New Member
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30 Messages
DVR Show images missing
Some time yesterday the images that display beside recorded shows went missing. They are blank. This is happening on all my devices: 2 Gemini Osprey devices and 1 Roku Ultra device. So I think this is a DTV server issue, not an issue on my devices or the app.
Just a few recordings were missing images yesterday. I rebooted the Roku Ultra and all recordings showed images. But, within about an hour all those images went blank. As of this morning none of my 3 TV streaming devices are showing any images in the recorded shows list. Very odd.
DIRECTVhelp
Community Support
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255.9K Messages
21 hours ago
We have a technical specialist available who can assist you further. Sending you a DM. Rhyan, DIRECTV Community Team
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User5
New Member
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30 Messages
21 hours ago
@Ludwick577 - yes, I have 3 Osprey devices. One is kind of a spare unit sitting in the basement right now, so I didn't test on it. But 2 Osprey devices and a Roku were all showing the issue.
HOWEVER - I discovered the source of the problem. It's technical, so many folks won't understand, but I think you will, so here goes:
I logged into DTV to view in my Chrome browser on a desktop computer and had the same issue! No thumbnail images for DVR shows.
I changed my browser to use Google's free 8.8.8.8 DNS and it solved the issue! I was able to go back and forth in my browser between using the 8.8.8.8 DNS and the default (which would be whatever my home network is providing), clearing the browser cache between each test and it confirmed that the DNS my home network is using is the issue.
My router was configured to use QUAD9 for DNS services. That was the issue. QUAD9 could be having some issues, or it has to do with EDNS as I will outline below.
Why Google DNS Worked (and Quad9 didn't)
The technical reason is likely ECS (EDNS Client Subnet). Google’s DNS tells the streaming service's servers roughly where you are located so they can send you to the nearest video relay. Quad9, for privacy reasons, often strips this information away. If you decide to stick with a provider that doesn't use ECS, you may continue to see "Network Error" or buffering issues on certain smart TV apps.
I've been using QUAD9 in the router for a couple years with no apparent issues until now. But I thought it would be best to switch to a different provider. QUAD9 was also blocking malicious sites, so kind of a family security setup, so I wanted my new DNS provider to also provide that security.
I changed my router to use Cloudflare's Family DNS, rebooted everything in the house, and now DTV is showing those thumbnails again.
So my initial thought was this was a DTV server issue, not my streaming device or app since it was happening on different manufacturer devices in the home. But I got to thinking about this QUAD9 setup and thought I'd double check this and sure enough that was the problem.
Cloudflare does support the ECS/EDNS stuff, so it's working again.
Interesting problem and it shows just how deep (technically) one may have to dig to find the problem and solution.
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