Fire TV Cube - Stuttering/Dropping Frames

Channels Fire TV Troubleshooting
#1

Good Afternoon,

I just received my Fire TV Cube today, and now that I have multiple Fire TV devices, I decided it was time to give the Channels App a try. I must say, so far I am very impressed by the design and interface, but I have noticed consistent stuttering during live tv playback.

I know that for the regular HDHR app I needed to disable the AC3. Being new to the Channels app, I was not sure if I needed to do the same thing (and if so, how do I go about that).

I know the device literally came out today, so I am not expecting an immediate solution. But I figured I should at least pass this along and look for guidance.

Thanks,
Cody

#2

What is your location?

Try enabling Surround Sound on the Player Settings tab.

I had a cube delivered today but unfortunately I won’t be back home for two weeks to try it out.

#3

Thank you for the prompt response.

I am located in Maryland. I tried enabling Surround Sound but it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. Going back to HDHR app, I am seeing some dropped frames as well (but not as bad) so it is hard to determine root cause (hardware, software, etc.). It almost seems like there is not enough buffer present.

A few other things I have noticed:

  1. A lot of slow down when Alexa is activated
  2. When attempting to scroll up in the guide it stops after about 30 channels (you are then required to tip down before scrolling up again)
  3. When switching between Channels and HDHR app, I did an experience a “NO HDHOMERUN PRESENT” message within the Channels app.

That said, I did try the App on the FTV 3 (pendant) and everything worked perfectly.

Cody

#4

I just upgraded from the pendant to the cube and I am not seeing this issue. The only issue so far is that one time I got a playback failed message when attempting to play a recording. Trying again and all subsequent times worked.

Are you using the crappy USB Ethernet port? I tried that with the pendant and it failed miserably. I didn’t even bother trying it it’s the cube. (Using 802.11ac.)

Note: I don’t spend much time with Channels on FireTV as AppleTV is my go to device for Channels. As such, I won’t be doing an extensive test.

Edit: Tried with and without surround sound and tuner sharing.

#5

I am definitely using the Ethernet port. But I am with the pendant as well and haven’t experienced the issue there. Did you happen to test #2 from above?

I am starting to be a little more concerned about the device. As mentioned in my (edited) comment above, the app struggles when I ask Alexa to change the volume. A wanted to compare that to other apps (Netflix, Prime video, etc.) and the app completely stops when changing the volume. It also muted the volume several times when I asked for a volume change. I worry that is going to drive me insane if whatever I am doing essentially freezes when Alexa activates.

Cody

#6

Worth checking if there’s a software update as sometimes the devices ship with older OS

#7

The software was updated during initial setup. I will double check to make sure though. I am just unsure if the cube is powerful enough to handle the duties of both the fire TV and the echo.

I will try rebooting the hdhomerun tomorrow as well.

Thanks

#8

Did you happen to test #2 from above?

I just tried it. Setting guide to all, I have 120 channels. I held down the down arrow when on the first channel and traversed through all 120 quickly and without interruption.

Will you try wireless?

#9

Oops. You said UP the guide. I can duplicate your problem going up.

#10

After the stuttering issue, go to the bottom of the Player Settings tab and hit Submit Diagnostics > Video Player

#11

I submitted in order:

  1. Instance of light stuttering while watching live tv
  2. Instance of channeling up being restricted to about 30 channels
  3. Heavy stuttering once Alexa has been activated

I have not tried wireless yet. I plan to do that after work today.

Another quick question in general about the apps functionality. Being that it is connected through HDMI-CEC, should the app be closing when the TV is turned off? When turning on the TV this morning, I was greeted to the app being frozen.

THanks,
Cody

#12

Thanks. I see the performance issue and will work on a fix.

The scrolling up issue… what is focused on screen when the up button stops working?

Was the video player on when you turned off the TV? What screen was it frozen on when turning back on?

#13

Your support is beyond impressive, I just want to state that first.

  1. When the scrolling up issue occurs, essentially the focus disappears. Meaning, no show is highlighted. When you select down, I believe the 3rd program/channel from the top is selected.

  2. The video player was on. To be literal, I was watching The Office on Comedy Central when the TV was turned off. One of the big selling points to the Fire TV Cube was the act of turning the TV on and Off through Alexa, adjusting volume, and hopefully app navigation (and maybe eventually TV program navigation). So when shutting down the TV, I was still in the app and simply requested “Alexa, turn off the TV”. Since the HDHR has a limited amount of tuners available, my hope is that the app recognizes the TV is off, and either returns back to the home screen (which would be ideal) or finds another way to release the tuner without eventually locking up the screen.

Thanks again for your help

#14

Thanks. The focus issue will have to wait a couple weeks until I can test with the device and see exactly what’s going on.

The performance issue is an easy fix. We already have some special case code for the FTV3 but it wasn’t kicking in for the new cube. Will release an update early next week.

We use an Android TV api to detect when the tv goes off and release the tuner, but iirc that doesn’t trigger on the FireTV. There’s a different technique we can use which I will add sometime this coming week.

#15

Great, thank you.

Obviously the Focus Issue is pretty minor, so the is not an issue. The fact you are willing to address the other issues so quickly is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Cody

#16

Thanks for planning to release a fix for the performance issues on Fire TV Cube next week. I can also account for the skipping/dropped frames, when it works just fine on my Fire TV Stick and Apple TV. It would be incredible if this could have Alexa support too.

#17

This happens on the FireTV pendant as well. The focus moves to the category selector on the top left of the guide, where you can select Favorites/HD/All. I will investigate a fix.

#18

The new fix in production looks to have helped immensely, but the occassional skip is still occuring. Should I send another log?

Thanks,
Cody

#19

Sure. I think you’re on the beta build, since we haven’t released to production yet. A release is planned for tomorrow.

#20

Channels 2.0 for Fire TV is now available via the Amazon App Store!

Read more on our blog: https://getchannels.com/2018/06/26/unification-dvr-for-android/