Posts by Confused

Quote from petediscrete

Do yourself a favour. Get a Sat>IP tuner. Yes you could set up an E2 receiver for use but you need to know what you’re about.

In all the conbobulation I noticed you still haven’t posted any logs. Possibly a full English complete with sausages muddied the waters somewhat or some naughty add-ons at work somewhere 😂

It's OK, everything is fine now: my WeTek boxes and my Enigma2 receiver are in perfect harmony.

If you take another look above you can see I posted a short portion of the log that shows what an enormous idiot I am. After reading the full log and discovering it was entirely my fault I didn't think it was worth bothering anyone with the complete embarrassment. I'd already made an utter fool of myself. Not only making and overlooking the most obvious of mistakes, but managing to fowl things up in exactly the same manner with two different devices. That there is a very special kind of stupid. In future I'll first assume it's my fault and look in to addressing the simple things before appealing to the gods of Dev.

Quote from dtech

As a reassurance, I have the same TvHeadend (v4.2.8-36 and v4.3-6091) and Oscam version (2022-10-22) in my LE9.2 repo as in the current LE11.

An updated LE9.2 is certainly tempting. Though unfortunately I no longer have a built-in tuner. Nor do I have my Tvheadend server. Both went the way of eBay and then off to who knows where.

However, it is apparently possible, via a convoluted and harum-scarumish process, to add Tvheadend to my Enigma2 server. Though with my record for unparalleled incompetence I'm not wholly confident that I can complete the installation without permanently banjaxing the server.

I really rather fancy LE11. If only for access to the Hue Service add-on. It seems to provide a much improved Hue lights experience where you can opt for different lighting conditions for types of content: Movies, Shows, Live TV, Music. While I very much enjoy having lights that dim to 0 when a movie or show begins, it's not so appealing to be plunged in to darkness every time you want to check on the TV news. So that would be nice. But I suspect as it's a Python3 creation it would be an enormous and near thankless job to backport it to LE9.2.

Crikey-on-a-bikey this is embarrassing. I've found and corrected the problem. And it was sausage fingers to blame.

Somehow when using the Kore app to add the PVR URL I inadvertently added an unwanted space in the URL. The errant space wasn't there in the PVR add-on's URL settings field so I had no reason to doubt there was anything wrong with the address, but the log report below reveals the mistake quite clearly. Sorry for all the bother.

13:28:14.010 T:547858341888 ERROR: CCurlFile::FillBuffer - Failed: URL using bad/illegal format or missing URL(3)

13:28:14.010 T:547858341888 ERROR: CCurlFile::Open failed with code 0 for http://192.168 .1.126:80/web/deviceinfo

13:28:14.011 T:547858341888 ERROR: Open - failed to open source <http://192.168 .1.126:80/web/deviceinfo>

13:28:14.011 T:547858341888 ERROR: AddOnLog: VU+ / Enigma2 Client: Open It seem's that the webinterface cannot be reached. Make sure that you set the correct configuration options in the addon settings!

13:28:14.011 T:547858341888 ERROR: ADDON: Dll VU+ / Enigma2 Client - Client returned bad status (1) from Create and is not usable

13:28:17.426 T:547858341888 ERROR: UpdateAddons - failed to create add-on VU+ / Enigma2 Client, status = 1

Quote from chewitt

You might also want to check-out dtech LE 9.2.8 release for older WeTek boxes.

Thank you for pointing me towards the LE 9.2.8 release. It would be nice to have something a little more current to play with. Perhaps even LE11+.

Before stumbling on my error above I thought it might be worth booting LE from an SD card. While 8.2.5 booted and worked just fine, I couldn't get anything from LE11.1.

I've read through the wiki and assumed that WeTek LE11 would be plug-and-play with an SD card boot; you only need to change the image tree if you intend to install it to the internal storage. Is this correct or has my sausage brain messed things up again?

Yesterday I added a new mesh unit to my home internet and then everything went boom. And not in a good way.

It was an utter discombobulation: hue lights stopped working, address reservations rewritten, no WAN internet.

It took a good while for me to figure out that the mesh unit had connected in Wireless Router mode and that this was the root of the horror show. I'm convinced that I selected my intended Access Point mode and that none of this was my fault, but then most likely it was sausage fingers strikes again.

To restore normalcy I had to reset my router, mesh units and hue bridge, create a new wi-fi network, and then rejig various servers and misc devices. A few hours later and things were tickey-boo again. With the exceptions of LibreElec on my WeTek Play2 (8.2.5) and WeTek Hub (8.2.5). LibreElec installed on the eMMC.

Both Wetek boxes will connect to the address of my NAS - same IP as before - and then reload my library. Though moments before the initial library population there was a notification that the MAC wasn't recognised. Everything works. Playback and updates AOK.

What doesn't work is streaming Live TV from my Enigma2 receiver to LibreElec. The PVR add-on won't load. In fact, none of the PVR add-ons will load: TVheadend which I've previously used with both WeTek boxes issues the same 'won't load' report, as do all the other PVR add-ons which I haven't used but have installed as a test to see if they'll load.

To investigate the issue I've:

1. used the LibreElec settings to reset the Hub's LibreElec and Kodi to defaults. In the hope that everything would magically right itself. It didn't.

2. tried streaming Live TV to my PC/VLC and phone. This works.

3. installed the latest stable LibreElec 11 image on a RPi2. Live TV works. However, aside from being bogglingly slow, the RPi2 is being used for something else so it's not really a realistic replacement.

Having spent a little time with the latest LibreElec I can see that it's a clear improvement over the quite dusty (8.2.5) version I've been relying upon. A new RPi4 + LE11 would likely be the best way to go. But unfortunately you can't get RPi4s for love nor money, can you?

I could stump up £130 for a Vero4K and live with OSMC but then I really don't want to be replacing what has been and still is perfectly serviceable hardware for my use case. At least not if I need to find £130!

The only sensible prospect is to have a go at fixing the WeTek boxes and LE 8.2.5.

Does anyone have any idea where and how to start?

And please be gentle if you can: I can find my way to the command line but will be utterly lost without guide ropes.

Thanks in advance for any help and guidance.

Thomas

Quote from chewitt

Code

WP2:~ # echo 0 > /sys/devices/platform/leds/leds/blue:power/brightness 
WP2:~ # echo 1 > /sys/devices/platform/leds/leds/blue:power/brightness 

^ the first command (0) turns the BLUE power LED off, but the underlying firmware (which we have no control over) switches the LED to RED. It can be reversed with (1). It's a good example for why it's hard to have a consistent feature in the settings GUI. Put some black electrical tape over the LED and it can be silenced.

It'd certainly be easier to live with the muted red rather than the eye piercing blue. However, when I tried the command above I got this:

-sh: can't create /sys/devices/platform/leds/leds/blue:power/brightness: nonexistent directory

Quote from chewitt

For boot, I never understood why users are so obsessed with running from eMMC. I run an WP2 from a decent SD card (with mainline u-boot, as I wiped the emmc clean) and this works nicely. An RPi4 will be better overall, but for it's age the WP2 is still surprisingly useable.

Perhaps because having the OS on the internal feels a little less make do and mend / homebrew and more up-market shop-bought. If you know what I mean. I know it's a bit daft but with LibreElec being so slick and polished it feels nicer to have something that matches the experience. Hence the reluctance to bodge an LED solution with some electrical tape.

Seems like the only realistic way to deal with the LEDS and 100% avoid bricking my WP2 will be to invest in a Pi4.

If I can find one for under a ton.

Q1. As you're developing LE11 might it be possible to add a disable power LEDS option to the LibreElec settings?

Q2. My WeTek Play 2 has a NAND install of LE 8.2.5. Will it be possible to upgrade the NAND install to v11 via the LibreElec settings?

Thanks

Thomas

Hello,

I'm looking to get a new TV which I hope to use with my WeTek Hub & LE 8.25. I was wondering if anyone can recommend a TV brand where the CEC is more likely to work both out of the box and without issue.

Thanks for your help.

Thomas

Sorry to report that it isn't resolved for me.

I've only just updated to LE9. I've been postponing until Kodi 18 has support for Hue lights. Which it now does with this add-on.

I still have LE8 on my Wetek Play 2 NAND. LE9 is on the SD card. With both LE8 or LE9 I find that with video playback the BT headphone connection glitches everytime after 20 seconds or so. Post-glitch the audio is at least 1-2 seconds out of sync.

As my BT headphones are perfect with every other connection, and this is resolved for others with LE9, I was wondering if this is just an issue with the Wetek box. Has anyone encountered this problem with the RPI4, Vim and other SBC with integrated bluetooth?

Might it be possible to fork / adopt the Hue Ambilight add-on? Adding a version for Kodi 18+ to the LE repository.

I've been putting off the bother of updating to 9.0 but I'll definitely pull my finger out now. Thanks for the good news.

Quote from DanPackMan

It would seem to me that someone with the skills and motivation could develop an audio/music only based skin with no unwanted video related GUI items. The Chorus web interface is certainly a nice one for music, something along those lines for remote control might be the right compliment. All this would be more of a KODI generic effort and not specific to LE.

I don't see any need to strip out any other LE components, the only downside is maybe more frequent updates than you'd desire.

Library management might be the only issue. Do you really want your music clients managing the library? Or do you want it server managed?

You're right, a skin and web interface would need to be for Kodi rather than LE. Though the skin should be designed specifically for an attached 7 - 10 inch touchscreen, and the web interface designed for a smartphone screen. What may work well on a TV or desktop screen becomes a challenge on far smaller touchscreens; where the control buttons, options and library sections are just too small to be of any practical use. Access via a mobile web browsers can also be a bit hit-and miss.

I suspect that the best option might be to create a web interface to manage the settings and libraries via a desktop, and also rework the official Kodi mobile remote app to create a new app with audio / music-specific browsing, playback & volume control. Then connect your Kodi box to a digital amp for an instant 21st century hi-fi.

Hope you'll forgive me if I've misunderstood the library management questions. I would manage a Kodi music box in the same way as I manage my films and shows. Which is my LE box in the TV room (cellar) pulling its content from a NAS in the office upstairs. Isn't that what most people do with their Kodi / LibreElec boxes? Though hopefully not from my upstairs office.

Quote from HiassofT

IMHO the big benefit of using Kodi is that I can use a single application for listening to my flacs, watch Netflix, play my DVDrips etc.

There may be different distributions / programs / systems that handle each of these tasks better, but then I'd need to switch between those, adapt to different user interfaces, manage each of them separately etc.

So, I'm not sure if yet another audio distribution (being it a stripped-down / specialized Kodi or something else) is such a good idea. Improving Kodi seems like a better idea to me. If you don't want video functionality you don't have to use it. But if you later decide otherwise it'll be right there for you.

so long,

Hias

Hello Hias,

Sorry to drag this up again, but I've been thinking about your post and have come to the conclusion that you're right that it'd be better to improve Kodi rather than create a new audio OS.

Hence these suggestions:

1. Don't assume that Kodi will be connected to and controlling a TV.

2. Improve support for Kodi + HiFi by creating both a dedicated touchscreen skin and a dedicated mobile app for audio / music content.

The lounge - in which we spend most of our time at home - is filled with books, wine and audio & music from a hi-fi. My TV is downstairs in a converted cellar. I don't have a TV in the lounge or any other living spaces.

In my experiments with using LE as the basis for a hi-fi I've controlled the playback with a connected Pi touchscreen and android remote apps. The problem is that the Kodi skins and apps are structured to primarily support browsing and playback of video. When used to control a hi-fi they are confusing and clumsy, and honestly they just look and feel a bit rubbish.

With the amazing potential for Kodi / LibreElec to provide the basis of a really great hi-fi system, wouldn't it be a good idea to think about providing simplified user interfaces which are better suited to browsing audio & music and for controlling playback through a hi-fi? With the bonus for me (and others like me) that we no longer have to explain to the significant other and befuddled relatives that the hi-fi definitely and absolutely positively cannot play films and TV shows.

Thomas

Thank you for the insight. I now understand why Volumio may have opted to go with debian rather than a JEOS.

Though I'm still wondering if an Audio OS based around Kodi would be a good idea. Something designed specifically and exclusively for audio browsing and playback. The audio-specific GUI accessed via a touchscreen, mobile app or web interface. Absolutely nothing makeshift or compromised to accommodate other forms of media.

With Kodi's global popularity and developer base, might an Audio OS based around Kodi be more likely to thrive than Volumio? To have a better chance of mainstream acceptance, interesting hardware manufacturers, and attracting both official and voluntary add-on development.

Quote from HiassofT

Just remembered about another audio distro with a stripped-down base (though a different approach than LE uses), piCorePlayer: piCorePlayer

Not sure if that comes near your needs, never really used it, just helped the folks getting the Cirrus Logic Audio Card working a few months ago.

so long,

Hias

Thanks for the many suggestions and ideas. Most of which I've tried at some point or other. But then I'm not looking for a replacement for Volumio. It's about as good as you can get at the moment. I was asking if a dedicated Audio OS based on LE could be better. I suspect that it could. I was after your opinion on that.

Quote from chewitt

I confess that it was moOde audio I had a go at porting, not Volumio. An LE image with MPD on its own (no Kodi, less video stuff) came in about 90MB in size which is much nicer than the typical 400MB-1.2GB of debian based things.

This is what I was getting at. I just have a feeling that the developers of Volumio and other audio OS would be better using LE as a starting point for a dedicated (no compromise) audio OS.

Thanks for the suggestion. I've never tried the MPD add-on. That'll be tonight's project.

That said, as nice as it is to keep receiving these suggestions, they aren't really tacking the meat of what is a slightly academic question. I feel that everyone's getting distracted by the bloating issue.

I was after your opinion as to whether a customised and streamlined Kodi / LibreElec would make a better starting point for an audio player OS than Debian Jessie + chrome browser. I have a feeling that it would, and that an audio player JEOS based on Kodi would have a better chance of succeeding than Volumio. Could be wrong though; usually am.

Thanks for the suggestion. However, I tried RuneAudio before I settled on Volumio. While RuneAudio is a little less resource hungry, it's not as nice an experience as Volumio. And with no update in over 2 years RuneAudio has the feel of abandonware, and has even less chance of mainstream acceptance and attracting and enthusing 3rd party development.

The original post wasn't an appeal for recommendations or alternative solutions. More of a theoretical question. Could Kodi / LibreElec provide a better starting point for a lightweight and cross-platform dedicated music system? That was all.