On demand not finishing

[zbeast32]

For a few months now, we are having issues with OnDemand. We have so many shows we watch that are on at the same time that we have to rely on OnDemand. Now every show we watch OnDemand quits 3/4 of the way through. Then we are given the option to cancel or play from start. I try fast forwarding but it won't let us, forces us to watch ads, and then it will play past where we saw earlier and will cut out at 85%. By this point I'm ready to shove our rogers set top box through an incinerator and cancel our account and stream like most people. Rogers is the most expensive provider with the worst service. Why don't you put your millions to use and create a decent and reliable product that people would actually want to use. It has happened on FBI Most Wanted, American Horror Story, Amazing Race. So not just one network. And yes, we have rebooked our box.

*Added Labels*

[mebe]

Wow. You covered a lot of issues, but what has really caught my attention, was when you mentioned that you only have the option to Cancel or Restart your show after OD fails to finish what you're watching. Since OD is a 2-way system that communicates with the Rogers server and then back to you; as you get closer to the end of a show, I find that it's more likely for the server to fall asleep and lose the customer. I rarely come across that problem because I tend to use On Demand (VOD) for less popular shows that generally have commercials at the very beginning, and at the very end (or just before the end credits part of the show). It makes for a more enjoyable experience, almost like PVR, but only with Rewind, back 10 seconds, and pause.
If your signal is strong (hopefully no splitters), or even if it isn't, I would suggest you wake up the server while you watch, by perhaps pressing the STOP button before you get too far, and then see if you see the option to Resume from where you left off. If you don't, perhaps your signal isn't very good, or perhaps the show or box you're using doesn't give you the RESUME option for some reason.
Also, any time you get cut off while using On Demand, and you don't get the RESUME option, try backing up to a previous OD screen that shows options at the bottom right of the screen (like my nextbox 3 PVR), and if you see an option for Saved Videos (press the red C button on your remote if that's like my box), check to see if any of the shows you got thrown out of, are there with the Resume option. Otherwise, exit out of OD, and just watch a random channel and then go back to On Demand, press C for Saved videos, if you have any, and check again to see if any of those troublesome shows you watched can be resumed (before they get deleted automatically, due to time constraints).
By the way, you posted in the TV section and keep mentioning the box, so I'm assuming that you are on digital legacy (like me), and not IgniteTv.
If you still have problems after you remove any splitters, you can give me a specific HD or SD (specify what you selected) show with the season and episode number, and I'll test it on my box without stopping it, or pressing any other buttons to keep the Rogers server awake.

[mebe]

SUPER WOW! I thought the only key part of your post was that there was no RESUME option, after you were kicked out and couldn't see the ending of the show. I was wrong, but Not with my basic answers that are correct for all (but NOT Global, or perhaps related broadcasters), that have been posted by others many, many times; But rather by not paying attention to other key things you mentioned (fast forwarding, FBI Most Wanted and a few other things that got me curious).
Global has removed its onscreen logo from its broadcasts, which is great but also rare. Global has also added the ability to FF, and then I combined what you said about the commercials, so that Global's On Demand programming can be altered to behave like a PVR recording, with just a few more button presses. You just have to be careful to not go too fast with the FF as you get close to the end by using the pause button first and then the play button (or just the pause button again to start playing).instead of pressing the play button first because it doesn't react fast enough ... But even if you go too fast and have to restart from the beginning, it's actually now closer to a PVR recording, depending on how you encountered the commercials.

So without realizing it, your post (and my experience with online streaming), basically killed the commercial purpose of it, so that it's now more of a viewer-controlled experience.
I never thought Global, or any broadcaster for that matter, would break from the status quo, and do something nice for a change (unless it's completely accidental on their part).
Thank you for starting this thread because your frustration let me stumble across a few bugs that needed to be kicked to the curb. 🐜🐝🐞🐛

[mebe]

Hmm. The various standard network channels available via On Demand do behave in the same way by blocking the FF option, except for Global which allows it even through the beginning messages, but for CBC On Demand stuff, the FF option is ONLY blocked at the very beginning when the ratings and various other required messages appear onscreen for about 10 seconds ... But after that you can FF all you want, and surprisingly there are NO commercials, so no need to try to skip them.
I do find it odd that the CBC online site that I started using years ago to watch On Demand stuff, had one of the most flawed and annoying commercial insertions that I had experienced. Thus I had to search for an ad blocker to let me finish the content without getting frozen or restarted.
And yet, now it appears that CBC On Demand viewing (at least via Rogers) is a blessing! 🍻

[mebe]

By the way, not that I really care, but Global's On Demand 9-1-1 Season 6 Episode 5 (both SD and HD) has faulty audio (sounds like a zapping tazer overlaid on top of the regular audio) for several minutes right around the time the 9-1-1 title screen appears with the audio sine waves while the 911 call is heard. I believe the audio corrects itself after the next commercial break. I tried restarting, resuming, FF, RW, and even rebooting just to see if the audio problem would go away, but it doesn't. The other 9-1-1 content that I tested seems to be fine, as is everything else I watch via Rogers OD, regular Rogers TV or Rogers PVR. 🚓

[mebe]

I tested various IgniteTV On Demand content at a Rogers store, and was surprised to see that both CTV and CityTv content had no commercial breaks that were forced viewing (like Global, etc). So if Kimmel had a CityTv news update etc., I could just FF past it, just like I would on my PVR.
CBC also had no forced commercial breaks, just like with legacy digital.
The fact that digital legacy doesn't allow FF during CTV or CityTv content is quite annoying if a show has some boring parts I don't want to sit through, but at least I can cheat and skip the commercials with legacy, that I can't do with IgniteTV, unless perhaps watching via a browser would allow it (not officially of course).
IgniteTV for the win. 🍦🍭🏁

[Laurajane09]

When I don’tfinishbthecshowvitvgors back to the beginning so annoyingb