Channels & viewing

[ignatzkazan]

From March of 2020 to about July of 2021 I watched Live Cams on YouTube (via Roku) to keep from going crazy while trapped in my apartment by covid.  For the most part I could access any Live Cam in the world (Alaska, Finland, Norway, Isle of Wight, Duluth,...) with no problem 100% of the time.

For some reason in July of 2021 this all changed.  Now I FAIL TO LOAD all the same Live Cams I watched before 99 our of 100 times.  THE ADVERTISING all loads just fine, but the Cam never does. ( I have no proof of this, but can not remember ads loading when I watched in the "early days".  Has led me to wonder if the process by which the ads were worked into the system might be glitched. When I load the same Cams on the desktop, there are no ads.)

My internet speed is reasonably good @ 27 - 42 mbps (all other YouTube content works just fine). Have reloaded YouTube and rebooted the Roku many times. The Roku is updated on a regular basis. Roku Express purchased new in 2020 has experienced both good luck with the Live Cams, and now has no luck at all. 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.  Fare well.

[AvsGunnar]

@ignatzkazan 

Just tried a few and saw similar behavior on only one.  Went to black screen after ads.

When in the black screen, press the Down button on the Roku remote, (this will bring up Youtube's information overlay banner).  Immediately after, press the Up button (this should highlight the far left "Channel" icon in the banner.  Select "Go to Channel" and then choose another camera.

Definitely a little glitch with Youtube and their ads.  You are likely not seeing this behavior on your laptop/desktop because of an ad-blocker integrated into your browser.  Otherwise, just an issue with their channel as designed for Roku or streaming devices. (different platforms = different coding).

Otherwise, post the channel's content creator you were trying to watch and can see if experiencing the same behavior on that particular channel.

The one that gave me the issue was "Live Around the World - Beautiful Cams" (Boston and Maine Live was channel creator).  I was able to go back to the same channel after checking other channel creator's live cams and loaded fine and usually with no no ads.  Some had non-skippable ads and loaded after ads.  Interestingly, I was able to watch Boston and Maine Live's other cams "Beaches Around the World" that allowed me to Skip the Ads and that loaded fine.

[ignatzkazan]

I have yet to discover any way to consistently connect to any of the Live Cams listed below. Moving back and forth to the Channel and trying other cams on the same Channel does not effect my ability to connect. If I am not able to get into a cam, chances are it will be 12 to 14 hours before I can make a connection no matter how many times I may try during the day.

You made an interesting point in that we have no way of knowing if the failed connection is with the cam itself or a problem with roku/youtube loading it's ads. All I know for certain is that if an ad loads on a Live Cam, there will be NO CONNECTION to that cam.

DULUTH CANAL CAM - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k_sg8rhsgk

There are multiple cams on this channel which is great if you want to watch the progress of ships as they enter and leave the harbor. In 2020 I could switch from one camera to the next and follow along. Now I am lucky if I can connect to any single camera out of the dozen or so offered.

MOLDE LIVE - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0dTtGEcPEg Hit or miss any time day or night.

Jackson Hole Wyoming USA Town Square Live Cam - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EiC9bvVGnk Great to watch when it snows, if you can get in.

Thank you for both taking the time to respond, and for mentioning how Ad Blocker could affect Live Cams on YouTube (via desktop). Never occurred to me that might be the case. Assumed YouTube being All Powerful, would be able to negate the Blocker.   Fare well.