Regression in 2026.10.15.2331: updating broke fingerprint generation, playback, and commercial detecting & editing.
(“signal: abort trap”)
I updated Channels DVR Server to prerelease 2026.10.15.2331 today (10/18/26) to address the Spectrum Adobe authentication issue (I was previously running 2026.09.05.0220, but had a problem earlier this am when a Spectrum recording failed and showed this error message: “failing: could not start stream on channels= [6039]: TVE: adobe.pending Logout reason=34764”).
The Spectrum TVE issue appears to have been resolved with the update, but appears to have reintroduced another serious media-processing problem by breaking commercial detection (for both live and playback),
Environment
- Channels DVR Server: 2026.10.15.2331
- Server platform: Mac mini running macOS Sequoia
- Client: MacBook Pro using Safari and the Channels DVR web admin interface
- Recording storage: External volume mounted at /Volumes/MM for Channels DVR/
Symptoms
Recordings made before the update, including recordings from the previous evening and this morning continue to play normally on iOS and Apple TV. I can also edit or re-edit their commercial breaks normally.
ALL new recordings made after the update exhibit the following problem:
- Fingerprint generation fails. The server reports “signal: abort trap” when attempting to probe the recordings and generate fingerprints.
- Commercial redetection fails. Attempting to redetect commercials produces the same abort error.
- Commercial editing is unavailable. Under Manage Actions, the options to edit or re-edit commercials are missing entirely. The available actions include reprocessing the video, fixing video timestamps, and redetecting commercials.
- Playback fails in Safari. When I attempt to play a new recording on my MacBook Pro, Safari reports: “The media could not be loaded either because the server or network failed or because the format is not supported.” It repeatedly attempts to reconnect before eventually giving up.
This is the first time I have encountered these symptoms since I began using Channels DVR (only a few months now).
The distinction between old and new recordings is particularly significant: older recordings retain their playback and commercial-editing functionality, while new recordings made after the latest update do not.
Relevant server log excerpts
The following entries are from October 18, 2026.
The Great Debaters (file-3256):
2026/10/18 17:01:00.943312 [DVR] Processing file-3256: Movies/The Great Debaters (2007) 2026-10-18-1400.mpg
2026/10/18 17:01:00.971808 [ERR] Could not probe file 3256: signal: abort trap
2026/10/18 17:01:02.155179 [DVR] Generating fingerprint for file-3256: The Great Debaters (2007) 2026-10-18-1400.mpg
2026/10/18 17:01:02.182660 [ERR] Generating fingerprint failed for file-3256: probe file: /Volumes/MM for Channels DVR/Movies/The Great Debaters (2007) 2026-10-18-1400.mpg: signal: abort trap
Mutiny on the Bounty (file-3255):
2026/10/18 17:08:52.535645 [DVR] Generating fingerprint for file-3255: Mutiny on the Bounty 2026-10-18-1205.mpg
2026/10/18 17:08:52.549744 [ERR] Generating fingerprint failed for file-3255: probe file: /Volumes/MM for Channels DVR/Movies/Mutiny on the Bounty 2026-10-18-1205.mpg: signal: abort trap
2026/10/18 17:11:42.338880 [ERR] Failed to probe file #3255: signal: abort trap
2026/10/18 17:11:42.449643 [HLS] Couldn't generate master playlist: Couldn't probe recording: /Volumes/MM for Channels DVR/Movies/Mutiny on the Bounty 2026-10-18-1205.mpg
2026/10/18 17:11:44.328905 [ERR] Failed to probe file #3255: signal: abort trap
2026/10/18 17:11:44.329556 [HLS] Couldn't generate master playlist: Couldn't probe recording: /Volumes/MM for Channels DVR/Movies/Mutiny on the Bounty 2026-10-18-1205.mpg
2026/10/18 17:11:46.352712 [ERR] Failed to probe file #3255: signal: abort trap
2026/10/18 17:11:46.353764 [HLS] Couldn't generate master playlist: Couldn't probe recording: /Volumes/MM for Channels DVR/Movies/Mutiny on the Bounty 2026-10-18-1205.mpg
2026/10/18 17:14:00.439044 [MTS] Rewriting video timestamps for file-3255: Mutiny on the Bounty 2026-10-18-1205.mpg
2026/10/18 17:16:44.652850 [MTS] Statistics for #3255 "Mutiny on the Bounty 2026-10-18-1205.mpg": discontinuity_detected=4 transport_errors=0 saw_pcr=true saw_pmt=true highest_pts=12741.397289
2026/10/18 17:16:45.782143 [MTS] Finished rewriting video timestamps for file-3255 in 2m45s
2026/10/18 17:16:45.794682 [ERR] Could not probe file 3255: signal: abort trap
2026/10/18 17:16:46.427404 [DVR] Generating fingerprint for file-3255: Mutiny on the Bounty 2026-10-18-1205.mpg
2026/10/18 17:16:46.433393 [ERR] Generating fingerprint failed for file-3255: probe file: /Volumes/MM for Channels DVR/Movies/Mutiny on the Bounty 2026-10-18-1205.mpg: signal: abort trap
The timestamp rewriting operation completes, but the subsequent probe and fingerprint-generation attempts still abort.
Suspected regression
The timing strongly suggests that prerelease 2026.10.15.2331 may have reintroduced a bug in media probing or fingerprint generation on macOS.
The failure is not limited to commercial detection: the same probe failure prevents the HLS service from generating a master playlist for at least one affected recording, which corresponds with the Safari playback failure.
The simultaneous loss of fingerprint generation, commercial redetection, commercial-editing actions, and Safari playback suggests a problem in a shared media-processing component rather than simply an inaccurate commercial-detection result.
Could the developers investigate whether build 2026.10.15.2331 introduced a regression in the media-probing or fingerprint-generation code path on macOS? I would appreciate confirmation of whether this is a known (ie previously-reported) issue, and whether a fix or workaround is available.
TIA!
