[mythtv-users] frontend has gone dark

[Michael T. Dean]

On 11/24/2008 01:14 PM, Wookey wrote:
> Sorry to bother you, people, but I've broekn my frontend and don;t
> really know how to fix it.
>
> The short version: The frontend is almost entirely dark blue on dark
> blue. I can just see the bevels on dialogs and the square where the TV
> picture should be. No text, no graphics, but audio works in TV
> playback (no pics). The interface appears to be operating normally
> except for one extra dialog saying who-knows-what after the 'scaling
> images' thing.
>
> I tried to run mythtv-setup to sort it out but that has exactly the
> same problem so is no help. you can see the backgrounds of places to
> fill in and button backgrounds but nothing else. 
>
> So it's currently useless. I am guessing maybe I have lost all my
> theme information or something like that. Any suggestions on what to
> do to fix it?
>   

If it is theme, then: rm -r ~/.mythtv/{osd,theme}cache

> Longer version:
>
> I an using debian lenny with mythtv packages from debian-multimedia
> repository. It all works pretty well apart from some stuttering on
> video from time to time which seems to be due to high load. It's a
> combined FE/BE via nenmiah ITX box so is fairly minmally powered.
> There was no stuttering on v0.20.
>
> Anyway, I thought I'd rebuild the packages with appropriate CPU
> optimisation to see if things worked any better.

This sounds like the real culprit.

>  I apt-got sources
> (0.21-cvs20080706 IIRC)., changes the cpue and tune options in the
> rules configure script (to i686) and rebuilt everything.

You really shouldn't specify any cpu/tune/march/... options to 
configure.  Only the --enable-proc-opt should be specified and configure 
will do the right thing.  The other options are meant only for packagers 
(i.e. people who build Myth using a specific computer but try to do so 
in a way that it works on a bunch of other different types of 
computers).  I highly recommend a recompile with only --enable-proc-opt .

>  Took a few
> hours, but was finished this morning with no problems.
>
> I also updated the machine from lenny-a-couple-of-weeks-back to
> lenny-current. 
>
> This morning I installed new myth-frontend package and ran frontend -
> blank frontend. So I reverted to original mythtv-frontend package that
> I had carefully saved from apt cache just in case. Same thing . Damn.
>
> Desktop works OK.
>   

That means colors are correct in all other apps?  If not, I'd check 
video cable/card.  If colors are correct in most apps, it may be limited 
to apps using a specific feature of your video cards, such as OpenGL.  
In that case, check your video driver installation/configuration (which 
can cause all sorts of problems).

> So I'm not sure if a lenny upgrade has done something horrible to
> mythtv-frontend graphics or if installing my rebuilt version has
> broken something such that reverting does not fix it.
>
> I tried running mythtv-setup remotely but no picture at all appeared
> there, neither did it quit or whinge particularly.
>   

This may also indicate problems with having multiple versions of Myth 
installed into different locations (i.e. packages in /usr and 
self-compiled in /usr/local).

> I also tried re-installing mythtv-common and removing and
> reinstallting mythtv-frontend and all associated packages. Neither of
> those helped at all.
>
> The missus would like the telly back. Sadly I haven't got remote
> frontends working yet (some permissions issue with mysql), so I really
> need to get to the bottom of this. Clues most welcome.

Check out http://mythtv.org/docs/mythtv-HOWTO-6.html#ss6.2 for very 
quick info on MySQL permissions and you can also usually find someone 
helpful in #mythtv-users on IRC on freenode.

Mike