ATSC 3.0 Tuner now always displays Unable to play channel: No Video Data

[tkrotchko]

Unable to play channel: No Video Data

This started happening several months ago, and it would only do it for certain select subchannels. At first I thought it was some sort of encryption, I think that would be a different error message. Is it possible my antenna is not picking up enough signal now (it used to work great)? Or has something else changed?

[jasonl]

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. If it tells you that a firmware update is available, please install it
3. Click "System Menu"
4. Check the "Send diagnostic information" box (if this box is already checked, please un-check then re-check it)
5. Go back one page
6. Click "Channel Lineup"
7. Click on "Detect Channels"
8. After the scan finishes, open the HDHomeRun app
9. Go into the app settings: the gear icon in the top right corner of the "Live/Recorded/Discover/Tasks" page
10. Enable the option to "Send diagnostic information"
11. 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.

[tkrotchko]

Well, something interesting happened. Previously, I had 20+ ATSC 3.0 channels detected, and during the initial channel scan it found even more.

However, when it finished, I was left with just 7 ATSC channels, and all of them worked. I'm a bit confused why would most of my channels disappear? And why did most of the channels disappear within a month? The address is 10a604c1

EDIT: Trying it again this morning, it found all 28 channels again. I wonder if this is a time-of-day reception thing? Once again the channels found cannot be played. Same error message.

[NedS]

What kind of antenna are you using? Do you have a picture of it or a product link for it? Is it amplified at all? The signal coming in looks very off.

[tkrotchko]

It's an older VHF/UHF/FM antenna in the attic that is theoretically powered. It may be due for a replacement. Any idea of what I should be looking for?

[ebo]

Theoretically powered? You should check that. The HDHR can't receive a station if the received power is too low or too high. Not even if another channel in the range is too high, including in the 5G range formally used by TV channels 38-51. You could get a filter to cut down that range.

If you have installed HDHomeRun Software for Windows (not the app, although that could be installed too) then you can run HDHomeRun Config GUI to see the Signal Strength, Signal Quality and Symbol Quality of each RF channel and even see the strength of non-TV signals in the 38-51 range. 100% is the maximum shown, so it might be more than that.

If you can't receive a channel but the strength and qualities of the RF channel it's on are all good, then it's another problem.