[mythtv-users] Playback stops, returns to guide [Ringbuf Error: I/O problem in safe_read]

[Jarom McDonald]

> I have been having an issue where playback of recorded shows will 
> stop, usually right around the title sequence, and will return me to 
> the "Recorded Programs" list. I tried looking through the lists to see 
> if this problem has been found and fixed, and was not able to find a 
> solution. I did find two other posts (from 2004) but neither seemed to 
> have any replies:
> 1) 
> http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/61928?search_string=playback;#61928
> 2) 
> http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/71233?nohighlight=1#71233
>
>
> From searching through the googles, I found mentions of 
> running m/ythcommflag --rebuild -f <filename> /to rectify a bad 
> seektable and this is what was returned:
>
> mythcommflag --rebuild -f 1006_20090423203000.mpg
> 2009-04-24 09:32:53.313 Using runtime prefix = /usr
> 2009-04-24 09:32:53.354 DBHostName is not set in mysql.txt
> 2009-04-24 09:32:53.354 Assuming localhost
> 2009-04-24 09:32:53.354 Empty LocalHostName.
> 2009-04-24 09:32:53.468 New DB connection, total: 1
> 2009-04-24 09:32:53.490 Closing DB connection named 'DBManager0'
> 2009-04-24 09:32:53.493 mythcommflag version: 0.21.20080304-1 
> www.mythtv.org <http://www.mythtv.org/>
> 2009-04-24 09:32:53.493 Enabled verbose msgs: important
>
> MythTV Commercial Flagger, started at Fri Apr 24 09:32:53 2009
> Rebuilding SeekTable(s) for:
> ChanID  Start Time      Title                                      Status
> ------  --------------  -----------------------------------------  ------
> 2009-04-24 09:32:53.504 New DB connection, total: 2
> 1006    20090423203000  Parks and Recreation                       
> 2009-04-24 09:32:53.578 Using protocol version 40
> 2009-04-24 09:32:57.791 RingBuf(/video/media2/1006_20090423203000.mpg) 
> Error: File I/O problem in 'safe_read()'
> eno: Input/output error (5)
> 2009-04-24 09:32:57.854 RingBuf(/video/media2/1006_20090423203000.mpg) 
> Error: File I/O problem in 'safe_read()'
> eno: Input/output error (5)
> 2009-04-24 09:32:57.919 RingBuf(/video/media2/1006_20090423203000.mpg) 
> Error: File I/O problem in 'safe_read()'
> eno: Input/output error (5)
> 2009-04-24 09:32:57.920 RingBuf(/video/media2/1006_20090423203000.mpg) 
> Error: File I/O problem in 'safe_read()'
> eno: Input/output error (5)
> 2009-04-24 09:32:57.982 RingBuf(/video/media2/1006_20090423203000.mpg) 
> Error: File I/O problem in 'safe_read()'
> eno: Input/output error (5)
> 2009-04-24 09:32:58.045 RingBuf(/video/media2/1006_20090423203000.mpg) 
> Error: File I/O problem in 'safe_read()'
> eno: Input/output error (5)
> Rebuilt
>
> Finished commercial break flagging at Fri Apr 24 09:32:58 2009
>
> The files have the correct length but I can not view them past 
> the erroneous end marker. If I try to skip past where the recording 
> wants to stop, it will play for a second or two then return to the 
> programs screen. The preview thumbnail will continue to play past 
> where the file tries to stop, so I know that the whole episode was 
> recorded.
>    

I had something similar to this start happening to me a couple of months 
ago, with shows that my cable company broadcast on its CBS HD channel. I 
traced it to something having to do with xvmc, but didn't have the 
patience to try to solve the problem; so now whenever I need to watch 
one of those shows I temporarily change my playback profile from 'CPU--' 
to 'High Quality' or something like that, and change it back when I'm 
done watching. This may not be your problem, of course, but you ought to 
use it as a troubleshooting technique; does the recording play fine if 
you change the playback profile? For that matter, have you tried playing 
the recording outside of the MythTV player?

On a tangential question related to my comment above, is it possible to 
set up recording profiles so that they will automatically be applied to 
recordings from particular channels (or storage groups)? I.E. tell Myth 
to "use 'High Quality' for everything recorded from channel 2.1 (or for 
a given storage group) and CPU-- for everything else," so I don't have 
to be always manually switching it?

Jarom McDonald