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You need a keyboard and power up the IceBox into the BIOS. Then in Save and Exit you can scroll down to choose the USB to reboot then go step by step

Ahh, I was selecting the USB in the Boot tab. In any case I ended up doing a Soft Reset in the strange version of the IceBox software that came up and it ended up working.

To be honest I am not sure I could repeat the steps I did to get it working in the end, but it is working now, thanks.

I'm not sure what SSH is
As for doing a USB install I'm a bit stumped. 
I used the USB I set up for cloning the SSDs, but when I attempt to boot from it, I get an IceBox menu rather than Ubuntu.
From what I can tell, the IceBox software seems to be running on the USB.

I can see the Ubuntu USB from my network as a folder in ICEBOX network location.
I thought that maybe there was a copy of the update on the USB, but I can't see it anywhere.
 
I assume that if I attempt a Reset (hard or Soft) it would just reset the version on the USB.

I'm confused.
 

I have tried using a number of Firmwares, back to IceBox-Generic.x86_64-1.11.3.img.gz. which I believe is the full IceBox system.
Nothing seems to work.

As I said, After a Reboot, I get the IceTV small banner, then the large Banner, then a Blank Screen.
I can locate it on my network and after each reboot, the Update folder is empty.
Note: All the recordings are retained.

I'm out of ideas now.

I have now tried downloading the latest firmware to the Uploads folder and rebooted without any change.  Just a Black screen (both ports)

Today I decided to do a Soft Reset, but the IceBox failed to restart, and subsequent forced restarts have failed as well.  Ihe IceTV banners come up and eventually disappear leavung a blank screen.

The TVHeadEnd UI works to a degree (with no channel data) and I can see the IceBox on the LAN.

I am in the process of copying my existing recordings so if worst comes to worst I should be able to restore them.
However I don't know what to do next. For example, if I copy the latest Update to the Updates folder and try a restart, will that get the OS working again?

I am not sure if I can get anywhere with this, but I have a log that shows the following exception error.

2024-04-23 14:07:05.780 T:1283    error <general>: EXCEPTION Thrown (PythonToCppException) : -->Python callback/script returned the following error<--
                                                    - NOTE: IGNORING THIS CAN LEAD TO MEMORY LEAKS!
                                                   Error Type: <class 'ConnectionRefusedError'>
                                                   Error Contents: [Errno 111] Connection refused
                                                   Traceback (most recent call last):
                                                     File "/usr/share/kodi/addons/service.icetv/service.py", line 11, in <module>
                                                       if start.run(sys.argv):
                                                          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                                                     File "/usr/share/kodi/addons/service.icetv/resources/lib/start.py", line 142, in run
                                                       icetv.update_guide()
                                                     File "/usr/share/kodi/addons/service.icetv/resources/lib/icetv.py", line 591, in update_guide
                                                       output_xmltv(shows)
                                                     File "/usr/share/kodi/addons/service.icetv/resources/lib/icetv.py", line 506, in output_xmltv
                                                       client.connect(socket_path)
                                                   ConnectionRefusedError: [Errno 111] Connection refused
                                                   -->End of Python script error report<--

The full log can be accessed Here (I Hope).


This exception error is apparently conflicting with a Non-IceTV Addon that I am trying to get working, namely "Paramount+", among others.

The guy supporting the Paramount+ addon in the Kodi world has suggested this is the reason the Paramount+ addon is not working.

The reality is that all the streaming addons (Prime, Paramount+, Disney+, NineNow, SevenPlus, TenPlay, etc), I have been running have a similar problem, i.e. The addons work for about 2 weeks and then the programs for "Shows" suddenly disappear from the file lists.  Strangely "Movies" still seem to work.

I can see how this is most likely to fall into the Low Priority list (or more likely No Priority) as it is not part of the IceBox offering.  I am not asking for anyone to devote a lot of time to this, but I am hoping that someone might recognise the Exception error and can shed some light on how it might be resolved.

In terms of supporting information, from what I have researched so for, I am suspecting a Digital Rights Management (DRM) issue.  I have seen examples where "Shows" and Movies" are treated a little differently when it comes to DRM and it may be that the exception error above is interfering with how the DRM is processed.
The interesting thing is that after a soft reset and a reload of all the addons, they all work fine, for about 2 weeks, then all the Program file for "Shows" suddenly disappear on all the streaming addons. Something common to all the streaming addons stops working properly. I have tried uninstalling/reinstalling the two key DRM related Addons that are common to the streaming Addons, namely "WideVine" and "inputstream.adaptive" and Rebooting without any change. Only a soft reset and reinstall of all the addons works (about a day of effort).

FYI I am only running addons I have paid subscriptions for.   

I don't hold great hopes for a solution, and I suspect I will have to just give up on the idea of having a fully functional Media server capability in my IceBox.

Ian,

Given that no one else has answered yet, I suspect the answer is no, but it might be worth having a look on the BYOB (Bring Your Owm Box) pages. 

I had to read this sentence  a few times!

I see what you mean, and I used to be a technical writer. Duuhh

Thanks for that. When I looked at that settings page, for some reason I assumed it was read only. I changed the resolution, and also set the UI resolution limit to 1080. When I rebooted, it came up in HD.

How is the Black Screen/Flashing?

One thing I have noticed with software updates in general (Windows, Office, Internet Explorer, etc.) over the years is that sometimes settings that the person who set up the update had for their setup can sometimes end up in the update. It would explain the alignment of the Black Screen/Flashing with the installation of the update.
I am not saying that happened here, but weird things do happen.

Thanks, but my IceBox is plugged directly into the TV. I don't have another TV I can test it on. In any case, I didn't have any of these issues prior to the firmware upgrade, and the upgrade is the only change to my setup.

Ned

I don't know how the Update might affect video behavior. Note: That comes from lack of knowledge, not certainty.

However, from memory, I recall someone mentioning tweaking their TV to work with their IceBox.
The IceBox video is supposed to work best at 1920x1080 @ 50 Hz.
Is that the setting you are using?

Is there anywhere in your TV's settings where you can specify the screen resolution to 1920x1080 @ 50 Hz?

The two port's outputs are the same as the IceBox is a miniPC which, in its original state, could support two monitors. 

One of the things I noticed when I used UBUNTU to load one of the earlier updates, was that it was possible to "Clone" the outputs to the two ports. This setting didn't hold when I came out of UBUNTU, but it showed it was possible to some degree.

In other words, what is output to the two ports is controllable from software.  Whether that sort of control is available in the LibreELEC/Kodi/IceTV software environment is another matter.

However, the most significant problem was with the ad skipping whereby after the ad break, the video repeatedly cut off and on, until finally there was just a blank screen.

That looks more like a HDMI issue.  Do you have a HDMI cable connected directly to your TV or is there something else in between, e.g. an AV Amplifier, a HDMI extender, HDMI splitter, HDMI switch, etc.)?

Sometimes with HDMI, something that interrupts the data flow can trigger the receiving device to go through a housekeeping check which results in a bit of flashing while the HDMI reconfigures itself. Sometimes the result can be a blank screen.  The more devices in the chain, the worse the flashing can get.

Usually a directly connected TV doesn't do that, but a bad cable may cause something similar.
 

I don't think HDMI is the issue. I am having the same symptoms on various recordings. Today, I was watching a recording of the PBS Newshour, when it started having intermittent black screens, then just went back to the menu. When I tried to restart it, it said "Failed to Start" on both Resume and Play from Beginning. I tried to reboot from the power menu, but the box crashed (looked like a kernel panic), so I did a long press of the Power button and it rebooted successfully. I then played the same recording, and it played without any black screens or other issues.

I'm also having a number of other anomalous problems. Sometimes when I select a recording to play, I just get a black screen. When I press "Back", it goes back to the menu, but I can see the recording playing in the background. When I select it again, it plays.

Something new today: I tried to watch live TV, but I get a message from TVHeadEnd saying "No Free Adapter Available". I rebooted a few times, but got the same result. I looked at the TVHeadEnd web page, and Configuration->DVB Inputs->TV Adapters is an empty folder. Something must have gone wrong during my efforts to watch the PBS Newshour this morning. I unplugged the tuners and plugged them in again, and they have come back. Unfortunately, I didn't do it in time to get today's recording of the PBS Newshour.

During one of the many reboots I've done this week, the box updated itself, so I'm on 11.6.2 now. It retained my channel settings, which is one good thing.

I believe that you are correct in your interpretation that much of what you experienced was related to the initial playback of the PBS recording. Something glitched and caused most of the follow-on issues you experienced.

You seem to have successfully diagnosed the issues and found suitable actions to resolve them.

You shouldn't really be having the Black/Flashing screen issue, but...

I have something similar, but part of the issue in my case is that I have a bunch of devices (HDMI Switches, extenders, splitters and converters) between the IceBox and my TVs. Every time I go from a menu to playing a recording, I get a Black screen and occasionally some flashing. It takes a few seconds while everything settles down.

I would love to find a way to get it more stable, but nothing I have tried has worked. From what I understand it just comes down to how each device in the HDMI chain, including the IceBox, deals with changes in the video data.

It may be that the way your TV does the HDMI handshaking with the IceBox is particularly sensitive to something the IceBox does (or vice Versa).

Have you tried plugging in a different TV to see if the behaviour changes?
 

Try plugging in the HDMI cable to the other port on the IceBox; during beta testing hardware assistance was only working on one of the two ports.

Is there a way to confirm which of the ports (In relation to the power lead) has the hardware assistance?

Yes, I have lost a few of my timers again, and there are lots of blank areas in the EPG.

As for the missing timers, I have a vague recollection that IceBox timers set from the EPG only work locally, i.e. do not get captured by the IceTV servers.  It could be that the Soft reset loses the local timers.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong with this one.

My new IceBox is connected to a Panasonic 65inch TV and nothing i seem to do in the TV menu seems to fix my overscan problem, is there any adjustment i can make in KODI?

Yes there is.

1. From the main Menu, select the Settings "Cog" for the Settings page.
2. On the Settings page select Interface Box to show the Settings/Interface page.
3. On the Settings/Interface page menu, select Skin and then -Zoom.

This allows you to adjust the overall size of the picture.  I find the for my LG, about -6% does the job.