Unable to get cable channels.

[kmdewaal]

For mythtv-setup, you can just capture the output into a file, e.g.:

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mythtv-setup -v channel,record,chanscan --loglevel=debug 2>&1 | tee ms-20200128.log

[kmdewaal]

OK, I think that I have it. What happens is that MythTV is configured to scan the US broadcast channels but you have cable. The giveaway is the modulation of 8vsb that is present in the mythtv-setup log and the modulation of qam256 as reported by the hdhomerun_config when playing with VLC.
In the mythtv-setup for Channel Scan / Scan Type you should be able to select between "Broadcast", "Cable High", "Cable HRC High", "Cable IRC High", "Cable HRC", "Cable IRC" and "Cable". This should be a popup menu, if you see "Broadcast" then selecting that and press the space bar should give you the list. Which of the cable options is correct for you is then next.

[jjthomas]

No joy. I tried all the US selections.

One thing that is missing are any references to qam

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jjthomas@techdeb:~$ cat ms-20200128.log | grep -i qam
jjthomas@techdeb:~$ 

How do I get MythTV to scan qam channels?

PS My logs are too big to upload.

Thank you.

-Juoian

[kmdewaal]

In the "Video Source" configuration page you have to select the "Channel frequency table" and set that to "us-cable". You have done that according to the database dump but please check that that is still the case.
On my system I have now hacked mythtv-setup into believing I have an ATSC tuner and then it does this:

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2020-01-29 21:09:42.869286 I  HDHRSH[22](1241A003): Tuning channel qam:714000000 (was none)
2020-01-29 21:09:42.869840 E  HDHRSH[22](1241A003): DeviceSet(channel qam:714000000): ERROR: invalid channel

Of course it does not work because it is really a DVB tuner but it does try to do a qam tuning.
You can send big log files (zipped would be great for compression) directly to my gmail address (name is klaas_de_waal (replace _ with .)).

[kmdewaal]

With my mythtv-setup that thinks it has an ATSC tuner I have been able to make a few screenshots and use them to illustrate a paragraph about ATSC channel scanning in the Wiki. See https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Channel_Sca ... figuration. There is an explicit modulation parameter choice so maybe this does work for you.

[jjthomas]

I emailed you the zipped log file.

I know in doing this it did scan qam channels, but I have not been able to get it to do it again.

I dropped the database and started all over again. No change. It was worth trying.

[kmdewaal]

Thanks for the log file. It travelled the Atlantic with success . Analyzing it shows that it indeed only tries to do 8vsb channels, as shown by the following crucial line line in the log:

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2020-01-28 17:27:29.678992 I  channelscan/channelscan_sm.cpp:1897:ScanTransports  ChannelScanSM(1040630A): Looked up freq table (atsc, vsb8, us) w/4 entries

This is the frequency table that is selected on my test system with the Channel Scan "Scan Type: Full Scan" default option values "Frequency Table: Broadcast" and "Modulation: Terrestrial (8-VSB)".

If I, on my pre-v31 test system, change the "Scan Type: Full Scan" option values to "Frequency Table: Cable"and "Modulation: Cable (QAM-256)",then the log shows that the qam256 table is selected:

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2020-01-30 21:37:35.805440 I [718777/718777] CoreContext channelscan/channelscan_sm.cpp:2205 (ScanTransports) - ChannelScanSM(1241A003): Looked up freq         table (atsc, qam256, uscable) w/8 entries

This then leads to a scan of the following frequency of 237MHz with qam256:

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2020-01-30 21:37:35.809904 I [718777/718777] CoreContext channelscan/channelscan_sm.cpp:2232 (ScanTransports) - ChannelScanSM(1241A003): ScanTransports         Transport Scan Item 'QAM-256 Channel 26' #26
   1447         mplexid(0) standard(atsc) sourceid(13)
   1448         useTimer(0) scanning(0)
   1449         timeoutTune(3000 msec)
   1450         frequency(237000000) modulation(qam_256)
   1451          offset[0..2]: 0 0 0

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2020-01-30 21:37:36.104208 I [718777/718888] Scanner recorders/hdhrchannel.cpp:175 (Tune) - HDHRChan[22](1241A003): Tuning to qam256:237000000
   2661 2020-01-30 21:37:36.104729 I [718777/718888] Scanner recorders/hdhrstreamhandler.cpp:515 (TuneChannel) - HDHRSH[22](1241A003): Tuning channel qam256:23        7000000 (was none)

The 237MHz with qam256 is what should work as shown by the output of your hdhomerun_config command:

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jjthomas@techdeb:~$ hdhomerun_config 1040630A get /tuner0/status
ch=qam256:237000000 lock=qam256 ss=83 snq=100 seq=100 bps=15814560 pps=1502

To summarize, this is my configuration to get mythtv-setup to scan 237MHz with qam256 modulation:
- In the Video Source page the selection "Channel frequency table" is "default"
- In the Channel Scan page, the "Scan Type: Full Scan" option values to "Frequency Table: Cable"and "Modulation: Cable (QAM-256)"
This should also work in your setup.If it does actually tune or not is another issue, but the correct table should be selected if you enter these option values.

One thing to keep in mind is that you do have to set the option values each time you want to do a scan because the options are NOT stored in the database.

N.B. My tests are done with the current master (MythTV version pre-v31) but I am not aware of changes in the HDHomeRun and the ATSC code that could influence this.

[jjthomas]

Well, progress. The step I was missing was the Selecting Scan Type. Once I got that I was able to scan and so far, so good.

I have the listings. I'm now working my way through recordings...

Thank you.

-Julian

[jjthomas]

Hi again:

I have installed Fedora 32 and I just updated it. I also installed MythTV v31.
Specifically:

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[root@anthem ~]# uname -a
Linux anthem.027esc.net 5.6.7-300.fc32.x86_64 #1 SMP Thu Apr 23 14:13:50 UTC 2020 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

[root@anthem ~]# mythbackend --version
Please attach all output as a file in bug reports.
MythTV Version : v31.0-v31.0
MythTV Branch : fixes/31
Network Protocol : 91
Library API : 31.20200101-1
QT Version : 5.13.2

[root@anthem ~]# cat /etc/fedora-release
Fedora release 32 (Thirty Two)

As previously requested:

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[root@anthem ~]# hdhomerun_config 1040630A get /tuner0/channel
auto:165000000
[root@anthem ~]# hdhomerun_config 1040630A get /tuner0/status
ch=auto:165000000 lock=qam256 ss=88 snq=100 seq=100 bps=10400160 pps=986
[root@anthem ~]# hdhomerun_config 1040630A get /tuner0/streaminfo
92: 92.2 Telemun
102: 102.2 KIRO 2
107: 107.2 KIRO 3
506: 6.1 KONG-HD
507: 7.1 KIRO HD
956: 956.1 KXXO-FM
957: 957.1 KIRO-FM
958: 958.1 KRWM-FM
959: 959.1 KUBE-FM
960: 960.1 KVTI-FM
962: 962.1 KUPS_90

I'm attaching a copy of the log from the session where I tried to record from Channel 7, zipped. Need to make sure it crosses the Atlantic.

Thank you, again.

-Julian

[kmdewaal]

It should just all work..... Can you send me the following:
- log of the channel scan, the output of "mythtv-setup -v chanscan --loglevel=debug "
- log of mythbackend when making recordings, the output of "mythbackend -v general,channel,record --loglevel=debug"

Klaas.

[jjthomas]

Well hell, following your instructions it worked. Not sure what I did. I hate that! I'll give it a few days and see what happens.

I'll let you know.

-Julian

[bitspiel]

Julian.... I noticed you overtly stated you're running Fedora 32.

As a "head's up!," Fedora 32 is using a version of MariaDB that can crash from Myth queries.

See viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3720

(I am a Fedora user and am holding at Fedora 31 till this 10.4 issue goes away)

Robert

[jjthomas]

As a "head's up!," Fedora 32 is using a version of MariaDB that can crash from Myth queries.

Crap! I pulled my MariaDB logs. Full of "Aborted connection" errors.

This has not been a good project. I even tried to run MediaPortal on windows. I've been trying to get this going since December. I've run into problem after problem. Database connection problems, tuner not found, software not supported, saved settings disappear... Frustrated.

I've tried Debian, FreeBSD, Ubunto, CentOS, LinHES...
[/whine]

Installing FreeBSD. *sigh*

[bitspiel]

Have you considered just replacing Mariadb with Oracle's Mysql? Or rolling back to Fedora 31?

[jjthomas]

I decided to give this a try on FreeBSDv12.1. It bombed with a segmentation fault. I'm sorting that out now.

Thank you for chiming in.

-Julian