Server Version#: 1.27.2.5929
Player Version#: 1.48.2.3124-647ff031
Tuner Make/Model: HDHomerun Quattro
Guide/Lineup name: Live TV
Using XMLTV?: No
Channel number/Name: 2.1
I’ve been using Plex Server and the Plex client for several years and only yesterday ran into a problem. When I try and play PBS on channel 2.1, it starts out right for a second or two, then goes to 2.4. I’ve tried optimizing the database, refreshing the channel list and even disabling 2.4 from my channel list. I did a computer restart, made sure the HDHomerun Quatro had the latest firmware and rebooted it and still continues to happen!
All other channels are playing and recording normally. Only the two PBS stations go from their *.1 home to another channel, in this case *.4.
I did a computer restart, made sure the HDHomerun Quatro had the latest firmware and rebooted it.
I’d appreciate any help you could offer to resolve this issue.
I see the requests for channel 2.1 in your logs, but no subsequent request for channel 2.4. The only thing odd in your logs is that after every tune is an error for inability to create a directory “TV” due to a read-only filesystem. However, this is true of all tunes and not just for channel 2.1 so I don’t think it is related.
It would be interesting to see your HDHR tuner logs. It seems like those logs should show something if the station is switching. To do this for your setup, in a web browser go to http://192.168.0.215. That should bring up the main menu for your HDHR, then click on “System Menu”, then “System Log”. Look for a tune of channel 2.1 and see if there is anything interesting shortly after where you see the switch to channel 2.4.
From the main HDHR menu you can also look at “Tuner Status” while a tune of channel 2.1 is in progress. You should be able to see what tuner is in use, and click on it to get details. What virtual channel is being reported?
I also looked in the tuner’s log, and it shows that 2.1 was the channel that was being recorded. Surprisingly, this issue may have resolved itself. Last night, in an attempt to watch the PBS Newshour at 6 PM on 2.1, I started the playback at about 6:25 PM and chose Watch From Beginning. When I did that, I had the same problem I described above. I closed the stream and then chose Join Live, and voila, there was the PBS Newshour. I rewound and found that at about 15 minutes the stream changed from 2.4 to 2.1.
This thing gets even wackier is that I removed 2.4 from the available channels on the HDHomerun tuner, but Plex still seems to find it! As of this morning, however, it seems to have reverted back to a correct behavior. I’ve attached the tuner log in case you can see something I can’t.
As regards the “TV directory”, I have two custom libraries where I store recordings. One is on my start-up drive and is called Ron’sTV. The other is on a secondary drive and is called PlexTV. Both seem to be operating normally so I don’t know why Plex would be trying to create a new directory called TV. I’ll check permissions for the app to make sure it has Full Disk Access.
Everything looks normal in your HDHR logs to me. I was going to suggest a firmware upgrade, but it looks like you did that.
With the HDHR reporting that it is tuning to 2.1 for the entire time, even though you actually got 2.4 for part of the time, it makes me think that this is something outside of Plex. If it happens again you could try accessing your HDHR directly using the HDHR installable client. If the HDHR client is also switching between 2.1 and 2.4 then at least we have taken Plex out of the equation and have narrowed it down to the HDHR, overlapping channels, or a problem with this channel’s multicasting.
Note: If you are using Plex then don’t using the HDHR client except for testing. Plex expects to have exclusive access to your HDHR, so if you use the HDHR client it will allocate a channel that Plex doesn’t know about, and you could run out of available tuners.
As of last night, everything seems to have returned to normal and 2.1 is now displaying and recording correctly. As I said earlier, I removed 2.4 from the channel lineup on the HDHR and that seems to have fixed the problem. For the record, 2.4 is a children’s channel that I never watch, so no loss.
I think I agree with your thought from a previous response when you said, " …or a problem with this channel’s multicasting." This issue only occurred on the two PBS stations that I can receive OTA in South Florida. I know that all PBS stations in S. Florida use the same antenna. Maybe this whole issue was on their side, not mine.
It’s back to normal now. I suppose in these troubled times of ours I should be happy to say, “Alls well that ends well.”
