[mythtv-users] PVR350 problems with Myth 0.25.2

Sun Sep 23 20:14:14 UTC 2012

-----Original message-----
From:Paul Onley <onley at att.net>
Sent:Sun 23-09-2012 19:49
Subject:Re: [mythtv-users] PVR350 problems with Myth 0.25.2
Attachment:inline.txt
To:Discussion about MythTV <mythtv-users at mythtv.org>; 

On 09/23/2012 09:48 AM, Dave Pearson wrote: -----Original message-----
 From: Paul Onley <onley at att.net> <mailto:onley at att.net> 
 Sent: Sun 23-09-2012 14:51
 Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] PVR350 problems with Myth 0.25.2
 Attachment: inline.txt
 To: Discussion about MythTV <mythtv-users at mythtv.org> <mailto:mythtv-users at mythtv.org> ; 

On 09/23/2012 08:24 AM, Dave Pearson wrote: -----Original message-----
 From: George Mari <george_mythusers at mari1938.org>
 Sent: Sat 22-09-2012 19:57
 Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] PVR350 problems with Myth 0.25.2
 To: Discussion about MythTV <mythtv-users at mythtv.org>; 
 On 09/21/2012 08:23 AM, Ken Mink wrote:
 > On 9/12/12 9:59 AM, Tim Scholl wrote:
 >>
 >>
 >> On Wed, Sep 12, 2012 at 9:39 AM, Neil Bird <neil at fnxweb.com
 >> <mailto:neil at fnxweb.com>> wrote:
 >>
 >>     Around about 12/09/12 09:56, Dave Pearson typed ...
 >>
 >>         This won't be any help to you, but I am experiencing similar
 >>         problems with
 >>         my PVR250's (I've got one in my MBE and one in my SBE). I
 >>         sometimes get a
 >>         flashing stripe about 20% of the height of the screen at the top
 >>         - it's as
 >>         if it's being torn from the image (if that makes any sense).
 >>
 >>
 >>        OK, time for an AOL moment:  me too.
 >>
 >>        Except, I have 0.24.x still (with my PVR-350), and I only ever
 >>     use it (the card) for s-video in:  it's not configured for TV (and
 >>     wouldn't work now, anyway, as all our analogue channels have been
 >>     turned off).
 >>
 >>        Maybe once a month I get a stuffed recording like that (my
 >>     flashing strip *seems* to be a distorted checker board pattern), and
 >>     the problem lasts for the whole recording.  I've never noticed it
 >>     run into another (back-to-back) recording, but that situation may
 >>     not have ever occurred.
 >>
 >>        I had initially thought it was my satellite box, but I've come to
 >>     believe it's my card (or, at least, PVR-based), and had just thought
 >>     it was starting to go (so I'm going to get a new s-video card for
 >>     the new box I'm building up).
 >>
 >>        It hasn't always done it, but I couldn't say it started after a
 >>     Myth update though.
 >>
 >>
 >> I'd save your money and hold off on buying a new card.  The symptoms I
 >> is see is either the flashing bar, or the same "(flashing strip that
 >> *seems* to be a distorted checker board pattern)" that your seeing.
 >>
 >>
 >> --
 >> Tim Scholl
 >>
 >>
 >> _______________________________________________
 >> mythtv-users mailing list
 >> mythtv-users at mythtv.org
 >> http://www.mythtv.org/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
 >>
 >
 > I am seeing the same problems with my PVR-500. I also have a HVR-2250 in
 > the same box. It uses the ivtv driver and does not have the problem. The
 > issues started with the upgrade to 0.25. I'm currently running
 >
 > MythTV Version : v0.25.2-21-g099533d
 > MythTV Branch : fixes/0.25
 > Network Protocol : 72
 > Library API : 0.25.20120506-1
 > QT Version : 4.7.2
 > Options compiled in:
 >   linux release use_hidesyms using_alsa using_jack using_oss using_pulse
 > using_pulseoutput using_backend using_bindings_perl
 > using_bindings_python using_bindings_php using_crystalhd using_dvb
 > using_firewire using_frontend using_hdhomerun using_ceton using_hdpvr
 > using_iptv using_ivtv using_joystick_menu using_libcrypto
 > using_libdns_sd using_libfftw3 using_libxml2 using_lirc using_mheg
 > using_opengl_video using_qtwebkit using_qtscript using_qtdbus using_v4l2
 > using_v4l1 using_x11 using_xrandr using_xv using_bindings_perl
 > using_bindings_python using_bindings_php using_mythtranscode
 > using_opengl using_vaapi using_vdpau using_ffmpeg_threads using_live
 > using_mheg using_libass using_libxml2
 > _______________________________________________
 > mythtv-users mailing list
 > mythtv-users at mythtv.org
 > http://www.mythtv.org/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
 >
 I just saw the same thing this morning on my PVR-350.  I'm running 
 Fedora 17, kernel 3.5.3-1, MythTV 25.2-1 from RPMFusion.

 I somewhat suspect it's a leaky/bulging capacitor I found on my PVR-350 
 today, however.  The card is 7 years old, after all.

 On the other hand, other flaky behavior with the ivtv driver re-loading 
 itself and causing the myth backend to no longer use that tuner do 
 coincide with my upgrade at the beginning of the month for Fedora 17.
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 mythtv-users mailing list
 mythtv-users at mythtv.org
 http://www.mythtv.org/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

I don't think it's a hardware fault as I have this problem on 2 PVR250's in 2 separate systems. I suspect it's an IVTV driver problem as I finally got around to trying the card outside of mythtv (using mplayer /dev/video0 -) this morning and the same thing was happening, I quit out of mplayer and ran the command again and the picture was OK. I'm not a member of the IVTV mailing list, but it might be worth taking a look there to see if it's been reported.

Regards,

Dave

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 I am having issues with the PVR-500 (3 of them with identical symptoms actually) that include a distorted picture and the "Error opening jump program file buffer" problem. Could all of those in this thread please check to see if there is a coinciding entry in their syslog like 

 ivtv0: Encoder has died : ivtv_serialized_open 
 ivtv0: Detected in ivtv_serialized_open that firmware had failed - Reloading 

Yes, I've got that in my syslog:

Sep 23 15:45:53 nslin01 kernel: [194952.355339] ivtv0: Encoder has died : ivtv_serialized_open

Sep 23 15:45:53 nslin01 kernel: [194952.355344] ivtv0: Detected in ivtv_serialized_open that firmware had failed - Reloading

Sep 23 15:45:54 nslin01 kernel: [194953.404361] ivtv0: Loaded v4l-cx2341x-enc.fw firmware (376836 bytes)

Sep 23 15:45:54 nslin01 kernel: [194953.470965] ivtv0: Loaded v4l-cx2341x-dec.fw firmware (262144 bytes)

Although it coincides with a quick mplayer test that I did which didn't show the picture distortion.

Regards,

Dave.

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 The last two lines indicate that the ivtv driver reloaded the firmware successfully so ideally you should have had a good picture. I have been watching the log file and  when I see the Encoder has died message about half the time the recording will have a corrupt picture. The ivtv driver claimed to have successfully reloaded the firmware but the picture say otherwise. 

 I have written a script to kill the backend, remove and reload the ivtv module and restart the backend whenever I see the Encoder has died message and this results in good recordings (albeit with about 30 seconds missing at the begining) 100% of the time. I have 3 pvr-500 cards and they all 'developed'  this problem when I upgraded my backend box to Debian Wheezy and Myth 0.25. I suspect the ivtv driver is the problem but do not know how to proceed from here. I have posted this issue to the ivtv users list but there has been no response. If everyone here in this thread is seeing the same error then how about posting in my PVR-500 Problem thread so that ivtv knows there is a reproducible problem and can maybe help us track it down.

 Paul

Hi Paul,

I'll check my syslog next time I get a problem picture and see if I get that error at that time.

Excuse my ignorance, but how do I get on the ivtv mailing list as I've never had the need before?

Also, could you post your script as that would be an acceptable short term fix for me.

Regards,

Dave.

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