Roku channel down again

---

Hey guys. I really love your shows and the fact that I can watch them on my Roku, but for the second night in a row the channel won't load and says it's unavailable. I'm trying to complete the 70-410 stuff this week for the test, so it's a bit upsetting. I'm on a 50mb Fios circuit and have no issues with any other content, Roku or otherwise, so I have to assume it's not just me. This has happened a few times in the past, but if I tried to reload it, it eventually would connect. But last night and tonight it's been completely dead. Error code 30-e1e3aa72.
Can we please get this fixed soon? Thanks!

Just to clarify, I'm not talking about the video feeds. I'm referring to just starting the channel to get to the course selections. It sits on the white logo screen for about 30 seconds before closing with the error.

James,
I'm sorry you are having issues accessing the Roku channel. I checked on three different Roku devices using two different ISPs and the channel appears to be working correctly. We have not had any reports from other users indicating the channel was unavailable. I was able to successfully browse to the channel and play a two different 70-410 episodes, so it doesn't seem to be an issue with the channel itself. However, that doesn't mean the problem is necessarily your fault. I double checked the list of Roku's activated on your account and I don't see any listed for you so I suspect the issue is with the activation on your Roku box. The first thing I would try is to remove our channel from your Roku and re-add it. That will ensure you have the latest version of the channel as well as cause it to re-register which will most likely fix the issue for you. If it does not, please send me the serial number for your Roku and I will try to track down what happened. Don't post the serial number here (I don't know of any security exploits, but it probably isn't a good idea). You can e-mail it to me directly at don@itpro.tv.
We'll make sure it gets activated for you, one way or another.
Thanks for watching,
Don Pezet
Host, ITProTV

Hey Don,
Thanks for the quick response. I actually checked again around 1130PM ET and it was working. I thought maybe someone saw my post and fixed something, but I guess it just fixed itself. If no one else is experiencing the problem, it could certainly be something on my side - and if you're not seeing my Roku linked to my account, that could defintely be the cause. I did activate it a few weeks ago, and I am able to watch premium videos, so maybe something just didn't get fully linked when I set it up. I'll shoot you an email with my Roku SN so you can see what might have happened on your side if you want. Worst case scenario I can always delete the channel and reinstall it as you suggested, but I figured I would see if you wanted to track down the problem first.
One other note - in between my first post and when it started working around 11:30PM, I did start watching the videos on my iPad and it was able to stream them without a problem. It looks like the feeds come from the same sources, so whatever the issue is, it doesn't appear to be a video feed one.
Thanks!
--James

OK, we'll certainly keep an eye on it to see if we can recreate the issue. I submitted a channel update to Roku last night that included some minor bug fixes that I have been sitting on for a while. You should see that update push out to your Roku in the next few days. It usually only takes a few days for Roku to approve our updates.
You are right in that all of our videos stream from the same sources, but the Roku channel uses a whole extra set of XML control files that the rest of our site does not need so there could certainly be an issue there.
Please keep me posted if the issue continues.
Thanks,
Don Pezet
Host, ITProTV

It is 8:05 PDT on 9-2-2014, and I am having a problem connecting to the ITProTV Roku app on my ROKU 2 (1080p). I am getting the exact same error message as the OP of this thread (Channel Error 30-e1eaa72) "Sorry this channel is temporarily unavailable. This may be caused by a slow Internet connection. If your Internet connection is okay, please check with the channel owner for more information." When I hit "OK" on the remote, I am sent back to the ROKU home screen. This occurs when launching the ITProTV app on the ROKU, before getting to any content choices. My Internet connection seems to be fine, but just for good measure, I have rebooted my Cable modem and my router (Separate components), still no luck.
Earlier today I was able to watch a couple of episodes in HD with no issues. I just watched a short video from your site, no issues. Let me know if you need any additional information from me about this. Thank you!
Ed

Ed,
Thank you for reporting the error. We have not been able to recreate it on our end, and until now there was a chance it was just affecting one user. Now that we have multiple reports I can send it over to our Roku developers for analysis. I e-mailed them this morning with the information you and James provided. I'll let you know as soon as I hear back from them.
Thanks again,
Don Pezet
Host, ITProTV

Thanks Don!
I was able to get the ROKU app to work a bit later last night, and it is working this morning also. Last night, I was only able to get an SD video to work (using the SD/HD Vimeo media option), while today I am getting HD using the same option. Don't know if this information helps or not...but I thought I'd offer it up, just the same.
Ed

For what it's worth, I did not have any issues last night. I was watching a 70-411 video (HD) when you posted your comment, and I tried closing/reopening the Roku app after I saw your post (since the problem happens when launching the app, not while it's running -- at least for me), but had no problems restarting it. I also haven't had the issue occur again since upgrading to the latest version that Don pushed out shortly after my original post. I also noticed that it launches a lot quicker now.
Ed - are you on the latest version that was released a week or two ago?

I am not sure if I was on the latest version or not since the update would have occurred right around the time that I first added the ITProTV app. For good measure, I just did the "remove channel then add channel" procedure to make sure I am using the latest version (version 2.1 released Aug 25, 2014). Hopefully the problem I had last night won't manifest itself again. Thanks, James!
Ed

OK, our developer was able to track down the issue. Our Roku channel is stored in Amazon S3. When you launch the channel, the Roku app reaches out to Amazon's S3 servers to retrieve a series of XML files that tell it what episodes are available. The error you received indicates that the connection timed out while downloading the XML file. It looks like this is the result of certain ISPs throttling connections to the Amazon S3 servers where a lot of Netflix's traffic originates. That explains why we are not seeing the issue on our end. Unfortunately, there is not much we can do about it as it is not actually an issue with our servers. We are going to increase the timeout period to see if that helps. We also have a few other tweaks we will try to reduce the initial connection time, but if the issue persists you may need to call your ISP and complain.
I know it is not the perfect answer, but as net neutrality slowly dies these types of issues are going to become more common. Would you guys mind sharing with me which ISP you use and what city and country you are in? You can e-mail me directly at don@itpro.tv if you do not want to post it here.
Thank you,
Don Pezet
Host, ITProTV

Thanks for the update Don. That certainly sounds like a likely cause.
I'm using Verizon FiOS in the Sarasota, FL area.
While it might be anecdotal, during the time I experienced the issue I also tried the Netflix app, and didn't experience any issues. I also utilize Amazon S3 for nightly backup sync on my NAS and haven't noticed any warnings or degraded performance, but it might be to a different Amazon DC.
I'm not a Roku developer and am not sure what the capabilities are, but if it's possible, it might help the issue to utilize multiple S3 data centers to mirror the XML data and have the app cycle through them if it receives a timeout or failure on one. If I'm not mistaken, they have a few in the US.
Thanks.

Hi Don,
I suspected some sort of issue like this...acting a lot like Netflix before their recent direct peering agreement with Comcast.
I am on Comcast (basically the only choice I have...no real competition here). If the issue persists, I will definitely complain to them. I do have alternatives if the issue goes on: download episodes - import to iTunes, and AirPlay to my Apple TV from my iMac (I run a mixed Windows/Mac/*nix environment at home, so I am not without options).
Thank you for your immediate assistance on this issue. I just signed up for the annual plan of ITProTV, and am really happy with the content and presentation...top notch!!
Ed

It has been a few weeks so I wanted to follow up and see how things are going. They adjusted the timeout values on the Roku channel which were supposed to help resolve the launching problem. Has it been working better for you guys? Or are you still seeing problems when launching the channel sometimes?
Thanks again,
Don Pezet
Host, ITProTV

Hey Don,
I have not experienced that issue since I last mentioned it (a couple weeks ago). And I've been watching videos pretty much every night since. So I think that problem has been resolved. Once in a while I get streaming problems with the video feed (not often, but occasionally), but I'm pretty sure that it's unrelated and simple Internet congestion, etc.
On the bright side, I just upgraded my account (about 10 minutes ago) to the annual version so I could download the videos and watch them easier on my tablet. Great content and a great value. But I'll still be a heavy Roku user :D.
Taking my 70-412 exam on Monday, so I will be watching quite a bit over this weekend.
Thanks again!
--James

Hi Don,
Thank you for the follow up! I have not had the error message since my initial report. I have noticed a few streaming issues in the evenings around 8:00 PDT, but like James, I believe this is more of an Internet congestion problem also. The main issue is that the video will revert to a lower quality, but will still play through for the most part.
Ed

Ok, please be sure to let me know if the issue creeps back up again. As for quality issues, if the signal starts to break up you can always try switching between the Vimeo feed and the ScaleEngine feed. They are streamed from completely different datacenters so you may get better performance from one versus the other.
Thanks again,
Don Pezet
Host, ITProTV

I am running into this same problem with annoying regularity. Vimeo or ScaleEngine, doesn't matter. I don't have any issues with Netflix or anything else on my internet connection.

I am also getting the video feed switching to just audio with the IT PRO logo screen after 5 minutes in some cases.

Wilf,

Thanks for writing in. We have not been able to recreate your issue. That doesn't mean there isn't a problem, it just means it is a tricky one. Could I get a little more information from you? What model Roku are you using? Also, what type of internet connection are you using (DSL, cable, etc)? Last thing, what country are you watching from?

That will help us run a few more tests to see if we can narrow down your problem. My theory is that there is an issue with one of our CDN points and it is affecting you, but not us.

Thanks for watching,

Don Pezet
Host, ITProTV