Blank line showing for random channel on guide grid

Channels Fire TV
#23

I have duplicated the failure on my Fire TV Stick 4K running Fire OS 6.2.9.8. Today I retested my Sony Google TV and the problem duplicated, not sure why I was unable to duplicate it previously, probably operator error. I have also duplicated the failure on my Shield. So it has duplicated on every Android/FireTV device that I own. Today, it has duplicated every time, never seen it not fail. Fails on the released Channels DVR app and the current beta.

I do use the Windows server. Not sure if that could have some cause. I have tried lots of different settings on the apps, can't think of anything that would be specific to my setup.

One bit of good news, the new beta version is able to tune ATSC 3.0 channels in 5 sec or less on all of my devices. Also the sound on my channel 104.1(Fox station) has also been corrected on all my devices. It is a shame that DRM is a major problem.

#24

I've just tried this again on my Chromecast Google TV and I can't replicate it either running Beta 10.3.2031.

#25

Oh well, I have an easy workaround for me. I just run my first channel in the guide for a few seconds, problem stays out of the way for me. Maybe someday it will be clearer what is causing the problem. Of course if you ever want me to do any special tests, I would gladly do so.

#26

Just reviewed all the posts on this thread. Since this problem remains unresolved after several months, I've concluded that Channels developers have dismissed this problem since they apparently have been unable to recreate.

Very discouraging that this problem is permanent and will remain unresolved indefinitely. Only hope is that it is inadvertently "fixed" in a future version in the not-too-distant future.

Meantime, we will trudge on with the Channels product since we're otherwise very happy and haven't yet found a superior product to replace Channels.

Also hope other users won't hesitate to report this problem so it can be elevated to a higher priority by Channels support staff.

#27

Read recently where Amazon is switching to a different in-house OS for the Fire line of products, I'd be surprised if Channels even bothers to support the new platform and the old android based system you're running will likely not get any priority as far as updates and bugs.

I suspect my Android TV on an Nvidia Shield is next on the chopping block, seems to have become obsolete slowly but surely.

1 Like
#28

If that happens that is when I dump Channels DVR. A year or so from now homegrown DVRs might be a thing of the past. I will subscribe for one more year see what happens.

#29

I'm not sure if "dismissed" is the correct term, but it's true that we are at a loss as to what is causing the problem, have found nothing in our diagnostic logs that point to what the problem is, and have been unable to recreate it in our development environments that could help us identify the cause.

We can't even tell if the issue is a bug in our code or if it's an issue in the OS that we have to work around.

#30

This continues to be an ongoing problem for us.

When viewing the grid we see "blank lines/segments" at least 50% of the time. Actually, it's probably more like 80-90%.

Also, when scrolling, the grid will eventually freeze with the only option to press the back or home button.

All devices on our LAN are connected via wired Ethernet (except of course for phones) so speed and bandwidth are not a problem.

Running client v4.6.5 and server v2023.12.28.0146.

signal-2024-01-05-161619
signal-2024-01-05-1616191600×902 119 KB

signal-2024-01-06-083523
signal-2024-01-06-0835231600×792 108 KB

#31

Without seeing any details, may I ask what your network topology looks like, and what firewall/routing rules there are both on your server and your router?

From what I can gather, you are using Windows 10 as your server OS, and a current FireOS device as your client. Have you tried other devices, and do they also exhibit this behavior? Does this only occur with a single physical client/device, but others do not have this issue?

I am trying to be helpful, but in the dozen or so posts you've made, all I know is that often your guide doesn't show, you have a Win10 machine as a server, and a current Amazon device as a client. Can you provide some more granular details that might help narrow this down?

#32

I am still able to reproduce your original failure 100% of the time on every device I have (Firestick Max, Shield, Chromecast Google TV, Sony Google TV, Samsung Android phone). Only one channel of the guide is blank after looking ahead a few hours and only after that channel was played then the app backed out and resumed. If the app does a new launch, the problem never shows up until it has been resumed.

I also can always duplicate this failure. If I hold down the right movement key, the guide will eventually freeze up. No selected entry shows on the screen and I press the back key to reset the guide. Pressing the key at slow enough intervals may keep it from freezing up.

I have a Windows 11 Pro server wired to my router, and the Shield is wired to the router. My other clients only use wifi. They all have these same problems.

The developers have not been able to duplicate the failures. I haven't found a setting or condition where it doesn't fail. Not sure how to troubleshoot any further. I don't use the guide much because it is a pain to move several days ahead.

#33

Thanks for your posts Mike!

My Channels server is running on a Windows 10 Pro PC (Intel Core i5-1135G7 @ 2.40GHz; 32GB RAM) with a dedicated 512GB SSD for the server data (seldom exceeds 50% full) plus 1TB SSD for Windows and all other system data.

My Channels client runs on a Amazon Fire TV Omni Series 4K UHD smart TV (not a Fire Stick!) with 2GB DDR3 RAM and 16GB storage. See full device specifications here. Seems to have just about all features you could want.

Both server PC and client Fire TV are connected via Ethernet.

Also, just noticed this problem was reported as early as July, 2019 here.

#34

Re network topology, following is abt all I know:
Typical SOHO network
Star Bus Topology
Motorola MB8611 DOCSIS 3.1 Cable Modem (2500 Mbps Max Internet Speed)
TP-Link AC1900 MU-MIMO WiFi Router (Archer A9)
Comcast Xfinity ISP cable 200Mbps
Belden 1700A Bonded Pair Cat 5e Ethernet Cables (longest 24')

4 Ethernet ports - (1) PC; (2) PC; (3) Tablo; (4) Fire TV
3 wireless connections (phones)

SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection) firewall enabled on router

Windows Defender Firewall on server PC.

No firewall (that I know of) on the Fire TV client.

Server and client configuration posted previously in this thread. Also posted internet speed.

#35

Perhaps this is the root of your issue. You are using an unsupported tuner. How have you assigned guide data to this tuner? Are you using Channels' native Gracenote data?

#36

Tablo tuners are supported as of server v2022.10.20.2311 (Oct '22).

NEW: Support for streaming from Tablo tuners

And yes, of course, my Channels is using Channels' native Gracenote data.

#37

No, they are not:

Previous models can work in a limited unsupported manner, but they are not in fact supported.

I have not personally used these devices, so I do not know how they present within Channels. But your statement of:

does not necessarily mean that is the case. Can you provide a screenshot for how the data is assigned? Also, can you provide screenshots of all portions of the settings related to your Tablo tuner and its guide, please?

The more actual details provided, the better support you might receive. You started this thread in August, and this is the first time there has been any indication that you are having issues with an unsupported Tablo tuner.

#38

I purchased and began use of the Tablo over 3 years ago - so much, much earlier than my initial use of Channels in Sept '23. Thus, my desire to use Tablo TV tuners with Channels and avoid the purchase cost of a HDHomeRun device.

Sorry, but I accepted this statement for what it says literally: "The latest DVR prerelease now includes native support for Tablo tuner hardware. Once your Tablo is setup, simply Scan Network in Channels DVR and your Tablo will show up to configure and use." AFAIK, the Tablo TV tuners have worked fine for me. We can view the same live TV channels both on the Tablo app and the Channels app. Thus, I had no reason to think that Tablo was the cause of the guide "blank lines/segments" problem.

Re Gracenote, we canceled our Tablo subscription on 08/16/23. Thus, now only a 1-day free guide is available on the Tablo app since that date. Therefore, it's impossible for Channels to be accessing 2-week guide data from Tablo.

#39

This is under a beta thread and Tablo tuners have never been officially technically supported. They do not have open APIs that we can rely on for the future, so because of that, we can not reliably support them or suggest them for purchase.

We put in effort to make them work for existing owners, because we like to make things work, but we've never technically supported them as an official source in Channels, as they've never been listed on our website as an option.

I've edited the original post you linked to to make this more clear for future visitors.

Add second Tablo 4 Tuner by IP address
#40

Thanks for the clarification. I understand. I plan to eventually purchase a HDHomeRun device. Can you recommend the best one?

#41

They all work the same according to Channels, it'd be up to your own needs to decide between all of them in terms of tuner count and spending extra on ATSC 3.0.

#42

Thanks again. Much appreciate your excellent responsive support!

I'll try the 'Flex Duo 2 x ATSC Tuners' first. In our household there's only one TV with mostly just one viewer so 2 tuners should suffice.