Page 1 of 2

VBox TV Gateway, 4144, Software Version XTI_VT.2.66.5.2, too old?

Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2020 2:58 pm
by pcfe
Hello,

Code: Select all

mythtv-31.0-3.20200527gitfc90482281.fc32.x86_64
from …wiki/Installing_MythTV_on_Fedora#RPMFusion shows
The VBox software version is too old (VT.2.66.5.2)...
The tuner I have is a
Hardware Revision A0
Manufacture ID 0828
Product Number 4144
Product Name 4144-21

Software Version XTI_VT.2.66.5.2
Linux 4.9.44_hi3798cv2x
Kernel Image VH04
Boot Loader Image 3.4.4
Android version 8.0.0
FWIW, I'm not using the Android part (the tuner does not have a screen connected) and the 4144 does work with Kodi, VLC, etc just like the Android-less models from VBox do. Hence my wish to give it a try with MythTV. I chose that specific model because it has 4 DVB-C tuners.

I'd venture VT instead of VB is the issue here.

Code: Select all

mythtv/libs/libmythtv/recorders/vboxutils.h

#define VBOX_MIN_API_VERSION  "VB.2.50"
Any chance to have a future MythTV version do the VBox version compare using only the numeric part of the version string?

pcfe

Re: VBox TV Gateway, 4144, Software Version XTI_VT.2.66.5.2, too old?

Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2020 6:54 pm
by kmdewaal
Software versions starting with VB and VJ are accepted. I will add VT to this list.

Re: VBox TV Gateway, 4144, Software Version XTI_VT.2.66.5.2, too old?

Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2020 7:18 pm
by kmdewaal
Have now added VT to VB and VJ as valid VBOX software versions in the MythTV master. Please test if this works, maybe string "XTI_VT" must be added instead of "VT". Because this is in master you have to wait until a new PPA is available or you must compile the master yourself.
The relevant comparison is done in file libs/libmythtv/recorders/vboxutils.cpp lines 244-245.
If you compile the master yourself, and if the fix does not work, then please try "XTI_VT" as comparison string.

Re: VBox TV Gateway, 4144, Software Version XTI_VT.2.66.5.2, too old?

Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2020 8:58 am
by pcfe
Thanks for the quick fix, I'll wait for it to show up in the repos.

Re: VBox TV Gateway, 4144, Software Version XTI_VT.2.66.5.2, too old?

Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2020 11:04 am
by paulh
It will be interesting to here how you get on with that model. I think you are the first to try the new Android TV based VBOX with MythTV. I guess they must support the same API otherwise mythtv setup would not be finding it :?:

Re: VBox TV Gateway, 4144, Software Version XTI_VT.2.66.5.2, too old?

Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2020 5:55 pm
by pcfe
paulh wrote:
Mon Aug 24, 2020 11:04 am
It will be interesting to here how you get on with that model. I think you are the first to try the new Android TV based VBOX with MythTV. I guess they must support the same API otherwise mythtv setup would not be finding it :?:
Since there is interest, I threw the commit as a patch at rpmbuild at ran it through mock.
kmdewaal wrote:
Sun Aug 23, 2020 7:18 pm
Have now added VT to VB and VJ as valid VBOX software versions in the MythTV master. Please test if this works, maybe string "XTI_VT" must be added instead of "VT".
Seems fine with VT. Applying
commit 083367b4907afbb40c5ee0adbb402a1aabc92468
to the rpmfusion SRPM and then generating a binary, I get

Code: Select all

2020-08-24 18:56:22.196866 I [2905/2905] CoreContext recorders/vboxutils.cpp:135:doUPNPSearch  Found VBox - XTi 192.168.50.32 1 DVBC
2020-08-24 18:56:22.196908 I [2905/2905] CoreContext recorders/vboxutils.cpp:135:doUPNPSearch  Found VBox - XTi 192.168.50.32 2 DVBC
2020-08-24 18:56:22.196911 I [2905/2905] CoreContext recorders/vboxutils.cpp:135:doUPNPSearch  Found VBox - XTi 192.168.50.32 3 DVBC
2020-08-24 18:56:22.196917 I [2905/2905] CoreContext recorders/vboxutils.cpp:135:doUPNPSearch  Found VBox - XTi 192.168.50.32 4 DVBC
2020-08-24 18:56:28.601551 I [2905/2905] CoreContext recorders/vboxutils.cpp:257:checkVersion  VBox: CheckVersion - required: VB.2.50, actual: VT.2.66.5.2
2020-08-24 18:56:34.210903 I [2905/2905] CoreContext recorders/vboxutils.cpp:257:checkVersion  VBox: CheckVersion - required: VB.2.50, actual: VT.2.66.5.2
2020-08-24 18:56:40.415700 I [2905/2905] CoreContext recorders/vboxutils.cpp:257:checkVersion  VBox: CheckVersion - required: VB.2.50, actual: VT.2.66.5.2
2020-08-24 18:56:46.220704 I [2905/2905] CoreContext recorders/vboxutils.cpp:257:checkVersion  VBox: CheckVersion - required: VB.2.50, actual: VT.2.66.5.2
And the Description field no longer complains about too old. screenshot at https://i.imgur.com/OcRAFFN.png
Nice! Thank you.

While I successfully configured tuners 3 and 4 for a quick test in a VM as per https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/VBox
I must have mucked something up with the database side, following https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Installing_MythTV_on_Fedora
since I get errors trying to use the database.

Code: Select all

[...]
Aug 24 19:35:52 mythtv.internal.pcfe.net mythbackend[5702]: 2020-08-24 19:35:52.720046 I [5702/5729] TVRecEvent tv_rec.cpp:1057:HandleStateChange  TVRec[3]: Changing from None to WatchingLiveTV
Aug 24 19:35:52 mythtv.internal.pcfe.net mythbackend[5702]: 2020-08-24 19:35:52.722596 I [5702/5729] TVRecEvent tv_rec.cpp:3662:TuningFrequency  TVRec[3]: TuningFrequency
Aug 24 19:35:52 mythtv.internal.pcfe.net mythbackend[5702]: 2020-08-24 19:35:52.729114 I [5702/5729] TVRecEvent channelutil.cpp:2048:GetIPTVTuningData  Loaded [data]http://192.168.50.32:55555/SWR RP HD[fectype][fec0][fec1] for 21328
Aug 24 19:35:52 mythtv.internal.pcfe.net mythbackend[5702]: 2020-08-24 19:35:52.733283 N [5702/5702] CoreContext autoexpire.cpp:242:CalcParams  AutoExpire: CalcParams(): Max required Free Space: 3.0 GB w/freq: 14 min
Aug 24 19:35:52 mythtv.internal.pcfe.net mythbackend[5702]: 2020-08-24 19:35:52.735429 W [5702/5729] TVRecEvent programinfo.cpp:5530:LoadFromProgram  LoadFromProgram(): SQL contains LIMIT clause, caller should be updated to use limit parameter instead
Aug 24 19:35:54 mythtv.internal.pcfe.net mythbackend[5702]: QMYSQLResult::cleanup: unable to free statement handle
Aug 24 19:35:54 mythtv.internal.pcfe.net mythbackend[5702]: 2020-08-24 19:35:54.476042 E [5702/5729] TVRecEvent mythdb.cpp:181:DBError  DB Error (LoadByTemplate):
Aug 24 19:35:54 mythtv.internal.pcfe.net mythbackend[5702]: Query was:
Aug 24 19:35:54 mythtv.internal.pcfe.net mythbackend[5702]: SELECT recordid, category,        (category = ?) AS catmatch,        (category = ?) AS typematch FROM record WHERE type = ? AND       (category = ? OR category = ?        OR category = 'Default') ORDER BY catmatch DESC, typematch DESC
Aug 24 19:35:54 mythtv.internal.pcfe.net mythbackend[5702]: Bindings were:
Aug 24 19:35:54 mythtv.internal.pcfe.net mythbackend[5702]: :CAT1="", :CAT2="", :CATTYPE1="", :CATTYPE2="", :TEMPLATE=11
Aug 24 19:35:54 mythtv.internal.pcfe.net mythbackend[5702]: Driver error was [2/2006]:
Aug 24 19:35:54 mythtv.internal.pcfe.net mythbackend[5702]: QMYSQL3: Unable to execute statement
Aug 24 19:35:54 mythtv.internal.pcfe.net mythbackend[5702]: Database error was:
Aug 24 19:35:54 mythtv.internal.pcfe.net mythbackend[5702]: MySQL server has gone away
[...]
obviously, after that it's all pear-shaped but I doubt that has anything to do with the tuner

Just in case I'm wrong, full log of backend attached

Pretty sure this is just me fat fingering something in the setup.
So I'll re-do the test VM, hopefully next w-e.
Once I have mariadb under control I'll be able to provide feedback if the tuner gives a video stream as expected.
Sorry about that delay, this is my first MythTV rodeo. So far I'm mainly on enigma2 and prior to that VDR 8-)

pcfe

Re: VBox TV Gateway, 4144, Software Version XTI_VT.2.66.5.2, too old?

Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2020 7:19 pm
by pcfe
note to self; mariadb.service reports in journal;

mariadb.service: Main process exited, code=killed, status=11/SEGV
mariadb.service: Failed with result 'signal'.

and that's a known error, viewtopic.php?f=36&t=3797

Re: VBox TV Gateway, 4144, Software Version XTI_VT.2.66.5.2, too old?

Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2020 11:36 pm
by pcfe
now confirmed working.

commit 083367b4907afbb40c5ee0adbb402a1aabc92468
- allows setup of a 4144
- gets me a live TV image when choosing Watch TV
- gets me teletext (at least the start page)

I'm still waiting on EPG to come in via EIT, but it's late and I wanted to let you know that, now that I have maria DB under control, the patch did make the VBox TV Gateway, 4144 work.

Thanks again

pcfe

Re: VBox TV Gateway, 4144, Software Version XTI_VT.2.66.5.2, too old?

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2020 9:36 am
by kmdewaal
Thanks for testing. I've pushed the patch now also to the 31-fixes branch.

Re: VBox TV Gateway, 4144, Software Version XTI_VT.2.66.5.2, too old?

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2020 5:08 pm
by paulh
Thanks for testing good to know it works OK.

It looks like an interesting Android based VBox. I've got so many questions though. Wish they would be more specific about the specs on their website :)

Any idea what processor is in it? How much memory does it have? What about internal storage? Can you use the SD card slot to expand the available internal storage. Can you add apps from the PlayStore like Netflix, Prime, BBC iPlayer, etc. Will it run the Android port of MythTV at least for the frontend? Can it stream 4 channels and playback something in Netflix or MythTV OK?

If it could be used as a frontend and also as a 4 tuner network soucre for the backend to use then that would be really cool.

I'm tempted to get one to find out but can't really justify paying £160 for one to play with at the moment. I already have 3 different VBoxes all different models 2 of which they gave me for adding the VBox support to MythTV. Doubt they'd want to give me another one though :roll:

Re: VBox TV Gateway, 4144, Software Version XTI_VT.2.66.5.2, too old?

Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2020 2:16 pm
by pcfe
> It looks like an interesting Android based VBox. I've got so many questions though. Wish they would be more specific about the specs on their website :)
Yeah, I had the same doubts. Were it not for my geo's law that allows me to send back stuff ordered on-line for two weeks I would never have ordered one.

> Any idea what processor is in it?
Sorry no.

> How much memory does it have?
Seems to be 2 GiB, guessed based on `SysConfigLog.txt` (you get that in a tarball when pulling logs in the webUI) containing a top output.
`Mem: 1902216k total, 1211044k used, 691172k free, 808k buffers`
but without the ability to shell ionto this box I can nto be sure, neither can I be sure how they split the AndroidTV part (which I do not use) and the tuner part.

> What about internal storage? Can you use the SD card slot to expand the available internal storage.
So far tests with a 32 GiB card I had in a drawer seem fine, soon™ I should receive a 256GiB card to test with.

> Can you add apps from the PlayStore like Netflix, Prime, BBC iPlayer, etc.
[...]
> Can it stream 4 channels and playback something in Netflix or MythTV OK?
Did not try, my use case is network tuner only, the box is sitting in a shelf far away from any HDMI capable screens and in the TV area all available cable connections are used for my dreambox. Sorry.

> Will it run the Android port of MythTV at least for the frontend?
(this is not related to this HW, but the TV area has a NV shield, so it will be interesting for me to run the frontend on that)
I did not know there was one, was https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Packages not the corerct place for me to look?
Where can I find that port (in F-Droid I find only 2 remotes and in the Google Play store I am, as always, unsure if the search hit is kosher or some dodgy thing banking on people taking teh first search result :-/

> If it could be used as a frontend and also as a 4 tuner network soucre for the backend to use then that would be really cool.
> I'm tempted to get one to find out but can't really justify paying £160 for one to play with at the moment. I already have 3 different VBoxes all different models 2 of which they gave me for adding the VBox support to MythTV. Doubt they'd want to give me another one though :roll:

TBH, I would just ask. After all you delivered supporty in MythTV for the non-android models :-)

Re: VBox TV Gateway, 4144, Software Version XTI_VT.2.66.5.2, too old?

Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 9:20 pm
by pcfe
I can confirm that with recent updates, this now works out of the box on Fedora 32.
Specifically
- mythtv-31.0-9.20200829gitab0c38a476.fc32.x86_64
- mariadb-10.4.14-2.fc32.x86_64

Nice :-)

Re: VBox TV Gateway, 4144, Software Version XTI_VT.2.66.5.2, too old?

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2020 6:57 am
by mesb
pcfe wrote:
Sun Aug 23, 2020 2:58 pm
I chose that specific model because it has 4 DVB-C tuners.
Cannot send you PM, but as far as you used it with DVB-C, could you leave some feedback about 4144?
In my case after 3-5 days of uptime with dvb-c provider, i have logs flooded with some suspicious error:

Code: Select all

2020-03-22T18:51:37.069633+03:00 192.168.1.155  (435) [PLATFORM] [A] HIADP_Vbox_Tuner_Connect(Cable) Tuner 1 - Type DVBC Freq 298000, SR 6900000
2020-03-22T15:51:36+03:00 192.168.1.155 kernel: [13:42:44:204 ERROR-HI_I2C]:I2C_DRV_Write_sony[506]:i2c_transfer failed:-11
2020-03-22T15:51:36+03:00 192.168.1.155 kernel: [13:42:44:211 ERROR-HI_I2C]:I2C_DRV_Write_sony[506]:i2c_transfer failed:-11
2020-03-22T18:51:37.082875+03:00 192.168.1.155  (443) [PLATFORM] [E] IN PLATFORM_SetFrequency, ERROR HIADP_Vbox_Tuner_Connect(1) DVB-C returned=0x2
Do you have something like this?

Re: VBox TV Gateway, 4144, Software Version XTI_VT.2.66.5.2, too old?

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2020 3:02 pm
by paulh
These boxes are fairly new so there might still be a few bugs to iron out. I have the older boxes and they are rock solid never have a problem with them, even more solid than the HDHomeRun that I also have and does lock up from time to time :evil: .

I would try to contact them to let them know you are having problems to see what they say.
https://vboxcomm.com/support/contact-support/

If you don't get any luck let me know I have a contact I can ask for help who has always been very helpful.

Re: VBox TV Gateway, 4144, Software Version XTI_VT.2.66.5.2, too old?

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2020 4:39 pm
by mesb
paulh wrote:
Sun Nov 01, 2020 3:02 pm
These boxes are fairly new so there might still be a few bugs to iron out.
Are you sure?
I got mine 4144 in January 2020.
Its almost year on the market.
I have the older boxes and they are rock solid never have a problem with them, even more solid than the HDHomeRun that I also have and does lock up from time to time :evil: .
Totally agreed, i have 3442 starting from the end of 2016 (december).
But there was lots of bugs before it starts stable.
Last fw that i can state as usable becomes 2.65.4.
Before it i regularly send logs and device uptime was 1 week max.
(Even now there is error with immediate record and some error with epg via web livetv, but its not critical.)
Anyway, in case linux devices 3442/3452 its great to have such long support in my opinion.
I would try to contact them to let them know you are having problems to see what they say.
_/support/contact-support/

If you don't get any luck let me know I have a contact I can ask for help who has always been very helpful.
I tried lots of time, but guys doing something weird.
Well, if you have direct contact, it would be nice to have info what is going on and do they have any plans.
I have from support: 2.66, 2.66.3, 2.66.8 (crappy fw with tuners unavailable), 2.66.13 (this one i can't even set for dvb-c for 3442 and 4144).
All fw that i have for android vbox, doesn't fix work with dvb-c, after 3-5 days of uptime there is lots of error and device becomes unusable.