TVHeadEnd ongoing misery grinds on as the years roll by
#1
Guys, I'd appreciate any help anyone can offer.
I can keep propping this thing up with babying and regular re-installs, but it's frustrating. It's so close to being totally awesome, but I could never, recommend it to my partner, for example, as she's not technically minded and wouldn't know up from down in this Kodi debug world. She just wants a box that works.

My configuration is:
Raspberry Pi 3b running LibreElec 9.2.6 & Kodi 18.9.
Addons: HTS Tvheadend Server 4.2.21.1 - I can also see 9.2.0.123
TVheadend Client 4.2.21.1.
I'm using WiFi. I have disabled Bluetooth & Wired ethernet.
I have a 1TB USB drive attached for recording.
No login credenitals are defined for TVheadend to connect to the server. It uses the default.
These problems have endured throught THREE ISPs and broadband routers, so I don't think it can be a network issue.
A recent log is at http://ix.io/2Eal
I shut down this system every night and start it in the morning.
I have recently changed to a new SD card, and a new power supply and a new cable with no change apparent.

Problems:

1. TV Tvheadend fails to connect
    Kodi UI shows it "loading 0%". No guide. No TV channels. No TV.
    If you wait several minutes, sometimes, it connects, and then some or all channels are available
    kodi.log shows:

2020-11-14 17:00:29.085 T:1690223488  NOTICE: ES: Starting UDP Event server on port 9777
2020-11-14 17:00:29.086 T:1690223488  NOTICE: UDP: Listening on port 9777 (ipv6 : false)
2020-11-14 17:00:29.893 T:1774150528  NOTICE: Register - new cec device registered on cec->RPI: CEC Adapter (2708:100>
2020-11-14 17:00:30.650 T:1629279104   ERROR: AddOnLog: Tvheadend HTSP Client: pvr.hts - unable to connect to 127.0.0>
2020-11-14 17:07:15.268 T:1936810000   ERROR: Previous line repeats 45 times.
2020-11-14 17:07:15.288 T:1936810000   ERROR: Control 1000 in window 13001 has been asked to focus, but it can't
2020-11-14 17:07:15.296 T:1936810000  NOTICE: LoadJpeg: unable to load /usr/share/kodi/addons/service.libreelec.setti>
2020-11-14 17:07:23.179 T:1629279104   ERROR: AddOnLog: Tvheadend HTSP Client: pvr.hts - unable to connect to 127.0.0>

Sometimes a reboot fixes it. Sometimes a re-install of TVH server fixes it. Sometimes neither will fix it but a power cycle will. Sometimes I lose the will to watch TV and come back later. Always, eventually, I have to re-install the card, and my recordings database is lost and bla bla bla.

Other problems along the way, just in case someone can drop a fix on me:

2. When trying to watch a recording, always the first time, it waits for maybe 20 seconds, does nothing, then returns control to the remove. Trying a second time it always works, and all subsequent plays also work. Reboot - and we're back to the first-time-fail thing.

3. I'm using my TV remote via the CEC adaptor, and it goes through periods of bad "key bounce". Kodi sees several key presses, so it will, for example, pause then immediately restart replay of a video. It might do that three times in a row. Character building.

4. The Kodi YouTube app stopped logging in long ago, and although I tried to make my own API key (I have them for other reasons and theyr'e fine) I never got this to work. Shame because Google's YT app on my TV is very slow and has a memory leak and so it needs restarting every few videos.

5. Artwork thumbnails have never worked.

6. Only with the latest upgrade, I find that often, the home page left hand menu items I removed (like TV Shows, Movies) are back after a reboot.

7. Some channels I've disabled in TVHeadend web interface keep coming back - notably the QVC family.

OK, I admire the work being done to make Kodi and its addons - both technically, and for it's open source/free spirit.
Thanks for time and any help you can offer.

Chris
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#2
Why do you shut it down every night?
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#3
(2020-11-14, 19:57)tredman Wrote: Why do you shut it down every night?

Agreed. I find that if I shut down the system, it normally takes a few reboots to get it back to normal. Not ideal of course!

But it's using almost no power overnight, and what happens if you want to record something that is showing overnight? You don't say what tuners you are using.

My advice, just leave it on!
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#4
Hmh, it still should boot up and connect properly, even if you do shut it down, especially when you use LE, where everything is integrated. I cannot see the problem from the logs though.

Maybe you are lucky here, but if you haven't done that already, I'd also post this on the LibreElec forum.
Server: DIY NAS w/ i3-8100, 32GB RAM, 4x6 TB WD Red, DD Cine S2 + 3xDuoFlex, OMV w/ Emby, TVheadend, Oscam
Living Room: Odroid N2 w/ CE, Panasonic DP-UB9004, NAD 758v3, LG OLED 65 B7, L/R B&W CM10, B&W C S2, B&W ASW10 CM, SL/SR Elac WS 1445, HL/HR Dali Alteco C1
Library: RPi2B w/ LE, Xbox One X w/ Kodi, Nintendo Switch, Panasonic Viera TX-P50 Plasma​​
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#5
For item 2, check to see if the hard drive is going to sleep.  Mine does the same thing if the hard drive is sleeping.  The initial try wakes the hard drive.  The second try works because it is awake.  
I use my hard drive for my live TV buffer.  When I first start a live TV program it takes quite a while to start playing because it is waiting for the hard drive to wake up.  
Is there an activity light on your hard drive that turns off when it is sleeping?  If so, watch what it does when you start playing something.  
The hard drive sleeping may be related to your other problems.
2019 Shield TV Pro with Tvheadend Client (Kodi) | Ugoos X3 Cube with CoreELEC as a Tvheadend server
Samsung UN65JS8500 TV | Onkyo TX-NR646 Receiver | HD Homerun Quatro Tuner
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#6
(2020-11-14, 19:57)tredman Wrote: Why do you shut it down every night?
Because my partner is paranoic about the Wifi. For a time I left it on, and Kodi would crash and then wake up the TV in the night.

That's an item from the list of woes, by the way. Kodi crashes at various points throughout the day then when it reboots, it turns on the TV or snatches the TV from whatever else I'm watching with it.

I can't see how to turn debut on without the on-screen moment-by-monet stats permanently visible.
Turning module-level debug on makes files so large that the 32G CD card fills up for a new reason for Kodi to crash.
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#7
(2020-11-14, 20:18)mcelliott Wrote:
(2020-11-14, 19:57)tredman Wrote: Why do you shut it down every night?

Agreed. I find that if I shut down the system, it normally takes a few reboots to get it back to normal. Not ideal of course!

But it's using almost no power overnight, and what happens if you want to record something that is showing overnight? You don't say what tuners you are using.

My advice, just leave it on!
Thanks. Please see my earleir comments about that.
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#8
(2020-11-15, 02:52)RKCRLR Wrote: For item 2, check to see if the hard drive is going to sleep.  Mine does the same thing if the hard drive is sleeping.  The initial try wakes the hard drive.  The second try works because it is awake.  
I use my hard drive for my live TV buffer.  When I first start a live TV program it takes quite a while to start playing because it is waiting for the hard drive to wake up.  
Is there an activity light on your hard drive that turns off when it is sleeping?  If so, watch what it does when you start playing something.  
The hard drive sleeping may be related to your other problems.
THanks fo ryour suggestion. I've just had to do another total rebuild (the second this month so far) and I cannot get it to show the play recorded files glitch, but I've re-oriented the drive so I can see the light. Thanks again.
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#9
The TV switching is part of the CEC, and can be disabled in the settings menu for the CEC.

It's under settings > system > input > peripherals.
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#10
(2020-11-15, 21:24)DarrenHill Wrote: The TV switching is part of the CEC, and can be disabled in the settings menu for the CEC.

It's under settings > system > input > peripherals.
Hey Darren, thanbk you. That part of the UI looks like just an informative block showing the version installed, and not something you can go to, click on, and find more UI stuff. I've disabled "switch to source" on wake up or whatever it was called, and that should fix it. I also changed some button repeat and release timings which might fix the "button bounce" issue. So - thanks again.
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#11
(2020-11-14, 19:49)ChrisKlondike Wrote: ...
2020-11-14 17:07:23.179 T:1629279104   ERROR: AddOnLog: Tvheadend HTSP Client: pvr.hts - unable to connect to 127.0.0>...
didn't read the whole text, but "127.0.0" catched my eyes.

shouldn't it be 127.0.0.1 ?
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#12
(2020-11-17, 19:22)sixpack58 Wrote:
(2020-11-14, 19:49)ChrisKlondike Wrote: ...
2020-11-14 17:07:23.179 T:1629279104   ERROR: AddOnLog: Tvheadend HTSP Client: pvr.hts - unable to connect to 127.0.0>...
didn't read the whole text, but "127.0.0" catched my eyes.

shouldn't it be 127.0.0.1 ?
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#13
Thanks, but false alarm. The ">" shows that there is more text on that line and moving the cursor to it shows the missing text.
So this is just a truncated view of thay line.
Anyway, I appreciate you trying to help me. Thanks again.
Chris
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#14
(2020-11-14, 20:18)mcelliott Wrote:
(2020-11-14, 19:57)tredman Wrote: Why do you shut it down every night?

Agreed. I find that if I shut down the system, it normally takes a few reboots to get it back to normal. Not ideal of course!

But it's using almost no power overnight, and what happens if you want to record something that is showing overnight? You don't say what tuners you are using.

My advice, just leave it on
I turn it off to placate the partner who worries about radiatio, but leaving it on doesn't fix it. It still craches from time to time - maybe twice or more a day.
Nothing ever useful in the logs. Do the developers come here? Can one get a dialogue iwth them on why "it usually takes a few reboots to get everything running"?
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#15
Do you like blood from your ears? Why not jump ship and try out some others, NextPVR works great here.

i looked at tvh briefly and decided against it. I like configuring and figuring stuff out but TVH seems like alot.
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TVHeadEnd ongoing misery grinds on as the years roll by0