aml-8726 driver - I need a helping hand

1st Official Post

    I'm just trying to build kernel 3.14.X dvb drivers for meson6 (3.10.X).

    I have patched two versions trying to customize, but I always get the same result. (no data, DMX hangs with "too many filters" after a while. That issue is the same on both drivers, that wetekdvb based and my own try avl6211 dvb-avl based)

    The tuner goes, but no data comes back when scanning.

    I need the help of someone who knows better about it.

    I attached the source codes and the logs.

    I do not think it's that much anymore, but I have not been able to do it for a month now. ;(

    tvheadend log:

    Code
    2019-01-14 01:10:58.026 mpegts: 11362H in astra - tuning on Availink AVL6211+AV2011 DVB-S/S2 #0 : DVB-S #0
2019-01-14 01:10:58.469 subscription: 0001: "scan" subscribing to mux "11362H", wight: 6, adapter: "Availink AVL6211+AV2011 DVB-S/S2 #0 : DVB-S #0", network: "astra", service: "Raw PID Subscription"
2019-01-14 01:10:59.867 linuxdvb: Availink AVL6211+AV2011 DVB-S/S2 #0 : DVB-S #0 - poll TIMEOUT
2019-01-14 01:11:00.470 linuxdvb: Availink AVL6211+AV2011 DVB-S/S2 #0 : DVB-S #0 - retune nodata
2019-01-14 01:11:07.528 linuxdvb: Availink AVL6211+AV2011 DVB-S/S2 #0 : DVB-S #0 - poll TIMEOUT
2019-01-14 01:11:08.111 linuxdvb: Availink AVL6211+AV2011 DVB-S/S2 #0 : DVB-S #0 - retune nodata
2019-01-14 01:11:08.730 mpegts: 11362H in astra - scan no data, failed

    see device and source code (LE) here (single tuner)

    see driver and logs

    Thank you in advance for a look.

    Edited 2 times, last by emanuel4you (January 14, 2019 at 12:17 AM).

    • Official Post

    LE plans to drop support for the 3.10 kernel after LE 9.0 ships so even if your efforts succeed the code lifespan will be limited. It would be better to invest in a USB tuner that "just works" today and can be reused on a future replacement device (that should be running a mainline kernel).

    Sorry message for my little M6. ;(

    Thanks for the information.

    Buying a usb tuner makes no sense in my case.

    I just do it just out of boredom and to pimp my AML knowledge.

    I have a lot of stb's lying around here, as I've been developing dreamboxes for years and the upcoming dreambox is no longer based on broadcom SoC's but gets an aml.

    For a dreambox with FFMPEG a LibreElec would make sense.

    Although I build a "kodi18 plugin + gstreamer player" for the broadcom based dreamboxes that works well, but that makes no sense with LibreElec, because it needs enigma2 as frontend. On the other hand, there is no hbbtv without enigma2.

    So am waiting for the new dreambox. Rumors that it will get an aml quadcore. :)

    see video kodi18 using enigma2 and hbbtv

    kodi for dreamboxes

    bye ;)

    • Official Post

    Interesting. Anyone launching a new TV box product with Amlogic chips today has two choices:

    a) Use the current Amlogic BSP kernel .. Linux 4.9 supporting S905D/S912 and S905D2/S922 chips (S922 isn't really shipping yet).

    b) Android .. based on the same Linux 4.9 codebase

    c) Use the mainline kernel (4.19+)

    The 4.9 vendor codebase is fully functional but based on lots of proprietary frameworks that originated in the 3.10/3.14 era and have been maintained and added to as time went forwards. It works but since half the frameworks originate before 4K, HDR, etc. existed it's not brilliantly architected and the code is not pretty in lots of places.

    In comparison the mainline kernel codebase is architected around modern public frameworks and has more efficient and better written code, e.g. the mainline video decoder is about 10% the size of Amlogic's (measured in lines of code). However it's more of a community driven effort and it would be missing capabilities essential for a dreambox device.

    Can you point me to sourced for the rumours?

    In any case, a Meson6 box is stuck on Linux 3.10 which is prehistoric even by Amlogic standards. Get a cheap S905D box with GB Ethernet and you have a good tool for Amlogic learning :)

    Interesting... Been years since i messed with Sat stuff and kinda thought Dreambox went by the wayside with all the other fta stuff after all the CAS's got locked up once again, and it became a sport that had to be played privately behind closed doors, just not safe to play with encrypted downstreams and CAS's anymore here in NA. The last time i messed with FTA was 100's which were based on STi' old 5100 chip and i still probably have a shed full of them and other NA dvb stuff... lol... kinda cool to see some still playing that sport.

    I would be so grateful for a tip...

    Now, the avl6211 finally works,

    but there is a huge problem. If I open the ts stream with VLC in the web interface of tvheadend, this works great. But when I zap in tvheadend addon on a channel, I get either only a still picture or the playback ends after a few seconds. Funny thing is that if I deactivate the frontend in the web interface and then activate the frontend again, the stream on the screen runs great. If I want to change the channel with the remote control now, the stream hangs again. As soon as I switch to a channel, the downstream of the tuner goes to zero. (Webif tvheadend).

    without aml-codec (deactivated in kodi) it is on the tv but too slow. So probably the tuner, but the codec does not start properly.

    Nomal video works well (addons, video playback...) :(