Mailing List Archive: MythTV: Users

Can't watch live TV over firewire

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memmott at gmail

Sep 22, 2007, 10:19 PM

Post #1 of 12 (3910 views)
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Can't watch live TV over firewire

I've been running Mythdora 4.0 with 0.20.2 for a couple weeks now. Today I
picked up a Scientific Atlanta 3250HD hi-def box from Charter. I installed a
PCI Firewire card in the machine today and was able to 'talk' to the STB
using the firewire_tester binary in the contrib folder. I set up the
firewire port as a tuner card in Myth but was having trouble switching
tuners while watching live tv, so I blew away my main tuner in mythtv setup
(A PVR-150). Now, when I select Live TV I see the STB change to channel 560,
but after a few seconds I'm dumped back to the main mythtv screen. The
errors in the terminal include the following:

2007-09-23 01:10:29.452 RingBuf(/storage/1000_20070923011022.mpg): Invalid
file (fd -1) when opening '/storage/1000_20070923011022.mpg'.
2007-09-23 01:10:29.458 NVP::OpenFile(): Error, file not found:
/storage/1000_20070923011022.mpg
2007-09-23 01:10:29.458 TV Error: StartPlayer(): NVP is not playing after
20000 msec
2007-09-23 01:10:36.460 MythSocket(90cbbd0:19): readStringList: Error,
timeout (quick).
2007-09-23 01:10:36.460 RemoteEncoder::SendReceiveStringList(): No response.

Is it that myth isn't getting a response from the firewire port, or
something else? I'm not sure where to go from here.

nswint at hotmail

Sep 23, 2007, 9:18 AM

Post #2 of 12 (3828 views)
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Re: Can't watch live TV over firewire [In reply to]

I added this to /etc/rc.local. Occasionally, (every 5 recordings or so)
I have to swap the tuners on my DCT-3416 with a button that I've mapped
on my remote..
Try this and change it accordingly to the node and port that your
firewire connection might be. then run the firewire tester script
(firewire_tester -B -P 0 -n 1 -r 1) and restart your the backend that
has your firewire connector.

#!/bin/sh -e
#
# rc.local
#
# This script is executed at the end of each multiuser runlevel.
# Make sure that the script will "exit 0" on success or any other
# value on error.
#
# In order to enable or disable this script just change the execution
# bits.
#
# By default this script does nothing.

#!/bin/sh
/bin/chown mythtv:mythtv /dev/raw1394
/usr/bin/plugctl -n 1 oPCR[0].n_p2p_connections=0
/usr/bin/plugctl -n 1 oPCR[0].bcast_connection=0
/usr/bin/plugctl -n 1 oPCR[0].data_rate=2
/usr/bin/plugctl -n 1 oPCR[0].channel=0
/usr/bin/plugctl -n 1 oPCR[0].n_p2p_connections=1

exit 0

Matt Emmott wrote:
> I've been running Mythdora 4.0 with 0.20.2 for a couple weeks now.
> Today I picked up a Scientific Atlanta 3250HD hi-def box from Charter.
> I installed a PCI Firewire card in the machine today and was able to
> 'talk' to the STB using the firewire_tester binary in the contrib
> folder. I set up the firewire port as a tuner card in Myth but was
> having trouble switching tuners while watching live tv, so I blew away
> my main tuner in mythtv setup (A PVR-150). Now, when I select Live TV
> I see the STB change to channel 560, but after a few seconds I'm
> dumped back to the main mythtv screen. The errors in the terminal
> include the following:
>
> 2007-09-23 01:10:29.452 RingBuf(/storage/1000_20070923011022.mpg):
> Invalid file (fd -1) when opening '/storage/1000_20070923011022.mpg'.
> 2007-09-23 01:10:29.458 NVP::OpenFile(): Error, file not found:
> /storage/1000_20070923011022.mpg
> 2007-09-23 01:10:29.458 TV Error: StartPlayer(): NVP is not playing
> after 20000 msec
> 2007-09-23 01:10:36.460 MythSocket(90cbbd0:19): readStringList: Error,
> timeout (quick).
> 2007-09-23 01:10:36.460 RemoteEncoder::SendReceiveStringList(): No
> response.
>
> Is it that myth isn't getting a response from the firewire port, or
> something else? I'm not sure where to go from here.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users [at] mythtv
> http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>

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allanwilson at gmail

Sep 24, 2007, 8:50 AM

Post #3 of 12 (3821 views)
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Re: Can't watch live TV over firewire [In reply to]

Make sure you have all your modules loaded:

mythbox:~# lsmod|grep 1394
dv1394 20728 0
raw1394 25120 2
eth1394 19856 0
ohci1394 32716 1 dv1394
ieee1394 353144 4 dv1394,raw1394,eth1394,ohci1394

Run plugreport and show us the output. Here is an example of what it should
look like

Host Adapter 0
==============
Node 1 GUID 0x000e5cfffed720aa
------------------------------
oMPR n_plugs=1, data_rate=2, bcast_channel=63
oPCR[0] online=1, bcast_connection=0, n_p2p_connections=0
channel=63, data_rate=2, overhead_id=0, payload=376
iMPR n_plugs=0, data_rate=2

The big thing is we need to see the output of this command

test-mpeg2 -r 1 > test.mpg

You have to get test-mpeg2 working reliably before you expect it to
work in myth with no problems.

Allan

memmott at gmail

Sep 29, 2007, 5:04 PM

Post #4 of 12 (3774 views)
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Re: Can't watch live TV over firewire [In reply to]

On 9/24/07, Allan Wilson <allanwilson [at] gmail> wrote:
>
> Make sure you have all your modules loaded:
>
> mythbox:~# lsmod|grep 1394
> dv1394 20728 0
> raw1394 25120 2
> eth1394 19856 0
> ohci1394 32716 1 dv1394
>
> ieee1394 353144 4 dv1394,raw1394,eth1394,ohci1394
>
> Run plugreport and show us the output. Here is an example of what it
> should look like
>
> Host Adapter 0
> ==============
> Node 1 GUID 0x000e5cfffed720aa
>
> ------------------------------
> oMPR n_plugs=1, data_rate=2, bcast_channel=63
> oPCR[0] online=1, bcast_connection=0, n_p2p_connections=0
> channel=63, data_rate=2, overhead_id=0, payload=376
> iMPR n_plugs=0, data_rate=2
>
> The big thing is we need to see the output of this command
>
> test-mpeg2 -r 1 > test.mpg
>
> You have to get test-mpeg2 working reliably before you expect it to work in myth with no problems.
>
>
> Allan
>
>
All kinds of errors on plugreport. I have no idea what this means:

[root [at] magi sysconfig]# plugreport
Host Adapter 0
==============

Node 0 GUID 0x0016920e8a980000
------------------------------
oMPR n_plugs=1, data_rate=2, bcast_channel=63
oPCR[0] online=1, bcast_connection=0, n_p2p_connections=0
channel=0, data_rate=1, overhead_id=0, payload=146
iMPR n_plugs=0, data_rate=2

Node 1 GUID 0x00110666000000b8
------------------------------
libiec61883 error: error reading oMPR
libiec61883 error: error reading iMPR

And here's my lsmod:

[root [at] magi sysconfig]# lsmod | grep 1394
raw1394 31161 2
dv1394 22553 0
ohci1394 36977 2 dv1394

jerrymr at gmail

Sep 29, 2007, 5:18 PM

Post #5 of 12 (3777 views)
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Re: Can't watch live TV over firewire [In reply to]

On 9/23/07, Matt Emmott <memmott [at] gmail> wrote:
> I've been running Mythdora 4.0 with 0.20.2 for a couple weeks now. Today I
> picked up a Scientific Atlanta 3250HD hi-def box from Charter. I installed a
> PCI Firewire card in the machine today and was able to 'talk' to the STB
> using the firewire_tester binary in the contrib folder. I set up the
> firewire port as a tuner card in Myth but was having trouble switching
> tuners while watching live tv, so I blew away my main tuner in mythtv setup
> (A PVR-150). Now, when I select Live TV I see the STB change to channel 560,
> but after a few seconds I'm dumped back to the main mythtv screen. The
> errors in the terminal include the following:

What station is on channel 560? Do you know for sure it's
unencrypted? If Allan's suggestion of using test-mpeg2 doesn't
produce something watchable, that might be the case.

-Jerry
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memmott at gmail

Sep 29, 2007, 5:42 PM

Post #6 of 12 (3770 views)
Permalink

Re: Can't watch live TV over firewire [In reply to]

On 9/29/07, Jerry Rubinow <jerrymr [at] gmail> wrote:
>
> On 9/23/07, Matt Emmott <memmott [at] gmail> wrote:
> > I've been running Mythdora 4.0 with 0.20.2 for a couple weeks now. Today
> I
> > picked up a Scientific Atlanta 3250HD hi-def box from Charter. I
> installed a
> > PCI Firewire card in the machine today and was able to 'talk' to the STB
> > using the firewire_tester binary in the contrib folder. I set up the
> > firewire port as a tuner card in Myth but was having trouble switching
> > tuners while watching live tv, so I blew away my main tuner in mythtv
> setup
> > (A PVR-150). Now, when I select Live TV I see the STB change to channel
> 560,
> > but after a few seconds I'm dumped back to the main mythtv screen. The
> > errors in the terminal include the following:
>
> What station is on channel 560? Do you know for sure it's
> unencrypted? If Allan's suggestion of using test-mpeg2 doesn't
> produce something watchable, that might be the case.

560 is ESPN Classics, which I don't get. I have no idea why the Firewire is
tuning to that channel but now that you say that I'm guessing it's a setting
in Mythsetup. I'll take a look at how I have it configured.

allanwilson at gmail

Oct 1, 2007, 6:55 AM

Post #7 of 12 (3724 views)
Permalink

Re: Can't watch live TV over firewire [In reply to]

You set the start channel in mythtv-setup. It's the third or forth option
under tuners.

Allan

memmott at gmail

Oct 1, 2007, 8:27 AM

Post #8 of 12 (3727 views)
Permalink

Re: Can't watch live TV over firewire [In reply to]

I set it to 2, it still tunes to 560 automatically.

On 10/1/07, Allan Wilson <allanwilson [at] gmail> wrote:
>
> You set the start channel in mythtv-setup. It's the third or forth option
> under tuners.
>
> Allan
>
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users [at] mythtv
> http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>
>

allanwilson at gmail

Oct 1, 2007, 12:52 PM

Post #9 of 12 (3705 views)
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Re: Can't watch live TV over firewire [In reply to]

Is channel 2 a valid channel for that listing? On mine when I go in to the
tuner I tell it to fetch channels from listing and it will default to one of
those channels then I tell it to start with that same channel.

Allan

allanwilson at gmail

Oct 1, 2007, 12:53 PM

Post #10 of 12 (3706 views)
Permalink

Re: Can't watch live TV over firewire [In reply to]

Also using test-mpeg2 you can use your remote to set it to a channel and
make sure you are recording video before you try it in mythtv-setup.

memmott at gmail

Oct 6, 2007, 8:52 PM

Post #11 of 12 (3668 views)
Permalink

Re: Can't watch live TV over firewire [In reply to]

On 10/1/07, Allan Wilson <allanwilson [at] gmail> wrote:
>
> Also using test-mpeg2 you can use your remote to set it to a channel and
> make sure you are recording video before you try it in mythtv-setup.

Ok, this is interesting. The PC had been off for a couple days. After
turning it on I ran firewire_tester succesfully:

[root [at] magi contrib]# ./firewire_tester -p -n 0 -r 5
Action: Test P2P connection 5 times, node 0, channel 0
P2P: Testing...Success, 226 packets received
P2P: Testing...Success, 631 packets received
P2P: Testing...Success, 258 packets received
P2P: Testing...Success, 257 packets received
P2P: Testing...Success, 259 packets received

I then ran test-mpeg2 > test.mpg and was able to view the captured mpeg in
mplayer. Everything good, I fired up Myth and tried watching live tv. Same
result - It would tune to channel 560 and then dump me back to the myth
interface, same errors as before.

But I decided to test recording for the heck of it. I went to manage
recordings - scheduled recordings and told it to record SNL. I let it run
for a few seconds and tried watching the recording - Blank screen. I
manually changed the channel via the cable box remote, and surprisingly,
video started to show up. Even more interesting, it was Cinemax HD. I cycled
through channels via the remote and am able to watch all the premium
channels, both HD and non HD. The non HD channels have some tearing with a
Prebuffering Pause error in the terminal, but I'm not worried about that for
now.

Right now I'm trying to figure out why it won't let me watch Live TV or
succesfully change channels. Any ideas?

fenn at stanford

Oct 31, 2007, 6:00 PM

Post #12 of 12 (3466 views)
Permalink

Re: Can't watch live TV over firewire [In reply to]

On Wed, 31 Oct 2007 20:03:24 -0400 "Matt Emmott" <memmott [at] gmail>
wrote:

> On 10/31/07, Chris Petersen <lists [at] forevermore> wrote:
> >
> > Santa Claws wrote:
> > > Right now I'm trying to figure out why it won't let me
> > > watch Live TV or
> > > succesfully change channels. Any ideas?
> >
> > What distro, and are you using an OHCI 1.0 or 1.1 firewire
> > controller? There are known issues with firewire and linux that
> > sound very similar to your current behavior.
> >
>
>
> The Mythbox has sat dormant for a month or so. I suppose I should
> fire it up and try to figure out this issue.

I think the OHCI 1.0 versus 1.1 issue is only a problem with the new
firewire stack (see
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=Juju_OHCI_1.0), which isn't
supported at all by myth yet.

I too am having similar problems, and filed a ticket as it causes my
backend to crash after recording an empty file:

http://svn.mythtv.org/trac/ticket/4091

My guess (and I'm no expert, so I'm probably way off) is that the STB is
messing with the PAT/PMT that makes mythtv an angry mythtv.

-Tim

--
CAPS LOCK IS THE CRUISE CONTROL OF AWESOMNESS
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