[no Bug] SetupTv freezes when clicking on Server (1 Viewer)

[mm1352000]

BTW. you cant say you will need audio enabled in general. Had my WHS2011 running fine without audio ( and even without gpu ) and
my current tv server (W7) has no audio, too.

Mmmmm, I suspected as much. There must be something particular about Snoopy87's configuration. Thanks for the confirmation.

 

[Snoopy87]

Does SetupTv really freeze, or does it just not show that section? I mean: after you click on "HomeServer", can you go back to "Project" or some other section?

It's freezing as said in the first and third post. Also see my screenshots. I know they are in German, but you see the brackets behind the application title, which also indicates, that the application not reacting anymore.

Also, did you close or kill SetupTv before collecting the logs?

No, I waited many minutes and tried it many times. There will nothing be inserted in the log files and Windows Event Logs regarding this issue.

Did you reboot after doing that?

100 times.

This is not a known exception before now.

I never said that ;-)

I did not know that you had disabled audio, but even if I did I would not have known that could cause a problem like this. In other words I could not have told you "ahhh, to fix the problem you need to enable audio".

So, we can't inform the user what we don't know ourselves!

I never said that! I found a bug and posted it here in the Forum to start a discussion with the hope that someone already knows this issue or has Suggestion to find the reason. I did not post a logs, because there were no logs. As a developer I always look in log files by myself to find the reason for an issue. Only if I'm unable to find/fix it, I post and ask. Then I was told to upload logs and I only tried to explain why I not posted logs. But I never said, that I know that some of you already know this issue!

I also never said, that you have to inform the use already! Of course this is a new bug and I wrote a Suggestion. That means that I suggest to add a message box in one of the next Releases to warn the user if no Audio devices was found, and/or catch the exception if possible.

----

I don't think this is an issue of Windows Server. This may only occur on Windows Server, because on your Client PC you will always have an enabled Audio device. But it is not common to have an Audio device on a Server. It is reproducable. Disable Audio in BIOS/UEFI and SetupTV is freezing when you click on your Server and channel scan is dooing nothing. Enable Audio again, end everything is working.

And even if this only happens on some PCs, freezing/crashing should always be handled ;-)

As said, disabled Audio is not unusual, because there is no reason why it should be enabled on a Server without Display, Mouse, Keyboard, Speakers, etc. More and more People using a home Server (NAS, home Automation, backups, etc.) and of course you are trying to save power as much as you can. But it seems, that Audio is neccessary to use a tv Card, but most of the users wouldnt know that so I would suggest to let the user know this (e.g. by a message box, etc.)

By the way: What is exactly the official reason to not Support Windows Server? I would suggest to add this for the future, cause your concept offers a Server / Client use case and as said above more and more People having home Servers with WHS2011, WS2012 Essentials, etc. After adding BDA Support (and not disabling Audio ) TV Server is running fine. Of course I have to find the reason for the discontinue Errors but I don't think that this is a unsolveable, Special Windows Server Problem. It will be something Network related or so.

While we are talking about SetupTv: Maybe this should be posted in a new thread.. there is another bug:
1. Click on Manual Control
2. Start Timeshift
3. Information are shown and button changed to "Stop Timeshift"
4. Click e.g. on General
5. Go back to Manual Control
6. Information are gone, button Shows "Start timeshift", but tv Server is still timeshifting, so you have to restart tv Server to stop this.

Regards,
Sascha

Edit:

I have to correct my self: I figured out, that the issue with No Audio only happens the first time:

0. Audio disabled in BIOS
1. Clean Installation of Windows (Server) and MediaPortal TV Server
2. Windows Audio Service is not running and the Speaker Icon in the System Tray Shows a red "X"
3. Freezes and no channel scan in SetupTv.
4. I also tried DVBViewer which also freezes in the first Startup wizard, if Audio is disabled
5. Restart Server many times, whithout making any changes. The above issues (3 and 4) are reproducable.
6. Go to BIOS, enabling Audio
7. Speaker Icon still showing an "X". Click on it asks for starting the Windows Audio Service -> Click on Yes
8. SetupTV, DVBViewer are working fine
9. Disabling Audio in BIOS and disabling Windows Audio Service don't have any effect anymore to SetupTv.

 

[JackTramiel]

I highly doubt a common home user will run a Windows Server 2012 R2 setup at home. Then, you need to hack bda support into it. If Team MePo would
officially support it and MS would change something to WS2012 that would break bda support - because they dont expect it to run tv cards - everybody
would start blaming team mediaportal for a setup not running out of the box.

I´d agree this is probably no Windows Server only issue.

One question - how good do other tv apps work with audio disabled? Just for the very unlikely case this is no mediaportal bug.

 

[mm1352000]

It's freezing as said in the first and third post. Also see my screenshots. I know they are in German, but you see the brackets behind the application title, which also indicates, that the application not reacting anymore.

Okay, thanks. I missed the brackets.

No, I waited many minutes and tried it many times. There will nothing be inserted in the log files and Windows Event Logs regarding this issue.

Okay. Reason I asked is that the logging is buffered, so I was wondering if entries with more information were still sitting in the buffer.

100 times.

Okay, thanks.

I never said that ;-)

You said "an application should handles all known exceptions". I said "this is not a known exception before now" to make it clear that this is a new issue/bug. That's all.

I never said that! ...

When I read your post it seemed like you expected us to already be showing the warning (which felt quite unreasonable). Now I understand you are suggesting. Language/translation/culture barrier.

About your suggestion:

That means that I suggest to add a message box in one of the next Releases to warn the user if no Audio devices was found...

JackTramiel has reported that his server works with audio disabled, so a warning could be misleading. Better to find the real cause of the problem if we can.

...and/or catch the exception if possible.

There is no exception to catch. If there was an exception there would be logging... but there is not. So it is a genuine freeze without warning. As previously mentioned, my suspicion now is some kind of OS issue enumerating AM KS capture devices.

I don't think this is an issue of Windows Server.

I agree. I think it is something specific about your hardware/drivers/configuration.

It is reproducable. Disable Audio in BIOS/UEFI and SetupTV is freezing when you click on your Server and channel scan is dooing nothing. Enable Audio again, end everything is working.

Only reproducible for you so far.

And even if this only happens on some PCs, freezing/crashing should always be handled ;-)

Sure. We will if we can, but first we have to find where the freeze/crash is.

By the way: What is exactly the official reason to not Support Windows Server?

No official BDA support.

While we are talking about SetupTv: Maybe this should be posted in a new thread.. there is another bug...

Select the tuner that is timeshifting then select the channel in the drop-down. Now the button changes to "stop timeshift". No bug.

Regards,
mm

 

[Snoopy87]

I highly doubt a common home user will run a Windows Server 2012 R2 setup at home. Then, you need to hack bda support into it. If Team MePo would
officially support it and MS would change something to WS2012 that would break bda support - because they dont expect it to run tv cards - everybody
would start blaming team mediaportal for a setup not running out of the box.

A common home user would never every use a home Server. If someone uses a home Server, he has still the experience to manage it and then he would also be able to use WHS2011 or WS2012 (R2). WS2012 Essentials is the successor of WHS2011. As a geek I would always use Windows Server, if I want to have a home Server, instead of using a Client OS like Windows 7/8. It was just a Suggestion to think about it, because there is a new market which is growing. You could also buy more and more home Servers which are working out of the box and also working with WHS2011 or WS2012. This is really a great and interesting new market. Also due to the fact that Intel creates power saving CPU at Long last. Now it is possible to build your on NAS which is much better than a regular NAS like QNAP, etc. and not using more power.

My Server I build this week:
- Fractal Node 304
- Asrock Z97e-itx/ac
- Intel Celeron G1840T
- Corsair XMS3 4 GB 1600
- Samsung Evo 120 GB (System)
- 2x WD Red 3TB (Data), RAID 1
- picoPSU

One question - how good do other tv apps work with audio disabled? Just for the very unlikely case this is no mediaportal bug.

I'm not talking about Client Software. Of course you Need Audio for watching TV, listen Music, etc. I'm only talking about the Server. I would not expect that Audio is needed to save the stream from a TV Card to a timeshift Folder or to scan for channels. Of course it is not a mediaportal bug and DVBViewer also crashes, BUT: An application should not Crash ;-) So if the issue is known, it should handles the exception, Shows error message or inform the user what the Problem is, etc. Of course DVBViewer should also not Crash/freeze, but that's their Problem :-D[DOUBLEPOST=1408091014][/DOUBLEPOST]

Select the tuner that is timeshifting then select the channel in the drop-down. Now the button changes to "stop timeshift". No bug.

Thanks! Works! It's a Little bit confusing. Would be better, if the previous state and selection would be kept

 

[mm1352000]

@Snoopy87
Please try the attached SetupTv.exe with audio disabled in BIOS. I wrapped try+catch around OnSectionActivated(), and logged before and after DsDevice.GetDevicesOfCat(). Hopefully this will help us to discover the cause...

 

[HomeY]

I would not expect that Audio is needed to save the stream from a TV Card to a timeshift Folder or to scan for channels.

It is not needed. I don't have an Audio device in my Server, which runs 1.9 Pre Release TV Server great:

No keyboard/mouse, etc. Simply a server packed with RAID & TV Cards, managed by an RDP connection from my desktop.

 

[Sebastiii]

Maybe we just need to stop the service (Windows Audio Service) and see how it goes and test mm setuptv ? and post log lol
Thanks

 

[mm1352000]

Maybe we just need to stop the service (Windows Audio Service) and see how it goes and test mm setuptv ?

Yep, sure.

 

[Snoopy87]

No, I tried those things already without success. It only happens the first time (see #12)