'Dumb" TVs - How to use HDMI viewers without Internet?

Channels DVR Server
#1

Channels running on my NAS, with sources from HDHR/antenna, TVE (Comcast), Local (videos stored on NAS) and various streaming services. Works great!

We just went through a 10-day snow event (5+ feet), with no power, no cable, no Internet. Using a tablet, phone, or computer, Channels worked fine to access OTA and local content. Our big-screen "dumb" TVs and some regular computer monitors have Firesticks and/or Chromecast plugged in to their HDMI ports, with the Channels app installed.

That has all been working great -- until the Internet went out.

Channels app on phones or tablets works fine, except of course for the small screen. Using a browser on a desktop to access the Channels server at its web port worked, with some glitches. E.g., when the web interface starts up, it hangs trying to talk to fonts.googleapis.com. Eventually it times out and apparently just continues without getting whatever fonts it needs. Also,

The "sticks" refused to do anything unless they could use the Internet. So our TVs and various large monitors were useless.

Is there any current "best practice" for how to connect a dumb HDMI-capable viewer (TV, monitor, whatever) using some kind of HDMI device (stick, whatever), that will work when the Internet is not available, to access local content (OTA, locally stored video files, recordings in Channels Library, etc.)? I looked through the archives but only found discussions from 3 or more years ago.

#2

The firesticks should work if you go to settings then manage apps... and launch the app from there not from the main menu.

#3

Woof, hopefully what @Edwin_Perez says works.

I know, from using them in hotels, they freak out without internet. I’ve even seen them restart the home screen over over enough to prevent you from even connecting to Wi-Fi. They’re awful. Just awful.

Your best bet might be just moving to Apple TV or Google TV. (These names make me so sad). These work without internet way better.

3 Likes
#5

The Firesticks won't even let me get to Settings. They bring up the 'Who's Watching?" screen, but when I select a User they just bring up an error screen saying there's something wrong and I should check my Internet connection. Won't do anything else. I'll try again, maybe there's some other way to get there....

A friend with Channels just tried his Google with Google TV stick without Internet access. It does let you run Channels and see Library content, but whenever he tries playing something he gets a black screen with big friendly letters saying "Connection Lost".

Don't have an Apple TV to try.

Seems like "cutting the cord" completely, i.e. including the Internet, is harder than you'd expect.

#6

Odd, I've had Internet go out and my Chrome Cast with Google TV was able to play recordings via Channels.

#7

Curious. Something must be different in the configurations. I was surprised to see the behavior in the Web GUI where it tried to contact fonts.googleapis.com. Perhaps in the Chrome situation, there's something else somewhere that wants something from the Internet, but works if whatever it wants happens to be still cached locally. Maybe I'll get a Chrome stick to try. Of course at any point some software update may change what works and what doesn't. Or maybe a "stick" cobbled together using a Raspberry Pi and software to use DLNA, VLC, etc. to play local content on the LAN out to the HDMI port.

Does anyone know if there is a list anywhere of Channels functions (on server and apps/clients) that indicates what does, and does not, require Internet access?

#8

This is an oversight. We will look into a fix.

In general Channels should continue working for two weeks without internet, because it has two weeks of guide data downloaded already.

Ofc we can't control what happens at the OS level, if FireTV locks you out completely and doesn't even let you launch the app. If you get into Settings you can definitely launch the app from there.

#9

I have no Problem getting into Settings with Internet off ... I have FireTV 4k max and FireTV cube.

Long Press home or Settings button on remote ?

#10

Thanks @tmm1. My 10-day unplanned experiment indicates that the Channels server does continue to work with a few glitches like the fonts behavior. Nice.

One other behavior I noticed is that in the various screens (On Now, Library, etc.) many, but not all, of the icons were replaced by the "TV with Rainbow" graphic. So there were lots of recordings shown, e.g., of "TV Shows", but it wasn't possible to tell what they were except by opening each one up. I suspect those missing images are also gathered from the Internet and may not be still cached?

Also, the Guide information was spotty, even within that two week window. Some channels had guide data and the normal screenshot of the show, but many just had text with the channel name and time, e.g., "KCRA at 10 PM".

Because the guide data was spotty, Passes stopped working too. Even though a show was available OTA, it didn't get recorded if it wasn't shown in the guide.

That's why I asked the question about what aspects of Channels need Internet.

#11

Please submit diagnostics from your dvr and we will take a look at what can be improved.

The DVR prerelease recently added improved image caching for the missing image issue you mentioned.

#12

Cool, I'll try that! Still learning how to use Firesticks. I got a couple recently to use with Channels, and put my Rokus in a drawer. Nothing seems to come with any kind of manual anymore to reveal the secrets of Long Press, Double-tapping, Hold-this-while-pushing-that, etc.

1 Like
#13

Done -- Logs have been submitted as 9b709ec3-0363-4132-943e-2b5ea4b04058.

FYI, Internet service was restored at approximately 0910PST on March 9. It had been offline for about ten days.

Tnx!

1 Like
#14

Do you have a laptop with HDMI port? If so, plug the laptop HDMI into the TV and access Channels that way. If you have wireless mouse and keyboard you can pair with laptop you don't even have to get out of your chair to navigate the GUI. I've done that in hotel rooms while on the road.

#15

FWIW, my Samsung TV has native support for DLNA. Perhaps at least one of your TV does, too? For kicks I started up a DLNA server on the same computer as my Channels DVR and pointed it at the Channels storage area. This served up the media to my network just fine, and I could browse the media files from my TV. But it was clunky and inefficient and not all that useful, so I never used it beyond just tinkering with it. But I can see how this might be useful in a pinch such as yours.

#16

The origin story of Channels.

1 Like
#17

Thanks for all the ideas. If I can find a long HDMI cable, I can hook a computer to a TV. But I was really searching for some kind of small device (stick, cube, etc.) to plug in to the HDMI port on a TV, and access my LAN via wifi, and be able to run the Channels app (or equivalent). I tried my Plex setup and discovered it won't work either without Internet access. DLNA might work but without the app it's not very friendly to use.

Seems like the Firestick and/or Chromecast sticks may work, once I know the appropriate magic incantation to get them past their Internet hunger. I'll try that when the Internet goes out again (several atmospheric rivers coming our way so there's a good chance it will go out again).

1 Like
#18

FYI @tmm1, some additional experimental results with the Guide.

With the Internet back, Guide data was still spotty, so I triggered a manual download for all the OTA channels. After that, still spotty. Some stations have all the Guide data you'd expect, many just say "Channel @ time".

One curious behavior. Some stations come in OTA on 2 channels, one in SD and one in HD (ATSC3) - e.g., KOVR which is on channel 13.1 and 113.1 in this area. Both carry the same programming. The HD channel has full program data in the Guide. The SD channel only says "KOVR-DT @ 2PM" Similar behavior with other stations. E.g., COMET is on both channels 31.3 and 41.2 here. One of them has full guide data, the other has none.

I haven't rebooted the Channels system since the Internet came back. It's running on a NAS with UPS power so it kept running through the outages. So what I'm seeing now may be a result of the Internet being out for a while. I'll find out when I reboot the machine and see if the guide repopulates.

1 Like
#19

I wonder if a Miracast receiver might be a good option? Can’t say for sure cause I’ve never used one.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/microsoft-wireless-display-adapter/8VWDJ9BD9XLZ

#20

You can fix your missing guide data for 13.1 using the method described

#21