Failure to Launch

Channels DVR Server Troubleshooting
#1

I recently purchased a Channels DVR license and an HD homerun extend along with a brand new Apple TV 4K for my mother’s new apartment. As a preface I’ve been employed in various IT sales and service positions at HP and IBM for many years and I am experienced in networking and storage area network‘s for very large systems. After thoroughly reading up on the Channels offering and reviewing the forums at both silicon dust and Channel’s sites, I decided to make the purchase.
After many attempts I could not get setup to run solidly for more than a few minutes. The picture would begin to stutter and pixelate and then I would receive the blank screen with “lost connectivity” status on the Apple TV.
The installation went very smoothly. I installed the channels DVR package on a late gen Mac Mini with plenty of resources. I updated the software and it found the homerun extend without issue. I installed the channel software on the Apple TV which found the DVR software after a few tries. I thought I was good to go but could never get the picture to remain stable for more than 20 or 30 seconds, at which point it would disconnect and “lose connection “.
I will note that my mothers ISP, provides an Arris modem/router combo that is locked down, meaning I could not access the admin page. So I contacted them to see if they could tell me if I was getting channel conflicts on the Wi-Fi and to review logs with them to determine if the network was not adequate. After running several “Speedtest’s” the best I could get was between 40 and 50 mbps....not great...but certainly should be good enough to handle a single stream. The only other Wi-Fi devices in her environment are her iPhone and her Mac Mini. I then opened Netflix on the Apple TV and it streamed fine without any issues. I’d reopen “Channels” and have the same problems over and over again. So to rule out a wi-fi issue, I connected the ATV directly via e-net cable and again had the same connectivity issue.

Several times I restarted the DVR software...and as a final attempt rebooted the entire system in sequence starting with the Arris then Mac...Homerun extend..DVR...and finally the ATV. Everything would start normally & connect as it should...then I’d get about 20 seconds of poor quality picture then a disconnect.
Questions, comments, suggestions are all welcome.....thanks.

#2

Welcome!

Did you try the official HDHR app on the Mac or iPad to see if they can stream reliably?

The HDHR has a system log linked via my.hdhomerun.com which may show more details.

Make sure the HDHR firmware is up to date, and try setting the Channels app to Transcoder: Heavy on the Settings tab to reduce bandwidth usage even further.

#3

Hello Aman and thanks for the prompt response. I did indeed try the HDHR software on the mac and it ran fairly smoothly and did not lose connection. TV channels switched quickly and consistently. BTW the incoming signal is a digital QAM cable feed (about 75 channels) that worked fine directly into both TV tuners, so I felt it would work well w/the HD Homerun. I also made sure to update the firmware and the software (at least where I could) in all system components (incl. the ATV) before i tried to use the system. I did set the the Channels app transcode to "Heavy" immediately after my first failed attempt to run the system.
That is why I'm really perplexed about why I'm having these issues. I really researched all the components quite a bit before making the purchase. I think the Channels software is really the best package out there for this, and I'm fairly confident it has nothing to do with your code-set. For some reason, the ATV (in the living room) is not making a solid connection with the DVR on the Mac (running in the bedroom). Even when I had the ATV hardwired the connection lasted no longer that 10 or 15 seconds.
Lastly I did not check the HDHR sys log, as I wasn't aware of that function. I'm trying to do this so that my mother will have some semblance of her old cable system prior to her move. She had a built in cloud DVR and a nice guide. Where she is now does not even have a guide. In fact when I tried to setup the DVR I found there was no channel info for roughly 50% of the incoming channels! So I had to play around a bit w/the provider info to get the guide as fully populated as possible. Unfortunately she is fairly old and I'm not sure this solution is going to work for her, even if I can get the connection issues smoothed out.

#4

Try the VLC and InstaTV apps on the Apple TV to see if they can stream from the HDHR or not.

#5

Hello Aman
Thanks for your suggestions. I don’t mean this as criticism, so please don’t take it as so, but why would I try another (competing?) product with an inferior UI and feature set to Channels? These are precisely why I chose your superior app. Is your suggestion merely to check if I can get a stable feed from the HD homerun to the ATV? InstaTV doesn’t look like something I’d put as a solution for its intended audience.

#6

Yes precisely, this will narrow down where the problem is occurring. Both apps are free and are helpful as a comparison point so we can know if it's a Channels specific bug or something that's going on with that Apple TV and its network hookup.

#7

Ahhhh...ok then. I’ll give it a shot tommorrow and see how it goes. Thanks for the help.

1 Like
#8

Also while you're there, after the Channels app disconnects go to the bottom of the Settings tab and click Submit Diagnostics.

Then try turning Tuner Sharing on and see if that makes any difference