[SX988] Client Mode is unreliable

[Huevos]

You do realize that the server receiver has to be in standby. Else on the client you can only watch the channels on the transponder the server is tuned to.

Only if the server is a single tuner box.

There really should be a check for network up, e.g. ping the server.

 

[paul4ow]

I do wonder if its the router causing the issue as many on a certain provider did say wifi sucked and to put it into modem mode and use another router for better wifi performance ?

I don't think so. WiFi works perfectly on my network if I configure the client to use the "fallback configuration" instead. In this case the "ChannelsImporter" script is not run at boot to update the channel list and EPG - that is where I think the problem lies.

 

[paul4ow]

Only if the server is a single tuner box.

There really should be a check for network up, e.g. ping the server.

Hi Huevos,

Thanks for the update in 6.4.010 to try to address this. It makes the client box usable after boot.

However, there are some issues.

Firstly, when the WiFi-connected client box fails to connect on first attempt it does the following:
1. 3D Vix logo rotates at top-left, then the bar which shows the current channel shows at the bottom of the screen for a few seconds. During this time it looks like you can try and change the channel but it will not work.
2. The 3D Vix logo then comes back and rotates again at the top-left (I assume this is the first re-attempt at running the ChannelsImporter). When the Vix logo has finished rotating, the bar showing the channel at the bottom reappears. The main problem here is that the channel does not start to automatically stream. To start streaming a channel, you need to change the channel - this time it works.

How I would expect the boot process to work from a user point-of-view instead:
1. Turn on the box, and see Vix logo rotating.
2. No end of logo rotation and no visible channel bar at bottom until a full connection has been established (so the user is not confused and think the boot has completed, and then tries to change the channel when it won't work)
3. Once fully booted and connected, the last viewed channel should start to stream automatically.


Secondly, the whole boot process is very slow when there is an initial connection failure. I had a brief look at the code and don't fully understand it - there seems to be a delay (not sure how long) between each attempt and only 5 attempts. Instead, to speed this up, could we not ping say every second and then time-out after a minute? Is testing a full FTP connection necessary?

Thanks again for your time and work,

Paul

 

[Mickkie]

I've come across a similar problem with sx988, but not exactly the same. I thought I'll report it here in case it is related somehow.

I use ethernet cables with a 1Gbps switch to connect the sx988 to the server (Mut@nt HD51 with DVB-T2 tuners). On the first boot once I installed OpenVix-6.4.011, the GBipBoxClient plugin launched and asked me to configure a server which I did. With the rest of the wizard choices completed the sx988 started up and BBC1 started playing. Then I noticed whenever I tried to change channel ended up showing a black screen.

If put the sx988 into standby and bring it out of standby, or if I fully reboot it, then the channel I had switched to starts streaming normally. Having to switch it off/on after switching channels to be able to watch TV made me take a second look into its configuration.

I disabled and uninstalled the GBipBoxClient plugin, then rebooted the box. I was still able to stream TV, but changing channels caused the same problem, a black screen and no streaming. I captured a log and noticed this:

<  4038.5670> [eFilePushThread] wait for driver eof timeout
<  4038.8173> [eFilePushThread] wait for driver eof timeout
<  4039.0676> [eFilePushThread] wait for driver eof timeout
<  4039.3121> [eHttpStream] openUrl failed
<  4039.3122> [eHttpStream] Thread end NO connection
<  4039.3179> [eFilePushThread] wait for driver eof timeout
<  4039.3180> [eFilePushThread] read error: Function not implemented
<  4039.5683> [eFilePushThread] wait for driver eof timeout
<  4039.5683> [eFilePushThread] read error: Function not implemented
<  4039.8186> [eFilePushThread] wait for driver eof timeout
<  4039.8186> [eFilePushThread] read error: Function not implemented
<  4040.0690> [eFilePushThread] wait for driver eof timeout

with the last two lines repeating endlessly.

Then I tried to configure the Client Mode, but it would not recognise the FTP password, perhaps because it has some symbols in it. With the FTP password the connection failed and the settings would not be saved. Without an FTP password it would not allow me to save the server IP address either. So I aborted setting a Client Mode and went to the tuner's 'Fallback Configuration', where I set up the server's IP address there. Subsequently the sx988 has been able to switch channels normally and streaming works perfectly.

I found the above confusing when compared to openATV, which uses IPBox Client and does not require FTP settings.

NOTE: I had trouble setting up NFS exports on the server. This happened because when the NFS service is installed and enabled, the /etc/exports file is created for a LAN segment of 192.168.0.0/255.255.0.0, so if your LAN happens to use a different private network block, e.g. 172.16.0.0/12, you won't be able to access recordings for playback until you manually edit /etc/exports on the server and restart the NFS service.

 

[paul4ow]

I found the above confusing when compared to openATV, which uses IPBox Client and does not require FTP settings.

Yes, it is strange that GBipBoxClient is installed by default on the SX988 when there is also Client Mode. I had started another thread on this: https://www.world-of-satellite.com/...ient-no-attribute-quot-WHERE_RECORDTIMER-quot

The advantage of Client Mode is that it runs the ChannelsImporter plugin and auto-updates the channel-list and EPG from your server box. I actually now install ChannelsImporter plugin separately in combination with GBipBoxClient on OpenATV.

 

[paul4ow]

Back on the original topic of the WiFi network initialization delay problem, I can confirm that this problem also happens on OpenATV 7.3 - on OpenATV, occasionally on boot the channel tries and fails to stream, with you having to wait and then change the channel to get the streaming to start. On OpenATV though, the initialization delay seems to improve with a static IP set. I have not reported this bug to the OpenATV people yet (need to do some more testing first) but it seems this is therefore a common issue in Enigma2 not checking for network availability before trying to stream.

The fix Huevos made in OpenVix-6.4.010 only applied to the ChannelsImporter plugin, but as I posted in post #23 this could be more seamless. Perhaps this needs changes at a deeper level in Enigma2 to work seamlessly? Perhaps there could be some co-operation to get this issue improved upstream so it works across distributions?

 

[Huevos]

The fix Huevos made in OpenVix-6.4.010 only applied to the ChannelsImporter plugin, but as I posted in post #23 this could be more seamless. Perhaps this needs changes at a deeper level in Enigma2 to work seamlessly? Perhaps there could be some co-operation to get this issue improved upstream so it works across distributions?

This is not true. I haven't touched the ChannelsImporter plugin. The change was in enigma, not a plugin. In ViX the client mode is built in. ChannelsImporter is only needed when you want to continue using a local tuner on the client.

 

[Mickkie]

From a cursory look at the OpenATV 'IPBox Client' entries and options, it looks the same as the OpenVIX 'Falllback Configuration'. When you boot in OpenVIX have you tried:

1. Disabling GBipBoxClient plugin.
2. Disabling the Tuner 'Client Mode'.
3. Setting the Tuner 'Fallback Configuration' with the IP address of the server and perhaps rebooting?

The ChannelsImporter plugin was installed along with OpenVIX, but it is set to "never" import any data.

The above works on my sx988 smoothly and without any problems. Anything else causes sluggishness and a black screen as I posted already. Now I can change channels, I can view the EPG (and with NFS export of the server's /media/hdd/movie directory I am able to playback/move/delete recordings stored on the server). Changing channels, or bringing up the EPG takes less than a second, as is for live TV to start streaming when I stop playing a video.

The only thing I have not yet delved into is setting the NFS mount on the client for timeshift or for recording video - which is not something I really need to do from the sx988.

 

[paul4ow]

This is not true. I haven't touched the ChannelsImporter plugin. The change was in enigma, not a plugin. In ViX the client mode is built in. ChannelsImporter is only needed when you want to continue using a local tuner on the client.

OK, thanks for the clarification. Thanks for your work

 

[bbbuk]

Where do you find "client mode" as pictured in OP? I've got 6.4.011 installed on both server and client side.

Is it an optional plugin?

 

[Mickkie]

No, it's part of the default OpenVIX firmware. Look under

Main Menu > Setup > Tuners & Scanning > Fallback Configuration

It needs to be enabled on the client.

 

[paul4ow]

No, it's part of the default OpenVIX firmware. Look under

Main Menu > Setup > Tuners & Scanning > Fallback Configuration

It needs to be enabled on the client.

Client Mode is actually not the same as Fallback Configuration.

Client Mode is an option under Main Menu > Setup > Tuners & Scanning > Tuner Setup and then press the yellow button

 

[Mickkie]

Yes, you're right. With the Fallback Configuration alone you can stream from the server's tuners to the client, However, if you want to be able to access the server's drive over Samba to record programs, then you'll need to enable the Client Mode under Tuner Setup.