[mythtv-users] ME6000, Jarod FC1, PVR350, *DMA ERROR*

[bishop]

Henk, Kevin,

Thanks for your responses so far.  I have some new info (when I actually 
got time tonight to watch some TV) and I suspect that it's all going to 
boil down to one culprit.

>>> First off, is there a happy link to known bugs in the .14 mythtv site
>>> code?  I'd like to check off the ones I'm seeing, and know if time had
>>> been available to look into them for .15 .  I'm not expecting someone
>>> else to do my bidding and suddenly fix everything; I'm patient to wait
>>> until someone else with some real coding talent has the same itch.
>>> Heck, I'm all but banking on it!

Henk Poley wrote:
> The developers seem to dislike bugzilla, so.. no there is no bug database... 
> You could search the mailinglist for 'bugzilla' and see whatever reason they 
> had to not use it.

I wish I could search the mailinglist;  not possible, from what I saw. 
Sure, I can grab the entire contents for the last month or two, and 
manually skim over it, but I see no content searching or anything.  With 
the traffic on this thing, I'm not even sure I'd see the right message 
when it came up.

Is there a handy search function I'm missing?  Google for 'mythtv' and 
'bugzilla' turned up a darkly comical number of hits.  If I missed a 
completely obvious 'search the list here, Bishop' kinda form, I'll 
gladly accept a pointer to said form and in return videotape the beating 
for asking such a FAQ.

>> 1)
>> It looks like my DMA error has followed me to my Via 600mhz box too.   
>> I think it was in live TV viewing.
>>
>>> ==> /var/log/messages <==
>>> Apr  6 01:54:20 otnemem kernel: ivtv: DMA read error.  Result=0x00000002

Update:  The problem is actually a complete lockup at the 30 second mark 
if I'm watching a recording or liveTV.  I'm beginning to think that I've 
got serious issues, here.  8-)  (and that my mythtv box is an expensive 
timepiece/sink with handy mythweather reports.  at least the blue theme 
is nice)

No log, and a scan of past logs shows the DMA error was the only one to 
occur when the machine locked up.  Tonights attempt still died at the 
30-second mark.

Anyone know what it could be doing at that point?  I'd be very willing 
to activate any kinda diagnostics that can be installed onto my machine, 
if it's considered useful, but remember:  when the machine locks, that's 
it;  I cannot sample any state at the exact moment of the crash.

KMF wrote:
>   PVR-350? In any case, there has been recent work on this
> over on the ivtv-devel list:
> 
>     http://www.poptix.net/ivtv/current/threads.html

>> 2) Don't hit FFWD or REWD while viewing recorded programs.  It  
>> advances the position and then locks.

KMF wrote:
>  I experienced this problem on my EPIA system with some versions
> of the Ivtv driver but not with Matthias' 0.1.9a driver nor
> with the 0.1.10pre2 with Chris kennedy's patches 01-04.

It sounds like problems #1 and #2 are potentially related to my ivtv 
version.

Hmm.  I've still got 
ivtv-kmdl-2.4.22-1.2174.nptl_37.rhfc1.at-0.1.9-25.rhfc1.at
  (a 0.1.9 driver) because I'm unwilling to deviate too far from a 
common linux installation set.  I've worked with too many support 
people, back when my job actually was to build RPMs, to even consider 
deviating.  Support people - especially the volunteer ones, tend to 
cringe at systems of random software that are misbehaving.

I guess I'll have to wait for an update, then, or move to the 
experimental kit.

Anyone on the stock FC1 ATrpms w/ an ME6000 and a PVR350 who *can* watch 
either live or recorded TV?  Anyone?  Don't all talk at once ;-)  Anyone 
using the experimental or CVS config and enjoying both stability and the 
ability to watch TV (Live or recorded) ?

>>> 3) Does commercial skip skip while viewing, or while recording?  I think
>>> that a commercial skip setting set off #2 today.  The hard lockup
>>> moments into a futurama show today was barely into a commercial, and the
>>> OSD showed information suggesting it recognized it as such (I was a
>>> bonehead, no digicam shot, sorry).  The playback died exactly 30 secs
>>> in.  Significant?  Dunno.

Update:  the lockup behaviour now has the common link of being exactly 
30 seconds into the broadcast.  Still I'm curious.

Henk Poley wrote:
> AFAIK Commercial skip is partially done during recording (blank frame 
> detection?) and the rest is done in a seperate process after the recording 
> has finished.

KMF wrote:
>  Commercial processing is done post recording, isn't it? I'm
> certain that on my KnoppMyth R4V2 (Myth 0.14) that commercials
> are detected after recording completes and on my V10K(1GHz) it
> uses about 30-35% CPU and takes around 1.5X time to complete.
> Did I misunderstand your question?  Perhaps this is a
> consequence of problem #2 listed above?

I think that it could be a consequence of #2, but it sounds like I'm not 
actually doing anything to do the skipping.  That'd be neat, but I'll 
have to do the cutting myself, later, I guess.  Previously, when the 
lockup s appeared to be right at the beginning of a commercial, I 
theorized that perhaps the box was getting some Magic Signal to Skip 
Ahead, which made it FFwd, and which then caused the lockup as per #2.

But I'm thinking that it's *all* related to my ivtv drivers.  There has 
been a lot of movement on those, because of the withdrawal of some 
drivers from Axel's repository, and it all gives the glimmer of hope 
that a new set will be forthcoming.

Either that or I'll (*gasp*) figure how to subscribe to the CVS release. 
  Now, don't all start recommending it at once;  I know how much 
everyone *loves* my shiny problem reports.

Hoping that I'm not alone in my choice of FC1, ME6k and PVR350.. 
(everyone else apparently uses knoppix or deb;  I'm jealous)

  - bish


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