[OS 12.5] HDHomerun malformed data error
I have a roku premier m/n 3920CA, and just installed the HDHomerun app and get the malformed data error. Only happens on this app. Any fixes yet?
Forum Discussion
Same issue here. And it was never this way. What a Pain. If anyone has found a fix, please share.
Hi farmhouse1512,
Greetings from the Roku Community!
We understand you are also having issues with the HDHomeRun app with malformed data error messages, and we appreciate you posting about this. We would be delighted to help you further.
For us to better understand the issue you are experiencing, please provide us with additional information:
- When did the issue occur?
- Have you tried updating your software to the latest version?
- Have you tried removing the app, restarting your system, and adding the app again?
Let us know how it goes, and we will continue to assist you further.
Kind regards,
Eunice
I also am experiencing the malformed data error, as I’m sure everyone else is who has tried to use the HDHomerun app on Roku. It is totally crippled by the Roku player that silicon dust is forced to use because this platform is so locked down.
I reached out to silicon dust and confirmed. Their recommendation was to get rid of the Roku in favor of a device that works. They apparently implement their own player on other platforms, but this isn’t possible on Roku.
No amount of troubleshooting is going to resolve this issue. The HDHomerun just takes the raw signal and streams it to the HDhomerun app on Roku (no transcoding or anything). The Roku player chokes when there is an interruption in the stream due to signal issues (weather can easily exacerbate this). When the malformed data error is hit, the player crashes with no recovery, so you just get a frozen last frame.
There is nothing wrong with the HDHomerun, this is 100% a problem with Roku. It’s kind of shocking that the platform is so locked down considering how long this company has been around. Basically don’t plan to use a HDHomerun with a Roku, unless if you are going to proxy the stream through something like plex.
I’m sure Roku could solve this a number of ways. Examples:
- Make the player ignore the malformed data and continue to try to play the stream. This would allow it to eventually recover.
- Implement callbacks that tell the app that the stream has crashed and give it the opportunity to retry playing the stream until it eventually recovers.
- Expose APIs for app devs to implement their own player. This seems like the best option and is in line with other platforms
Considering returning my Roku Ultra.
Bonfire, Roku devices definitely don't play well with HDHomeRun receivers, but I don't know why the SD app doesn't restart the stream. If they can receive the "malformed data" error and display it, they can certainly restart the stream. Even with that, I don't think the experience would be very good with anything less than a rock solid signal. I've played with my own app receiving the stream and restarting it when there's a problem, but every time it restarts the stream there's a few seconds where it has to buffer again, so it's practically not worth it. My signal seems to be either rock solid or glitchy all too often depending on the channel, weather, the RF gods, etc. The frozen last frame thing is different and while I've seen it, it's the "malformed data" error that I mostly see. After playing with my antenna over and over again, I have a pretty good signal on all but one channel, so I just choose not to watch that one live. 🙂 99% of my OTA watching is after being recorded anyway.
I wouldn't expect Roku to do anything about something they can't figure out how to monetize with an on-going revenue stream. It's become apparent that they're not really all that interested in selling new devices as much as they are in trying to figure out how to get money out of the millions already out there. Not to mention, I doubt 1 in a thousand users have any idea what an HDHomeRun box is even if they're aware that antenna TV is still a thing, which also seems to be rare these days.
I've always felt that if your main reason for getting a Roku device is not to stream from the likes of Netflix, Hulu, etc. and you're not willing to put up with its many limitations when trying to do anything else, there's probably better alternatives out there. Don't get one with the hope that these kinds of things will be fixed in the future. I don't see them putting any effort into it.
I too have an HDHomeRun Flex 4K on my network. I mostly use it for recording OTA broadcasts on a HTPC, but I do have the SD app installed on my Roku and Shield players. I do have one station that has a marginal signal so I just tried it on both my Ultra 4800 and a Shield Pro. On the Roku I received the data error in less than a minute and the picture just froze. I had to exit the channel (the broadcast channel, not the Roku app) and reselect the channel to resume playback. I then tried the same OTA channel on the Shield. I encountered some pixelization but playback continued without a problem.
I had never heard that RMP was the only video player available within the Roku. I'm not certain I accept that since there are so many providers that don't have any sort of playback issue, such as Netflix, Prime Video or even YouTube.
I have a new Roku Ultra and the HDhomerun device. I have tried various recommendations with no solution:
1. Rebooted the Roku
2. Removed and reinstalled the HD Homerun application
3. Repositioned the antenna.
I have a DVR subscription but not recording when the failure occurs.
This problem is random.
Any corporate answer to this problem?
makitso What tuner do you have? I have the HDHomeRun Flex 4K tuner, and I just tested it with my Ultra 4850. I tried both an ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 station with no problems. So I would say there's no issue with the Roku itself. Assuming you have no issue with any other app on your Roku, then the problem lies with either the HDHR device or the signal you are receiving from the station itself. I'm assuming you have tried multiple stations with the same error.
Unfortunately, Silicon Dust will likely need to update their app, assuming your tuner is working OK on different devices. I have no idea if SD can access any logs from your tuner to see if it would provide any info for them.
