Pausing When Watching Live TV

@callenbrand Can you install the latest Apple TV beta (getchannels.com/beta/) and then submit diagnostics (bottom of Settings tab) the next time you notice pausing on OTA playback.

It is installed....I will send diags when I see it happen.

I spoke too soon. Mine is doing the same thing. Pausing and connection lost either with wifi on Apple TV or directly connected via Ethernet. It happens on multiple TVs. This is only with live TV. My connection speeds are not an issue at all.

I don't know if it was the same thing, tonight, @tmm1, but, whatever it was, the pausing and stuttering got so badly, so frequently I finally bailed out of Channels (losing about five minutes of buffered program) and switched to live on the TV itself.

It had become unwatchable on Channels :frowning:

Unfortunately, I did not think to snag the log before bailing out of Channels. (I should have just switched the TV's input to internal.)

I also saw issues with stuttering last night around 10pm ET. I was watching PTV, was that also the case for you?

No, we were watching Game of Games on a local NBC affiliate, OTA. It actually became worse-and-worse as the evening progressed. Finally, I'd had enough--such that I was willing to lose five minutes of program to make it stop.

I've been having these randomly as well, but nothing shows in the logs. I'm not getting the bottom bar to come up or anything, but usually watching an hour show it'll pause once or twice briefly.

Again, during Game of Games on NBC, frequent pausing. This time I snagged the log:

2.1.2 (194 store)
Amazon AFTS (Amazon full_sloane)
HDHomeRun QUATRO (1071C7C8) [channels=104, ip=172.16.8.14, auth=MMXWRJZRkYR2kODzG+aKel+9]
DVR http://172.16.1.2:8089 Status(os=linux, arch=x86_64, version=2018.11.22.0042, subscription=active, username=jseymour, features=Features(bonjour=true, dvr=true, guide=true))
en_US America/New_York
SDK 5.1.1 (22) arm64-v8a, armeabi-v7a, armeabi
NET wlan0 = [/fe80::fea6:67ff:fec7:6d6%wlan0%7, /172.16.9.16]
...
V/mpvstats(21258): AV: 2008.987 A-V: 0.000 Dropped: 1066 Cache: 12.096s + 0KB
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
V/mpvstats(21258): AV: 2010.088 A-V: 0.131 Dropped: 1101 Cache: 11.968s + 0KB
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
V/mpvstats(21258): AV: 2011.322 A-V: 0.000 Dropped: 1104 Cache: 11.904s + 0KB
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2.bitrateInKbps = 12704
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
W/mpv     (21258): [vo/gpu/surfacetexture] no frame!
I/art     (21258): Background sticky concurrent mark sweep GC freed 331898(14MB) AllocSpace objects, 0(0B) LOS objects, 25% free, 22MB/30MB, paused 16.853ms total 323.822ms
V/mpvstats(21258): AV: 2013.358 A-V: 0.000 Dropped: 1111 Cache: 11.936s + 0KB
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2.bitrateInKbps = 13900
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd16.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2.bitrateInKbps = 13922
V/ApiServer(21258): REQUEST: GET /log

Lots of that. Over and over again.

What's with all the frame drops?

ETA: The shorter pauses, micro-pauses that don't result in the time bar showing, look like:

2.1.2 (194 store)
Amazon AFTS (Amazon full_sloane)
HDHomeRun QUATRO (1071C7C8) [channels=104, ip=172.16.8.14, auth=MMXWRJZRkYR2kODzG+aKel+9]
DVR http://172.16.1.2:8089 Status(os=linux, arch=x86_64, version=2018.11.22.0042, subscription=active, username=jseymour, features=Features(bonjour=true, dvr=true, guide=true))
en_US America/New_York
SDK 5.1.1 (22) arm64-v8a, armeabi-v7a, armeabi
NET wlan0 = [/fe80::fea6:67ff:fec7:6d6%wlan0%7, /172.16.9.16]
...
V/mpvstats(21258): AV: 2930.207 A-V: 0.006 Dropped: 1653 Cache: 12.064s + 0KB
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
V/mpvstats(21258): AV: 2931.308 A-V: 0.000 Dropped: 1672 Cache: 11.776s + 0KB
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2.bitrateInKbps = 12969
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
V/mpvstats(21258): AV: 2934.445 A-V: 0.000 Dropped: 1681 Cache: 11.904s + 0KB
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2.bitrateInKbps = 13662
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
V/mpvstats(21258): AV: 2941.318 A-V: 0.000 Dropped: 1694 Cache: 12.352s + 0KB
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
I/MediaCodecLogger(21258): W.mcfd18.com.android.mediaplayer.HW.video.mpeg2 Dropping frame
V/ApiServer(21258): REQUEST: GET /log

More info.

We watched the State of the Union on a channel other than the one above. Same behaviour, but, the bit rate not being nearly as high, less frequent and less pronounced. Fired up my iPad on the same channel. Not a single hitch the entire time. So it's definitely in the FireTV or the FireTV Channels app.

Then, when I went to exit the channel, responsiveness to the remote was very, very slow. I'd noticed that, too, lately. So I rebooted the FTV. Remote responsiveness returned and the pauses stopped happening.

I wish I'd force-stopped the Channels app, instead. Then we might have a better idea if it's the app or an FTV O/S problem.

Wednesday morning update: FWIW, my wife, watching a couple different OTA channels this morning, didn't notice a single pause or hitch in the sound or video.

1 Like

I see this problem (quick pause in video with the bottom menu and spinning circle) from time to time. It's not predictable and consistent. I have two HD Primes and I see this with the Android App on the Nvidia Shield.

I suspect it happens more the longer you remain on a channel for a period of time.

It happened 3 or 4 times during the Super Bowl for me.

It started doing it again this evening. Not badly, but often enough for debugging purposes. Fired-up the same station on my iPad. No hiccups. Exited and force-stopped the app. No difference. Rebooted the FTV: Problem gone.

We saw this last night while watching the Grammys. We were about three hours into the show and about an hour behind live. There was no pixelation or obvious transmission errors.

HDHomerun Quattro
Apple TV 4K
Rooftop antenna

Don't know if this helps, but on my FireTV (V1) if the Channels app isn't locked up when I get there, it soon will be.

AFAICT, the app never stops running. I can make it live a little longer by force stopping it and clearing the cache (FireTV Settings) before starting it, but eventually bad things happen.

This is currently happening to me MULTIPLE times on golf channel on shield tv. Diagnostics being submitted.

Still going to the black screen. Not saying Signal Lost. Just going to black screen and then it will say that I am behind the timeline if I hit menu. Only does it with Channels. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Youtube, etc... all work perfectly without this issue.

Forgot to add that it happens the most frequently when we first start watching Channels. If we fight through the pausing and black screen for about the first 30 or 45 minutes then it will continue without pausing for several hours. I wish Channels would find a fix for this.

Happening again this evening. It happens with other programs and networks/channels, but Ellen's Game of Games on NBC is the worst. Finally just paused the thing for a while to buffer some up and that stops it. Problem there is if the video freeze bug bites, we're screwed but good.

ETA: Force-quitting the app, as I wrote, earlier, I'd test, doesn't fix it. Also, I found out the other day, rebooting the FTV doesn't always help. Maybe it never does. I'm no longer certain.

It's getting down to either record everything we want to watch or resort to direct from the antenna for anything live--which defeats a good deal of the point of the HDHR tuner and _Channels_in the first place :frowning:

This is becoming rather annoying.

We have neither of these problems with Netflix or Amazon Prime. Their apps work flawlessly--with the exception of Netflix sometimes throwing up a "server error" and falling over. We've had that problem with every steamer all along.

@tmm1, @maddox: Have you guys simply given up on this and the Video Freezes. Audio Keeps Going problems with the FTV devices?

This is still an issue on the Apple TV every time I watch something live. Going back and watching the recording there’s no pauses, or just jumping back 7 seconds there’s not jerking.

Interesting. I’m on Apple TV and have never experienced this issue. I am hardwired gigabit Ethernet to the switch though.