Can we put some logic to reconnect Apple TV app to an IP stream? Preferably not too aggressively and only if it was already connected.
The current logic to reestablish connection requires switching to a different channel first. Can we put a Retry button?
That sounds like a great idea.
The biggest reason why we don't do this is because it wouldn't provide a consistent/accurate timeline view of the buffered data.
If we just restarted the player (how it acts when you hit menu and go back to the channel) without warning, we could potentially lose a buffer that someone was still watching.
Because there's a lot of details around getting this right, and for most of the use cases of our customers this is not an issue, it has not been a high priority for us to tackle yet. It's still on our radar to make it better, but we aren't sure when.
I am using tuner sharing so the DVR server could do the reconnect transparently. The client wouldn't be affected.
While that's good for you, that is not the default. Also, not everyone uses tuner sharing.
IP streams (m3u) and TVE always use tuner sharing.
I realize I’m confused by what you mean by “IP stream”. There’s already a lot of retry logic in the HLS library we have created so it should already be taken care of.
After leaving an m3u stream running I often see 'Connection lost' message after a while.
Yes, and it plays fine in VLC.
By "plays fine in VLC" do you mean that you can play the same stream at the same time in VLC and Channels and Channels shows you the "Connection Lost" message and VLC doesn't?
If you submit diagnostic logs after you experience the "Connection Lost" it would be helpful to identify what is actually happening.
Haven't done much here so far, however I am watching a local government on their granicus feed and getting disconnected since I believe they are sometimes just closing the connection between sessions/segments (your tax dollars at work 
)
I am gonna bump this because I think it could be put toward something like the current Frndly issue. And yes, let me make it clear, I understand that Frndly is a 3rd party issue and Frndly is not officially supported by Channels. But this is a legitimate use case example where a little more robust reconnection would be nice for instances with a slight hiccup with a source. And this wouldn’t just be to help Frndly but any custom channels (Pluto, Stirr, Plex, etc.). Just pointing it out as something to think about. I understand there are buffer issues to contend with.
In the latest Testflight beta if you hit the "play" button after a Live TV stream has failed, it will reconnect:
Can we go 1 step better and have it restart without pressing the button? Makes the most logical sense tbh
Why not just attempt a reconnect ... I do not usually walk around with the remote ... usually play NEWS in Background.
There’s a reason we have not done that.