025-02-05 15:38:30.116Z

                      Here is the log for local access (tailscale down on both ends, 192... addr). https://logs.tinypilotkvm.com/g1HSS0ww

                      I can access tinypilot stream, but only on MJPEG. H264 with or without STUN doesnt work.

                      I am using Chrome, I dont think I have changed anything in the router admin panel, is there something I should disable to keep troubleshooting?

                      Reply
                      1. David @david2025-02-06 12:11:01.950Zreplies tomcoco⬆:

                        Thanks for sharing that log and all those details, @mcoco.

                        If you enter chrome://webrtc-internals/ into your Chrome address bar, you should be able to use it to view any running WebRTC sessions. If you access that page, do you see TinyPilot (similar to this screenshot):

                        If you don't see TinyPilot, that suggests it isn't establishing any kind of WebRTC connection with your browser.

                        Could you try accessing the TinyPilot web interface without any browser extensions active to see if any extensions are preventing your browser from establishing the connection? It may also be worth trying other browsers to see if they have similar behavior here.

                        Please let me know if you have any questions.

                        Reply
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