Puzzling Instability

Channels DVR Server
#1

I've been using Channels successfully and happily for a good while... Things seem to be degraded and even intermittently broken recently and there's no obvious reason I can track down...

Recent problems:

  • 30s Skip during World Cup games isn't instantaneous consistently, there's a short hiccup
  • Now (recently) ipad and iphone apps have trouble with LAN connections to the server -- slow to connect and then SOMETIMES (and only sometimes) behave as if the content/library is empty.
  • DVR has stopped recording new content altogether in last 5 days.
  • Connecting to the web server directly on local lan is not working properly. The base page loads, but bundle.js request (in the debugger) seems to hang?
  • Even stranger, if I access via my.channelsdvr.net -- EVERYTHING LOADS normally? VERY STRANGE
  • I suspected disk issues, but running SMART drive health checks shows health PASSED on all drives, and 0 reallocated sectors.
  • Nothing obviously wrong in the logs

Genuinely scratching my head here... Any/all ideas appreciated! I submitted logs, is there a way I can attach them here, let me know...

#2

What is in your Channels DVR log?

#3

Good to look again, now more clear errors being thrown including:

2026/07/16 12:30:03.723291 [ERR] Failed to start stream on channel 9.3 via 10A9F8FC: Get "http://192.168.0.67:5004/auto/v9.3": dial tcp 192.168.0.67:5004: connect: connection refused

2026/07/16 19:57:01.478678 [ERR] Failed to get movie info for tmdb/412272: record not found: tmdb/412272: code: 34 | success: false | message: The resource you requested could not be found.
2026/07/16 19:57:01.656190 [ERR] Failed to get movie info for tmdb/924881: record not found: tmdb/924881: code: 34 | success: false | message: The resource you requested could not be found.

026/07/22 09:36:25.992856 [DVR] Waiting 2h53m34s until next job 1784748600-21 America's Test Kitchen From Cook's Illustrated
2026/07/22 09:40:01.133223 [ERR] Failed to get movie info for tmdb/1573: database is locked
2026/07/22 09:44:03.756553 [ERR] Failed to get movie info for tmdb/1573: GET: https://contentdb.fancybits.co/api/movies/tmdb/1573: 429 Too Many Requests
2026/07/22 09:47:55.159396 [ERR] Failed to get movie info for tmdb/8512: GET: https://contentdb.fancybits.co/api/movies/tmdb/8512: 429 Too Many Requests
2026/07/22 09:52:09.423071 [ERR] Failed to get movie info for tmdb/519182: GET: https://contentdb.fancybits.co/api/movies/tmdb/519182: 429 Too Many Requests
2026/07/22 09:56:50.692906 [ERR] Failed to get movie info for tmdb/93456: GET: https://contentdb.fancybits.co/api/movies/tmdb/93456: 429 Too Many Requests
2026/07/22 10:02:03.379889 [ERR] Failed to get movie info for tmdb/2666: GET: https://contentdb.fancybits.co/api/movies/tmdb/2666: 429 Too Many Requests
2026/07/22 10:03:24.555370 [ERR] Failed to get movie info for tmdb/1010161: database is locked
2026/07/22 10:04:34.722350 [ERR] Failed to get movie info for tmdb/146: database is locked

1 Like
#4

You have multiple issues in your log. The last one in the log has been addressed by the channels developers.
2026/07/22 09:44:03.756553 [ERR] Failed to get movie info for tmdb/1573: GET: https://contentdb.fancybits.co/api/movies/tmdb/1573: 429 Too Many Requests

As this was a server issue, you do not need to do anything to address this.

2026/07/16 12:30:03.723291 [ERR] Failed to start stream on channel 9.3 via 10A9F8FC: Get "http://192.168.0.67:5004/auto/v9.3": dial tcp 192.168.0.67:5004: connect: connection refused

This appears to be an issue on your HDHomeRun. Try playing something from the guide. If this fails, try restarting the HDHomeRun.

The guide issues are probably the same HDHomeRun issue.

Good luck,

Morris

#5

So HDHomeRun … Going live has been inconsistent of late, certainly pointing a skeptical eye at it. I’ve recently restarted it and it seemed to (briefly) help some aspects of what I’m dealing with… Is it common for them to fail/develop problems? One of my suspicions is that my HDHomeRun has become unreliable/needs repacement (or support).

???

#6

Further data…

I opened supprort ticket with HDHomeRun and have connected and updated formware on that device. I can tune and watch broadcast TV live using the HDHomeRun app…

But ChannelsDVR cannot tune to the same stations (I’ve refreshed the source/guide) but wathing TV in channels says “The media could not be loaded…” type error…

Log shows errors like this over these attempts:

2026/07/23 21:48:39.971906 [ERR] Failed to start stream for ch5.1: Get "http://192.168.0.67:5004/auto/v5.1": dial tcp 192.168.0.67:5004: connect: connection refused
2026/07/23 21:48:39.982386 [HLS] Couldn't generate stream playlist for ch5.1-dANY-89064f443536: Get "http://192.168.0.67:5004/auto/v5.1": dial tcp 192.168.0.67:5004: connect: connection refused
2026/07/23 21:48:39.982445 [HLS] Stopping transcoder session ch5.1-dANY-89064f443536 (out=0s finished=false first_seq=0 last_seq=-1)
2026/07/23 21:48:41.833262 [ERR] Failed to start stream for ch5.1: Get "http://192.168.0.67:5004/auto/v5.1": dial tcp 192.168.0.67:5004: connect: connection refused
2026/07/23 21:48:41.840605 [HLS] Couldn't generate stream playlist for ch5.1-dANY-89064f443536: Get "http://192.168.0.67:5004/auto/v5.1": dial tcp 192.168.0.67:5004: connect: connection refused
2026/07/23 21:48:41.840666 [HLS] Stopping transcoder session ch5.1-dANY-89064f443536 (out=0s finished=false first_seq=0 last_seq=-1)
2026/07/23 21:48:43.967085 [ERR] Failed to start stream for ch5.1: Get "http://192.168.0.67:5004/auto/v5.1": dial tcp 192.168.0.67:5004: connect: connection refused
2026/07/23 21:48:43.978465 [HLS] Couldn't generate stream playlist for ch5.1-dANY-89064f443536: Get "http://192.168.0.67:5004/auto/v5.1": dial tcp 192.168.0.67:5004: connect: connection refused
2026/07/23 21:48:43.978566 [HLS] Stopping transcoder session ch5.1-dANY-89064f443536 (out=0s finished=false first_seq=0 last_seq=-1)
2026/07/23 21:48:46.014126 [ERR] Failed to start stream for ch5.1: Get "http://192.168.0.67:5004/auto/v5.1": dial tcp 192.168.0.67:5004: connect: connection refused

#7

Seems like an issue with your LAN or router

What is your network topology

#8

While we don't have anything super unusual (cable modem + wifi router in a normal config) I did notice the IP address for the HDHomeRun has apparently changed (DHCP, presumably)... I'm updating that which will likely fix SOME of this, but the low-grade instability I was having feels unrelated. I'll update this in a couple days.

#9

Check the HDHR Tuner System Log for the time of the error and see if anything's in there (its timestamps are UTC time).

#10

So the IP correction on HD Home Run is in place and watching live TV works from the app again tho chrome browser attempts to watch live TV are failing...

I get Starting... Then Remux... Then Transcoder starting status, but end with "The media could not be loaded, either because the server or network failed or because the format is not supported."

Here's the matching log entries for that attempt, nothing obvious wrong here:
2026/07/27 11:56:05.291802 [TNR] Opened connection to 10A9F8FC/3 for ch22.1 FOX13+
2026/07/27 11:56:05.291887 [HLS] Starting live stream for channel 22.1 from 192.168.0.59
2026/07/27 11:56:05.703948 [HLS] Probed live stream in 411.933807ms: mpeg2video 1280x720 progressive 1218544bps
2026/07/27 11:56:07.569247 [HLS] Session ch22.1-dANY-ip192.168.0.59 started in 2.277306264s
2026/07/27 11:56:07.570727 [ENC] Starting encoder for ch22.1 in /mnt/movies/channels-dvr-data/Streaming/sessions/ch22.1-dANY-ip192.168.0.59-1337434734/encoder-1-679564174 at 1 (1.167644) (encoder=h264_vaapi, codec=h264, acodec=aac, resolution=720, deinterlacer=hardware, bitrate=3616, segment_size=0.01)
2026/07/27 11:56:16.510934 [HLS] Stopping transcoder session ch22.1-dANY-ip192.168.0.59 (out=11.678144s finished=false first_seq=1 last_seq=10)
2026/07/27 11:56:16.523250 [TNR] Closed connection to 10A9F8FC/3 for ch22.1 FOX13+
2026/07/27 11:56:16.540471 [ENC] Stopped encoder for ch22.1 in /mnt/movies/channels-dvr-data/Streaming/sessions/ch22.1-dANY-ip192.168.0.59-1337434734/encoder-1-679564174 after encoding 1 to 9
2026/07/27 11:56:16.540522 [SNR] Statistics for ch22.1 FOX13+: ss=100% snq=100% seq=100% bps=4831148,2594400-6841696 pps=414,223-586
2026/07/27 11:56:16.540548 [SNR] Buffer statistics for ch22.1 FOX13+: buf=0% drop=0%

#11

Typical for a chromium based browser.
Try using a non-chromium browser like Firefox or Safari

#12

Ok that checks out... I'd forgotten that bit... I'm back to things SHOULD work, we'll see if the instability gremlins return. TY for the nudges here.