RasPlex RC4 Issues - Please Report feedback here

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41

You are absolutely right I should have been more precise :(

And I really should have made some tests before my earlier reply. But we all make mistakes sometimes...
I've modified that earlier reply now, to set some facts straight.
 

I tried rc4 'out of the box'. Bluetooth was enabled (although the messages could be a bit more clear about it), and the 'system settings' -> Bluetooth menu says 'no bluetooth adapter found'.

This happened to me with one of the two adapters I tried.
 

The issue seems to be with Rasplex not recognizing the BT dongle that comes with the keyboard. Just to be sure it worked I tried it on a Windows 7 PC and it does recognize the dongle, so the hardware is ok.

OK, yes, but probably not compatible with the variation of bluetooth used in this OpenELEC distro.

 

Also, this is the keyboard I'm using: http://www.riitek.com/product_Info.asp?id=80

I have a similar but not identical keyboard, which also came with a dongle of its own.
(This is a nordic brand, but is in fact a rebranded chinese product, though with Swedish keyboard layout.)

The docs for my keyboard clearly state that the dongle uses Bluetooth 3.0 protocol, which might not be the same version implemented in our OpenELEC variant. This dongle was never recognized on my RPi, though it too works for a PC. Another potential problem with bluetooth adapters is that they're likely to draw fairly high peak current, to achieve proper bluetooth signal strength. So the RPi PSU may need to be a bit stronger than needed for just the RPi.

In any case I was able to test my bluetooth keyboard a little with RasPlex anyway, using an ancient Bluetooth adapter I've had for years. (A type made like a huge tooth in transparent blue plastic, so you see the circuit board inside.)

These tests tell me that it's currently a waste of time to try using any bluetooth devices with RasPlex.

The reason is that the PHT program is launched before OpenELEC has reconnected to paired devices, and PHT will only accept input from devices that were well defined during the initialization of PHT. I was able to simulate this by performing the pairing procedure for my keyboard, which still could not be used at that point, as PHT ignored its input. But then I logged in through SSH from a computer and gave the command "killall plexhometheater". That command shuts down the current instance of PHT, but since OpenELEC is still running and is configured to autolaunch PHT, this restarts PHT automatically. And this time the bluetooth keyboard is already connected to OpenELEC during the initialization of PHT, which makes PHT accept input from the keyboard.

This shows that there are two changes needed to completely fix this problem.

1: Somehow ensure that OpenELEC attempts to reconnect paired devices before launching PHT.

2: Somehow ensure that PHT repeats device usage initialization after adding bluetooth devices in the "System Settings" submenu

Note that it will always be necessary to have some other remote or keyboard device (like a USB keyboard) in order to perform original or changed pairing of a Bluetooth keyboard, since no new bluetooth device is ever accepted without such pairing procedure.
 

Thanks in advance for your time testing this, and feel free to ask me to try whatever you think may be useful to try.


At this point I can't think of any more useful tests for this RasPlex version.
Its device usage initialization needs to be recoded for satisfactory use of Bluetooth devices.

Best regards: dlanor

42

I don't know if this a RC4 issue specifically or not but I wasn't able to find anything in the forums relating to it at all.  I've found that the Android Plex App version 3.3.2.137 (c4ae841c) does see the RasPlex and allow for remote control again.  My issue is that I have two RPis running RasPlex, each with a different system name (instead of the default RasPlex - LivingRoom and PlayRoom) but in the app they are both listed as "plexhometheater on rasplex" and it appears that the order is random so its a trial and error to get something to play on the correct TV.  My android phones and tables appear as well but are correctly named. 

Any help or info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Tracy

Edit: I confirmed that hostname in /etc is correct and that dns (via dhcp) has the hostname matching as well.

43

I don't know if this a RC4 issue specifically or not but I wasn't able to find anything in the forums relating to it at all.  I've found that the Android Plex App version 3.3.2.137 (c4ae841c) does see the RasPlex and allow for remote control again.  My issue is that I have two RPis running RasPlex, each with a different system name (instead of the default RasPlex - LivingRoom and PlayRoom) but in the app they are both listed as "plexhometheater on rasplex" and it appears that the order is random so its a trial and error to get something to play on the correct TV.  My android phones and tables appear as well but are correctly named. 
 
Any help or info would be greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks,
Tracy
 
Edit: I confirmed that hostname in /etc is correct and that dns (via dhcp) has the hostname matching as well.


You need to change the name in Preferences not System Settings.

Regards
44

You need to change the name in Preferences not System Settings.

Regards

Yep! Totally missed it in the System Preferences under Services, right at the top Device Name.  DUH! 

Thanks so much!!

Tracy

45

hi,

this has been a sort of good-news bad-news release. it seems to be better at playing high bit-rate files.   :)

but i have had stuttering now show up with files of all sizes and bit-rates.   :(

the information overlay show reasonable cpu usage and the cache never drops to zero. video bit-rate seems more 'variable' then before. average bit-rate for a file is 11 mbs, for example, and onscreen bit-rate varies from 2 mbs to 25 mbs.

i am at a loss. anyone else seeing anything like this ?

- scott

46

reply to self …


further playing around makes me suspect a network problem. when i am browsing my media sections, for example, if I click too fast the media server “goes away”. I wonder if it is not going away during playback.


this might explain the stutter despite that all indicators seem ok …


big question is why the media server disappears. all is wired in my network. and it worked before. i also switched to manual ip config, manual server address, and manual myplex login.


network traffic is between 1.5 mbs and 2.5 mbs during playback. and the rpi is overclocked 950/450/450/4.


help !


 

  • scott
47
I don't know where to start. 
So the Plex server works like a dream and it talks to the Android app on my tablet fine, and any browser from my PC and Laptop. Now that's where the fun ends. I wiped my XBMC and installed RasPlex and it just sucks for me.
Firstly its very slow, the graphics don't render properly leaving me with little blocks for text and a black box where the art work should be when i navigate to a title, so all the unselected titles have there artwork showing but not the one selected. If I select a movie it plays it like it was an audio file but I don't get even the sound track it just pretends. The Pi was quite capable running XBMC, so I have not changed the hardware at all. It is on a wireless collection but its fast and stable. I am really keen to move away from XBMC and onto the slimmer Plex. Any pointers, and or questions about what may be the problem please ask.
 
Thanks
Steve
48
I don't know where to start. 
So the Plex server works like a dream and it talks to the Android app on my tablet fine, and any browser from my PC and Laptop. Now that's where the fun ends. I wiped my XBMC and installed RasPlex and it just sucks for me.
Firstly its very slow, the graphics don't render properly leaving me with little blocks for text and a black box where the art work should be when i navigate to a title, so all the unselected titles have there artwork showing but not the one selected. If I select a movie it plays it like it was an audio file but I don't get even the sound track it just pretends. The Pi was quite capable running XBMC, so I have not changed the hardware at all. It is on a wireless collection but its fast and stable. I am really keen to move away from XBMC and onto the slimmer Plex. Any pointers, and or questions about what may be the problem please ask.
 
Thanks
Steve

Do you have a 512M Pi? Which version of RasPlex are you trying?

49

Are you sure you're running RC4? Did you use the pre caching feature that pops up with the first time wizard?

50

And I really should have made some tests before my earlier reply. But we all make mistakes sometimes...
I've modified that earlier reply now, to set some facts straight.
 

This happened to me with one of the two adapters I tried.
 

OK, yes, but probably not compatible with the variation of bluetooth used in this OpenELEC distro.

 

I have a similar but not identical keyboard, which also came with a dongle of its own.
(This is a nordic brand, but is in fact a rebranded chinese product, though with Swedish keyboard layout.)

The docs for my keyboard clearly state that the dongle uses Bluetooth 3.0 protocol, which might not be the same version implemented in our OpenELEC variant. This dongle was never recognized on my RPi, though it too works for a PC. Another potential problem with bluetooth adapters is that they're likely to draw fairly high peak current, to achieve proper bluetooth signal strength. So the RPi PSU may need to be a bit stronger than needed for just the RPi.

In any case I was able to test my bluetooth keyboard a little with RasPlex anyway, using an ancient Bluetooth adapter I've had for years. (A type made like a huge tooth in transparent blue plastic, so you see the circuit board inside.)

These tests tell me that it's currently a waste of time to try using any bluetooth devices with RasPlex.

The reason is that the PHT program is launched before OpenELEC has reconnected to paired devices, and PHT will only accept input from devices that were well defined during the initialization of PHT. I was able to simulate this by performing the pairing procedure for my keyboard, which still could not be used at that point, as PHT ignored its input. But then I logged in through SSH from a computer and gave the command "killall plexhometheater". That command shuts down the current instance of PHT, but since OpenELEC is still running and is configured to autolaunch PHT, this restarts PHT automatically. And this time the bluetooth keyboard is already connected to OpenELEC during the initialization of PHT, which makes PHT accept input from the keyboard.

This shows that there are two changes needed to completely fix this problem.

1: Somehow ensure that OpenELEC attempts to reconnect paired devices before launching PHT.

2: Somehow ensure that PHT repeats device usage initialization after adding bluetooth devices in the "System Settings" submenu

Note that it will always be necessary to have some other remote or keyboard device (like a USB keyboard) in order to perform original or changed pairing of a Bluetooth keyboard, since no new bluetooth device is ever accepted without such pairing procedure.
 


At this point I can't think of any more useful tests for this RasPlex version.
Its device usage initialization needs to be recoded for satisfactory use of Bluetooth devices.

Best regards: dlanor

dlanor, thanks so much for the time you took testing this,

I'll leave the BT keyboard for other duties, then, and see if I can get my hands on a wirelless, non-BT one.

Again, thank you! :)

51

I don't know where to start. 
So the Plex server works like a dream and it talks to the Android app on my tablet fine, and any browser from my PC and Laptop. Now that's where the fun ends. I wiped my XBMC and installed RasPlex and it just sucks for me.

That's obviously disappointing, but when you say 'it just sucks' we need to be very sure exactly what the 'it' part refers to. So we want the precise version string as shown either in a downloaded flash image file name or in the submenu entry:
Preferences > System > 'Software update' > 'Current version'

It would also help to know a little more about how you prepared the SD card with the image, any config changes you made (if any) before installing it in the RPi, as well as the card type.
 

Firstly its very slow, the graphics don't render properly leaving me with little blocks for text

This ALWAYS indicates that the system is not working properly (so not just the RasPlex software). No recent RasPlex versions have shown this kind of symptom without some kind of hardware issue. Those have been in a wide range though. A badly flashed or incompletely downloaded RasPlex image could do it, but in other cases it has been insufficient RPi PSU current rating or even worse hardware problems.
 

and a black box where the art work should be when i navigate to a title,

Here I'm not sure whether you mean just a fully black box or the (not completely black) default icon used when access to a media icon from PMS fails (or is delayed). But in light of the text problem you described above, I guess you mean a fully black box, which also indicates some kind of system failure (as it can't even render the default icon).
 

so all the unselected titles have there artwork showing but not the one selected.

That's even weirder, as it indicates that the artwork for all of them work as long as they're not selected, so it must be the selection highlight operation that somehow gets messed up.
 

If I select a movie it plays it like it was an audio file but I don't get even the sound track it just pretends.

This is typical of an attempt to "Direct Play" media that are not supported by the RPi. This should never happen with the current RC4 version, as it should automatically request transcoding of unsupported media types, though I suppose there could be a 'loophole' for some types not properly identified as incompatible.

Another cause for such behaviour could also be if you tried to play one of the media types that requires a license, such as mpeg2video or WMV files, and had an incorrect license code in your "config.txt" file on the SD card. That too would lead to inability to playback video, and failure to request transcoding (as it should do without any license code).

Note however that with some older RasPlex versions this type of error could occur for MANY media types, since those versions didn't have any ability to auto-request transcoding. (They relied on the user to configure either "Direct Play" or a transcoded bitrate, which would then apply to all media.)
 

The Pi was quite capable running XBMC, so I have not changed the hardware at all.

Except that you had to reflash an SD card. So that operation and the image, software, and system used to do that must be our prime suspects now. So we want to know everything about that SD card, the RasPlex image used, and how it was flashed.
 

It is on a wireless collection but its fast and stable.

Words like "fast" and "stable" are not really valid when used about WiFi, since all signals pass through a medium also used by unknown multitudes of others, with conditions ever changing from second to second. You may have an 'average' result that seems fast and stable, and still have serious interference in playback due to temporary traffic peaks of your neighbours, as well as RF interference from all kinds of hardware (microwave ovens etc).

I'm not saying that your use of WiFi has anything to do with your current problems, mind you.
I really don't think that's involved at all at this point (it could not cause those symptoms).
I'm just saying that nothing beats a real wired connection when it comes to reliable video playback.

Best regards: dlanor

52

hello,

here is further data...

in this scenario. i reboot. and go to browse a small media section. while doing so screen goes blank and returns to main menu.

very frustrating. log attached.

- scott

53

hello again,

in this scenario. reboot. start film. immediately loose connection to myplex. film continues to play.

very strange. log attached.

- scott

54

and finally,

in this longer example, playback is launched around 22:40 and i grabbed the log after some heavy stuttering.

any help appreciated !

- scott

55

and finally,

in this longer example, playback is launched around 22:40 and i grabbed the log after some heavy stuttering.

any help appreciated !

- scott

Can you post the MediaInfo of the movie you are trying to play?
 
22:42:06 T:2640311392   DEBUG: COMXAudio::Initialize Ouput bps 16 samplerate 48000 channels 2 buffer size 2304000 bytes per second 768000
22:42:06 T:2640311392   DEBUG: COMXAudio::Initialize Input bps 16 samplerate 48000 channels 8 buffer size 2304000 bytes per second 768000
22:42:06 T:2640311392   DEBUG: COMXAudio::Initialize device hdmi passthrough 1 hwdecode 0
22:42:06 T:2640311392    INFO: Audio codec  channels 8 samplerate 48000 bitspersample 16
22:42:06 T:2640311392  NOTICE: OMXClock using audio as reference
 
22:42:08 T:2677011552   DEBUG: audio stream stalled. start buffering
 
You might want to overclock your Pi since it doesn't seem to handle 7.1 decoding running at default clock speeds...
56

in this scenario. i reboot. and go to browse a small media section. while doing so screen goes blank and returns to main menu.


For starters, let me say that I have read all of your posts in this thread, not just the one that I'm now replying to, so I'm aware that you have had a wide variety of problems, including both playback issues and issues with normal GUI usage. Several of the problems seem related to loss of contact with PMS, though it remains unclear if all the problems are so related.

I also know that you have a wired network which eliminates the many complications of WiFi (which often cause similar problems). So for network-specific problem causes only a few possibilities remain, such as problems with network router/switches and possible firewall issues for the PMS computer. But most of those causes can be disregarded if the same RPi connected the same way has no similar issues using a previous version of RasPlex. Your phrasing in one of the posts implied that this was the case, but please confirm this explicitly.

Disregarding all causes that would affect older versions the same way inevitably leads us to suspect the only things that are truly unique to the new version, which is the new code itself and how it is stored and accessed on its storage medium (or media). And that is one point on which we have very little information as yet.

How did you download and install the 0.4.0-rc4 image ?

Have you doublechecked the result by repeating the download/install again ?
(one simple way to compare two downloads is to ZIP them, and then check in WinRAR or similar if the images get the same CRC32 code)

If you used a validated download, then flashed, have you tried reflashing again ?
(though the content is digital, the flash process is in fact analog, and subject to analog failures...)

Are you using just an SD card or a combination of SD card + USB drive ?

Exactly what type of SD card and/or USB drive are you using ?

If using a USB drive, what is your preparation method ?

NB:
One big difference between recent versions and older RasPlex versions is the use of poster image caching for the GUI, which can easily use a lot more space than the original size of the Ext4 partition (appx 650 MB). That's not a problem when using pure SD card installations, as the 'growstorage' command in the "cmdline.txt" will resize the partition to fill out the available space on the card. But if you use a USB drive that will never happen (even if you add that command it doesn't work on USB), so you then need to expand the partition by using some partition manager. Exactly which tool to use depends on your PC OS. For Windows I use the freeware edition of "Paragon Partition Manager", for Linux the native tools should do it (Ext4 is a Linux standard), and for Mac I really don't know (I've never used any).

Best regards: dlanor
57

For Mac, try creating a GParted Live CD and booting from that.

58

For starters, let me say that I have read all of your posts in this thread, not just the one that I'm now replying to, so I'm aware that you have had a wide variety of problems, including both playback issues and issues with normal GUI usage. Several of the problems seem related to loss of contact with PMS, though it remains unclear if all the problems are so related.

I also know that you have a wired network which eliminates the many complications of WiFi (which often cause similar problems). So for network-specific problem causes only a few possibilities remain, such as problems with network router/switches and possible firewall issues for the PMS computer. But most of those causes can be disregarded if the same RPi connected the same way has no similar issues using a previous version of RasPlex. Your phrasing in one of the posts implied that this was the case, but please confirm this explicitly.

Disregarding all causes that would affect older versions the same way inevitably leads us to suspect the only things that are truly unique to the new version, which is the new code itself and how it is stored and accessed on its storage medium (or media). And that is one point on which we have very little information as yet.


dlanor, i really appreciate you looking into this.

yes, my home network is wired. bandwidth is around 3 mbs at tops.

the troubles started with rc4. previous versions stuttered for high-bandwidth video, but this version stutters (less) but on almost everything. the server drops happened very occasionaly ; now they are very frequent.

How did you download and install the 0.4.0-rc4 image ?

Have you doublechecked the result by repeating the download/install again ?
(one simple way to compare two downloads is to ZIP them, and then check in WinRAR or similar if the images get the same CRC32 code)

If you used a validated download, then flashed, have you tried reflashing again ?
(though the content is digital, the flash process is in fact analog, and subject to analog failures...)


i initially used the update feature to go from rc3 to rc4. then i dropped the files in the update director to update anew. and finally, i reflashed my sdcard.

Are you using just an SD card or a combination of SD card + USB drive ?

Exactly what type of SD card and/or USB drive are you using ?

If using a USB drive, what is your preparation method ?


i am using an sd-card only, it is a "SanDisk Extreme Pro 8 Go Carte mémoire SDHC Classe 10"

NB:
One big difference between recent versions and older RasPlex versions is the use of poster image caching for the GUI, which can easily use a lot more space than the original size of the Ext4 partition (appx 650 MB). That's not a problem when using pure SD card installations, as the 'growstorage' command in the "cmdline.txt" will resize the partition to fill out the available space on the card. But if you use a USB drive that will never happen (even if you add that command it doesn't work on USB), so you then need to expand the partition by using some partition manager. Exactly which tool to use depends on your PC OS. For Windows I use the freeware edition of "Paragon Partition Manager", for Linux the native tools should do it (Ext4 is a Linux standard), and for Mac I really don't know (I've never used any).

Best regards: dlanor


this is really frustrating me. i have another rpi that runs on my sdtv and it never has network dropouts or freezes. i beginning to suspect a hardware issue.

i switched ip address, plex login, and server address to manual. but to no avail. or maybe even it was a bad idea...

thanks again for all your wisdom !


- scott
59

Can you post the MediaInfo of the movie you are trying to play?
 

22:42:06 T:2640311392   DEBUG: COMXAudio::Initialize Ouput bps 16 samplerate 48000 channels 2 buffer size 2304000 bytes per second 768000
22:42:06 T:2640311392   DEBUG: COMXAudio::Initialize Input bps 16 samplerate 48000 channels 8 buffer size 2304000 bytes per second 768000
22:42:06 T:2640311392   DEBUG: COMXAudio::Initialize device hdmi passthrough 1 hwdecode 0
22:42:06 T:2640311392    INFO: Audio codec  channels 8 samplerate 48000 bitspersample 16
22:42:06 T:2640311392  NOTICE: OMXClock using audio as reference
 
22:42:08 T:2677011552   DEBUG: audio stream stalled. start buffering
 
You might want to overclock your Pi since it doesn't seem to handle 7.1 decoding running at default clock speeds...


hello,

that's weird ; i do not believe that the audio is 7.1. the audio title still refers to 7.1 dts-hdma, but i remux everything to ac3 5.1 640 kbs.

rpi is overclocked at 950/450/450/4, though i have tried lots of other combinations.

data follows. thanks for your help !


- scott


General
Unique ID : 192148355371636522743217175236747199596 (0x908E6D58E21724FFA506F8DBE1D0046C)
Complete name : /Volumes/Glamdring/Kids/Frozen.2013.mkv
Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 4 / Version 2
File size : 9.39 GiB
Duration : 1h 42mn
Overall bit rate : 13.2 Mbps
Movie name : Frozen 2013 MULTi 1080p BluRay DTS-HDMA AC3 x264-FrIeNdS (Pat - FrIeNds Te@m)
Encoded date : UTC 2014-03-02 06:06:12
Writing application : Lavf55.19.104
Writing library : Lavf55.19.104

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 5 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Bit rate : 11.9 Mbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 856 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 2.25:1
Frame rate mode : Variable
Original frame rate : 23.976 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.302
Title : friends-Frozen.2013-1080p - encode FrIeNdS @ 11.9 Mbps [frame B:96583 Avg QP:15.80] Source Iso BD Z1 LAZERS
Writing library : x264 core 140 r2377 1ca7bb9
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:-1:-1 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=umh / subme=11 / psy=1 / psy_rd=0.98:0.02 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=64 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=6,6 / fast_pskip=0 / chroma_qp_offset=-3 / threads=18 / lookahead_threads=3 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=0 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=8 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=1 / weightp=2 / keyint=240 / keyint_min=22 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=240 / rc=2pass / mbtree=1 / bitrate=11888 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / vbv_maxrate=50000 / vbv_bufsize=50000 / nal_hrd=none / filler=0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=2:0.90
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : Yes
Color primaries : BT.709
Transfer characteristics : BT.709
Matrix coefficients : BT.709

Audio #1
ID : 2
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension : CM (complete main)
Format settings, Endianness : Big
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 1h 42mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 640 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Delay relative to video : 1mn 5s
Stream size : 468 MiB (5%)
Title : Audio Eng DTS-HD MA 7.1 channels 24 bits @ 4906 kbps abr
Language : English
Default : No
Forced : No

Audio #2
ID : 3
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension : CM (complete main)
Format settings, Endianness : Big
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 1h 42mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 640 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 468 MiB (5%)
Title : Audio French (VFQ) AC3 5.1 channels 16 bits @ 640 Kbps cbr
Language : French
Default : Yes
Forced : Yes

Text
ID : 4
Format : UTF-8
Codec ID : S_TEXT/UTF8
Codec ID/Info : UTF-8 Plain Text
Title : Sous-titres Fr Complets
Language : French
Default : No
Forced : No

Menu
00:57:48.381 : :Chapter 09
01:22:33.740 : :Chapter 14
60

hello again,

just checked the board with a multimeter. 4.87v.

now considering buying a new rpi, just to see …


- scott