Kodi randomly hangs when watching live tv

[h0dges]

I've just experienced Kodi hanging whilst watching Live TV using nextPVR as backend.

Comparing the log files reveals something interesting:

kodi.log:

Code:

17:36:55.822 T:9332  NOTICE: CVideoPlayerAudio::Process - stream stalled
17:37:14.762 T:10028  NOTICE: CVideoPlayer::CloseFile()
17:37:14.762 T:10028  NOTICE: VideoPlayer: waiting for threads to exit
17:37:15.395 T:3588 WARNING: CRenderManager::WaitForBuffer - timeout waiting for buffer

NRecord.log:

Code:

2017-05-21 17:36:52.801    [DEBUG][10]    Updating EPG...
2017-05-21 17:36:52.801    [DEBUG][10]    UpdateEPG@1
2017-05-21 17:36:52.809    [DEBUG][10]    No C:\Users\Public\NPVR\Scripts\UpdateEPG.bat file found
2017-05-21 17:36:52.809    [DEBUG][10]    UpdateEPG@2
2017-05-21 17:36:52.810    [DEBUG][10]    Checking for any DVB/ATSC listings
2017-05-21 17:36:52.810    [DEBUG][10]    CaptureSource.LoadAll()
2017-05-21 17:36:54.812    [DEBUG][10]    UpdateEPG@3
2017-05-21 17:36:54.812    [DEBUG][10]    CaptureSource.LoadAll()
2017-05-21 17:36:54.816    [DEBUG][10]    Number of broadcastEPGChannels: 152
2017-05-21 17:36:54.816    [DEBUG][10]    broadcast channel: BBC ONE Yorks
2017-05-21 17:36:54.816    [DEBUG][10]    captureSourceOID: 24
2017-05-21 17:36:54.816    [DEBUG][10]    found capture source
2017-05-21 17:36:54.816    [DEBUG][10]    mapping:
<tuning>
  <type>DVB-T</type>
  <locator>
    <frequency>682000</frequency>
    <bandwidth>8</bandwidth>
  </locator>
  <service_id>100000</service_id>
  <tsid>4170</tsid>
  <onid>9018</onid>
  <service_type>1</service_type>
  <provider></provider>
</tuning>

2017-05-21 17:36:54.819    [DEBUG][10]    Processing locator for 'BBC ONE Yorks'
2017-05-21 17:36:54.819    [DEBUG][10]    Allocating IPC channel
2017-05-21 17:36:54.819    [DEBUG][10]    Registering channel
2017-05-21 17:36:54.820    [DEBUG][10]    About to get: ipc://DigitalHost-24/RecorderRemote
2017-05-21 17:36:54.820    [DEBUG][10]    Got: ipc://DigitalHost-24/RecorderRemote
2017-05-21 17:36:54.820    [DEBUG][10]    Asking NDigitalHost to start: c:\devxxxxxx\null.ts
2017-05-21 17:36:54.879    [DEBUG][3]    Renew lease failed (0x180015)
2017-05-21 17:36:54.879    [DEBUG][3]    liveHandleRenewalTime contains 1 handles:
2017-05-21 17:36:54.879    [DEBUG][3]     - 0x180015
2017-05-21 17:36:55.238    [DEBUG][10]    Scanning Freq:682000 SID:100000
60 seconds remaining...
2017-05-21 17:36:55.881    [DEBUG][3]    StopStream(15)

Updating the EPG killed the stream and caused Kodi to hang. Looking at my NextPVR settings:
[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]

Update DVB EPG during live tv is turned off, yet this is not respected for some reason. Bug?

Software versions:

• Kodi 17.1
  
• NextPVR 3.9.2 (161119)
  
• NextPVR/Kodi Frontend 2.4.11
  

[sub]

What time do you have it set to do the overnight EPG update? These log messages are for that overnight EPG update rather than the 'update the DVB EPG during live TV' style of update.

[h0dges]

Hi Sub thanks for replying. The overnight updates are set to occur at 02:51 every night. When I put my system to sleep it would wake and update the EPG and I would not encounter these issues. However, I've recently been shutting it down and it hasn't been waking. But that's not the issue, I can fix that (probably). What's at issue is:

1. Should NextPVR be updating the EPG at the next opportunity if it missed a scheduled update?
   
2. If that is the intended behaviour, should that update interrupt live streams that clients (such as kodi) may be using?
   
3. There's also the question of can kodi be configured to fail more gracefully too, but that is not the concern of this forum.
   

I understand that this issue will go away if I allow the EPG to update overnight, but it that does not occur (for whatever reason) it should not interrupt a live stream, which it appears to be doing.

[mvallevand]

Once again this shows a sign of the Kodi/NextPVR timeshifting bug

Code:

2017-05-21 17:36:54.879    [DEBUG][3]    Renew lease failed (0x180015)
2017-05-21 17:36:54.879    [DEBUG][3]    liveHandleRenewalTime contains 1 handles:
2017-05-21 17:36:54.879    [DEBUG][3]     - 0x180015

Unfortunately no one uploads complete NextPVR and Kodi logs showing now it starts.

Martin

[h0dges]

Hi Martin,

Thank you for your response. It's happened again since my last post so I've attached the full NPR logs here and the kodi.log file too. Let me know if there's anything else you need to look at. I'd be interested to understand this bug in further detail, including where it resides (NextPVR, Kodi, NextPVR PVR Client) and if there's anything I can do to fix it (besides updating the EPG overnight - since it's not always guaranteed that that opportunity exists).

Kind regards,
h0dges

[mvallevand]

Those logs point back to sub's original comment that an EPG update is taking place during live TV and you need to fix that to properly get a handle on the problem if it continues. If you can't get your server to automatically wakeup in the middle of the night you will need to turn off automatic updates because the EPG update will start when you manually wake your server.

Martin

[h0dges]

Hi Martin. Thanks again for replying. I understand what you are saying but i already read the logs myself and worked out that an epg update was taking place.

What i don't understand, and what has yet to be explained to me, is why that should interrupt the live stream. After all, i have two tuners; why not utilise the second tuner for the update? Surely this can't be the intended behaviour? If the overnight update is missed - for whatever reason - why not wait for the next scheduled overnight update? If it isn't the intended behaviour then do you acknowledge that what I'm experiencing (poor ux) is a bug? If so, where does the bug reside (npvr/kodi?) and are steps being taken to fix it?

I apologise if i seem pushy but im just enthusiastic for this pvr and I'm sure your team must appreciate user feedback. Ive tried 3 others with xbmc/kodi and nextpvr appears to be the best so far in terms of setup, maintenance, epg coloring, rescans, etc.

Thank you for your continued patience on this matter.

[mvallevand]

What i don't understand, and what has yet to be explained to me, is why that should interrupt the live stream.

Simply put the EPG update is designed to be performed when the recording service is not being used for anything else and is independent from the number of tuners. As I wrote last post if you don't like that design turn off the automatic updates, the recording service can't guess whether or not you are about to start watching live TV.

The logs are clear that Kodi doesn't like the stream it is getting. This is leading to some problems in communication with the server and the server aborts the stream on a renewal timeout which normally doesn't happen in time shifting mode, perhaps related to the EPG update. However the Kodi client protocol can't tell the server there were problems so if there is a bug it is in Kodi not handling the stream error, the server itself is normally stateless when not streaming timeshifted.

Martin

[ACTCMS]

im just enthusiastic for this pvr

The clue is in the name Personal Video Recorder - in the 10 years I've been a member of the community, it has been stated many times that the main priority is Recordings - live TV will only be available for as long as there is a free tuner.

However, scheduled recordings depend on a good, up to date EPG - if it is not updated regularly, series recordings would at best become unreliable - at worst, they would stop being recorded all together.

The nPVR system for EPG updates is working exactly as designed and has been for many years. Feedback and suggestions are always welcomed by sub however, IMHO, your suggestions for changes are based on your setup and specific usage patterns - if they were implemented, they would result in unpredictable results for many other users.

To get what you want, as Martin has suggested, you may have to switch off automatic EPG updates, and do it manually at a time when it doesn't interfere with your live TV watching.

Alex