Issues with two ATSC 3 channels

Channels DVR Server
#1

I've opened tickets with Channels and Silicon Dust on these two issues, and while they've not been open all that long (more than 1 day, but less than 2), I've heard nothing back (other than the initial autoreply), so I thought I'd come here and see if there was anything to learn from the community.

Issue 1: Recordings for WLOS (113.1) have no audio. They used to. I've tested the channel using the HDHomeRun software and it has audio now. If I try to watch the channel live via the Channels app, it shows me still images (I can skip forward and back and get new stills, but it won't play). I turned on the diagnostic info and no audio information shows at all. Nothing of note in the Channels log. I logged a ticket with Channels by e-mail for this.

Issue 2: Recordings for WSPA (107.1) sometimes fail to start. The Silicon Dust log shows

20250227-00:59:30 Tuner: tuner0 tuning 107.1 WSPA (atsc3:599MHz-5004)
20250227-00:59:40 HTTP: rejecting request from 192.168.1.249 - no video data
20250227-00:59:40 Tuner: tuner0 http stream ended (requested time reached)

Twenty seconds later it tried again, and it succeeded. Since this appears to be something going on with the Silicon Dust tuning, I logged a ticket with Silicon Dust for this one, rather than to bother Channels (yet). And, for the record, yes, recordings for this channel do have audio (when they record at all).

I'm using these two ATSC 3 channels because I cannot reliably get their ATSC 1 channels (WSPA is a sometimes thing, WLOS is a no show) and there's no DRM on these (yet). The other two ATSC 3 channels (NBC and FOX) do have DRM. The tower from which all four ATSC 3 channels come is only 8 miles away.

#2

See this thread Channel that just stopped working last night

1 Like
#3

Ah, thank you. I seem to have missed that. It means that I'm not alone.

#4

This is a firmware bug. Make sure your hdhr firmware is up to date. If it still happens, it could be that the signal is not coming in strong. SiliconDust support is the best authority here.

Most people report audio is working correctly with the latest version of Channels app. What version are you using?

#5

Hi @tmm1 , Thanks for your response.

I did open a ticket with Silicon Dust on the "no video data," and as yet have gotten no response. I am running firmware version 20231214, which does seem old, but I see nothing newer mentioned on their site, nor is it prompting me to upgrade it (as it normally would if there were a newer release. The "signal strength" is probably exactly the same as 113.1, they're both subchannels on the same actual frequency.

I'm not sure what you mean, exactly, by "the latest version of Channels app". If you mean a prerelease or beta, then no, I'm running what seems to be the latest stable release: 2025.02.19.1823 as the update tool says "Up to date! " I read through the change log thread (dvr-pre-release-notes) since the first report of the issue in another thread from 28 January, and I didn't see any change that seemed to address this particular issue, though I do see some saying that it started working for them a few days later, it's not working here for me, although I have not tried changing to Spanish, yet.

I'm not using ATSC 3.0 because I want to live on the cutting edge, I'm using it because it's available and the ATSC 1.0 feeds aren't and (for the moment) these two stations haven't gone DRM (unlike the other two on that same tower).

EDIT: If you meant the latest version of the Android/FireTV app, then... I don't know. Something to look at, for sure.

#6

Latest firmware: Re: Changelog - Page 7 - Silicondust

Android TV beta with fix: Android TV/Fire TV Beta Notes - #360 by fancybot

#7

Ah. Thank you for providing Silicon Dust support that they haven't and for pointing out that I was looking at the change log for the DVR when the issue is in the viewer software. I'll upgrade and see what's what.

#8

I see that 4.9.0 is the announced release with a 19 Feb date, and the Google Play store (for my Chrome streamer) seems to be at 4.9.0 (and works), but the Amazon FireTV store seems to be stuck at 4.8.0. I suppose I could try to side load it, but seems like the release version should be available via normal channels. Any way to get Amazon to pick up the pace?

I've upgraded the tuner to the beta firmware and no issues so far, but I've only had a few test recordings on there so far; it won't be a true test until there's a recording we actually want. :wink:

#9

Amazon is generally slower than Google with new version approvals, but it seems to be taking longer than usual. Anyway, I just use the beta version using the optional install on the released version. You do need the FireTV to be in developer mode and enable the option for Channels to install unknown apps.