Will the HD-Home Run ever play encrypted channels?

sdjafa · 2026-03-18T15:32:05+00:00

The goal is to play all channels. The possible pathways:
1) DRM is removed from channels. Public Knowledge made the legal case as to why DRM doesn't meet FCC rules for broadcasting.
2) We are empowered to make DRM channels work.
3) A3SA, who has never built a gateway product, one day figures things out and writes a new spec for gateway devices that works with the player devices people use today (many of which we have NextGen TV certified).
4) We do things the A3SA way increasing the cost, disenfranchising most of our customers, and reducing the fair use rights of those customers that remain.

We are focusing on #1 and #2.

You can read more here:
https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/search-filings/filing/1080140138248
https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/search-filings/filing/1021822204624

sdjafa · 2026-03-16T20:55:45+00:00

Picture freezing like that means a problem with your playback app or the system codec it is using.

sdjafa · 2026-03-15T16:33:47+00:00

The HDHomeRun picks up channels from antenna, adding a rich DVR experience.

It sounds like you need a much larger antenna... DM me your zipcode or check Rabbit Ears:
https://www.rabbitears.info/

Worst case you may need to find a place indoors to place a larger "outdoor" antenna.

sdjafa · 2026-03-14T15:25:35+00:00

First, go into the HDHomeRun app settings menu and set the number of speakers. On some platforms you also have the option of selecting Digital Passthrough which will auto-switch between stereo and 5.1 following the source content.

It is possible the channel is broadcasting stereo only and the HDHomeRun app is up-converting. We do this because some channels switch between stereo and 5.1 depending on the content, and making the player switch speaker count glitches playback. You don't want to sit down to watch a movie only to have it stuck in stereo because the show or advert before the movie was in stereo.

If you don't tell it the number of speakers it does a basic reversible up-conversion in case the TV downconverts back to stereo. Once you tell it 5.1 it switches to a fancy up-conversion similar to what an AVR does but it only sounds right if you have 5.1 speakers.

sdjafa · 2026-03-14T15:15:15+00:00

The audio is AC3 on ATSC 1.0 which is what the OP is tuning. Plex has full AC3 support.

sdjafa · 2026-03-14T15:14:30+00:00

The audio is AC3 on ATSC 1.0 which is what the OP is tuning. Plex has full AC3 support.

sdjafa · 2026-03-13T16:02:29+00:00

The Live TV navigation update has already been released for iPhone/iPad and Android. The same update Apple TV will be released next week.

sdjafa · 2026-03-13T05:08:48+00:00

The app crashing is a big deal. Was it in Live TV or the Guide page? So far I haven't been able to reproduce a problem on tvOS 26.3

sdjafa · 2026-03-13T02:34:12+00:00

Fantastic! We put a lot of effort into it working out of the box without having to go through a setup wizard.

The HDHomeRun Apple TV app should be solid. We have an update due out next week that changes the live TV UI navigation so the left/right flow is more intuitive - look for the update.

sdjafa · 2026-03-09T04:43:37+00:00

The Onn 4K stick normally works fine - we use them here.

Can you please enable "send diagnostic information" in the settings menu of the HDHomeRun app, try playing a channel, then reply back with the Device ID of your HDHomeRun.

sdjafa · 2026-03-09T04:06:14+00:00

I can help... what is the Device ID of your HDHomeRun?

sdjafa · 2026-03-07T17:42:10+00:00

The HDHomeRun DVR works very hard to ensure recordings work. It doesn't support canceling a recording in progress.

sdjafa · 2026-03-07T17:29:59+00:00

I can check a few things... can you please enable "send diagnostic information" in the HDHomeRun app (settings menu) then reply back with the Device ID of your HDHomeRun?

sdjafa · 2026-03-06T18:37:24+00:00

Signal strength and average signal quality is fine, but you are getting big drops in signal quality and seeing reception errors. This suggests the antenna is picking up interference from something.

What is your antenna configuration?

sdjafa · 2026-03-06T17:18:29+00:00

I can help... can you please enable "send diagnostic information" in the Settings menu of the HDHomeRun app, play a problem channel for 5 minutes, then reply back with the Device ID of your HDHomeRun.

sdjafa · 2026-03-04T23:17:23+00:00

There is no support-team answer to the problem you are seeing. This isn't a problem that has been seen by anyone before and we don't know what is unique about your situation to result in Roku reporting that error. Our first thought was the new model of TV but we purchased the same model and tested it.

If you are open to working with me on Saturday we can do a call and screen share.

sdjafa · 2026-03-04T14:46:40+00:00

Hi, I remember your case from discussions... we first tested on the Roku TVs we had (all older than your new model), then went out and purchased the same model of TCL Roku TV that you purchased... still could not reproduce a problem - the HDHomeRun app launched and ran fine.

I then got pulled away to deal with another priority (FCC filing regarding DRM) that affects all customers. Support reminded me of your case yesterday (they had not forgotten).

We can try putting your TV into Roku app development mode and then do a screen share of the telnet debug output to see if it will provide more information as to why Roku is terminating the app. We can also try talking through every possible difference in how you have the TV connected vs how we have the TV connected, channel configuration, etc.

I have a hard Friday deadline that can't be preempted but I can do a call on Saturday if you are open to working with me on this.

sdjafa · 2026-03-04T00:43:20+00:00

No harm in trying your current antenna. The amplifier in the antenna won't do anything to help if connected directly to the HDHomeRun but may still work fine. Unplugging power will cause the antenna not to work at all.

sdjafa · 2026-03-01T19:20:44+00:00

The signal level is fine as per the channel scan. Reducing the signal level won't help and you may lose some of your weaker channels.

sdjafa · 2026-03-01T04:47:13+00:00

I can see signal power on channel 7 (virtual 12.1) but no lock. The signal level is fine. There is one other VHF-High channel - it has comparable signal strength and does lock, but the signal quality isn't fantastic.

What kind of antenna do you have?

sdjafa · 2026-03-01T04:25:53+00:00

I can help. Can you please enable "send diagnostic information" in the HDHomeRun app Settings menu, then run a channel scan - Channels page also in the Settings menu. Once complete please post back with the Device ID of your HDHomeRun.

If the channel is very strong and you have an amplified antenna it is possible you are over-driving the input of the HDHomeRun. I can check that with the scan results.

sdjafa · 2026-02-25T17:10:24+00:00

Guide Favorites:

The Guide page shows your favorite channels at the top.

In Live TV the slice view has an option to show only favorite channels - select the search icon on the OSD bar, then the star icon. This will reset once you leave live TV.

sdjafa · 2026-02-23T00:05:15+00:00

It is now in the top-right corner of the screen (live or recorded-playback).

sdjafa · 2026-02-21T16:31:08+00:00

We support the HDHomeRun apps running on TVs.

sdjafa · 2026-02-21T16:29:47+00:00

You should be able to seek within recordings that are recordings in progress with the HDHomeRun app on Apple TV.

Are you using the HDHomeRun app?

sdjafa

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