Error Pages

The HTTP specification defines three categories of errors that Web users commonly encounter; 300-series errors indicate the user should be redirected, 400-series errors indicate a client error, and 500-series errors describe an error within the server itself.

The TV browser does not display any page with a 400-series or 500-series error in the header. Instead a brief message appears that indicates the content cannot be found. The problem is that many developers use the error pages, especially the "404 %u2013 file not found" page, to redirect the user to the home page or existing resource.

The one way around this issue is to configure the hosting server to have a customized "404 - File Not Found" message actually return under a "302 - Moved Temporarily" header. This can be done by specifying a full URL, rather than just a relative pathname, in the file that points to your customized 404 error.

Apache Servers

Custom error pages on Apache servers are in a file called .htaccess, located in the root directory of your Web site. Please refer to the  Apache Web site or server documentation on the proper syntax for specifying custom error pages within this file. (If you are using Microsoft® FrontPage®, make these changes in the srm.conf file because FrontPage may produce an error if .htaccess is modified.)

Internet Information Servers

Although somewhat more automated, the process for IIS (Internet Information Servers) is very similar. The various versions of IIS provide dialog boxes to set custom errors for every valid error. Specifying a file generates a 404 heading, but specifying the same file under the URL setting generates a 302 heading. Please see your server documentation or the Microsoft Support Site for details on these settings in specific versions of IIS.

If you do not have administrative access to the hosting server configuration files, contact the technical support department of your hosting company and ask them directly.

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