Shows start where I last left off, instead of at the current time on the channel

[ToddCLT]

The Google TV people told me to post this here instead of in their community, so here it is.  Note two things about the "labels" I was forced to choose for this post:

1. The "Platform" is NOT "Android", but it forced me to choose something and none of them are my "platform" - which is "Chromecast with Google TV".
2. It made me choose a "Product", but I really don't know what "generation" my Chromecast is - I guessed Gen 1.  It is Chromecast Model GZRNL.

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We have "Chromecast with Google TV" (using Chromecast Model GZRNL), and a problem started on ALL of our TVs a month or two ago.  The problem is a little complicated to describe, but basically if we are watching a TV channel, then go watch something on something like YouTube for a while, then go back to the original TV channel, it does not start playing the current program at the current time - instead, it starts playing whatever was on that channel when we last stopped watching it.  Here is an example to clarify:

1. Let's say we are watching the MSNBC TV channel at 8:30, and we decide to watch a video on YouTube thatis 1/2 hour long.
2. We switch to YouTube and watch the 1/2 hour video.  It is now 9:00.
3. We then want to watch the show currently on MSNBC, so we go to the Home menu and select MSNBC from the channel guide.  The menu correctly shows us whatever is on MSNBC at 9:00, and we click on that.
4. Instead of showing us the program that the menu showed - the one at 9:00 - it plays MSNBC from 8:30, when we were last watching it.  In order to actually show the current MSNBC program (the 9:00 one), we have to fast-forward through 1/2 hour of content to get to the current point on that channel.
5. I've found that if I reset the Chromecast by disconnecting its power for a minute, that also solves the problem.  If I do that, it will correctly show me the program it's supposed to, at the "current" time.

As I said, this happens now on all of our TVs, so the problem is definitely NOT this particular Chromecast or TV or network connection. It started happing 1/2 months ago, and has been absolutely consistent - it is not an intermittent problem.  

I spent about 4 hours on the phone with Google support one day, and got nothing but a runaround.  They switched me back and forth between the TV support people and the Chromecast support people twice, and each one eventually insisted it "was not their problem", and that it was for the other support team - which then did the same thing, and switched me back.  No one took ownership or did anything to actually diagnose or fix the problem.  I contacted them again a few days ago, and they asked me to send a short video showing the problem, which I did.  They did not get back to me at all, so I sent a follow-up email, and they still haven't responded.  On top of that, today I got a suvey from them asking if I was happy with their "solution" to my problem.  They are just awful.

Does anyone recognize this problem or have a solution?  Again, to make sure it's clear (since the Google support people could not seem to get these simple things through their heads):

1. This is what I think they call "Chromecast with Google TV".  The Chromecast is connected to an HDMI port on the TV, and all content on the screen comes from the Chromecast.  It is NOT using any app in the TV itself, and we are NOT casting to the TV from any other device like a phone or tablet.
2. It is on all of our TVs, so it is NOT something with this particular device or TV set.
3. It is consistent, so it is not something like intermittent network problems.
4. It started around the time that I read Google was pushing out a major Chromecast firmware update.

[Kipsy]

is the app being used for tv watching called youtube TV ? if so, it started happening to me when i upgraded my roku ultras to the newest 2024 model.  

[ToddCLT]

Youtube TV is my TV service, but I'm not using an app in my TV, the app is all inside the Google Chromecast and running there. Perhaps it's similar with your Roku.

[GabrielaG]

Hi @ToddCLT, 

Thanks for reaching out to the community. I'm sorry to hear that your app is not working as expected with the Google TV Streamer 4K and that shows start where you last left off instead of at the current time on the channel. Don't worry, we'll definitely work through this together.

I appreciate your effort in performing troubleshooting steps with the Google Support team. To help further, I need a little more information. Could you please answer the following questions?

• When did the issue start?
• What is the name of the app you are having the problem with?

Feel free to keep us posted if you have more questions.

Regards,

Gabriela

[ToddCLT]

By the way, your support people asked me to take a video showing the problem occurring, which I did - but they did not contact me after I sent it to them - and they still have not contacted me after I sent TWO MORE EMAILS asking what is going on.  They seem to have simply abandoned me.  Why?? 

[ToddCLT]

Gabriela, have you abandoned me (like the telephone support team did)?  Why no response or information?

[ToddCLT]

Gabriela, what is going on?  You asked me a couple of questions, which I answered 5 days ago - but I have not heard any more from you since then, even after I asked on Monday.  This is frustrating, since it seems exactly like what the support team did when I was working on the problem with them - they discussed it with me, collected some information, and then completely ghosted me and did not even have the courtesy to reply to emails.  Now, it seems like you're doing the same thing.

[ToddCLT]

Gabriela, this issue started around 6-8 weeks ago (estimated), and I AM NOT USING ANY APP, AS ALREADY SAID.  The "app" is the firmware embedded in your Google Chromecast device, which provides everything I see on the TV screens, via the HDMI port it is plugged into.  I wanted to attach a photo of the back of one of our Chromecasts, so you could see the model and serial numbers, but this web site says I do not have permission to upload images. (Why not??)  However, the model is GZRNL (as I said above), and the numer I think might be the S/N is  xxxxxxxxxxxxx.

Based on the post above by Kipsy, this clearly is NOT just a problem for me - it's also occuring on Kipsy's Roku.

[Elijah1]

Same exact issue here. Also started a few months ago. Chromecast with Google TV. 

[Elijah1]

@GabrielaG any thoughts on this issue? 

[ToddCLT]

@GabrielaG appears to have abandoned us, just like the tech support people abandoned me after they clearly understood the problem.  I have to believe they know about this problem and don't want to talk to any of us who are experiencing it, because they don't want to be bothered fixing it.  If Gabriela or someone else can tell me otherwise, that would be great.

[ToddCLT]

This is DEFINITELY common, and DEFINITELY a bug in YouTube TV. I have it on all my Chromecasts With Google TV, my daughter has it with their smart TV where the YouTube TV app runs directly in the TV, and Kipsy above has it on a Roku.  Why won't YouTube TV admit to the problem and fix it?

[Elijah1]

Hopefully the update fixes it

[ToddCLT]

Did you get an update?  (and to what?)  I haven't seen any changes in months - not since the change that introduced this bug.

By the way, they also made a change that caused the "YouTube" button on the Google TV remote control to stop working.  Are the rest of you also seeing this problem?

[Elijah1]

They just released a update in the last few days. I haven't gotten it yet. Your security patch should should January 2025 after it updates