Unable to tune channels after power outage

Ask about SiliconDusts HomeRun tuners here.
Post Reply
billmich

Posts: 114
Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2015 2:52 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

Unable to tune channels after power outage

#1

Post by billmich » Mon Sep 10, 2018 7:42 pm

So something very weird happened over the weekend and maybe someone here can help shed light on what transpired and why.

my setup
windows 7 HTPC with HDHomerunPrime (CableCARD/Comcast is my provider)

PS3- USES the DNLA to access the channels
Xbox one- utilized the APP to tune into the channels


There was a power outage on Thursday night for a few hours, but by Friday noon all power and cable service was restored. In anticipation for all the college football games on Saturday, I made sure to boot up my PC and did a cursory check to see that everything was OK on the PC (It was)


come Saturday morning, I could not tune anything in on the devices, and I noticed that I needed to do a FULL channel rescan again...luckily I was able to do this and it was completed about 15 minutes before the noon kickoffs. My prior scheduled recording also was affected and did not record as planned (luckily I also DVR, and used that as my backup).

NOW, this is where things get weird:
during the day, I was FULLY able to tune in ANY channel in my PC, either through WMC or directly through the Silicon app
My Xbox one was also fully functional getting any and all channel

but on my PS3, when I tried to tune to FSN Detroit + or ESPN U (707 and 708) bother were giving me the message about "unsupported data" and would not tune in
Interestingly enough (and my temporary workaround) was to tune into the SD versions of the channel and then zoom in the picture to fill the screen completely.

any ideas on how this happened?

but wait, more weirdness..........

by early Sunday morning, FSN Det + (707) tuned in; but ESPNU (708) was still a no-go
by Sunday evening ALL channels were working.

has anyone ever had this issue before? how come those 2 channels poofed, but then magically fixed themselves?

Any thoughts or hints would be most welcome for any future troubleshooting I may have to do.

Thank you

Space

Posts: 2838
Joined: Sun Jun 02, 2013 9:44 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#2

Post by Space » Tue Sep 11, 2018 1:30 am

I would think that is an indicator that something happened to the Prime.

It is not required to do a scan on the Prime in order to tune to the channel or to know if a channel exists (this data is downloaded from the cable company), however a scan does determine certain information about each channel that might be needed by DNLA devices (WMC does not need any of this information).

The information that a scan determines for each channel is: subscription status (subscribed/unsubscribed), DRM status, resolution (HD/SD), video format (h.264 (AVC)/MPEG2) (I think these last two are only in newer Prime firmwares, my older firmware does not detect these).

Each of these statuses cause a badge to be displayed or not, depending on what is found, except for the subscribed/unsubscribed status, in which it (by default) does not display the unsubscribed channels at all. You can force it to display ALL the channels (with unsubscribed channels having a strikethrough font) by adding "?show=all" to the end of the lineup page on the Prime: http://<IP of Prime>/lineup.html?show=all

If a channel has DRM, it has the "DRM" badge next to it (no badge if there is no DRM). If it is h.264, it will have the "AVC" badge (no badge for MPEG2). It is is HD, it has the "HD" badge (no badge if SD).

If the Prime is incorrectly detecting some of these states, it is possible that the DLNA client will not display the video properly, so you can check this list and make sure they are getting the correct badges. Of course if there is something wrong with the Prime, then regardless of what is displayed here, it could just be something wonky with the Prime. I would suggest unplugging the prime, leave it unplugged for a minute or so and replugging it in. If you still have problems, you can contact Silicon Dust and they will probably have you enable debugging so they can investigate.

billmich

Posts: 114
Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2015 2:52 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#3

Post by billmich » Tue Sep 11, 2018 11:33 am

thank you for the reply, I definitely learned a few things. Everything is back to normal, so whatever went wrong, fixed itself. Just was wondering why the DNLA was off the rais for a couple of channels

billmich

Posts: 114
Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2015 2:52 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#4

Post by billmich » Thu Sep 13, 2018 12:36 pm

I emailed Silicon Dust and their response was not helpful at all... :(

billmich

Posts: 114
Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2015 2:52 pm
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#5

Post by billmich » Mon Oct 01, 2018 11:42 am

this happened again last Saturday, where a couple of channels couldn't get tuned in. Only this week there was no power outage. All was perfect by Sunday afternoon.

WEIRD.

aseries

Posts: 25
Joined: Sun Jul 07, 2013 5:23 am
Location:

HTPC Specs: Show details

#6

Post by aseries » Sat Apr 20, 2019 7:33 pm

No activity on this topic but I thought I could chime in. I used to operate much the same way before Win 7 WMC went off. I also had been using an XBOX as WMC extender. I tried all the workarounds but it was too tricky. I went all in with Windows 10. I started with Hdhomerun Prime 5 years ago and I got on the DVR during the Kickstarter 4 years ago. My setup now is Comcast cable M card, Hdhomerun Prime, Synology NAS and Amazon Firestick/TV at the TVs. The Fire Hdhomerun App works OK for me even though the UI using the Fire Remote is a bit awkward.
A few days ago I installed a HDHOMERUN CONNECT QUATRO. It is connected to my homemade 4-bay bow-tie antenna and receiving local channels through an outside wall. I am not yet a cord-cutter as such but I wanted to checkout the content on the 32 local channels I can detect. Then I will experiment with some different DIY antennas.
The CONNECT delivers TV to any PC or Android device on my home network. The CONNECT very nearly installed itself and it runs nicely side by side with the PRIME. The Windows 10 Player/DVR integrated all the Cable and OTA channels together to record content on my Synology NAS.

Post Reply