Samsung App crashes without internet

[labem 0]

I have a my emby-server and my Samsung tv on the same network.

Due to recent events, i decided to cut internet access for my TV (disabled WAN-Access on the router for the MAC of the Samsung-TV).

The TV doesn't load any ads anymore, streaming from the emby-server works. So everything is looking good.

Except: The Emby-App crashes every few minutes. It doesn't matter  which content i play, it freezes for a while, then crashes, then i can start emby-app again and it works, until it freezes again a few minutes later.

I tried to allow internet access and it worked again without issues. However, i'd like to keep my tv blocked. Can something be done about it?

Thank you

Emby-Server: Version 4.10.0.40
TV-Model: GQ65QN93
TV-Firmware: T-NKM2DEUC-2301.1
Emby-Client: Emby for Samsung 2.2.8 - reported as the newest available version
License: Lifetime emby premiere

 

[Luke 43533]

HI, are you able to try installing the latest version over USB ?

https://emby.media/download.html

[labem 0]

Hi, thanks for the suggestion. 

The latest version (over USB) isn't crashing anymore - all good.

It turns out my TV is a 2021 model, right at the 5 year update cutoff. Is there any chance the store version will get one last update this year?

[Luke 43533]

Hi, we should be able to get it updated, and for now at least, we can continue to update it. So it won't be one last update. Samsung just takes longer for the older models. 

[labem 0]

Hi again, sadly the App has been crashing again lately with cut internet access. It's the same freeze-then-crash as before.

I'm  currently on v. 2.4.9 installed over usb.

Is there anything else i could try?

[Luke 43533]

10 hours ago, labem said:

Hi again, sadly the App has been crashing again lately with cut internet access. It's the same freeze-then-crash as before.

I'm  currently on v. 2.4.9 installed over usb.

Is there anything else i could try?

When exactly does it crash? When it does, what exactly happens?

[labem 0]

- The Samsung App crashes happen at random. Sometimes after 3 minutes, sometimes 15 mins without a crash. I observed the crashes only while movie playback - not in the menu etc (however i don't spend much time in the menu)

- Crash: the screen freezes for a few seconds, then the App closes and i'm back in the Samsung UI. From there, i can start Emby again and continue watching.

- the crashes happen only when the TV has no internet access (blocked connection to WAN). Emby server always had internet access.

Thank you for your input

Edited October 16 by labem

[Luke 43533]

@SamES

[JoshHirsh 0]

Hey there, also having this issue. It went away for quite some time after I installed the latest via USB Emby 2.4.9 (was previously on 2.3.X). Installed it right around when this issue was opened. Starting happening today (October 21st) and am not entirely sure why (maybe to do with the server update?). I'll play any media for about 10 to 20 minutes, the application will freeze (no stutter, lag, etc. just a static freeze as if I've paused it), and then after a few seconds it crashes. Can confirm that WAN access on the TV is blocked. I have also noticed the crash only occurs when I'm playing back media. One other thing that's weird... is that the clock on the Emby client on my TV is usually incorrect after the crash occurs.

I don't know if that's a hint, but at the moment Emby reads 7:58 pm and it's 7:17 pm. I don't know if that helps, I just remember my old Windows 7 PC getting web requests blocked when it's internal clock was not set correctly. Hmm... Following that trail, I noticed the TV actually set it's clock to "manual" setting rather than the normal "auto" which I assume pulls from Samsung's servers to set the TV time over WAN. I'll set the time correctly, clear the TV memory, and restart the app. I do notice that even when I set the time properly on the TV it doesn't change in the Emby app. 

Some other notes: Media is playing directly on the same LAN network over 5Ghz wifi, installed Emby using a USB with latest, haven't seen the crash with *all* types of media but have seen it basically every time I've played a 1080 H.264 file. Have not been able to trigger the crash while connected to the internet, I think it's safe to assume it does not occur when it's connected to WAN. I'm currently an Emby premium subscriber as well. Emby server just updated to 4.10.2.0 today. Can confirm as well that the TV has fully shut down, not just gone into sleep mode. I've also tried unplugging/plugging back in the TV, doesn't seem to make a difference.

If there are any logs or dumps I can send to assist, let me know. I'd be happy to help. Thanks.

Edited October 21 by JoshHirsh
Edit: grammar

[labem 0]

Hi Josh, 

 thanks for your input. I never noticed the clock before, but i can confirm the clock is also wrong in my app as long as the WAN is blocked, After unblocking the correct time gets loaded almost instantly.

The clok in the Samsung-UI seems to be independent and is always correct on my TV - even without WAN access.

[Luke 43533]

The JavaScript function to get the current date does not always return the correct value on Samsung TV's. This will affect the clock as well as anything in the user interface that needs to normalize a time from UTC to local. Samsung previously acknowledged this to us. I'm surprised they haven't resolved it after all this time, but if it only happens when offline then I can see why they may not prioritize it very highly.