CalDigit TS4 dock issue with camera and streaming

[N9JIG]

I have a TS4 dock connected directly to my 2021 MacBook Pro 14 inch with the M1Max chip, 64 GB RAM and 4TB internal SSD. I have 1 GB internet with fiber to the house, I consistently get SpeedTest results in the 950 range both directions. Everything works well with one exception.

When I run a streaming session on our weekly YouTube live show thru Streamyards using my Logitech Brio 4K webcam, connected to either a USB-A or USB-C port on the TS4 I get frequent camera "flashes" where my outgoing video from the camera either spikes, stutters or some sort of artifact pops up momentarily. These tend to occur a couple times a minute but at random intervals.

I tried a different camera of the same model (I have 2) and the same thing happens. I tried different ports on the TS4 and the same thing happens. I tried it on the CalDigit TB3 dock and it did NOT occur, nor did it occur on my OWC Thunderbolt dock. I use each of the 3 TB4 ports on my MacBook and it did the same on each.

I then plugged the camera directly into another TB port on my MacBook and the issue never occurred again. Plug it back into any port on the TS4 and it reoccurs.

Other items connected to the TS4 dock are 2 ASUS 32IN HD monitors, one to the Display Port and the other to the adjacent TB4 port. There is also my USB studio mic, and external HDD for backups, speakers thru the audio port on the rear, Ethernet to the LAN, the computer and the power adapter.

I suspect that there is an issue between the camera and other items on the same bus but it doesn't seem to matter what port I plug the camera into.

While I can run it this way I would prefer to have it work properly plugged into the dock. Any idea what might be causing these outgoing video spikes?

Other than the above mentioned video stutters I have not had any problems. It charges my MBP just fine and is a welcome addition to my desk!

 

[Tovv]

Did you get this issue resolved?

 

[N9JIG]

No. It seems to work fine with the camera connected directly to the MBP so I suspect it is some sort of throughput or parsing issue with the dock.

I also found a different issue that may or may not be relevant. I was using my MBP for some radio control projects using Parallels and Windows 11. Everything worked fine until I connected the 4th (of 8) radios to a USB hub that was plugged into one of the USB-A ports on the TS4. The 4th radio would not be recognized. I tried a different hub and got the same results. I tried a different USB-A port and no go. I looked at the CalDigit Support site and they acknowledge the issue and advised to use a USB-C or TB port instead, once I did it all worked fine.

At this point I have decided not to really pursue it as I have an acceptable workaround and it is not really critical to me right now.

 

[wbarobinson]

I have the exact same problem.

 

[reinisbaab]

I have the same problem as well. Caldigit TS4, Logitech Streamcam and M3 14" MacBook Pro (it was the same with M1 14" MacBook Pro). When I plug the camera directly in my mac, it works flawlessly. But when I plug it into TS4 it flickers and flashes every few seconds. CalDigit support is saying that this is Apple's fault and there is nothing they can do to fix TS4.

 

[casperghst42]

Wayne Fox figured out that maybe the Caldigit TB4 cable isn't too great:

 

[uasdtf24590345t]

I've got the same issue with video, and now with audio from my external USB mic. It seems to be getting worse.

 

[bodko9]

While I can run it this way I would prefer to have it work properly plugged into the dock. Any idea what might be causing these outgoing video spikes?

Hello N9JIG!
I know it's outdated problem but I had similar issue which I was figuring out for more than six months after switching from Windows to MacOS laptop. So I will keep it here for anyone in need.

The reason why it happens in my case is because macOS's AVFoundation selects raw YUY2/NV12 codecs for video streaming that are sensitive to hub timing jitter - that's why any "middle man" between MacBook and Brio creates flickers and frame tearing in stream from webcam. The irony is that since Brio and MacOS are trying to deliver best quality they negotiate format which creates issues.

The simplest fix for me was to replace usb 3.0 cable from brio to hub to usb 2.0 - in that case camera cannot send uncompressed video and it backs to compressed 1080p30fps MJPEG. MJPEG is self-contained frames - immune to hub timing jitter regardless of connection path, so it will just keep last frame longer until next one arrives.
Other option is to use OBS and create virtual camera which will pass 4k MJPEG stream.
Last one is change the camera to other one like Insta360 Link 2. (Insta360 Link 2 supports H.264 and MJPEG by default. YUV (YUY2) is only available after explicitly enabling it through the Link Controller app or selecting Low Resolution mode)

Cable is most of the times is not the issue, its the latency overhead created by hardware topology (either because of USB hub, KVM switch, both or anything else) Even Logi software detects the issue when Brio is passed through hub connection and turns off 1080p60fps mode with warning: “For better video quality and higher frame rates, connect the webcam to a USB 3.0 (or newer) port using either the original or a USB-IF certified cable. Using a USB hub or adapter can impact quality; try connecting directly to the computer to troubleshoot issues.”
In that scope: why it did not happen on CalDigit TB3 or OWC Thunderbolt docks? It is either because Brio does fallback to compressed codec or the latency in that case was not crucial enough for creating issues (but there is no guarantee that those hubs will always deliver frames in time) - even if you use TB4 or even TB5 dock might not resolve the issue because it happens due to USB video isochronous transfer mode. (thus bandwidth guaranteed in 125μs microframe intervals) Direct connection to a Thunderbolt controller delivers frames with near-zero timing variance. But any hub in the path must:

1. Receive frames from the camera
2. Arbitrate with all other devices on the hub
3. Schedule and retransmit upstream

That arbitration introduces microframe-level jitter, even on high quality docks or hubs.