Unencrypted ATSC 3.0 (2 PBS Stations) Showing Black Screen

[toppinglift]

Hi All,

I'm getting a black screen and "unable to play video" message on just two channels out of 40, both of them PBS stations in NYC. Is this a problem with PBS transmitting in ATSC 3.0 and HDHR not able to resolve the transmission? The channels (13, 21) are completely missing from my channel list whereas they existed previously. I thought I saw in a prior posting that this was resolved in a software update for Windows 11? I am running ver. 20250603 which was the latest download I found on the SD site, but I now see mentioned a later version 20250611. Where do I find that one and will that solve this issue? THX

[signcarver]

which channel list? if in the guide it could have been it was disabled... if it is missing from the list itself, it didn't find the channel in the scan. Also note that the HDHomeRun adds 100 to ATSC 3.0 channels so the channels would be 113.1 or 121.1.

The version you asked for was the android version of the software (client app)... the latest full windows package from SD is 20250623 (which setup will also update the firmware of the flex 4k to 20250623) the app on windows is 20250603. All my HDR channels are encrypted so I can't tell if such works on windows client but that isn't the issue yet if the channel is missing.

[jasonl]

In my highly unscientific testing of one recording on my own Win11 PC with an NVIDIA GPU, ATSC 3.0 HDR video plays fine and is properly tone mapped back to SDR.

We would like to get some diagnostic data to see what is happening:

1. In a web browser go to http://hdhomerun.local
   NOTE: That address will go do the first HDHomeRun device found on your network. If you have more than one HDHomeRun device, use the "device ID" printed on the bottom of the unit instead of "hdhomerun" in the address. For example, if your device ID was 104FFFFF then you would go to http://104fffff.local
2. Click "System Menu"
3. Check the "Send diagnostic information" box (if this box is already checked, please un-check then re-check it)
4. Go back one page
5. Click "Channel Lineup"
6. Click on "Detect Channels"
7. After the scan finishes, open the HDHomeRun app
8. Go into the app settings: the gear icon in the top right corner of the "Live/Recorded/Discover/Tasks" page
9. Enable the option to "Send diagnostic information"
10. Try to watch a problem channel

Reply back and provide us the device ID of your HDHomeRun and we will check the logs. You can find the device ID on a label on the bottom of the HDHomeRun itself.

[toppinglift]

Hi Jason,

I ran the diagnostic test, but this time when I looked at the channel listing, I noted that channels PBS 13 and 21 were missing. When I posted previously, PBS 13 and 21 were in the channel guide list on the app, but if I clicked on it, I received a black screen. Now, both channels are missing from the app and from the channel list, so there is no channel to click on in the app. I had not previously moved the antenna when I noticed that the two channels were omitted. I have had the same device for years, and I always received those two channels. My device ID is: 1041478A.

[jasonl]

You have an HDHomeRun CONNECT that long predates ATSC 3.0, so that wouldn't be related. The ATSC 1.0 broadcast is very weak, just 50% signal strength, which is pretty much the minimum to even have a chance of receiving a broadcast. The signal quality is just 44%, below the minimum needed to reliably decode it. It's not unusual for PBS to be a problem in NYC as it broadcasts with a very weak signal, just 1/4 of the power of the ATSC 3.0 broadcast that WPIX hosts and a little less than 1/5 of the ABC/WPIX ATSC 1.0 broadcast. Improving the antenna and removing any unnecessary splitters would help the signal strength. There are also extremely strong 5G cell signals registering, so an LTE/5G filter such as ours ( https://www.amazon.com/SiliconDust-LPF- ... B08QDWP43V ) may help.

[toppinglift]

Hi Jason,

Ok, so does it appear that I have to re-tune the antenna for those PBS stations? When I check the channel "Channel (WNET-13-HD") on my HD Homerun signal meter, no channels appears--it is totally absent. It says at the top "Channel none:13." All the other 90 or so channels listed, some with very little or no Sig Strength, SNR Quality or Sym Quality registering, have a channel listed for example "Channel (ABC-HD 7.1)" has at the top "Channel 8vsb:7"

[signcarver]

Did you check 12 or 13 when looking for WNET as I believe it is on physical channel 12.