TV server doesn't autostart after PC is started up (1 Viewer)

[grubi]

You can try the attached TVServer.exe and see if it solves the problem.
If not please attach tvserver logfiles.

PS: Mod is based on SVN 15776

Regards,
grubi.

 

[grubi]

Updated

 

[SciDoctor]

Been away so testing has lapsed.

Latest SVN 15824 still has the problem.

Will test the grubi's last modified file to see if this can show or help with the problem.


TV-Server Version: Latest SVN
MediaPortal Version: Latest SVN
MediaPortal Skin: Blue 2 WIDE
Windows Version: W2Ksp4
CPU Type: Dual P3 1GHZ
HDD: 80GB and 2TB
Memory: 1GB ddr
Motherboard: Gigabyte 6BXD
Motherboard Chipset: 440BX intel
Motherboard Bios:
Video Card: ATI 9500pro AGP2x
Video Card Driver: Cat 7.4
Sound Card: Xitel USB
Sound Card AC3: USB to Meridian DSP
Sound Card Driver:
1. TV Card: Nebula DVB-T pci
1. TV Card Type:
1. TV Card Driver:
2. TV Card: Nebula DVB-t USB
2. TV Card Type:
2. TV Card Driver:
3. TV Card: Nebula DVB-t USB
3. TV Card Type:
3. TV Card Driver:
4. TV Card: Nebula DVB-t USB
4. TV Card Type:
4. TV Card Driver:
MPEG2 Video Codec: Cyberlink ATI
MPEG2 Audio Codec: Cyberlink ATI
Satelite/CableTV Provider:
HTPC Case:
Cooling:
Power Supply: Tagan 530 EC
Remote: ATI RW 1
TV: Dell 2707wfp
TV - HTPC Connection: dvi-d

 

[dA.oOZe]

I have got a very similar issue with the only difference, that the TVServer IS starting, but too late or something. Problem is, that most of the time I start up my HTPC, there are no channels displayed under myTv. Sometimes it askes for the IP address of the TVServer, sometimes it doesn't and just displays no channels. And, best of all, sometimes everything works as I expect it; all channels are shown and I can watch TV.
I have set MediaPortal to start as a replacement for the standard usershell. After exiting MP and returning to windows explorer, then restarting MP, it always works and no issues occure. I am pretty sure that there are some dependencies not fulfilled on startup or something that is starting too late.

In error.log (see attachment) the first line says:

2007-09-14 14:31:34.109375 [ERROR][MPMain]: Exception   :System.Runtime.Remoting.RemotingException: Requested Service not found

It doesn't say which service could not be found. Any info on that??

Setup is single seat, database is mySQL (latest one, downloaded yesterday). I reinstalled the whole HTPC with the latest builds of every component I use, still the same issue. I have also tried grubis TVServer.exe, resulting in the same strange behavior.

Please find attached different logfiles. Two are created after everything worked fine, two after the issues occured, always one using the default TVServer.exe and one using grubis TVServer.exe.


TV-Server Version:
MediaPortal Version: 0.2.3.0 RC2
MediaPortal Skin: BlueTwo wide / Project Mayhem III
Windows Version: Windows XP SP2
CPU Type: AMD Athlon X2 BE-2350
HDD: Samsung, 120 GB, 500 GB
Memory: 2x 512 MB OCZ
Motherboard: ASUS M2A-VM HDMI
Motherboard Chipset: ATI/AMD
Motherboard Bios:
Video Card: ATI Radeon X1250 (onboard)
Video Card Driver: ATI Catalyst (newest Version)
Sound Card: Realtek HD Audio (Onboard Sound)
Sound Card AC3:
Sound Card Driver: latest Realtek
1. TV Card: Club 3D ZAPTV-1101
1. TV Card Type: analog
1. TV Card Driver: latest Club 3D
2. TV Card:
2. TV Card Type:
2. TV Card Driver:
3. TV Card:
3. TV Card Type:
3. TV Card Driver:
4. TV Card:
4. TV Card Type:
4. TV Card Driver:
MPEG2 Video Codec: ffdshow (newest stable)
MPEG2 Audio Codec: ffdshow (newest stable)
Satelite/CableTV Provider:
HTPC Case: Coolermaster CM Media 260
Cooling:
Power Supply: be Quiet Straight Power 350W
Remote: Soundgraph iMon
TV: Philips (LCD something...)
TV - HTPC Connection: DVI/HDMI

 

[SciDoctor]

Have you set the start up delay to wait for the tv service to start for your specific problem dA.oOZe


TV-Server Version: Latest SVN
MediaPortal Version: Latest SVN
MediaPortal Skin: Blue 2 WIDE
Windows Version: W2Ksp4
CPU Type: Dual P3 1GHZ
HDD: 80GB and 2TB
Memory: 1GB ddr
Motherboard: Gigabyte 6BXD
Motherboard Chipset: 440BX intel
Motherboard Bios:
Video Card: ATI 9500pro AGP2x
Video Card Driver: Cat 7.4
Sound Card: Xitel USB
Sound Card AC3: USB to Meridian DSP
Sound Card Driver:
1. TV Card: Nebula DVB-T pci
1. TV Card Type:
1. TV Card Driver:
2. TV Card: Nebula DVB-t USB
2. TV Card Type:
2. TV Card Driver:
3. TV Card: Nebula DVB-t USB
3. TV Card Type:
3. TV Card Driver:
4. TV Card: Nebula DVB-t USB
4. TV Card Type:
4. TV Card Driver:
MPEG2 Video Codec: Cyberlink ATI
MPEG2 Audio Codec: Cyberlink ATI
Satelite/CableTV Provider:
HTPC Case:
Cooling:
Power Supply: Tagan 530 EC
Remote: ATI RW 1
TV: Dell 2707wfp
TV - HTPC Connection: dvi-d

 

[dA.oOZe]

Have you set the start up delay to wait for the tv service to start for your specific problem dA.oOZe

Sure I have, was the first thing I checked. I have also added a 10 seconds delay for MP to start.

There seems to be an issue with checking if the tv service is running or not. I wrote a small batchscript to do this checking which I fire before MP is started and, what can I say, it works great. The delay differs from 10 to 20 seconds. Setting the MP internal delay to 20 seconds might also do the trick, I know, but I wrote the script to just check if it's a service-starting-issue or not.

If anybody is interested, it's attached. It will only work on WXP and above as it uses sc.exe which is by default included in XP. For W2K see www.microsoft.com

 

[grubi]

Been away so testing has lapsed.

Latest SVN 15824 still has the problem.

Will test the grubi's last modified file to see if this can show or help with the problem.

Did you check meanwhile?
The changes I made are not part of any SVN till now.

grubi.

 

[SciDoctor]

Should have debug logs with your supplied file tomorrow after testing.

 

[SteveB]

First reboot after the new tvserver.exe added (used mptesttool to clear logs beforehand) and success as the tvservice started for the first time in weeks (the extra debug code seems to have helped!!!)

Did another restart and the usual fail at 30secs.

First log is the success

Second log is the fail

OK. this acknowledges what I already assumed. We have a timeout when trying to connect to the db for reading the process priority. Now is the question how to solve the problem as the db access there is not done directly but is encapsulated in the TvBusinessLayer. The problem is not that the connection attempt to the db times out but that the starting service did not respond for 30 seconds to the SCM and so the SMC thinks the service died. Only way to solve this so far seems to check for the db in a separate loop before using the TvBusinessLayer. Within this loop you then must regularily answer to the SMC so that it sees the service did not die.

Let me think about it.

grubi.

Having encountered what seems to be this same issue over the last week or two, I'm glad to see some thought being applied! (N.b. I'm on SVN 16208, but the problem started some time after I installed that version, supporting the reasoning that the tvservice isn't responding to windows in sufficient time because of "general performance" at startup).

Anyway, the reason for this post is to offer a workaround for anyone still experiencing the issue and not wanting to use startup batch files with sleep, or similar (e.g. to ensure it starts even if you don't logon for a period).

Method: change the timeout value Windows' Service Control Manager waits for a response from the starting service. See MS article 839803 <http://support.microsoft.com/kb/839803> for where I got the info from (similar info in article 922918); the summary is to set (or create if it doesn't exist) the DWORD registry value "ServicesPipeTimeout" in the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control" key to a higher value (in milliseconds - I used 55000, don't forget to click on "decimal" unless you want to enter your value in hex!).

It worked for me on Windows XP SP2 - may or may not differ with other versions (though probably OK), and as with any registry change, take all due care!

SteveB

 

[grubi]

The changes to the sources I posted on top of this page should also solve this problem.
Seems that nobody has incorporated it into release svn.

grubi