Interlaced content seems to crash my Fire stick 4K. As a workaround could we make the server convert i to p. It would need to monitor the stream frequently though as my live tv can go: Programme 1 = P commercials could switch P to I to P? Programme 2 = I and so on.
Whilst the problem is more prominant with HD channels it also happens with SD channels too. Therefore you cant blanket limit your client to say 1080p as the issue also happens with SD . If you limit to 480p then you dont get any benefit of HD. This limit feature seems to produce pretty poor playback anyway. With the bottom bar frequently coming up like it hasnt given itself enough time to buffer. Jittery/choppy playback like its not deinterlacing/converting properly.
The conversion would also need to happen for dvr recorded content too. At the moment I have to use MCE buddy to convert my channel dvr files so they play back ok.
Sounds like you're in the UK? If so, this could be the issue relating to the problem with hardware decoding with H.264 interlaced content. If so, it's a known issue and in Amazon's hand. The solution is to ensure that your device is set to Software for the player decoder.
Yes uk channels. software decoder makes absolutely no difference and not a solution. Its not just limited to h.264 it happens with mpeg also. It may be known issue but one which dates back a long way and still nothing has been done about it - I dont really have faith that Amazon will do anything about it. I also personally took the problem up with Amazon and went around in a huge circle. I then upgraded to a nvidia shield that has on the face of it exactly the same issue. Fire tv and android tv have 2 different categories hence why i posted it in each one. I just want to watch seamless tv - sorry for trying to get some attention on the subject. If it doesnt get fixed channels will loose me as a customer pretty soon.
It seems extreme to ditch an excellent software program for hardware/OS issues, when those issues don't exist on other platforms.
IIRC, the interlacing issue is strictly an Android issue, and does not affect tvOS/iOS/iPadOS. If this isn't a problem on Apple platforms, and Channels uses the same underlying video player across platforms (mpv), then the issue can't be put at Channels' feet. Complain to Google/Amazon, not Fancy Bits/Channels.
How can it be extreme to not pay for something that isnt working for me? The issue doesnt occur on my android pad and ive heard that the fire tv cube doesnt have the problem either, so it appears as though it isnt as simple as you make out.
look Channels offer transcoding anyway that just needs tweeking to get a workaround and almost a permanant fix for this issue.
This sounds like the definition of a platform issue, and not a software/Channels issue. If they need a workaround to make it work, then odds are only 50/50. While the developers might figure out a workaround for you, the issue isn't inherently theirs. If this isn't a problem on other platforms, but the player is the same, then the problem is the platform.
Maybe wait to see what the devs have to say?
That being said: My Entirely Unofficial Take: Google doesn't really seem to be taking Android TV (or Google TV, or whatever they're going to call it) very seriously. That is one of the reasons I'm walking away from Android/Google TV for a solution. (Their battle with Amazon, execrable security record, and treatment of Android users' personal information being the others.) Amazon Fire TV is hacked Android. So Google's half-baked OS with whatever hacks Amazon's devs throw atop it.
So, while I understand and appreciate the OP's annoyance, OTOH it's a bit like complaining a Yugo behaves like a Yugo instead of a Jaguar 
On the gripping hand: When Xiaomi recently screwed the pooch again, both SD's and Channels' devs quickly threw a work-around into their Android apps, so maybe they'll be able to do something here.
It's really unfortunate Roku isn't easier to work with than it's reportedly been. While I didn't care for the platform, at least it would provide an economical alternative to the relatively expensive Apple TV option that maybe wouldn't be the hot mess that is Android/Google TV and descendants.
I seem to have dug up a load of politics here which was never my intention. Whilst I understand that channels won't want to spend a load of resources on fixing something that isnt their fault, they still have a vested interest with this issue because they advertise their product on these platforms. If they didnt maybe i would have an IOS device instead. Its easy for the software to blame the platform and the platform and or hardware to blame the software. Meanwhile the paying customer is stuck in the middle and just wants to simply watch tv - something they have taken for granted since they were a kid. Offering this service has got to be at the heart of channels core values, so maybe they will help or maybe they wont. If its the latter its understandable, but they wont have me as a customer.
Please do not cross post. It makes it hard to have a discussion when the same conversation is happening in multiple places.
There are several known crashing issues with interlaced h264 content on the FireTV stick. These have been confirmed by Amazon, and they are supposed to be releasing a firmware update with fixes by the end of Q2.
Which model shield are you using? There is a crash fix available for the new tube (non-pro) in beta that you can get via getchannels.com/beta
Hi many thanks for your reply. appologies for the cross post.
OK so the fire stick should be fixed by the end of June 2020?
Yes its the tube model. How new is the latest Beta version, as i have upgraded to a Beta version which didn't fix the issue?
Can you click Submit Diagnostics on the shield? What version number is shown on the about tab?
Correct. See response from Amazon developer here: https://github.com/amzn/exoplayer-amazon-port/issues/94#issuecomment-608580342
I have done this a few times before now, I will also continue to do so. It can take up to an hour to arise. (It depends on the luck of the draw you can get 2 1080p programmes in a row. Sometimes the commercials switch though)
Version is 2.1.23
Huh, I'm not seeing any diagnostics that have come through under your username..
The beta version should say 2.1.24
Inside the app you can go to Settings > Player > Install Beta if the play store route is not working
ok i cant find it in the play store. i keep doing it the later way but it doesnt give any clear feedback that it has installed. in fact it looks more like it crashes.
ok got clear feedback that it installed. went to about and version was obscured. restarted device. version now displays as 2.1.23 whick is wrong will try again .......
nope again clear feedback it installed version still shows.23
submitted diagnostics as 'other'