InstaTV Pro - FAQ/Know Issues

Table of Content:

  1. 'Restore Purchase' failed
  2. Crash on startup
  3. Contant buffering when use AirPlay with HDHomeRun Plus (HDTC)
  4. WiFi router problem.
  5. Why isn't AirPlay supported for software decoder (iOS)
  6. 720P video becomes blurry then clear again with software decoder
  7. Does InstaTV Pro acquire the lock on HDHomeRun tuner?
  8. Can live tv be streamed over VPN?

Content:

  1. 'Restore Purchase' failed

    If restoring purchase failed, simply try to purchase again. IAP is recorded and maintained by Apple and you won't be charged again.

  2. Crash on startup

    If InstaTV Pro crashes immediately on startup, try the following fixes:

    • Update HDHomeRun to latest firmware. Details are on Silicondust's website.
    • Remove existing install and re-download from AppStore, then restore purchase by either using the 'Restore Purchase' button or Purchase again (you won't be charged twice)

  3. Contant buffering when use AirPlay with HDHomeRun Plus (HDTC)

    When AirPlay HD resolution using HDHomeRun Plus's Mobile/Heavy profile, a 5Ghz WiFi is recommended.

  4. WiFi router problem.

    From our testing and user reports, WiFi router causes the most problems. The common problems are:

    • Unable to find HDHomeRun tuners.
    • Unable to find HDHomeRun tuners afer watching one or more channels.
    • Channel scan always fail after a few channels
    • Random crash during playback.
    One sugguestion is to try a different router or flash the router with third party firmware such as (Tomato or DDWRT). Also, when WiFi router is under heavy load, InstaTV Pro could have problem finding HDHomeRun tuner too. For example, we found that on a Cisco E4200 Dual Band tuner, when a Mac is using HDHomeRun tuner to wirelessly stream a 1080i HD channel (~20Mbps bitrate), InstaTV Pro won't be able to find any HDHomeRun device.

  5. Q: Why isn't AirPlay supported for software decoder (iOS)

    A: This is because AirPlay only supports H.264 video codec but the majority of the broadcasting TV uses MPEG2 video codec.

  6. 720P video becomes blurry then clear again with software decoder.

    One user describe it as "Picture goes from crystal clear then blurry then back to clear cycling every second or so". That happens for 720P/1080i program and it also depends on type of scenes (static or dynamic). Some types of scenes are more obvious and some are less obvious. However, SD video should not have this program. This is because iPad2/3 does not have sufficient processing power to fully decode HD video. We made a tradeoff to reduce the video quality a bit in order to make video smooth. iPad4 currently is able to fully decode 720p/1080i video.

  7. Does InstaTV Pro acquire the lock on HDHomeRun tuner?

    InstaTV Pro does not try to get a lock on the tuner for scan/playback so it's possible the scan/playback can be interrupted by WMC or other Applications. If InstaTV Pro can't find any idle tuner, you will be prompted to manually release a tuner.

  8. Can live tv be streamed over VPN?

    Yes and it's available as an experimental feature with InstaTV Pro.