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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.

As an old "Skippa" owner I have a few questions about the add skipping function.

How do you tell if a file has been processed?

In the Skippa there was a way to see when a file had been processed and also a way to see which file was being processed.

The Skippa also had and automatic add skip function which I fairly quickly set to manual as the skip often happened before you were aware of an add being there and sometimes returned to the program with no awareness of the add break at all.
You would think that not being aware of adds at all would be desirable, but I always found it disconcerting.
To explain, when programs are put together, the producers love to put in some sort of action just before the planned add breaks and often return from an add break in a different scene and catch up on the suspenseful scene a little later, i.e. build on the suspense. When the skip happens a little early, you don't know if you have missed that last second action or not.  I always found I was constantly manually skipping back to see if I had missed something important.
As there doesn't seem to be a manual setting, my preference would be to see a second or two of the start of the add break, and return showing a second or two from the end of the add break. That way you are aware of what is happening, and you don't miss anything critical. Even better have settings available to allow the timing to be set by the user. I can live with 4 seconds of adds. There also needs to be a way to suspend the add skipping temporarily so you can navigate to the bit of program that was missed, otherwise, if you skip back to the bit that was missed, the add skip will just jump past it again.

In addition, I found that occasionally the processing indicated the beginning of an add break and the end of the next add break as one long add break i.e. the section of program between the two add breaks is also skipped. No criticism of the processing here. It is easy to see that the criteria for identifying the beginning and end of add breaks can easily be masked by a reception glitch. I expect that is just a fact of life that the processing can't really be perfect.
 
In fact, I am a little surprised that the stations haven't come up with a way to mask the indications the processing uses to spot add breaks, although I expect that they are more concerned about the competition they are getting from the streaming services to worry too much about us.  I do know I have dearly missed my two Skippas.

Can a manual add skipping setting be added?

I can see that the standard remote doesn't have the extra buttons that the Skippa remote has for manually skipping adds, but the up down buttons might be able to be re-purposed for manual skipping. i.e. if you are playing a recording that was processed for add skipping and Add Skipping was set to manual the 10 minute jump functions could be replaced with the Manual add skip functions. If not, the 10 minute jump function could be retained.  The context menu button could be used to toggle auto skipping on or off.

I am interested to know how others feel about the Add skipping function too.

Happy skipping
   

I have asked similar questions before, but the SSD issue was taking precedence in everyone's mind and I never managed to get satisfactory answers, so I will try again.

First, a curse upon the designers of HDMI that makes it able to preconfigure the HDMI output to suit the display that it is connected to. Its wonderfully smart, but also so problematic. More on that later.

Question one.
Why can't I see the same thing on both HDMI ports?
I have a fairly complex setup that could be simplified if both ports showed the same thing.
I also noted when I was using ubuntu to clone the SSD, that Ubuntu had a similar "Display" function to windows that allowed two displays (HDMI Ports 1 and 2) to be mirrored. Unfortunately choosing "Mirror" seems to revert the ports to their automatic settings. Just because I am using a 4K switch to send the HDMI output to a TV, doesen't mean that that TV is a 4K TV. I can see HDMI is the issue here, not the IceBox. I assume that if I had two 4K TVs connected to the ports, "Mirroring" may well would work fine, but I have little desire to replace my TVs, at the moment.

Is there somewhere in the IceBox software that can allow "mirroring" to be configured or possibly added as a capability in the future?

If Mirroring was a capability, what would happen to the sound?
i.e. would one port have sound and the other not?

Question 2
Is there some way to lock the HDMI output down?
With my complex setup, I find that my TVs are often blanking as the Splitters, Switches, extenders, etc. in the HDMI chain reconfigure themselves when they detect some change in the output.
One example is when I change from a Menu to a TV channel.  Another is when a menu is on display for a while and I then attempt to make a selection, the screen blanks for a bit before I can make a selection. Note I have dimming turned off. It seems that the screen actually changes something in the HDMI output when moving from a menu to a picture.

I don't get these types of issues with other PVRs, DVDs or Media servers in my setup.

Please don't point me to the LibreElec or Kodi forums, I have looked and to be honest I rarely understand what anyone says in them and I have little idea about what sort of NUC the IceBox is or what versions of LibreElec or Kodi software is running.

I suspect there are no current capabilities within the IceBox that will resolve my issues.
So far, the chief user of the IceBox in the house, being my wife, hasn't complained about the blanking, but that is probably coming.
 
I would also be interested to know if anyone else has similar issues.
I suspect it is not an issue for those that have just a TV connected to their IceBox.

I had to do a fair bit of chasing around to discover these steps. It would be good if they could be added to the User manual (Withe Pics) or a Useful Tips Topic added to the page added to the forum IceTV IceBox list, where basic setup suggestions can be added.
 
For the nubes a Soft Reset involves:
1. From the main menu, navigating to and selecting the Cog (Settings) icon at the top of the main menu.
2. Select the Librelec settings button (Top Right Button)
3. From the Librelec settings page select System (usually selected by default?)
4. On the system settings pane scroll down to and select "Reset System Settings to defaults"

The box then goes through a series of steps and promps before starting the initial setup actions described in the manual (Login, Connection, (WIFI/Ethernet) and a channel scan. It then checks for any existing recordings and adds them to the Recordings list.

A hard reset involves steps 1 to 3 above and,
4. On the system settings pane scroll down to and select "Reset IceBox to defaults"

The box then goes through the same initial setup steps, as above, but does not re-establish any recordings.

Any preferences you had before either of the resets will have to be re-done.

My question is, what happens to any plugins for Hard and soft resets"

I note the Icebox plugin is retained, which suggests the plugins will remain, but it would be nice to know what would be affected. I fear the next need for a reset, hard or Soft.

Especially given that the SSD changeover will be happening soon.

Are there actions that I can take to retain my setup?
I know I will need to take a copy of the recordings first so they can be transferred to the new SSD.
Is there anything else I can take a copy of to minimise the impact of the SSD changeover?

I see a Backup option in the Libreelec settings. Does anyone know what it backs up and where?

I have been busy over the last month adding a number of plugins that have turned my IceBox into a fairly good implementation of a Smart TV.

I have SBS, ABC, Seven, Nine and Ten catchup TV plugins up and running, as well as Netflix, Prime, Paramount+ and Disney+ plugins. There are many more. These are just the ones that I normally use.

All these plugins look somewhat different from what you would expect to find on a normal Smart TV and there are some pros and cons about that. The absence of adds in the catchup TV plugins is an interesting concept though.

When I have a little more time I will try to explain where I found the plugins and possibly give a critique for the ons I am using.

I invite others to do the same on this thread, although I wonder if we may be better to have a new folder titled Plugins in the Forum where we can narrow the focus to single plugins so that new users can get into tailoring their IceBoxes to suit their needs.

I'll leave that for the Moderators to consider.

As I progressively work through issues, I keep finding something new to hav a go at. This time it is sound.
As I have stated in other posts, I have a fairly complex setup consisting of 4 TVs, a Harmon Kardon 7.1 surround sound amplifier, a 6x2 matrix HDMI switch, a HDMI extender, a couple of splitters, a two-way HDMI switch, a HDMI to AV converter, an AV RF extender, a Fetch box, an Apple TV box, a blu-ray player, and an Icebox. The setup allows me to extend two separate programs to each of the TVs at the same time. The key point is that there is one place that 7.1 surround sound can be used and three tvs that use simple two channel stereo.

At one point I tried setting the box to 7.1 sound, but found that the sound on the stereo TVs had poor sound, in that the voices tended to be drowned out by the background music.  Switching the sound back to stereo, made a big improvement, so I have left the IceBox on the two-channel (Stereo) setting for now.

However, I would like to be able to use 7.1 sound.

All my other devices seem to be able to be set to 7.1 sound and when the HDMI is sent to the stereo TVs the sound seems OK, but for some reason the IceBox behaves differently.

I can understand that I am operating the IceBox a fair way outside it's designed purpose and the various plugins for Netflix, catch-up, etc all have their own settings, so solutions won't necessarily be simple or even reliable.

I am wondering if someone has any ideas for solution/s.

One of the things I find with the Icebox is that the screens seem to blank out from time to time when navigating around.

I have assumed that this is partially related to the complex configuration I am running, where I distribute the IceBox, DVD, Apple TV and Fetch HDMI throughout my home via HDMI switches, Splitters, Extenders and adapters.

Getting all the HDMI handshaking to work properly, especially when some items do the handshaking "Automatically", can be problematic.

However, I also suspect the Icebox plays a part. Either the screen resolution changes as I navigate around, forcing my splitters to reconfigure and blanking the screen when they do, or that there is some sort of Icebox instability in the way the HDMI handshaking is done.

Unfortunately, HDMI Handshaking in general seems to secret tech guy business. I have tried googling various phrases and have yet to find anything useful.
I can't even find out what the Copy, Auto and Mixed settings on my splitters actually do, apart from the Copy one that copies the Source EDID settings to the outputs (I think). The blanking generally means I lose the first few seconds of a program I am playing and I can jump back and replay it, so it's not all that big a deal, but it is a bit annoying.

In any case, something seems to change the HDMI as I navigate through various settings. I expect that the IceBox is probably more stable when it is simply directly connected to a single TV.

I am wondering if someone has any idea of how the IceBox deals with the HDMI and whether there is any way of altering the HDMI settings.

I think this may be an old argument, but it might be worth another try for the Icebox.

I generally have a preference for recording programs in Standard Definition (SD).
This is for two reasons:
1. I find that SD is not reality all that superior to High Definition (HD). Technically it is significantly superior. However our eyes don't really see the technical detail (At least my 68 year old eyes don't). A child's perhaps.
HD does offer superior sound though. Some will argue that things like the cricket are much better in HD, but that depends on what is being broadcast.

I remember when Channel 9 started broadcasting the cricket in HD, there was a significant difference between SD and HD.  My observation was that the scoreboard couldn't be read in SD whereas in HD it was clear as a bell, but that was Nine marketing deliberately lowering the quality of the SD broadcast to make the HD look good. I had never has so much trouble making out the detail on the scoreboard on SD, until HD started.

2. Recording SD takes up less space. Again there are some that argue differently. There seems to be some difference between how much space a recording thinks it is taking up as apposed the amount of space used on the Hard Drive. I imagine that depends on what the various systems keep track of, but it doesn't take much intuition to thinking that the higher info density in HD MUST use more space.

The reality is that there will certainly be times when recording in HD would be desired, but for run of the mill stuff like Home and Away, SD is all that is needed (Oops I can see the social media comments coming now).

The Skippa allowed us the set our preferences for recording, so can the IceBox be set up in a similar way?

I imagine that setting a recording from the SD channel from the EPG will work, but you can't do that from the APP.

Any thoughts?

Somewhere in all my fiddling getting an IR Remote up and running, I have lost the ability to play back a recording.
I have the same issue using the RF Remote so it's not a key mapping issue.

When I navigate to the Recordings list, select a recording to play back and press OK, nothing happens.
Similarly, when I press the "Menu" button and select Play from the menu. nothing happens as well.

The only way I can get a recording to play, is to open a channel that is recording something and select the Play Recording option instead of skip to channel.

Any Ideas?

Yesterday I set up a series timer for "Hindenburg: The Cover Up: using the IceTV App to be recorded on my IceBox.
The App still shows the series as if it has not yet set the IceBox to record it yet (Sunday Evening).

I'll set it up directly from the IceBox, but I am wondering whether there is some setting I need to change in the IceBox to allow timers to be set from the App.

[Remote Controls.]

I have a complex TV setup and it has been somewhat of a challenge to integrate the IceBox into my current setup.
No criticism of IceTV here. Their goal was to produce an affordable IceTV compatible PVR and the IceBox is an innovative way to achieve just that.

Using a NUC was a brilliant idea. The possibilities with a NUC are endless.

With that in mind I have put together some thoughts IceTV might be able to look at in the future.

Remote Controls.
The RF remote provides an amazing range, but makes extending the range difficult. In my case it makes it all the way to the doorway of the bedroom at the opposite end of our house, but unfortunately does not make it inside. There are any number of IR extenders available and I use one, but I haven't seen any RF extenders. It would be really nice if IceTV could put some thought into providing a choice of IR or RF remotes.
I am working on getting something up and running, but it's a challenge. Having something preconfigured will make the IceBox easier to integrate into different setups. It would also be great if we could purchase extra remotes.

HDMI Ports.
The HDMI output functionality needs a bit of work.  When I initially started up my Icebox, I got a picture, but no sound. Hunting around the forums revealed that I needed to change the HDMI port the sound came from and hence I got sound. However, I found that only one of the ports produced a picture. Worse, while I was fiddling around, I found that the port that produced the picture had changed. It seems that the NUC sets up the ports on startup based on what is plugged into them. All very confusing for the user. Can the IceTV gurus look at getting both HDMI ports to have the same output? I know that isn't as simple as that sounds given the complexities of how HDMI works, but the current setup is a bit frustrating. I had to buy a $95 splitter to solve my problem. The second port remains unused. I have looked for settings for the HDMI ports and while there is a Video setup section, it only seems to deal with whichever port is in use.

Channel Scanning. 
Currently the only way to update the channels scanned is to do a soft reset and while this doesn't lose your recordings, it's a clunky way of going about it. Isn't there some way the IceTV gurus could get something less clunky into their software?


Add Skip.
My wife is devastated by the demise of our Skippa. The Add Skip function on it was simply brilliant.
Given that the IceBox is based on a NUC, is there a way to incorporate the Skippa Add Skip functions into it?

Thats enough of what I would like and again this is not intended to direct criticism towards IceTV.
What they have done is quite smart, but it can be a struggle for the technologically challenged to adapt to.
I am sure they would like to have a box that becomes a simple plug and play unit that adapts to whatever configuration it is connected to and you can't afford to wait until it is perfect before you release it.

I am sure there are things that other people would like to see in their IceBox.

What else can you think of?

It sounds like a silly question, but there is a good reason for asking.

In my setup I use a HDMI Matrix switch, a HDMI extender and an IR extender to extend the outputs of the various devices I have to the Main bedroom at the other end of the house.

This allows my wife to watch programs she has recorded while she does Heamodialysis in her bedroom.

so far I having difficulty achieving this. So far the signal doesn't quite make it (likely a configuration issue). As a result, I can't really tell if the remote will work or not once I get the configuration issue sorted (Another thread).

The remote control is another issue. I have the impression that the remote uses RF rather than Infrared hence the little dongle supplied.
However, I notice that the IR extender I use lights up, when I use the Icebox remote in the bedroom, as if it has detected an Infrared signal, so perhaps it also uses Infrared after all.
I also note that the Remote shows a led indication when a button is pressed when it is a long way from the Icebox. I'm not sure what the LED is supposed to show. It doesn't seem to be described anywhere.

I'm not sure what this all means, but I need to find out how to extend to remote signal to allow it to work from the bedroom, otherwise the Icebox will not serve our needs. I will have to bin the Icebox and find an alternative PVR.

Any ideas?

I have yet to see a labelled hardware description of the IceTV Box.

Most if it is intuitive enough, but there a few things that I wonder about.

What is the difference between the USB ports on the back of the units and the ones on the side?
      Sure, its fairly obvious that the tuners are supposed to plug into them, but USB ports are usually generic in their purpose. What is different about the different sets of USB ports?

What is the purpose of the two HDMI outputs?
      The promotional material proudly states that the unit has HDMI x 2, but from what I see in many forum queries that only one seems to work, usually the one closest to the Headphone port. In my case it is the furthest that works, but thus raised a number of questions.
    What is the difference between the ports?
    Where in the settings are the two ports configured?
         I can make use of a second port that works as I use a HDMI extender to port the HDMI signal to the main bedroom via a HDMI Matrix switch. Having a second port means that I can avoid using a HDMI splitter.

Is the hardware described somewhere?

Sadly I suspect that both of my Skippa's have reached their ends.
This is a last gasp in the hope that something can be done, but I hold little hope.
My wife is devastated. That add skip button is her favorite thing. Nothing else does it and it works so well.

The problem is that the tuners seem to be failing. On one skippa, when you look at the signal strength it shows 100% signal, but the signal quality is down and very variable. On the other Skippa both strength and quality are virtually nonexistent.

My guess is that the signal amplifiers in the tuner circuit are failing.
Note: The RF signal passes through to other devices OK, so its not the input signal that is the problem.

I am handy with a soldering iron, but I don't have the equipment to handle surface mount technology.

If anyone is aware of a fix for this please, or believe they can do a repair, let me know. If I had a choice, I would keep the Skippa's going as nothing else does add skip like the Skippas.

Regards Tim

I am getting an annoying error message on my Skippa and a Format and a Factory Reset havent fixed it.
The next step is to reload the 1.1.10604 update, but I can't locate it.

Any Ideas?

I am getting a "This key not available" message.
It started happening a few weeks ago and I recall ever seeing it before.
It is a text overlay over the picture with a lot of basically characters that have little meaning.
I haven't been able to identify what triggers it as yet. I
It is cleared when I press the exit key, but sometimes pressing Exit closes a program I want to watch.
I haven't tried anything's other than an orderly shut down and restart, but I have a bunch of recordings I would prefer not to lose at the moment.
Any thoughts what the issue may be?

Help
I now have two dead Skippas and I am hoping someone has a solution. Both have the same problem.
I turn them on and they go through the lengthy startup and get to Initialising PVR and that's as far as they get.
Obviously the display chip is working, but something prevents them from completing the initialisation.
Before they died they started restarting often.
I wonder whether removing the HD formating it in my PC would help? What type of format. I assume the operating System is contained in a separate partition.
Any ideas?
 
Failing a solution can someone recommend a replacement.
Is there anything out there with Add Skip?
I'd be looking for something with 1TB drive (or more) and more than two tuners.

Lately my Skippa's remote response is not so good.
Its a bit like when there is no network. There will be no response at all for a few minutes and then it will work for about thirty seconds , then back to no response for a couple of minutes.

Timers are coming in fine so the network's ok.

Any thoughts?

For the second week in a row Seven have put three episodes of Murdoch mysteries on Thursday evening, one of which is a repeat (the third episode shown). Unfortunately we are getting the first and third episodes recorded. I assume Ice TV is identifying the second episode as a repeat instead of the third.  Can this be fixed for the future?

I am getting a thin red line with a filled in triangle at the bottom appearing on my progress bar when playing back a recording.  It looks like some sort of bookmark.  It doesn't seem to have any affect and causes no problems. 

I am just wondering what it is and if possible how to clear it