[mythtv-users] Escaping from encrypted channels: was 'Re: Error when displaying video?'

[R. G. Newbury]

Jesse Dhillon wrote:
> When this happens to me, the only thing I can do to fix it is stop mythbackend, 
> go through mythtv-setup, then restart the backend. It's definitely a pain in the 
> ass.
> 
> Jesse.
> 
> 
> 
> Neophytos Neophytou wrote:
>> When I tune to an encrypted channel and can not get decrypt I get "Error when 
>> displaying video" and I have only one option, to exit LiveTV.
>>  
>> Even when I try to get inside again it goes to the same encrypted channel and 
>> I still getting the same error without be able to tune to other channel ie 
>> Free to air. I have to go in and out many times to manage change of channel.
>>  
>> Any idea please? 
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Myth keeps track of your last successfully tuned channel... of course, 
the problem is that you can tune the channel, but not display it.
Rather than exit the frontend and re-set the startchannel, you might try 
poking the database.

 From a commend line, get into mysql and the mythconverg database:

mysql -u mythtv -pmythtv mythconverg;

'describe cardinput' will show you the fields in the cardinput table

'select cardinputid,cardid,inputname,sourceid,startchan from cardinput;' 
will show you your tuners *and their startchan settings*. One card 
should show the encrypted channel.

try  something like:   'update cardinput set startchan = '108' where 
cardid = '1';

then the 'select cardinputid,cardid,inputname,sourceid,startchan from 
cardinput;' again. This should change the channel to a safe starting 
channel presuming that 108 is a valid watchable channel on card 1.

Now using vim or whatever, create a file   reset-channel-settings
containing:

update cardinput set startchan = '108' where cardid = '1';


and then another file 'reset-channel' containing
mysql -u mythtv -pmythtv mythconverg < reset-channel-settings

Make the latter executable (chmod 777 reset-channel) and move both to 
some place in your path... like /usr/local/sbin.

You will need access to a terminal console to use this, or at least test 
it. So create a terminal console with 2 sessions, and start the frontend 
  with the 'run frontend in a window' ssetting in one session. Now you 
can Alt-Tab between the sessions (or your can run the panel bar and 
minimize the frontend window snf select the console session.
Then execute 'reset-channel'

I suspect you must change to another tuner first. The program pokes the 
database directly with the new 'fixed' channel, so when you change back 
to that tuner. it should be tuned to something useful.
If this produces problems, at the least you can avoid running 
mythtv-setup. Just stop the frontend, run reset-channel and restart the 
frontend.

The next step would be to code a keypress on your remote, into lirc, so 
that irexec will run reset-channel... problem would be to ensure that 
you are not using that tuner... but testing may show that you can poke 
the databaseto change the tuner channel without major problems...

Please test this for us all and report back!!!

Geoff