Solving playback issues

[NoBoatAnchors]

Inevitably, there is no way to surefire fix this without knowing exactly where in the chain the handshake is failing when this occurs.. If you can, congrats, you've likely found the issue.. for now.. until a link falls out of sync or compliance, whether downstream or upstream in the chain.. then the cycle begins anew.. It could very well be the roku firmware, content providers or indeed a cable or TV. There's no way to tell except by "trial and terror" lol.. This is ultimately what happens, when copyright protection is forced onto the masses.. We can debate and troubleshoot at what link in the chain the hdcp handshake is failing (at our expense might I add), until the cows come home.. But all we will be left with is frustration and an infinite loop of 1 hand blaming the other. It all comes down to a one-sided method of securing intellectual property, that was poorly engineered (IMO) to pass the blame, force obsolescence and deliver the headache onto us, the consumers. Thank you Roku and every other entity who jumped on the paranoia-infused HDCP bandwagon..

[Michelle3]

The HDCP error will only happen if the Roku is connected through an HDMI cable that uses an unsupported version of the HDCP protection system.  I have a Roku Express+ 3910 attached to my old Magnavox 27 inch CRT TV set, mfd. September 1994, through a Archer / RadioShack A/V switcher mfd. April 1993 connected to a Sharp HiFi Stereo VCR mfd. June 1991.  I converted the video signal from the switcher to the VCR through a Sima Digital Video Copy Master stabilizer mfd. Circa 2003, eliminating copy-protection distortion as I own a DVD player and some MacroVision protected DVDs.  However I don’t know if the Roku devices on analog output have MacroVision encoding on them, or if it’s just HDCP encoding,  so I might post a separate question/topic about it sometime in half of an hour or so.

~ Jordan

[Ronnego]

Our Roku is connected directly to the TV’s HDMI input. So clearly our problem has nothing to do with your situation. We intermittently get the 020 Error when turning the TV on. Ours is a problem with the Roku as others have stated. 

[Michelle3]

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@Ronnego wrote:

So clearly our problem has nothing to do with your situation. We intermittently get the 020 Error when turning the TV on. Ours is a problem with the Roku as others have stated. 

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Read my statement again carefully before you think.  The HDMI cable must support the HDCP versions accepted by the Roku device, and it should not have any dirt on it, otherwise the cable is defective.  In addition, the Roku must be connected to the wall outlet and not the TV’s USB port.  If it’s already connected to the wall outlet then you probably have a defective Roku unit and would need to contact the Roku’s Customer Support here.  

~ Jordan

[mike_s]

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@Michelle3 wrote:

The HDCP error will only happen if the Roku is connected through an HDMI cable that uses an unsupported version of the HDCP protection system.

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Read my statement again carefully before you think.  The HDMI cable must support the HDCP versions accepted by the Roku device,

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Cables don't "use" HDCP. Cables are categorized by speed and whether they support Ethernet. All HDMI cables support all HDCP versions. The only issue would be if someone tried to run a format using a cable too slow to support it (e.g. 4K video over a standard HDMI cable). But then you'd have video problems in addition to HDCP ones.

And, no, HDCP errors will not only happen due to cables. I changed out a Premier for an Ultra, absolutely nothing else was changed. Premier never had an HDCP error, Ultra has them frequently. No other devices connected to the TV get HDCP errors.

You're being emphatically wrong.

[Reneliza]

I mean, you’re just wrong. That may have been your experience, but it isn’t the only situation. 

By contrast,

1. I use no HDMI cable at all. I have a roku stick plugged directly into the HDMI input on my TV.

2. My error only comes when the TV is restarted without the Roku restarting. This means I can fix it (every time I turn the TV off) by getting up and unplugging the Roku and plugging it back in. 

3. But I can ALSO fix it by going through the automatic display detection. It recognizes that OH yeah actually I can use 1080 with HDCP - everything is fine after all. I still have to do this each time which is unacceptable 

4. I DID originally have it plugged into the USB on my TV, and when it did, I NEVER got this error because my Roku restarted every time my TV was turned off. It was only when I plugged it into wall power that I started receiving this error. At that point, I thought it was a problem with my Roku (I had some other issues with losing remote control connection too) so I took it back and replaced it with the same model. SAME EXACT ISSUE, and it has never been plugged into the USB on the TV.

5. I have the exact same model Roku on a different TV in my house. That one is powered by the TV USB, but I guess it supplies more power because that one has zero errors of any kind. (It is also a 4K TV, but I can’t say for sure if that helps since the Roku is restarting with the TV each time so it’s not an issue in the first place)

[Michelle3]

@Reneliza  @mike_s 
Well, you do have a point, about both the HDCP error and the HDMI cables.  Therefore all I can guess is that certain Roku device models have an HDCP error.  Personally I wouldn’t even use the USB port on a TV to power a device ‘cause some errors may happen while the device is connected to the TV’s USB port.  

~ Jordan

[DataSpock]

All links to supposed ROKU troubleshooting pages for solving HDCP error say

Article not found. Please check the url and try again.

[RokuKariza-D]

Hey @DataSpock

Thanks for the post.

We do not have enough details from your original message to make an effective suggestion. Could you tell us more about the issue you're experiencing with HDCP? Also, please try clicking this link and see if you'll be able to access it: What to do if you see an “HDCP Error Detected” message or a purple screen

We look forward to your response.

All the best,
Kariza

[john49]

Is this the only answer you have, Danny?  "If you are experiencing a HDCP error, we recommend taking a look at the troubleshooting steps provided by our Support page here: What should I do if I see a “HDCP Error Detected” message or a purple screen?"  This is totally worthless.  My Express 4+ gives this error randomly and nothing on the page you provided helps.  I would assume almost everyone that posts with this error has probably already tried all this, since it's on the screen with the error message.

If this continues, I'll take this back to the store I got it from and get a fire stick.

John