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Full Version: A couple of newbie questions running XBMCbuntu
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I just started using XBMCbuntu (13-2) on an Intel NUC D54250WYK2 running XBMCbuntu off a 30 GB mSATA SSD and overall it's working really good but I have a couple of questions/issues.

- the automatic library update doesn't seem to work, manually refreshing the library works fine though
- sometimes I get this bad shimmering/jumping menus effect as seen here -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTTH1JTsYdc
- sometimes I seem to loose the network connection to my media share (a Win 7 PC) although the share is up and running/available just fine

Thanks in advance guys for any input or tips!
the flashing/jumping looks like a refresh rate/display problem. Did you check the hdmi cable? Can you try with another one and/or another display?

automatic library update only works on startup. If the media shares are not available at this time, it won't work - might be connected to your last issue. Whats your network setup?
I'd like to have a Debug Log
Thanks guys for your input!

I've now done some additional testing starting with the flashing/jumping problem.

- tried using a different HDMI input port on my TV -> still same problem
- tried using a different HDMI output port on my Bose LS T20 -> still same problem
- tried connecting my NUC via HDMI directly to the TV -> problem gone

At first this would indicate a problem with the Bose LS T20 system since the problem disappeared when I connected the NUC directly to the TV rather than going from the NUC->Bose->TV all connections using HDMI. However if there indeed was a hardware issue of some kind with the Bose unit I would like to think I should see this not only when navigating the menus in XBMC but also in other situations?

Before I started using XBMC I was using a Boxee Box using the default OS/GUI that comes with the BB and I never had this issue. I then hacked my BB to be able to run XBMC and that was when I first started seeing this "refresh rate" problem. I should also mention I was not using the same HDMI cable at the time I was running XBMC on the BB to rule out any cable issues.

I then replaced my BB with my current NUC a couple of days ago hoping that would make the refresh rate issue go away (and also some other issues I had with the BB) and fact is I do think I've seen less of the refresh rate issue now with the NUC but unfortunately it's not completely gone.

Very weird problem since it will only happen randomly without changing one single thing to the setup and connections. I found that the best way to fix it when the problem occurs is to change the refresh rate in XBMC from 60 Hz to 59.94 Hz and back to 60 Hz. Mostly this will fix the issue but not always and normally this fix will only last until next reboot. To me this appears to be a compatibility issue between XBMC and Bose Lifestyle T20 since I've seen this problem since I first started using XBMC on my Boxee Box and now also when using a Intel NUC.



Then to the problem with the automatic library update that doesn't work. I fully understand the automatic update will only work during startup and of course the share must be available.

What I've found doing some testing is the problem seems to be that after a reboot of the NUC/restart of XBMC it takes several minutes until XBMC eventually is able to connect to the share and I can't understand why this is because the share is available all the time and I'm able to connect to it using other devices.

So it's only the NUC/XBMC that for whatever reason can't connect to the share right away after a reboot/restart but needs these extra minutes (haven't any exact numbers but seems to be like 3-5 minutes) before I'm able to access the share from within XBMC and then I'm also able to manually update/refresh the library. So when I said in my first post I'm able to update the library manually this was only 50% true since I off course will not be able to update the library manually until I'm able to connect to the share. The share I'm connecting to is on a Win7 x64 PC.

I uploaded a couple of log files, very neat feature being able to upload your log files like this - most impressive !! Did a quick scan through the log files myself and I did find some error and warning messages about host names that were not found etc but not sure if that is related to this issue. Hopefully you XBMC gurus will be able to get more valuable info from the log files than I was able to.

Looking at the last log compare lines 714 764. Here I guess you can clearly see the problem, at line 714 XBMC for whatever reason is not able to connect to the share despite the share indeed is available all the time. Then looking at line 764 when I did a second attempt accessing the share it was all of a sudden available and nothing changed during these two attempts - the share was available in the exact same way all the time.

Edited to add that I also found some entries in the log files saying 'Skipping scan' like line 450 in the last log file and I guess this is the confirmation the automatic update didn't run and this because the share according to XBMC was not available. So the REAL problem I need to solve seems to be why XBMC can't access the share directly after a restart/reboot but needs these extra minutes. I will of course never be able to have the automatic update work until I solve that issue but I hope you guys will be able to give me a hand here.

Here are my log files:

http://xbmclogs.com/show.php?id=168350
http://xbmclogs.com/show.php?id=168364
http://xbmclogs.com/show.php?id=168372

Sorry for the lengthy post but I wanted to describe my issues as detailed as possible.
ad library update: seems that Xbmc is starting too fast, your network is probably not up by then.
try http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid...pid1656841

ad flashing: if it works without AVR, its not xbmc Wink Nonetheless, play around with refresh rates, specially "adjust refresh rate to match video", take note which refresh rates your movies are, if xbmc correctly switches rates(check with xrandr -q).
Try to find a way to reliably reproduce the issue.

Also check if there is a firmware update for your AVR.
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, sure sounded like the same issue I've been experiencing.

Still not 100% sure if I fully understood what the solution was but if I'm not totally wrong this is what I need to do?

in /etc/init/xbmcbuntu-wait.conf
-start on (starting lightdm or starting ubiquity)
+start on (starting lightdm or starting ubiquity and net-device-up IFACE!=lo)


What's the easiest way for me to access and edit this xbmcbuntu-wait.conf file, can I do this from my Win7 PC or do I need to do this from the NUC? And what exactly am I supposed to do in that file? Maybe it will be self-explanatory once I get into the file...looks like +start on is the setting I want...

ad flashing I didn't say it was XBMC Wink but rather that it seems to be a combination between my Bose LS T20 and XBMC causing this issue. Will try what you're suggesting using the 'Adjust refresh rate to match video' and see what happens. Not sure how/where I use that xrandr -q command but my guess is I need to first exit from XBMC or is there a command prompt in XBMCbuntu...yes...I'm a Linux newbie Wink

Already upgraded my Bose with the latest firmware but thanks for the tip!
Found my way to /etc/init/xbmcbuntu-wait-conf file but could you please just let me know what I need to do in this file because that wasn't as obvious as I would have thought Huh
you look for this line:
start on (starting lightdm or starting ubiquity)

and replace it with:
start on (starting lightdm or starting ubiquity and net-device-up IFACE!=lo)


Note that you must do this as root, so start your editor with sudo.
Ahh...stupid me...I thought I was supposed to add a '+'-sign somewhere Laugh

Will try this and report back, thanks!
Worked like a charm, thank you so much !!

Is there a special reason this is not included 'out-of-the-box'?
yes, it slows down startup on systems that don't rely on network shares or don't use auto libary update and would even prevent startup on systems without network.
How about a user switchable setting, like openelec has?