TBS5990 not recognise device yet

[highkick05]

tbscxci seems resolved however adapter not registering under /dev/dvb as frontend yet
not so sure of problem

cx231xx.txt
dmesg.txt
dvb.txt
lsmod.txt
lsusb.txt
lsusbv.txt

[crazycat69]

another fix

[highkick05]

ok so have a device @ /dev/dvb/

kodi@kodi-PC:/dev/dvb$ ls
adapter0 adapter1
kodi@kodi-PC:/dev/dvb$ cd adapter1/
kodi@kodi-PC:/dev/dvb/adapter1$ ls
ca0 demux0 dvr0 frontend0 net0

but a few things have broken and appears like modprobe still running, dmesg has some kernel panic

891 ? D 0:00 /sbin/modprobe -q -- cx231xx-dvb-ci
893 ? S 0:00 /lib/udev/v4l_id /dev/vbi0
894 ? S 0:00 /lib/udev/v4l_id /dev/video0

kodi no longer boots up, and tvheadend won't start, ok tvheadend started eventually but only 1 adapter under TV Adapters in Configurations> DVB Inputs> TV Adapters

but definitely a device was loaded collected all logs (kernel panic finished read dmesg.txt)

cx231xx.txt
dmesg.txt
dvb.txt
lsmod.txt
lsusb.txt
lsusbv.txt

:

[highkick05]

Latest commit: here

Looks like similar result modprobe and pulseaudio, kodi fails to start. tvheadend only 1 adapter the dvb-t afatech9033 tuner I have in there as well

logs
cx231xx.txt
dmesg.txt
dvb.txt
lsmod.txt
lsusb.txt
lsusbv.txt
psaux.txt

[crazycat69]

Disable cx231xx ALSA support (make menuconfig before compilation)

[highkick05]

ok some headway. Updated to latest commit. Adapter shows up in tvheadend, I have set it up to scan c-band muxes on Asiasat 2/5. Not one of the muxes scanned successfully (few should have, dish alignment perfect as before)

Kernel did not have any errors in dmesg until I started scanning. But they are similar errors to before.
EDIT: Actually it looks as if there are not as much kernel errors as previous times

I removed the ALSA support like you said from branch USB & PCI media devices (2 checks). I also took liberty of removing all of the irrelecant dvb devices I didn't need. Kept the basic stuff I thought was needed. (been a long time since I used menuconfig for compiling a kernel)

Result:

cx231xx.txt
dmesg.txt
dvb.txt
lsmod.txt
lsusb.txt
lsusbv.txt
psaux.txt

Kodi is still not starting (prob because of audio issues?) Thanks Crazycat looks like it's nearly there

[highkick05]

Latest commit. media_build w/out menuconfig. doesn't show in tvheadend
cx231xx.txt
dmesg.txt
dvb.txt
lsmod.txt
lsusb.txt
lsusbv.txt
psaux.txt

With menuconfig & only needed drivers (looks pretty similar)
cx231xx.txt
dmesg.txt
dvb.txt
lsmod.txt
lsusb.txt
lsusbv.txt
psaux.txt

kodi started on both

[smallint]

I jump on this topic as well. I have tested your branch and with the latest commit (dbc4920) it cannot attach the tas2101 frontend. The dmesg output from @highkick05 applies also on my box. Going back to head 6cb8711 works partly. it creates one adapter and I can watch channels on the last active transponder. Switching to another transponder does not work. The main issue is that cx213xx-dvb-ci hangs for 2 minutes until the kernel complains with a timeout. I still can use the first adapter but the second will never show up.

But I am very happy that a first step has been taken to support this box, thank you very much for your work. I would like to help to improve this driver but I don't have much knowledge about kernel internals and APIs yet.

Btw, I am running your driver with kernel 3.15 on ARM which required some backporting.

[highkick05]

@smallint it would be good to have someone else test.

I still can use the first adapter but the second will never show up.

Yes tbs5990 has 2xdvb-s2 inputs & 2xCI modules. I think @crazycat69 is aware of this. 👍
Device page here

[smallint]

I know that the tbs5990 has 2xdvb-s2 inputs. Thats the reason why I bought this device ;)
I mean that loading/attaching/initializing the second dvb device hangs somewhere. Might be a deadlock or a blocking read that never terminates. I will try to load the modules with debug output and hope to get a better idea of what is going on there. But I don't want to confuse things here without deeper knowledge. Lets wait for some input from @crazycat69.

[smallint]

I found one issue in the code. In dvb_init (cx231xx-dvb.c) the dev->lock mutex is being held too long. The setup iterates through two devices and tries to lock the mutex two times which deadlocks. So your first adapter will initalize but the second won't. I fixed that and I have now two adapters which cause a kernel panic when accessing them. So this needs more investigation. An easy fix for testing just one adapter is to set the adap_cnt to 1 in cx231x-card.c for tbs5990. That avoids the deadlock (without a fix) and we can try to focus on that adapter to make it work. But I cannot tune to other transponders and I need to check why. I can only watch channels on the same transponder for now.

[smallint]

Forcing to use the second adapter (start iteration at 1 in dvb_init) initializes the 2nd adapter properly but it cannot be used. The output is always:

[ 1176.982510] cx231xx 1-1:1.1: cx231xx_send_usb_command: failed with status --32
[ 1176.996263] i2c i2c-4: tas2101: i2c wrm err(-32) @0xe6 (len=7)

[smallint]

After testing some settings the only one that worked are:

adapter0

init = "0x80, 0xAB, 0x47, 0x61, 0x25, 0x93, 0x31"
i2c adapter = 4

adapter1

init = "???"
i2c adapter = 2

I changed the demod_i2c to

demod_i2c = cx231xx_get_i2c_adap(dev, dev->board.demod_i2c_master-i*2);

and set

demod_i2c_master = I2C_1_MUX_3;

This way I can initialize both adapters and even watch on the first one. Tuning to another transponder/mux is still an issue. The second one does not work when sending commands to the frontend. The same errors are issued again and again:

[ 6056.173272] cx231xx 1-1:1.1: cx231xx_send_usb_command: failed with status --32
[ 6056.188820] i2c i2c-4: tas2101: i2c wrm err(-32) @0xe6 (len=7)
[ 6136.784029] cx231xx 1-1:1.1: cx231xx_send_usb_command: failed with status --32
[ 6136.799625] i2c i2c-4: tas2101: i2c wrm err(-32) @0x20 (len=6)
[ 6136.824392] cx231xx 1-1:1.1: cx231xx_send_usb_command: failed with status --32
[ 6136.840019] i2c i2c-10: av201x: i2c wrm err(-32) @0x00 (len=5)
[ 6146.530025] cx231xx 1-1:1.1: cx231xx_send_usb_command: failed with status --32
[ 6146.547112] i2c i2c-4: tas2101: i2c wrm err(-32) @0x20 (len=6)
[ 6146.573146] cx231xx 1-1:1.1: cx231xx_send_usb_command: failed with status --32
[ 6146.590150] i2c i2c-10: av201x: i2c wrm err(-32) @0x00 (len=5)
[ 6156.023526] cx231xx 1-1:1.1: cx231xx_send_usb_command: failed with status --32
[ 6156.039896] i2c i2c-4: tas2101: i2c wrm err(-32) @0x20 (len=6)
[ 6156.064770] cx231xx 1-1:1.1: cx231xx_send_usb_command: failed with status --32
[ 6156.081746] i2c i2c-10: av201x: i2c wrm err(-32) @0x00 (len=5)
[ 6157.780773] cx231xx 1-1:1.1: cx231xx_send_usb_command: failed with status --32
[ 6157.796984] i2c i2c-4: tas2101: i2c wrm err(-32) @0x20 (len=6)
[ 6157.821638] cx231xx 1-1:1.1: cx231xx_send_usb_command: failed with status --32
[ 6157.838432] i2c i2c-10: av201x: i2c wrm err(-32) @0x00 (len=5)
[ 6164.534637] cx231xx 1-1:1.1: cx231xx_send_usb_command: failed with status --32
[ 6164.551124] i2c i2c-4: tas2101: i2c wrm err(-32) @0x20 (len=6)
[ 6164.576531] cx231xx 1-1:1.1: cx231xx_send_usb_command: failed with status --32
[ 6164.593035] i2c i2c-10: av201x: i2c wrm err(-32) @0x00 (len=5)

I am not sure what exactly is causing the errors, a wrong init sequence or a wrong output port/channel.

Just curious: for both frontend configs the reset_demod and lnb_power callbacks are NULL. Is that intended?

[highkick05]

I only use 1 input on my device. Awesome stuff @smallint !

[smallint]

@highkick05, even if you connect just one cable to one input the driver initializes the two hardware devices anyway and that causes the kernel error (timeout) while the second device is initialized. I am also just using one input (for now) to test it. Are you able to change the code and recompile? I would suggest to set the adap_cnt to 1 in your case and continue testing. That will avoid the kernel error regarding the timeout.

[highkick05]

I'm not familiar with internals at all. Leaving it entirely with you & @crazycat69 - he has all the wisdom :)
Prob process he's done many times now. Appreciate that it's being done. Glad you jumped on board bcos you can provide better feedback after testing.

[highkick05]

latest commit test

cx231xx.txt
dmesg.txt
dvb.txt
lsmod.txt
lsusb.txt
lsusbv.txt
psaux.txt

not sure but looks better. Really does look as if it initialises Adapter #1 correctly (even the CI). But Adapter #2 breaks.

[smallint]

You got a NULL pointer exception due to wrong arithmetic in dvb_init. I commented in the commit.

[smallint]

@crazycat69, I haven't forked your repo and for now do not create PRs because I am testing only parts of this code with another kernel. I entirely cloned the required modules (tas2101 and av201x) and incorporated the cx231xx changes. I could apply the changes to a fork of your repo and issue a PR but I cannot test it as such. Just let me know how you prefer to get feedback (if at all): comments, PRs, logs.

@highkick05 If the segfault is fixed I am pretty sure that you won't be able to scan with TVheadend. The easiest for me was to prepare a channel.conf for VDR and test the device without a scan. In Kodi I can switch to channels on the same transponder but can't change to channels on another transponder. I am also curious if the current init sequences for both adapters will work. I had to revert to the fixed ones (see comment above). Still no luck with adapter 2.

[highkick05]

@smallint so you have gotten a little further ? @crazycat69 has been working at it for a while. I never even had Kodi running, even when the device appearing in tvheadend, it was crashing @ boot. I don't even have 1 channel to use w/ it setup. It's good you have the device and testing with it! Hopefully you guys can collaborate & produce a working device. 👍

[smallint]

I haven't gotten much further. I just fixed the obvious issues and tried various settings. Since I have a running setup with another device I just cloned the channels.conf (you can download one for your area) and run VDR with Kodi. I am not sure if you can do the same with Tvheadend. I have tried it but the integration with Kodi was poor (no proper time shift at that time) and I didn't like the configuration. VDR is much simpler to set up but that is my personal opinion.

Beside the smaller issues (deadlock, init sequences, i2c) I am struggling with tuning another transponder but I have no clue what to look for. I would need some input/advise to get further.

[highkick05]

@smallint , does tbs released driver contain any info you can use ?

[smallint]

@highkick05 You mean the binaries? As far as I understood they only release compiled drivers for those devices which is a shame btw. And since I am not using X86 architecture (for which the drivers are compiled) I cannot even dump traffic or hook into specific calls by using their drivers.

[highkick05]

@smallint thought the tbs drivers had source but for older kernel base. Same source doesn't have settings related to this ? Pretty sure the tbs5990 uses some other devices code on http://www.tbsdtv.com/download/ .. When I was looking someone on their forum said it uses another adapters driver also. Or it works w/ th@ same driver. Have a look maybe @crazycat69 has already written a driver for th@ device already. Worth a look

[smallint]

I think the same code base is used for tbs 6982. At least the frontend is the same. So we use already a common code base. The download page from tbs is misleading. I downloaded the 5990 driver package, compiled it and it worked. Then I ordered the device and noticed that the linked drivers do not support the 5990 but only 5980. That's why I am now struggling with all that stuff. I have to compare the pci driver for tbs 6982 and study the behaviour. That is quite difficult because I am still missing the big picture of how all this is working internally. I can read and understand the code but I don't understand the technical reasons behind it.

Anyway, I think crazycat69 can give much better input and guidance than the code does or that he knows someone who can/wants to.

[highkick05]

This thread the guy successfully uses 6981 drivers with tbs5990 adapter.

This actual driver package compiles and works for tbs5990, I tried it. Also, the tbs5990 download is only 4mb. This 6981 package is about 20 megabyte bigger. So must include other stuff not in the tbs5990 driver download. Download page is definitely a little misleading.

Pretty sure there INSTALL process downloads the source packages. Just open the install.sh script and copy the actual links to the source tarballs. ? Thought these were the source, old kernel base obviously so completely useless. But I thought would hold the info you need.

[smallint]

I have read that thread. The tbs5990 download only includes open source drivers up to 5980. There is no 5990 support. In the 6981 package are the compiled objects files for almost all tbs cards including tbs5990. There are no source packages downloaded. The drivers link in the object files provided for x86 32 and 64 bit. And you can't use them with any kernel. TBS claims 5990 support for their TBS Matrix box (iMX6 Freescale SOC, same as my Cubox i4) but they don't release drivers for ARM for whatever reasons. No sources anywhere to my knowledge. One way to learn is to disassemble object files ...

[highkick05]

Incredible isn't it... 5990 driver only contains the 5980 driver. some serious errors with that driver package. lol

[smallint]

Yippie, I can tune now other transponders. Needs more tests but it works now with the first adapter!

[highkick05]

@smallint u are the best ! 👍 Outstanding work. Look forward to your findings.

[crazycat69]

@smallint: so work with your demod init = "0x80, 0xAB, 0x47, 0x61, 0x25, 0x93, 0x31" ?

[highkick05]

latest commit @crazycat69

lsusb.txt
lsusbv.txt
psaux.txt
cx231xx.txt
dmesg.txt
lsmod.txt

progress... scan comes up nothing. But I think @smallint got this working. Kodi & tvheadend working 100% !

[smallint]

@highkick05 thanks for the compliments but my work is just a little piece of the overall implementation. The real work has been done by @crazycat69 and others. With the PR I issued you should be able to use input1 of your device. But be aware of the fact that you must not remove the device during runtime and plug it in again. The driver currently does not support that if CI is activated. I disabled CI in my builds.

@crazycat69 I issued a PR for my changes. As I said I could not test this code as it is because I can't compile it but you should get an idea. Actually the original demod inits you used were correct and furthermore you have to activate pin 26 via gpio before you can set lnb voltage. Then it works. For adapter2 I have to do more tests with settings but it should work the same way. The hard part is to find the correct combination of settings and to test it. This is very time consuming. Do you have a tbs5990 to test with? Just in case there is a language barrier feel free to write in Russian or to contact me via PM.

[crazycat69]

@smallint look like i make same alternative implementation :) LNB pwr GPIO pin for second tuner 22. Need decompile tbs blobs and find reset pin.

ae11207

[highkick05]

Nice crazycat/smallint. both adapters & ci seem to be intialising completely in dmesg output. Prob on scan obviously to do with lnb power ? or reset. It crashes tvheadend & kodi when you change setting on the adapter in tvheadend & originally when I scan a transponder. tried deleting the mux list and reset setting on adapter to see, obviously still crashing but boots kodi , tvheadend & system fine until touching adapter. Included syslog log file this time little large but contains more debug/logging output from kodi & tvheadend.

cx231xx.txt
dmesg.txt
dvb.txt
lsmod.txt
lsusb.txt
lsusbv.txt
psaux.txt
syslog.txt

[smallint]

@highkick05 There is a very minor issue with @crazycat69 implementation which causes a NULL pointer dereference. This can be fixed easily. I did it differently in my branch which works but maybe it has other issues. We are close ...

[smallint]

@crazycat i2c adapter 1 (adapter1) and 2 (adapter2) work as well for making adapter1 work. Now we use 4 and 2, but 1 and 2 are also OK. adapter2 does not work yet. There is always an error when sending the demod inits.

[ 6056.173272] cx231xx 1-1:1.1: cx231xx_send_usb_command: failed with status --32
[ 6056.188820] i2c i2c-4: tas2101: i2c wrm err(-32) @0xe6 (len=7)

[smallint]

Actually dvb adapter2 attaches properly, no issues at all. When it wants to send the demod init in tas2101_initfeit fails. All subsequent write calls fail as weil. Not sure if that is related to the reset pin or not.

[smallint]

i2c 1/2 do not work after powering on the device, just 4/2.

[highkick05]

1 Adapter showing. Successful scanning now in tvheadend :) while kodi fails to start. dmesg showing Adapter 2 is failing to initialise. Screenshot & logs:

cx231xx.txt
dmesg.txt
dvb.txt
lsmod.txt
lsusb.txt
psaux.txt
syslog.txt

tested (2 hdtv mux) in vlc over network tvheadend webmin:

seemed pretty flawless

[smallint]

Cool, isn't it? Now the 2nd adapter has be to added which is the most important issue for this particular device IMHO. There are enough single input usb dvb-s2 devices around already.

Your kernel suffers again from a deadlock. This is what I was trying to tell @crazycat69 with my comment regarding the mutex in dvb_init. In case of an error it is not unlocked. My fork holds two lines fixing it.

[highkick05]

Must admit was happy to see scan working. Now if Kodi would work & other input :)

I previously owned Amiko Alien 2 which is triple tuner 1 x dvb-t & 2 x dvb-s2. Basically I got sick of the GUI and enigma2 froze 2-3 secs GUI when zapping dvb-t channels (small issue which drove me nuts, zapping dvb-s was fine). Made it useless for Engima2. So just looking to replicate that setup in custom build. Meanwhile adding all the kodi perkz , which are pretty fantastic.

[smallint]

Don't worry, Kodi will work again. This is just a minor issue. If you want you can test from my fork (same branch name) for the time being. That should add both adapters and prevent the deadlock (my setup works with Kodi and VDR and everything). But I will not maintain it, that fork is just to issue PRs if necessary.

Other input, well, yes, lets see ;)

Meanwhile adding all the kodi perkz , which are pretty fantastic.

Perfect choice!

[smallint]

So guys, I've learnt some new tools to use and after a real exciting hacking session I got the second adapter to work. Both adapters are initializing properly, tuning transponders and streaming data. Kodi works with both of them. I still need to test a full fledged system with both adapters connected. We should then have a working open source driver for the TBS 5990. ;)

---

I will never understand the policy of companies like TBS to keep drivers closed source and to make the life hard for people who purchase their products. They benefit from open source by using Linux, Kodi, Tvheadend and many other stuff but they don't give back much. Many developers including myself have to invest their spare time to make products work for which they paid their money. Its a shame. And its fun :)

[highkick05]

@smallint lol well done my friend :)

Making closed source on OPEN SOURCE operating system ? butchery !

[smallint]

I created a PR, see #3.

@highkick05 Feel free to test the tbs5990 branch from my repo for the time being. I am running my driver currently on two adapters. Recording and watching at the same time on different transponders works for some time now. Good luck.

[highkick05]

@smallint how I build your branch ?

[smallint]

I suppose the same way you build crazycats branch. Just replace "crazycat69" with "smallint" in the repository url.

[crazycat69]

I created a PR, see #3.

@smallint merged except tuner/demod drv changes

[smallint]

@crazycat69 Unfortunately it won't work without. Maybe you will find another way avoiding the broken pipe. Lets see what @highkick05 reports back.

[smallint]

I have noticed that the TBS linux driver uses an i2c bus speed for channel 2 (that one of input2) of 400kHz while this implementation uses only 100kHz. Not sure if that makes a difference and would avoid the broken pipe.

See https://github.com/crazycat69/linux_media/blob/tbs5990/drivers/media/usb/cx231xx/cx231xx-core.c#L1529.

The TBS cx231xx driver reads like that:

dev->i2c_bus[2].i2c_period = I2C_SPEED_400K;    /* 400kHz */

[crazycat69]

ok :) check it

865b3ce

[highkick05]

There is definitely something in the kernel giving errors still. But kodi is on, and I have successfully mapped dvb-s&dvb-s2 channels and watched. One HDTV channel was a little pixelated/green but after few zap's after a while appeared to smooth out again and fine.

Ok. So the box (tvheadend? I can't log back in) has frozen over night, it was running the problematic HDTV 'FuelTV' High def channel all night. Kodi was working actually I zapped some channels but because tvheadend has frozen it won't zap any channels and freezes kodi. Useful to add also that I could not even zap dvb-t channels on th@ adapter after tvheadend decided to crash over the HDTV channel. <- actually ignore this 'dvb-t stuff' i forgot kodi won't run any channels bcos tvheadend has in fact stopped due to error

I have rebooted the box, and the dvb-s2 channel that was actually pixellated looks like it has booted back up and started well (in clear). Strange. It has now been running few minutes - no problem whatsoever. Actually no, it has just given grey/green fuzz screen and broken, and yes I can't now log in to tvheadend again. This is smallint PR fixes btw. I will now try @crazycat69 latest fixes from today & report back
cx231xx.txt
dmesg.txt
dvb.txt
lsmod.txt
lsusb.txt
lsusbv.txt
psaux.txt
syslog.txt

I think, syslog log gives good error for the HDTV channel that had trouble playing and froze tvheadend.
I will build the latest of @crazycat69 now.

[highkick05]

Alright close to exactly the same errors as previously in @smallint PR's

Same HDTV tested and giving continuity errors
cx231xx.txt
dmesg.txt
dvb.txt
lsmod.txt
lsusb.txt
lsusbv.txt
psaux.txt
syslog.txt

[smallint]

No, its not close. Things are completely different. My branch does not break the 2nd adapter, it works. This branch issues again

cx231xx 1-1:1.1: cx231xx_send_usb_command: failed with status --32
i2c i2c-10: tas2101: i2c wrm err(-32) @0xe6 (len=7)

That is exactly when the init sequence should be written to demod i2c. So your 2nd adapter does still not work with this branch. Have you tested the 2nd adapter with my branch?

Regarding Tvheadend issues I cannot tell whats going on. I see lots of "Continuity counter error", might be related to Tvheadend or your dish. I just would say that the TBS itself is working. Have you tried without your dvb-t device? And have a look into vdr.

[highkick05]

Yeah the channel continuity errors are a minor prob. Other HDTV channels had absolutely no problems. Some of the mpeg4hd muxes on this satellite have had issues in the past with other devices.

I do believe @smallint is correct about his build. It did not have the above log message on second adapter. If he had it scanning then I think you miss something @crazycat69 :)

[smallint]

@highkick05 You can try to connect the cable to input B in the TBS and use that one with Tvheadend. Try that with both builds and I think that it only works with my branch. I have a two cable setup running for two days now without kernel errors and with working Kodi. I can connect from two boxes with Kodi and watch two channels on different transponders.

[highkick05]

sounds like you got it all pretty perfect. What would cause hdtv drop out in mine ?

Pretty positive your build would work with mine (second adapter). Those continuity errors though, must be something wrong. I will build your again and test the other input, also I will make menuconfig , get rid of ALSA and any unneeded devices. See if continuity errors persist.

There is an even worse dvb-s2 mux/channel on that satellite (a real scary one) which does work if everything is right. I'll show you the logs after

[smallint]

If the continuity errors persist, try VDR + VNSI + Kodi. I read about those errors in combination with Tvheadend and also about fixes in that regard. Sorry, I cannot help here.

[highkick05]

no probs. I have built your line using menuconfig and removing all but tbs & avermedia adapter's. Tommorrow I will try the other input. But the mux I was mentioning th@ was quite bad. Doesn't even zap in kodi after scanning it successfully in tvheadend and then mapping it. So I guess I will give VDR a try, seems to be wat the elite use.

Some help with VDR. What is the best repository and or, stable branch to use>?

[smallint]

I don't know what Linux distribution you are using, I compile from sources. Latest version is 2.2.0. For Ubuntu there is a ppa with latest vdr and vnsi-server.

I use: VDR 2.2.0, vnsi-server 1.3.1 (VDR plugin) and pvr-vdr-vnsi (Kodi pvr client addon)

[highkick05]

Yeah I've used all of that before. Have not used it with tbs5990 however.

From what I understood that VDR 2.2.0 is quite old ? is it regularly maintained or not, same with repository I got the feeling it was not greatly updated or maintained. It did seem rock solid though.
I'll give it a go 2moz. thanks for the direction. I think I've used 2 or 3 repositories for VDR before. Prob why I've stayed away from it. Couldn't figure out which did which or what worked with what

[smallint]

VDR itself is rock stable. And yes, it is maintained. A developer version 2.3.1 is now available. Many features are driven by plugins and VDR just focuses on what it does best: being a video disc recorder. Plugins are updated much more frequently and they are probably maintained by separate authors. Don't expect a new release every month for no reason. VDR just works ;)

[highkick05]

@smallint what program do you use to create channels.conf ?

It seems that when I scan using 'scan' on my dvb-t it reinitialises the same device a second time in the kernel on a new adapter (adapter 2 3rd new adapter after it's already loaded in the kernel), and never works.

[ 9.379104] usb 1-2: dvb_usb_af9035: prechip_version=83 chip_version=02 chip_type=9135
[ 9.379457] usb 1-2: dvb_usb_v2: found a 'Avermedia A835B(3835)' in warm state
[ 9.380577] usb 1-2: dvb_usb_af9035: [0] overriding tuner from 38 to 60
[ 9.381908] usb 1-2: dvb_usb_v2: will pass the complete MPEG2 transport stream to the software demuxer
[ 9.381956] DVB: registering new adapter (Avermedia A835B(3835))
[ 9.381962] usb 1-2: media controller created
[ 9.382429] dvb_create_media_entity: media entity 'dvb-demux' registered.
[ 9.391433] af9033 15-0038: firmware version: LINK 3.40.1.0 - OFDM 3.40.1.0
[ 9.391448] af9033 15-0038: Afatech AF9033 successfully attached
[ 9.391485] usb 1-2: DVB: registering adapter 2 frontend 0 (Afatech AF9033 (DVB-T))...
[ 9.391508] dvb_create_media_entity: media entity 'Afatech AF9033 (DVB-T)' registered.
[ 9.395466] it913x 15-001c: ITE IT913X BX successfully attached
[ 9.406497] Registered IR keymap rc-it913x-v2
[ 9.406679] input: Avermedia A835B(3835) as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:10.0/usb1/1-2/rc/rc0/input15
[ 9.406789] rc rc0: Avermedia A835B(3835) as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:10.0/usb1/1-2/rc/rc0
[ 9.406795] usb 1-2: dvb_usb_v2: schedule remote query interval to 500 msecs
[ 9.406800] usb 1-2: dvb_usb_v2: 'Avermedia A835B(3835)' successfully initialized and connected
[ 9.406847] usbcore: registered new interface driver dvb_usb_af9035

this dmesg output was already before the initialisation of the tbs devices. now it just came up again when trying to scan a channels.conf on that device. adapter 0 (first initialising of same device was working in tvheadend but I did not scan with your branch , already config'd, maybe if I scan w/ tvheadend same thing happen)

[smallint]

@highkick05 I use the tables from channelpedia for selected channels. I don't use scan at all.

[highkick05]

From previous post. It seems may be 'scan' binary might be buggy &was crashing the device causing re-init ? w_scan works 100%

Have got everything going now smallint. dist-upgraded the entire ubuntu 15.10 again. Which means latest Jarvis kodi. kodi-plugin-pvr-vnsi now works even with client specific LCARS gui... can't seem to scan dvb-s2 asiasat 5 with it in the kodi gui.

Seems like there's a mix up with what adapter it wants to use in wiebelscan plugin for VDR is not giving me correct scan for tbs5990. I've scanned the entire mux list for my local dvb-t channels, all work and epg. No problem there with that adapter.

Before I did get a scan locking and picking up channels with w_scan. I put them in channels.conf and it came up with an error in kodi when trying to zap. I will try this method again. take it vdr 2.1 channels.conf works in vdr 2.2 .. just gotta get some working channels that kodi agree's with into th@ channels.conf

[ 5.249192] usb 1-2: DVB: registering adapter 0 frontend 0 (Afatech AF9033 (DVB-T))...

[ 7.593130] cx231xx 1-1:1.1: DVB: registering adapter 0 frontend 0 (Tmax TAS2101)...

just noticed both register as same adapter

dmesg.txt
syslog.txt

[smallint]

Did you notice that?

[   14.516312] cx231xx 1-1:1.1: WARNING: there are 2 active links among 2 tuners. This is a driver's bug!
[   14.516322] cx231xx 1-1:1.1: proceeding with FE task

For my kernel I have CONFIG_MEDIA_CONTROLLER disabled so it does not got into this call. Maybe the current cx231xx driver does not wire up the controllers correctly. That is causing the error in user land. You can set in your kernel config CONFIG_MEDIA_CONTROLLER to 'n' unless you need it.

[highkick05]

[*] Enable Media controller for DVB (EXPERIMENTAL)

would this do it ? uncheck it. Would make sense .. I've upgraded the kernel

[smallint]

I am using kernel 3.14, don't know about 4.x. But looks good, yes ;)

[highkick05]

Noticed some strange behaviour while using w_scan if I try scan w/ just:

sudo w_scan -f s -a 0 -o 21 -l C-BAND -s S100E5

won't work, but if I trigger the second input like so

sudo w_scan -f s -a 1 -o 21 -l C-BAND -s S100E5 (needs to be run for a while, probably 4-5 secs)

then go back to:

sudo w_scan -f s -a 0 -o 21 -l C-BAND -s S100E5

trying 'S f = 3660 kHz V SR = 27500 3/4 0,35 QPSK (0:0:0)'
(time: 00:02.639) signal ok: S f = 3660 kHz V SR = 27500 3/4 0,35 QPSK (0:0:0)
S f = 3660 kHz V SR = 27500 3/4 0,35 QPSK (0:0:0) : updating transport_stream_id: -> (0:0:1)
S f = 3660 kHz V SR = 27500 3/4 0,35 QPSK (0:0:1) : updating network_id -> (0:1:1)
trying 'S f = 3678 kHz H SR = 4444 2/3 0,35 QPSK (0:0:0)'
(time: 00:03.759)

it works. Like the second needs to be 'woken up' as well. tested few times and confirm this behaviour

[highkick05]

still getting 2x adapters at position 0

[ 5.211985] usb 1-2: DVB: registering adapter 0 frontend 0 (Afatech AF9033 (DVB-T))...
[ 7.473231] cx231xx 1-1:1.1: DVB: registering adapter 0 frontend 0 (Tmax TAS2101)...

will uncheck
[*] Media Controller API
as well and recompile

[smallint]

Lets focus on the tbs5990 device itself which is subject to this issue. Don't use w_scan and try to use the 2nd input with VDR. Does that work?

[highkick05]

kodi@kodi-PC:~$ w_scan -f s -a 1 -o 21 -l C-BAND -s S100E5
w_scan -f s -a 1 -o 21 -l C-BAND -s S100E5
w_scan version 20141122 (compiled for DVB API 5.10)
using settings for 100.5 east AsiaSat 5
scan type SATELLITE, channellist 27
output format vdr-2.1
WARNING: could not guess your codepage. Falling back to 'UTF-8'
output charset 'UTF-8', use -C to override
---- Getting frontend capabilities----
Using DVB API 5.10
frontend 'Tmax TAS2101' supports
INVERSION_AUTO
DVB-S
DVB-S2
FREQ (0.95GHz ... 2.15GHz)
SRATE (1.000MSym/s ... 45.000MSym/s)
using LNB "C-BAND"
-----------------------_
trying 'S f = 3643 kHz H SR = 18808 3/4 0,35 QPSK (0:0:0)'
(time: 00:00.551)
trying 'S f = 3660 kHz V SR = 27500 3/4 0,35 QPSK (0:0:0)'
(time: 00:02.603) signal ok: S f = 3660 kHz V SR = 27500 3/4 0,35 QPSK (0:0:0)
S f = 3660 kHz V SR = 27500 3/4 0,35 QPSK (0:0:0) : updating transport_stream_id: -> (0:0:1)
S f = 3660 kHz V SR = 27500 3/4 0,35 QPSK (0:0:1) : updating network_id -> (0:1:1)
trying 'S f = 3678 kHz H SR = 4444 2/3 0,35 QPSK (0:0:0)'
(time: 00:04.475) ^C
ERROR: interrupted by SIGINT, dumping partial result...
(time: 00:05.303) dumping lists (0 services)

Works a charm 👍 Will try with VDR , fingers crossed

[highkick05]

Ok @smallint I've just given up with VDR. Also given up with th@ kernel with it's "experimental media controller" stuff cos it was messing with the driver setup big time.

Specs:
4.4.0-12-generic kernel
Ubuntu Xenial Xerus (development branch) 16.04
HTS Tvheadend 4.1-1670~g5a94400

Success! scanned channels and watched on input 2. Scan was very quick.

Only prob is I still have those green /grey screens on certain HDTV. Pretty sure this is lnb power related , I've had these probs before and on/off lnb power was the prob with reception

Forget to add also this is the latest @crazycat69 branch test with commit cx231xx-dev: TBS 5990 working with two adapters done.

[highkick05]

@smallint got the scan going through tvheadend on 2nd input. Did scan on 1st input not connected, same lnb settings (C-BAND), came up with nothing. Which is what it should be doing. I have no doubts that if switch it around I will get 1st input working, 2nd: linuxdvb: Tmax TAS2101 : DVB-S #0 - failed to tune [e=Invalid argument] nothing - correct function ! Ultimate test would be separate dish on each input, my motor not on atm, need buy more wire to connect it. Will test this then.

I'm really a novice when it comes to vdr, can't seem to line up the version of everything for kodi-pvr-vdr-vnsi to import good channels. Had the local dvb terrestrial going but no luck with the tbs5990 scanned data from w_scan, I would import to kodi but wouldn't zap on 2 diff setups. 'no data' etc. There is no pre-made channels.conf for my area. Not in Europe :)

2016-03-14 17:55:17.698 TS: Asiasat 5/3960H/FUEL TV HD: H264 @ #810 Corrupted PES header (errors 1)
2016-03-14 17:55:18.001 TS: Asiasat 5/3960H/FUEL TV HD: H264 @ #810 Continuity counter error (total 1)
2016-03-14 17:55:18.058 TS: Asiasat 5/3960H/FUEL TV HD: MPEG2AUDIO @ #811 Continuity counter error (total 1)

This channel doesn't work at all atm. These are 1080p. I'm guessing this is driver related I can watch these channels on other closed source tbs drivers for tbs5990. No problem

Maybe hint on @crazycat69 build this channel would not work at all, but on @smallint build it came through a little , cleared but then crashed tvheadend. Whatever the difference if in your code, and if it's not userland related (tvheadend), should be maybe where issue is. I will keep testing

[highkick05]

k no luck on these channels really. posting syslog to show more of the channels w/ 1080p decoding issues
syslog.txt

[smallint]

Unfortunately I don't have 1080p channels to test with. Since you have lots of discontinuity errors and you said those channels work with the drivers from TBS I can just guess that it might be related to some speed or timing settings. Probably the USB transfer is not fast enough. I don't have a clue yet. Maybe @crazycat69 has a clue about internals of dvb transmission.

[highkick05]

Thanks @smallint :)

If you had any 1080p channels you would seriously notice the errors, channels are completely unviewable. Sounds a lot like what you're saying w/ regards to speed/timing settings. I've experienced these exact driver issues w/ a PCTV 461e dvb-s2 tuner. It's those high quality channels th@ you want to watch as well.

Hope @crazycat69 can fix. That's the only problem with it as far as I can see. Everything else I've tested seems to be working 100%

[highkick05]

ok @crazycat69 . so I've done some short reading on I2C bus speed settings.

400K is quite quick (zap) apparently. Channel zapping would be quite fast with this setting from my readings. Could the Zap be too fast for decoding ? A large stream like 1080P would need sufficient time to load ?

Could this be where timings would come into it. (100K appears to do the same thing.)

Also, could the device be resetting itself to some default speed? (100K) setting even though it's setup is 400K

[crazycat69]

I2C bus speed not related to ts bus.But anyway in 5990 demod connected to usb bridge via serial TS bus with limited speed ~90mbit (maximum for CI). But often maximum speed for serial TS bus limited to 60-70 mbit, depend from usb bridge controller (i don't know real limitation for cx231xx).

You want receive some high-speed 8PSK transponder 3960,H,30000,5/6 from AsiaSat 5 @ 100.5°. Total bitrate > 70mbit.

P.S. Maybe you have some windows PC, need test support for 5990 in my CrazyScan (with debug driver).

[highkick05]

I can test this if you like. Do you want me to set it all up. Point me in best OS/Software , drivers & etc? and way to log output frm CrazyScan

Two transponder yep. Asiasat 5 carries a lot 1080P sport feeds. The:
3960,H,30000,5/6 (Fuel TV)
plus: (worse one, perhaps worth trying first)
4040,H,29720,5/6 (C Music TV)
^ this one even gave Commercial STB run for it's money.

But in windows the tbs BDA driver handles this easily

[highkick05]

ok found https://sourceforge.net/p/crazyscan/discussion/general/thread/9a50e908/#cd9b
I'll let it rip on windows 7 x64

[highkick05]

Got 2 devices in CrazyScan Tuner A & B. But on selecting device crashes every time.
StreamReader.txt

After these initial runs, CrazyScan kept crashing. Perhaps a setting reset in streamreader.ini?:
StreamReader (2).txt

Scratch that my dvb-t device became problematic and device needed pulling out and plugging back in. CrazyScan now loads again but same prob. Selecting from 'device' menu , crashes program.

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: CrazyScan.exe
Application Version: 1.0.2.138
Application Timestamp: 56d767ca
Fault Module Name: StreamReader.dll
Fault Module Version: 1.2.3.1347
Fault Module Timestamp: 56d767c9
Exception Code: c0000005
Exception Offset: 0002187a
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033
Additional Information 1: 0a9e
Additional Information 2: 0a9e372d3b4ad19135b953a78882e789
Additional Information 3: 0a9e
Additional Information 4: 0a9e372d3b4ad19135b953a78882e789

O/S Windows 7 x64. With the RequireLib.rar from wiki page, Visual C++ package and the 3 fiels from the tbs5990 thread.

Disabled driver signing @ boot 'F8'

[crazycat69]

so you install debug driver for 5990 ?
i upload new test build StreamReaderEx-BDA

P.S. welcome to disscussion @sf.net