TVServer 'loses' tuners (1 Viewer)

[deepskydiver]

I'm using Kodi with the latest (version 1.12.0.0) TVServer with a LeadTek Dual USB TV Dongle.

Sometimes I get the message all tuners are busy when they're not.

On opening the TVServer config I can see the two tuners don't appear under the TVServer entry and the channels are suddenly unmapped. Restarting the TV server fixes it, but I'm curious to understand why it's happening. Logs attached - including the restart which got the tuners back

 

[mm1352000]

Hello

Sometimes I get the message all tuners are busy when they're not.

TV Server is trying to tell you that there are no tuners available to tune the channel. Usually when no tuners are available it is because they're all busy. Hence the message wording. In this case there are literally no tuners available so the wording is a little misleading. Hopefully you can forgive this small quirk.

On opening the TVServer config I can see the two tuners don't appear under the TVServer and the channels are suddenly unmapped. Restarting the TV server fixes it but I'm curious to understand why it's happening.

It's happening because Windows told TV Server that the tuner was removed. You can see this in the TV service log:
[collapse][2015-10-13 17:30:33,521] [Log ] [13 ] [DEBUG] - Detecting BDA/WDM devices...
[2015-10-13 17:30:33,537] [Log ] [13 ] [DEBUG] - Detect legacy AM filter devices
[2015-10-13 17:30:33,557] [Log ] [13 ] [DEBUG] - Detect AM KS crossbar devices
[2015-10-13 17:30:33,561] [Log ] [13 ] [DEBUG] - Detect AM KS TV tuner devices
[2015-10-13 17:30:33,567] [Log ] [13 ] [DEBUG] - Detect BDA source devices
[2015-10-13 17:30:33,572] [Log ] [13 ] [INFO ] - BDA/WDM device @devicenp:\\?\usb#vid_0413&pid_6a05#5&2cb2f022&0&3#{71985f48-1ca1-11d3-9cc8-00c04f7971e0}\{cacacefd-1b5f-49f4-af24-0ce559cc1e6d} removed
[2015-10-13 17:30:33,582] [Log ] [13 ] [INFO ] - Controller: remove device WinFast DTV Dongle Dual Filter @devicenp:\\?\usb#vid_0413&pid_6a05#5&2cb2f022&0&3#{71985f48-1ca1-11d3-9cc8-00c04f7971e0}\{cacacefd-1b5f-49f4-af24-0ce559cc1e6d}
[2015-10-13 17:30:33,585] [Log ] [13 ] [INFO ] - dvbecompose
[2015-10-13 17:30:33,588] [Log ] [13 ] [INFO ] - tvcard:FreeAllSubChannels
[2015-10-13 17:30:33,592] [Log ] [13 ] [INFO ] - DVB subch:0 Decompose()
[2015-10-13 17:30:33,595] [Log ] [13 ] [INFO ] - subch:0-0 tswriter StopTimeshifting...
[/collapse]

TV Server has reacted to the Windows notification by stopping time-shifting and marking the tuners as unavailable.

I am not able to determine why Windows generated that notification. Presumably the tuner itself was not physically disconnected. You could try to check the Windows system event log for more clues. Perhaps you connected or disconnected some other USB device...?

 

[deepskydiver]

Thanks - I was just navigating in Kodi when it happened. Nothing connected or disconnected and of course it came back when I restarted the TV Server. Might be some kind of hardware glitch (on a new NUC, but maybe it's the USB tuner). I couldn't see anything in the Windows Logs as far as I could find.

 

[aspik]

Maybe you could try disable (untick) the option "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" (power management tab in device manager).

 

[deepskydiver]

Good thought, thanks I'll try that.

 

[mm1352000]

I'd also recommend to ensure you've power cycled the PC after you updated the tuner driver. That may be necessary to settle things down.

 

[deepskydiver]

It hasn't settle down and even changing USB ports hasn't helped. After struggling to get either tuner to work now I get "No PMT found" on the second one. Is the tuner dongle a dud...? Logs attached.

 

[mm1352000]

It hasn't settle down and even changing USB ports hasn't helped.

When you say it hasn't settled down, can you be more specific?
Is the tuner disappearing from TV Server like before, or... something different???

After struggling to get either tuner to work now I get "No PMT found" on the second one.

The log shows one attempt to tune one channel with the second tuner. Is that all the testing you've done with it?
What about other channels?
What about testing the 2nd tuner when the first one is idle?

Is the tuner dongle a dud...?

The log files you've provided only contain one failed tune (7mate). There's no way anybody could say that the dongle was a dud based only on that.

 

[deepskydiver]

Sorry. The tuners became busy, both of them. So I moved the tuner dongle to another USB port. Still one - or neither would work. Best case is one works and the other doesn't. I cleaned up the logs because there were 20 or more attempts with various combinations of attempts but no success. These logs are the result of a simple single use of both tuners. But it's what happens everytime (currently) and I guess in combination with the tuners disappearing I'm suspecting it's hardware.

What else could I try? Maybe uninstalling and reinstalling them? It's just starting to get to the point where the replacement cost is paling into insignificance against the continuing diagnostics.

 

[mm1352000]

At this stage I feel completely unable to help you. The problem descriptions you're giving ("hasn't settled down", "became busy", "neither would work") are utterly meaningless to me, and the log files you've provided are extremely limited in scope. In other words, I have little or nothing to go on.

I would like to help you. In order to help you, I need you to please post full log files showing the good, the bad, and the ugly. When I have a full picture of what is going on, I have a much better chance of helping.

But it's what happens everytime (currently) and I guess in combination with the tuners disappearing I'm suspecting it's hardware.

In my opinion none of the symptoms you've described (or that I've seen in logs) so far would indicate a hardware problem.

What else could I try? Maybe uninstalling and reinstalling them?

Uninstalling and reinstalling seems like a waste of time to me.
Honestly, I find it difficult (if not impossible) to answer questions like "what else could I try" when I don't know what you've already tried (!!!).
Have you tried changing the "preferred network provider" setting? What about the "when card enters idle state" setting?

It's just starting to get to the point where the replacement cost is paling into insignificance against the continuing diagnostics.

Sure, I understand that problem-solving can be time consuming... but I certainly am not expecting you to solve this by yourself. I'd like to help, but you didn't say anything for 2.5 days. Obviously there's nothing I can do to assist if I don't know what's going on.