Sorry about making a new thread, but I seem to be limited to only three posts per topic.
Yes, I updated to the tvOS 11 Public Beta.
There is a known issue in tvOS 11 beta affecting h264 channels. This is due to a bug in tvOS with the videotoolbox hardware decoder. We recommend sticking to stable tvOS 10.
Is the behavior you’re seeing periodic stalling during playback, or does the playback just stop completely eventually (the latter is what others using tvOS 11 beta have reported).
It stops playing eventually. I’ve noticed that certain commercials will reliably trigger it at the same moment.
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We’re hoping the next tvOS beta fixes this, but if not that’s helpful for further debugging.
Apple is rewriting their VideoToolbox video decoding APIs to include HEVC support, so they’ve managed to introduce a bunch of bugs. Usually they’re pretty good about sorting these out before the final stable release.
@stalfos Are you using the public beta or the developer beta? There was a new developer beta 6 release today that may fix this issue.
I am in the Public Beta program. I would apply the dev beta but I don’t own a USB-C cable and that can only be applied via iTunes.
Okay, they should release build 15J5360b to public beta in a few days so just give it a try then. If it’s still broken, let me know and I’ll file a bug report with Apple.
Will do!
Since a number of you are on the tvOS 11 Beta. Anybody notice a real delay with the remote on the home page. It is like the remove looses connectivity for a few seconds. I am on the public beta and it seems to be worse with the current beta. Hoping the next one will be better (which I think will be PB 5 which is same as the DB 6).
I am on TvOS 11 beta 6 and still experiencing the pause /freeze at random. It requires a restart of the ATV to resolve. InstaTV does not have this pause/freeze error. So I am doubtful it is an ATV beta bug.
As noted above, the bug is in the VideoToolbox hardware h264 decoder. InstaTV does not use VideoToolbox. We do, because it’s more efficient (using less power and generating less heat and wear on the CPU).
Thanks for the info. Kudos, on the fast response to the community and active involvement. It is what separates Channels from most of the other app developers.
It seems the Public Beta came out at the same time as the dev beta today.
I’ve been watching a few hours of live TV and so far it has been well behaved. It doesn’t freeze on certain commercials anymore in the middle of shows as it was before.
Actually, spoke too soon. The issue is definitely still happening with today’s beta.
Hey, just an update. I updated to tvOS beta 7 and still experiencing the freeze pause.
Any word on a fix?
I agree. This is still happening on today’s tvOS build. The issue is very reliably triggered on the same exact frame of certain commercials.
This is a serious dealbreaker for me if this continues into a stable build of tvOS 11.
I have been using the free InstaTV. The UI is lacking and it is necessary to go into setting and adjust network speed by resolution.
I love the feel of channels and look and simplicity of the Channels App.
This issue is still happening with today’s beta.
Can’t Channels have some kind of temporary workaround for now? InstaTV has a garbage UI. 
I believe the VideoToolBox problem is occurring across platforms on IOS and MacOS. Therefore, it is an Apple issue to resolve.
It would be nice to have a fix but it would most likely not involve a compressed transfer which would be bulky and bog down slower networks or those with less signal strength.
It would be nice if it used H265.