CCwGTV 4K update to Android 14 broke TV stream playback

[gurabli]

My CCwGTV 4K received the latest update UTTC.241218.004, now I have Android 14.

This update broke playback of direct live TV stream in all the apps. It looks that all the h.264 FullHD streams are affected. The playback is like slow motion with judder and audio out of sync. All these apps worked perfectly fine before the update. Many users report the same (Reddit). 

Source is DVB-C, TS stream from my cable TV provider.

Is this a known problem from Google's side? All the devices still on Android 12 are perfect. 

[radix1989]

Its all pathetic engough. I had a Chromecast 4k which I did not update on purpose. Over night it seemed to update on its own.

So my Device became unusable without any interaction by me.

Google, fix this pile of **bleep**!! 

[Artan]

Exactly the same thing happened to me 2 days ago

[reillysc]

Exact same thing happened to me. I was aware of the ATV14 issue so I was hoping my CCWGTV would remain on Android 12 unless I checked for updates. Turns out Google has pushed it through and my device is now a brick.

[RalpieL]

I've had this happen 2 days ago as well. I've recently figured out that I can change my streaming profile on TVHeadend to reduce the stream to potato quality to at least get sound to match up with the video. It's not ideal with picture quality that's rubbish and a lot of artifacts, but at least the sound is aligned without delays on some of the HD channels.  

Play around with settings and change the channel on Kodi to ensure changes are made after saving the configuration each time.

Hope this helps people until Google gets around to help us!

Chromecast with TV HD > running Kodi 21.2 > streaming tvheadend from another server

UTTC.241218.008.H1.1342712

Cast firmware:3.72.446070

********************** Stream Settings on TVHeadend
Profile name:                               webtv-h264-aac-matroska
Comment:                                    WEBTV profile H264/AAC/Matroska
Default priority:                           Important

Force priority:                               0
Timeout (sec) (0=infinite):        0
Restart on error:
Continue if descrambling fails:
Descrambling timeout (ms):    2000
Switch to another service:
Preferred service video type:   SD: standard definition

Container:                                       MPEG-TS/av-lib

Resolution (height):                    540
Channels:                                       Mono

Language:                                      Use original

Source video codec:                   Any

Video codec:                                  libx264: libx264 H.264 / AVC / MPEG-4 AVC / MPEG-4 part 10

Video codec preset:                     faster: h264 / h265 / qsv(h264)

Video bitrate (kb/s) (0=auto):    1000
Audio codec:                                   aac: AAC (Advanced Audio Coding)

Audio bitrate (kb/s) (0=auto):    0
Subtitle codec:                                Do not use

[Artan]

After my second device accidentally received this update to Android 14, I contacted Google Support and this is their response.

Thank you for your message to Google Nest Customer Service.
After consulting with the technical department, I regret to inform you that your situation is currently a bug in our system, but we are working diligently on it. I will inform you as soon as the bug is resolved.

I'm seriously wondering if Google doesn't want to fix this bug, or if Google thinks we're that stupid. If nothing happens in the next few weeks, I'll look for another stick. There are plenty on the market, some of which cost less than Chromecast Google TV.

[reillysc]

This was the response I got from them when I contacted them in October 2024 about the same issue for the Google TV Streamer. It is a generic response which means nothing.

[slacker]

3 months and no fix. interesting.

[reillysc]

9 months and no fix. This was raised first in October 2024 for the Google TV Streamer.

[LBM]

@GoogleNestTeam When is the fix expected? I got the update 2 days ago and now my device is not usable at all. If the problem is so hard to fix that you cant do it since half year at least make it possible to downgrade the device to previous version when it was working fine.

[RalpieL]

If at all possible for anyone to choose the quality of the steam, try for standard definition as a work around. Remapping standard definition channels on my tv headend server helped until a fix can be found. Down grading steam was ok as mentioned in my post above but this works better.

Yes Google have stuffed up, but better to try find a solution instead of whinging and whining until they do. I feel for the people having delt with this longer than most and it's pretty poor service from Google for such a popular product.

[radix1989]

I tried to copy your mentioned settings to my TVHeadend. Since I might have another Version of it, it looked kind of different:

Do I additionally need to setup something in Kodi as well? I'm aksing because these changed seemed to change nothing in my stream quality, although I used the 540 height pixels.

[AdamKa]

Have you tried checking the "Deinterlace" option or using transcoding, e.g. h264->h265?

[Artan]

So, I just ordered your other streaming box and I'm fed up with Google. I'll never buy anything directly from Google again. Two or three providers with Android TV work better. They have Android on them and don't need an unnecessary software update..

[Osoriop]

I am having the same issue, surely a company as big as Google can figure this out??

[cheesysock]

It's been months. They apparently don't have a clue or just don't care.

[Artan]

So, I have now bought a streaming box from China, which has three times as much storage space and all my apps work perfectly and I have been using it for 2 days

[cheesysock]

Which one did you get mate?

[reillysc]

Can you please share the name of the device? Does it run ATV14? We are 9+ months without a fix from google, so it would be good if folks can share alternatives.

[cheesysock]

I've seen the Mi Box S 3rd Gen recommended a lot. Can be purchased from AliExpress.

[reillysc]

Thanks, in terms of streaming interlaced DVB-T2 content? Is it because it is still on ATV12 or is it running ATV14 and somehow able to work?

[cheesysock]

Yes. Thomson boxes from Amazon UK are good too. They're rebranded versions of the US Onn boxes I believe.

[K70]

The Box S 3rd is A14 out of the box. Works ok for me on 1080i DVB-T2 through Tvheadend and Kodi. Not sure why, maybe because it’s more powerful than CCwGTV?

[reillysc]

Ok, so 1080i25 streams are deinterlacing to 1080p50 on the Box S 3rd on ATV14? Are you using HDHomeRun as source? I use Tivimate as the client, I'd be curious to know if others are having any success with Tivimate. In Tivimate, if I turn on tunnelled playback it seems to try to deinterlace - Tivimate shows 50fps but the video is laggy, audio is normal 

[K70]

I receive the local TV antenna signal (DVB-T2 1080i) on a Raspberry Pi with Tvheadend. On the Box S 3rd (ATV14 out of the box) I have Kodi as the player to play the HTSP stream. On Tvheadend I just pass the stream through, as the Pi is not that powerfull for transcoding, and as there hasn't been any need to alter the stream. 

Never had any issues, even on old/slow ATV11, or ATV12 devices before CCwGTV got the ATV14 update. I followed this thread for a while, and when no quick update seemed to be coming, I decided to try the Xiaomi, as it should be one of the more powerfull devices at a reasonable price.

It's not perfect though. When I start the stream (change channel), the video first runs for a few seconds with audio not in sync. Then it drops a few frames of the video, and after that audio sync is good enough. This doesn't happen on other devices using the same setup. And on ATV14 CCwGTV it's impossible to say if it happens, as the video playback is unusable. On ATV12 it was perfect.

[Artan]

I have pretty much the same problem. I'm also using TiviMate, and the audio is not in sync. Other than that, I have the same issues. I didn’t have these problems with Android 12.

[jprp5]

aAter performing the OTA update to Android TV 14, as suggested by the system, I am experiencing several issues on my Strong Leap S3+ device. Most of the reported problems correspond to the following symptoms:

• Unexpected and random device restarts;

• Streaming video playback is slow and stutters, especially with H.264 Full HD content;

• Problems in the settings interface, including inaccessible menus and unexpected closing of the Settings app;

• The accessibility mode is malfunctioning, making it difficult for users who rely on these features.

[Artan]

Apparently Google doesn't want to solve the problem or Google doesn't care about the customers as long as Netflix and YouTube work for Google and don't have the same problems they won't fix anything they could let the customers go back to Android 12 until the problem is solved

Google is stubborn there too, it's best if everyone switches to kunloret Apple (I'm not a fan of Apple TV at all) and Google loses a lot of users, only then will they perhaps do something

The people who have Android 12 can only hope that there will be no update to Android 14 on their devices for a long time, otherwise they can throw the stick/box in the trash

[reillysc]

Yes, and the issues with DVB-T2 and ATV14 is more relevant to European customers, as I understand that OTA TV in the US is now supplied mainly in progressive formats. That said, there is no excuse for totally ignoring European customers (it has been 9+ months and nothing). DVB-T2 is here to stay, so those of us that use our streaming devices for watching OTA TV, we will have no choice but to switch to Apple.

[AdamKa]

Minor bugs will likely disappear after a factory reset (this does not apply to h264 playback). Accessibility works differently in Android 14; apps from outside the Store must be installed via ADB or SAI.

[Artan]

Lol, now Google is claiming via email that it’s the device’s fault and not a Google issue. They say they don’t know anything about it, and that if YouTube or YouTube livestreams are working, then the problem isn’t with Google or their device.
It’s a joke to blame the customer for the issue when it’s clearly a Google bug.

[radix1989]

Interesting as the support replied to me that this h264 issues is a known issue and their tech team is analyzing/working on an update that shall restore this feature. 

[Artan]

In my case, the support team had no idea about this issue at all. They said, "Try using YouTube — if YouTube works, then it’s not the device."

I then said that livestreams are having issues, and if YouTube livestreams aren’t having any problems, then it’s clearly not the device.

[reillysc]

You will get nowhere with Google support. You will get BS such as "the engineering team are aware of the issue and are working diligently on a solution". This is what I got after 2-3 hours on the phone, a number of emails.. 9 months ago! To add to this, there have been several messages here and on the Google TV Streamer thread. We have nothing and we will get nothing.

[Jukebox8]

Just came here and being non american i thought this meant 8th may, so it was yesterday 5th august. So we might grt update soon i hope...

EDIT (8/5): 

We've identified the root cause and are actively working towards implementing a fix in an upcoming update. We'll provide an update on the rollout as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.

[Artan]

Google has been saying the same thing for months, and nothing is being done about it. Either Google releases the update and fixes the problem, or Google lets us revert back to Android 12.

[Artan]

Just a question, where did you get the information from or is it official information from Google?

[Jukebox8]

From the recommended answer by googlenestteam on this topic

[AdamKa]

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Streaming/CCwGTV-4K-update-to-Android-14-broke-TV-stream-play...

[gdeamon]

I've been here since the very beginning, when the first update to A14 broke my first CCwGTV 4K. Yesterday, for some unknown reason, the update to A14 automatically installed on the second CCwGTV 4K. Now I have two damaged CCwGTV 4Ks. I've written here many times. If you want the problem solved, you need to publicize the issue widely so that more people know what Google's support and hardware are worth. Only a lack of funds and their hardware left on the shelves will force people to reconsider. Currently, all Google hardware is junk, worthless as their support. This isn't nonsense, as someone here wrote. I bought a working device, and the manufacturer broke it. If it were still under warranty, I would take it back to the seller and let them figure out what to do with it.

[AdamKa]

They've laid off a ton of people from the Android TV department, and these are the results. Cutting costs across various departments and spending billions on AI are their priorities.