(Auto)Scan badly misses time-out

Digard · 2024-06-23T09:23:35+00:00

I have been fighting with an otherwise almost impeccable tvheadend for the last weeks, together with the very helpful support of Sundtek. I couldn't get a us...

Flole

But that's w_scan and not Tvheadend? So you're kinda at the wrong place with that..... You'd have to report it to the w_scan maintainers.

I'm still failing to see the issue here, you're doing thousands of things at the same time. Focus on the Tvheadend issue only, it doesn't matter if other software does it differently or better, that's entirely irrelevant here and only causes confusion.

Digard

Flole
Sorry. No need to report to w_scan, because the scan goes through. I only attached it to show that it does go through, identical hardware. (And so does the external hardware cable tuner, attached to same plug with same cable.)
Yep, let's focus on tvheadend! The scan has so far never gone through, because the 'temperature' or channel percentage display stopped at a certain percentage. Further up you can see, where it starts to run at circles for eternity: the 370 MHz mux.

My question is, and remains, how can I actuate a scan that does go through? Even in case if we had some local interference here at 370 MHz (I have no equipment to find out), then how can I exclude this mux? I have the list of all muxes and services from the provider. Then I could manually add one after the other, and scan the muxes individually? Could this be done? How?

I think it is fair, to ask, if tvheadend has a way to import existing scan results. If it doesn't, so be it.

Flole

Well you still haven't posted a debug log from Tvheadend.....

Digard

Flole
I'd love to! I thought the one further up was sufficient. Please, what exactly do you want me to do? How do I produce the log that is needed?
You want to contents of the box in the web interface accessible with the double arrow?

Jonas Lang

I’ve noticed over the last couple of days there has been a rush of users, possibly new users all simultaneously posting their issues. Reminds me of our public transport system. Nothing for ages then everything arrives together. Good to see some of the more seasoned users back contributing to the forum too. I digress.

You now have a Network defined. Forget about using predefined mux tables. They are woefully out of date and basically useless.

Ensure your defined network is empty and free of all muxes. From there you can add a known working mux and enable a full network scan. That should provide you with a full list of your local muxes fully scanned and ready for services to be mapped.

I’ve posted this procedure a number of times on the forum so rather than repeat myself again, search the forum for further details.

Digard

Jonas Lang
Tried your suggestion, I think, correctly. That is, starting from scratch, adding TVadapter, enabling it, add DVB-C network, enabling it, add a mux as given on the current website of the provider, 370000000, symbol rate 6900000, QAM256, saved it. Since then it is resting there, saying PEND. Tried to change it to IDLE and ACTIVE, Saved and Applied, to no avail. It stays on PEND. I have Force Scan-ed the network. So far nothing.
Am I missing anything?

DeltaMikeCharlie

You may also need to change the following:

DeltaMikeCharlie

@Digard - Can you please go into Configuration -> DVB Inputs -> Muxes -> Select 370Mhz -> Edit, and take a screen print of the settings for that mux?

It would be interesting to compare your TVH values to the scan-w values for the same mux.

Digard

DeltaMikeCharlie
I think this is the one? I had submitted it already a few days ago to the Sundtek forum. There I was told that the 64QAM was wrong. It was assumed that I had set it; but I never had (being a beginner, didn't even know it existed, having just started with wizard). Then I changed to 256QAM, Force Scan, and the stuck state, observed with mediaclient, was posted in my first post as above.

(I'll look into the other post(s) tomorrow, since it is nightfall here, sorry.)

Jonas Lang

The majority of the issues as described above relate to using the dreaded predefined mux tables during the Configuration Wizard process. Maybe it’s time we either ditch the predefined muxes option in the Configuration Wizard or maintain our own predefined mux tables. Personally I’d opt for ditching the predefined mux tables and point the new user towards a full network scan using a known mux.

Maybe the developers might want to have a closer look at the Configuration Wizard with a view to overcoming this recurring issue. Maybe invite the user to enter a known working mux and enable a full network scan during the Configuration Wizard process.

Digard

Jonas Lang
As you know, I'm a beginner. A few weeks ago I didn't know what a mux was (and still today, I don't, really).
But w_scan doesn't know either, and makes no mistake; and the 'stupid' hardware cable tuner also doesn't know anything about my provider. At least, so I think.

What hinders tvheadend to do likewise; respectively import a proper parameter list? That should be serious fun, if I could share that list with friends and neighbours after some allocation change, to just import that list? I guess everyone here, sitting on the same network, gets the same services?

So, why would a user have to google for a working mux?

DeltaMikeCharlie

Digard As you know, I'm a beginner. A few weeks ago I didn't know what a mux was (and still today, I don't, really).

'mux' is short for 'multiplexer'. Multiplexing is a technique for combining multiple data streams into one data stream that can be transmitted and then later be de-multiplexed into the original multiple data streams once it has been received. In the context of digital TV, it is the way that broadcasters send multiple TV channels over the same frequency.

TVH, or any digital TV system, needs to know the details about the mux so that it can decode the data that is being broadcast. This includes the frequency, but also some data encoding and error correction parameters.

Digard But w_scan doesn't know either, and makes no mistake;

Because 'w_scan' is able to determine the list of channels on your 370Mhz mux, we just need to tell TVH the correct settings to use.

Here is an extract from your scan-w file.

-_-_-_-_ Getting frontend capabilities-_-_-_-_ 
Using DVB API 5.10
frontend 'Sundtek DVB-C (III)' supports
INVERSION_AUTO
QAM_AUTO not supported, trying QAM_64 QAM_256.
FEC_AUTO
FREQ (42.00MHz ... 1002.00MHz)
SRATE (0.520MSym/s ... 7.233MSym/s)
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

searching QAM256...

tune to: QAM_256  f = 370000 kHz S6900C0  (61441:9999:10002) (time: 12:53.717) 
        already known: (QAM_256  f = 346000 kHz S6900C0  (61441:9999:10008)), but not found by pids

        service = TV 5 Monde (fre) (Digital Free)

You mention that you have already changed your settings to QAM_256.

I have also noticed that your FEC is set to 'NONE', whereas your w_scan has the value set to "AUTO". Have you tried changing this parameter?

Digard

DeltaMikeCharlie
A simple 'NO'.
That's why I pointed out the change of QAM, the only one I ever effected.

The fresh (second) install and using the wizard, selecting the closest provider (actually mine), TV 5 Monde was 'found' on the 170 MHz mux. And during recording, it recorded something on 170 MHz; though there are only encrypted signals.
(The whole set of info can be seen in the post in the Sundtek forum; see above, in case.)

DeltaMikeCharlie

I have found that I can read the output of the w_scan command as a TVH scan file.

I ran the command w_scan -f t -c AU -x > au-wscan and copied the output file into my scan file directory and restarted TVH.

(Please note that the w_scan parameters -f t and c AU are specific to me [DVB-T/Australia], the -x parameter created the output in the required format.)

When I created a new network and selected au-wscan as my Pre-defined Muxes, my muxes were created automatically. When I assigned my new network to my adapter, I was able to successfully scan my services.

Digard

DeltaMikeCharlie
Thanks a bunch. I'm pretty busy these days, will come back probably during the weekend, and try this myself here, with -f cand c DE.

And hope to furnish the log by then, too.

Digard

DeltaMikeCharlie
Yep. Almost. Did this, and copied it into /usr/share/tvheadend/data/dvb-scan/dvb-c.
(had to sudo systemctl restart tvheadend.service, otherwise it wouldn't want to show)
Again, did nothing, because the mux showed as 0MHz, no symbol rate. (Edit view). Really don't understand this!! Where does it read this??)
In any case, after manually entering a correct 370 MHz and 6900000 it immediately started, and brought up 28 muxes very quickly, and all on 'OK'; which I never had before.

So it seems my problem is 'fixed', as they might say. But it isn't fixed, actually. I wouldn't believe that I'm the only one with this hassle. Compared to anything else, tvheadend looks sub-par w.r.t. auto-scanning.

In any case, I include the w_scan for eventual use. Don't forget to change Frequency and Symbol rate, additionally!

de-wscan-voda-nrw.txt

2kB

Jonas Lang

Digard try stopping TVH after adding the mux details and then restart it. It should start the scan process. If not to switch it to Active and Save it.

DeltaMikeCharlie

Digard So it seems my problem is 'fixed', as they might say.

Good news.

Digard In any case, I include the w_scan for eventual use. Don't forget to change Frequency and Symbol rate, additionally!

Please mark the posting as the 'best solution' so that other users have a better chance of seeing it.

Digard

DeltaMikeCharlie
Thanks to you! - I had been asking here and there on how to make use of a successful w_scan to import into tvheadend. Finally you found it!
I don't think I could mark my own as 'best answer'. I guess someone else has to do so.

DeltaMikeCharlie

Digard I don't think I could mark my own as 'best answer'. I guess someone else has to do so.

I have marked your post as the 'best answer' because it summarised the solution neatly.

Digard

Jonas Lang
Thanks. You might have seen by now that the problem has been 'solved'; at least individually. I didn't know about the restart.
In any case, kudos to you, and your insistence that the pre-defined tables may produce more misery than they might help. I've been in this for the last 5 weeks or so, and finally, today everything turned out properly by feeding tvheadend the correct list of muxes, within minutes, thanks to DeltaMikeCharlie.

A complete description of your method, and maybe this method, should be pinned at the top, I think.