Complete Video Blackout on Playback of Certain Files
#1
Hey guys,

Since upgrading to Jarvis, my Kodi box has experienced a debilitating issue where the playback of videofiles will cause the following sequence of events:
1) The file will play for a few seconds, video and audio intact.
2) The screen will flicker and go to black, but the audio will continue.
3) The black screen is not confined to Kodi. I lose not only the video output nor the GUI, but the entire output of video from my HTPC to my monitor/TV. I know that my computer is still running because I can use the media playback keys to pause/stop the video and the sounds confirm that I'm moving around the main menu, but even if I completely close the program via Alt+F4, suspend the HTPC and bring it out back to the main Windows screen, the video never comes back. My only recourse at that point is to leave it alone for 20 minutes or longer (after which it *MIGHT* come back), or restart the computer.

PC Specs:
- Windows 8.1 with Bing 64-bit
- Intel Celeron 2957U @ 1.40 ghz 1.40 ghz
- RAM: 6 GB
- GPU: Intel HD

Kodi version:
-Kodi 16.1 Jarvis (Release date: 04/26/16)

Setup:
- The HTPC is connected to my Samsung TV over HDMI.

NOTE: The playback problem is sporadic. Some files will load fine, others cause the problem, then the same files will work after a restart while previously "good" files can then generate the problem. I have never been able to get it to happen while the debug mode was running, so the logs that I grabbed may not be as useful as I would like.


- http://xbmclogs.com/pg0gdzos2 (This is from an earlier crash, and I don't remember on exactly what file, so just including it here. I edited it a little bit because the size was preventing it from uploading)
- http://xbmclogs.com/pboktjiel (Just from this morning. Was on successfully for a day or so, so I've included the entire log. Jump to 09:44:40 near the end for the last playback I attempted when it crashed)

I hope I've included everything that's needed. Let me know if I'm missing anything.

Thanks in advance for all your help!
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#2
Are you multi-tasking the display on two devices at the same time? I'm wondering when you have the issue, if you used the 'displayswtcih' (win key + p key in the dark so-to-speak) then hit the right or left arrow key to move to the PC display option, would everything work on your PC? I'm trying to determine if this is a handshaking issue through the hdmi or some failure inside your gfx card. Can you try switching off DXVA2 and use software render to see if this might be some gfx card hardware driver problem? I do note there is issue with some of your add-ons, you might want to disable them, until the issue is fixed. 21:30:21 T:1112 WARNING: XFILE::CFileFactory::CreateLoader - unsupported protocol(plugin) in plugin://plugin.video.watchcartoononline/?mode=300&

Of course it's a given that you have updated to the latest driver for you card. You can keep debug on but silent, check the wiki's out for how to do that. You might want to check on your GPU & CPU temps.
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#3
(2016-05-01, 00:55)PatK Wrote: Are you multi-tasking the display on two devices at the same time? I'm wondering when you have the issue, if you used the 'displayswtcih' (win key + p key in the dark so-to-speak) then hit the right or left arrow key to move to the PC display option, would everything work on your PC?
Of course it's a given that you have updated to the latest driver for you card. You can keep debug on but silent, check the wiki's out for how to do that. You might want to check on your GPU & CPU temps.

No multi-display setup: the HTPC is plugged in solely to my Samsung TV.

I considered switching the video rendering to software, but I was worried that the performance might suffer. Let me check if my video drivers are up to date, and if so, I'll give that a shot.
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#4
Drivers are as up-to-date as I can get them. I could not use the generic Intel update tool to get new ones as they have apparently been modified in some way by HP.

So, here were the permutations I tried:
1) Auto-detect with hardware acceleration enabled: blackout
2) Auto-detect with hardware acceleration disabled: blackout
3) Software acceleration selected: blackout

Previous locks were with #1 and #2. Attached is most recent log where I tried option #3. Check around timestamp 09:09:30 in the log:

http://xbmclogs.com/poam5eof2

Again, this is sporadic. My current "trick" for dealing with this is to hit the pause button as soon as the screen goes black and then hit the Windows button on my keyboard so that the Win 8.1 start menu pops up. I'll then leave it alone for about a half hour and try again, and (hopefully) the image has returned to the Window Start Menu by then, where I can close Kodi from the Task Manager.

Thanks again for any suggestions.

EDIT: Another log, just happened. I don't recall setting it back to Auto-Detect w/ Hardware Acceleration, but that was the setting it was on when I restarted it and checked:

http://xbmclogs.com/ptnhmbdxt
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#5
You failed to turn 'debug on' in settings/system/logging
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#6
New log. Debug was turned on right before it blacked out.

http://xbmclogs.com/p4gb7kbt4

Start at 08:18:52

Thanks!
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#7
Your log indicates some issues with your audio set-up. without delving into this too deeply, it's easier to look at the issues from a slightly new perspective. The Key here for me is, Kodi works ON on some files, and not others and it looks to be linked with the 24fps and 60fps and the codec. Do these videos play well with a stand alone player like VLC?

I prefer getting back to basics, that means you need to rename your C:Kodi program to Kodi.old and the C:\Users\Admiral_Asshat\AppData\Roaming\Kodi to Kodi.old and let's strat from scratch and see if a fresh build with no add-ons will function properly and play those pesky files that gave issue. If at that point you don't have an issue, you'll need to look back at your old build with contempt. If you have the same issue with a 'clean' set-up, then drivers or the actual videos encodes are suspect.
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#8
I have VLC installed as well, and it's never given me problems. I even fired it up a few times to run some videos when Kodi would consistently choke on them.

So I moved the old directories aside and did a fresh install. I haven't had it crash *yet*, but I've only tested about five videos so far, so I don't consider myself out of the woods just yet.

Assuming this takes care of it, I can live without the add-ons. My biggest concern is migrating my library. I have 2 terabytes worth of movies/TV shows/music videos that have already been scraped and indexed, and I really would like to avoid doing that again. What would be the easiest way to migrate the database without risk of re-introducing whatever configuration or addon was causing the previous crashing?
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#9
Kodi uses the basic VLC engine, so whatever the issue, it's probably some corruption or damaged files. In some cases, the recommendation of using VLC as an external player is an option, but not the first solution.

It sounds like the fix is in the new installation and you can handle this in two ways. The first would be to copy files over to your new build and cross your fingers, or do it slowly a few files at a time looking for the culprit.(not recommended). The second option would be to rename the good build to Kod-new in both your C: and roaming folders, Then revert your old build to operational status (renaming again) and use the export library function (I recommend separate files, which will save your meta-data in the video folders, but you can use both for safety), then rename the builds once more (to get the good build operational). You can either mark your sources and re-scrape using the local information only (should be under half hour for your collection and the recommended method) or import your back-up. Don't forget to re-set your scraper.

If you want to maintain your watched status you'll need the following in your advancedsettings.xml

</video>
<videolibrary>
<importwatchedstate>true</importwatchedstate>
</videolibrary>
</video>
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#10
Lost my watched state despite having the advancedsettings.xml as instructed in the AppData/Roaming directory.

Not a big deal, I suppose. I got my library exported and re-imported without much trouble, so I can handle losing the watch status--this is the second or third time jumping ship and starting over (Was originally running Raspbmc on a Raspberry Pi B, then built an HTPC. Lost watch status again when I replaced the HTPC's flash memory with an SSD).

No crashing so far, so I'm hopeful this has squashed it. I'm slowly trying to reintroduce stuff I had before to see if anything breaks. I switched from the basic confluence to my preferred Aeon Nox--no problems yet. I'll try slowly reintroducing the video add-ons (honestly, I had like 20 installed but there were maybe two I used regularly).

Assuming this takes care of it, thank-you very much for your help!
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#11
The advancedsettings.xml (wiki) file, which does not exist by default, can be created by a user in their userdata folder. It's the 3rd party add-ons that will get you, some the code doesn't play by expected rules and can overwrite and damage Kodi files. If your back-ups are in shape, these kind of issues can be flipped off as a 20 minutes gliche (I copy the entire contents of both Kodi folders, off to a storage drive with tera copy about once a month, and can restore just about anything in that time).
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