VBox TV Gateway 3442 - Can not add to Plex

[Zak_B]

TLDR:

Server Version#: 1.19.1.2645 (Running in Docker, official Plex image)
Tuner Make/Model: VBox TV Gateway 3442
Problem: Tuner does not appear when trying to add it under live tv and dvr.

Detailed Explanation:

I have just got a VBox TV Gateway 3442 (with the help of the plex pass discount - thanks!) and I’m having some trouble connecting it up to Plex.

I tried following the official VBox Guide to set this up, but that says you need version 2.65 which is not available yet - just listed as “coming soon” on the downloads page.

I found a beta version of the software (XTI_VJ.2.59.14) linked from another forum post which I have installed, this now gives me an option to enable Plex support in the UI.

After initial install/reboot I could not use the tuner (no streams would load) so I reset it and performed the initial setup again. This got me in a working state so that I could watch live tv using the official VBox add-on for Kodi, so now happy the tuner was working I checked the enable Plex support box and rebooted the tuner again. Everything was still working with the official Kodi add-on so I proceeded to setup the tuner in Plex but when trying to add it nothing is ever found.

Looking at the Plex Tuner Service.log I see:

Apr 11, 2020 16:23:21.844 [0x7f21a17c9700] INFO - [I] v4l::DeviceGetList_impl. getting v4l device list
Apr 11, 2020 16:23:21.848 [0x7f21a17c9700] INFO - [I] onetv_factory::DeviceGetListEx >>
Apr 11, 2020 16:23:21.848 [0x7f21a17c9700] WARN - [W] onetv_factory::DeviceGetListEx. libusb_init returned an error -99
Apr 11, 2020 16:23:23.891 [0x7f21a0fc8700] INFO - [I] web_service_t::process_device_discovery
Apr 11, 2020 16:23:23.891 [0x7f21a0fc8700] INFO - [I] device_reactor_t::get_device_list ()
Apr 11, 2020 16:23:23.891 [0x7f21a0fc8700] INFO - [I] dvb_device_factory_t::get_device_list ()
Apr 11, 2020 16:23:25.894 [0x7f21a0fc8700] INFO - [I] SAT2IP - discover_satip_servers(): no servers found
Apr 11, 2020 16:23:26.312 [0x7f21a0fc8700] INFO - [I] v4l::DeviceGetList_impl. getting v4l device list
Apr 11, 2020 16:23:26.316 [0x7f21a0fc8700] INFO - [I] onetv_factory::DeviceGetListEx >>
Apr 11, 2020 16:23:26.316 [0x7f21a0fc8700] WARN - [W] onetv_factory::DeviceGetListEx. libusb_init returned an error -99

But that doesn’t mean a great deal to me, I’ve reached out to VBox support too in case there is a more upto date beta version of the software they can provided me with but I’m suspecting this is more likely an issue with my Plex configuration given the tuner works with the official VBox Kodi add on.

In case it’s relevant - my Plex docker container is running with a network mode of host and all other access to Plex is working as expected.

[Zak_B]

So I heard back from VBox (same day response on a Saturday - that’s amazing!) and they pointed me to download the VJ 2.65 cleanup version of the software, I downloaded that and installed the update.

Doing so reset all my settings (it did warn me when uploading the software update) so once it had installed and rebooted I needed to perform the initial setup again.

I performed the setup, and waited for auto tuning to complete. Confirmed that I could successfully stream using the official Kodi add-on, and then proceeded to enable Plex support under the IPTV settings. After enabling Plex support I rebooted (just in case) and again confirmed I could stream using the official Kodi add-on.

With all that done and happy that everything was working with the VBox I attempted to add the VBox to Plex but still couldn’t see it - once again this is the Plex Tuner Service.log:

Apr 11, 2020 20:52:19.690 [0x7f219bfff700] INFO - [I] web_service_t::process_device_discovery
Apr 11, 2020 20:52:19.690 [0x7f219bfff700] INFO - [I] device_reactor_t::get_device_list ()
Apr 11, 2020 20:52:19.690 [0x7f219bfff700] INFO - [I] dvb_device_factory_t::get_device_list ()
Apr 11, 2020 20:52:21.693 [0x7f219bfff700] INFO - [I] SAT2IP - discover_satip_servers(): no servers found
Apr 11, 2020 20:52:22.111 [0x7f219bfff700] INFO - [I] v4l::DeviceGetList_impl. getting v4l device list
Apr 11, 2020 20:52:22.116 [0x7f219bfff700] INFO - [I] onetv_factory::DeviceGetListEx >>
Apr 11, 2020 20:52:22.116 [0x7f219bfff700] WARN - [W] onetv_factory::DeviceGetListEx. libusb_init returned an error -99

As an aside, in case it helps anyone else this is the Google Drive link I was provided with for downloading version 2.65 of the software - maybe one of the Plex team could add it as a note on the supported tuners page to save every individual user needing to email VBox for the software until they add it to their site? It is the version specified for integration with Plex even if my own configuration isn’t yet working!

[Zak_B]

The final hurdle was me being stupid! I’d moved Plex to use host networking so that the tuner discovery wasn’t an issue but that meant I’d forgot to add the additional firewall rule for discovering the tuner (UDP port 55555) with that added got it added to Plex immediately!