Kodi NPVR v5 crashing

[Lao Pan]

For the last 2 months - since updating the backup software killed the HTPC, I have been having problems with the Kodi install.

To save time, I used an Old backup of Windows 8.1 - which I have been using, as it gives better picture quality than 10 and allowed 5.1 DTS over SPDIF.

First with Leia 18.9 things weren't the same as before - poor deinterlacing and terrible picture breakup, if recording more than 1 program at a time. (even on the same mux)
Last weekend the HTPC froze - first in Kodi and then while rebooting (which required buttoning after 5 minutes of stuckness). After the restart all the settings in Kodi had disappeared 

Having seen that Matrix RC1 had just been released, I decided to remove Leia  and replace with Matrix  and set up from scratch again.

Problem 1 - 64 bit Matrix would install and run once. After shutting down Kodi, it would then crash every time on trying to reopen it.
Following a reboot, again it would start only once, then crash every time.
This had happened back when I first installed Leia, when NPVR v5 first came out so have had to use 32 bit version.

Problem 2 - Using 32 bit Matrix, in the EPG, trying to open a program causes Kodi to crash 90% of the time. Luckily going into Live TV it works. Also the epg is very juddery when scrolling and also opening recordings is a 50% chance of crashing Kodi.

Have tried the latest nightly 21/01/21 and also the latest Jenkins build of NPVR Addon all without success.
Also noticed that my windows 10 Matrix 64 bit install is having the same epg crashing problem.

I am going to rebuild Windows 8.1 from scratch with minimum software to run Kodi + NPVR and see if that helps.

First Question Which version of Matrix and the NPVR addon should I try first?

[mvallevand]

The issue is likely not the addon, but I'd be happy to look at the logs.

Problem #1 was reported by a Windows 8.1 user and solved by going to Window 10. This to me implies video driver issue.

Matrix is very busy loading the database for the first minute or so, let the backend load complete.

On new installs remember to turn on deinterlacing since it is off by default and if you have video problems turn off DXVA and DXVA2 and use the software player and then add h/w decoding features back to see what the culprit is.

Unfortunately most of the Kodi devs don't use Windows.

I only use Matrix if that makes a difference and don't have this issue on Win 10, Apple TV or CoreElec all of which I have used extensively.

I do have a bug fix planned for released but it doesn't address anything you mention.

Martin

[Lao Pan]

I'll try a clean (minimal) install of 8.1 with latest nightly - which addon should I use, Kodi repository or Jenkins zip.
If that doesn't work, its time to find the DTS APO hack for Windows 10.

If all else fails, maybe Linux, after all all the HTPC really needs is Kodi, NPVR and a browser (Vivaldi by choice) How are the audio and Video in Linux these days I used Linux back in 2001 to 2003 but gave up because of video editing software not being very friendly then.

[mvallevand]

I would use the Jenkins build I just put up 8.2.0

Audio is too big a topic to answer. You can go from 1 channel mono to Dolby Atmos. Since you use optical I guess you don't care about that. For linux you will need to do research and tweaking. I'd suggest the Kodi forum. I use small boxes that have the work done for me but I only need AC3 or PCM output.

Martin

[Lao Pan]

Well I installed Windows 10. Now I have the latest AMD Crimson drivers instead of November 2015 Catalyst driver.
Also installed the latest unofficial Realtek UAD driver, instead of R 2.81 which was the last one that worked with 5.1 over spdif.
Now I have DTS 5.1 Interactive over SPDIF, which is exactly what I need (and paid for with my motherboard years ago!)

Installed yesterdays Matrix nightly (64 bit finally works) and the 8.2 NPVR addon and all was working well - until I started adding files and a couple more addons. Suddenly the epg was back to as before. Clicking on a program would cause kodi to drop straight back to the desk top, but would run from the Live TV Menu, but quite a few crashes trying to start recordings.

Tried reinstalling the graphics drivers with no luck. Then on a hunch deleted the NPVR addon and ProjectM visualizations - reinstalled Kodi and then NPVR addon and so far it appears to be working!

I am wondering if there is a conflict between the two plugins is projectM overwriting some NPVR requirements? I'm not going to reinstall the visualisation plugin for a while and see how it goes - but I need some visualizations sometime in the future!

[mvallevand]

I have been reporting 64 bit issues with MilkDrop for a while https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=341125

On https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid...pid3000774 brought it up again for Matrix (follow this thread there is a very recent update) You may need to add projectM to the list of viz that need fixing.

Martin

[Lao Pan]

Thought I would just give an update.
I've been running Matrix 19.0 Final since the day it came out first with the Jenkins build of the NPVR Addon, now with the Repository build.
I found that the Goom visualisations worked OK - but just didn't quite have that WOW factor. Yesterday I noticed that Milkdrop 2 had made a return to the Kodi Repository, so crossed my fingers and installed it. All seems to be working fine now, with limited testing in Music and DVB-T Radio in the NPVR plugin, Also no crashing to the desktop in the epg. And Milkdrop 2 is probably the best looking Visualisation available in Kodi at the moment.

I have found that Timeshift works best with a 3 second delay. With 2 seconds, the on screen display would pop up every now and then and all would stop. I'm guessing it could be related to the Hauppauge Quad Tuner dropping frames problem that NumberFive has posted about. 3 seconds cache gives the player time to sort its act out.

One problem I am having is that the Recorded Programs Screen in Kodi takes a long time to refresh - After a program has finished recording, it doesn't automatically appear in the list of recordings. Sometimes requiring a stop and start of Kodi to show up.(which is not good) I have reduced the guide update settings from 2 hours to 30 mins which may have made a difference. Is there a setting I have missed, or is it a "feature" that will need logs to sort out?

Also for anyone who is interested - BBC iplayer Addon 4.0 beta2 appears to be working fairly well - I was using a v3 alpha with Python 3 enabled which worked well up till yesterday.

[mvallevand]

Post a kodi debug log showing recording not showing issue and I will have look. I am a bit confused by the statement "doesn't automatically appear in the list of recordings", since it should be already be the when it starts recordings.

Martin