ORF 2 Stream Crash on TVH Server

phaze75 · 2025-10-08T18:42:25+00:00

Hi there, For the past few weeks, I’ve been experiencing an issue with the ORF 2 channel stream provided by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation. This chan...

phaze75

DeltaMikeCharlie It would be interesting to see if/how/when the SDT, or other table(s), change to reflect the new PIDs.

Is there a way to feed the recorded mux into TVH? This would make troubleshooting much easier compared to be able work on it only once per day at the exact given time.

Which subsystems do you want us to debug/trace? Only "tbl-base" for SDT?

DeltaMikeCharlie

phaze75 Which subsystems do you want us to debug/trace? Only "tbl-base" for SDT?

I think the PAT and the PMT are the tables that we need, so 'tbl-base' should be the right subsystem.

phaze75

It might sound like a newbie question, but it's been years since I last configured TVH. Starting TVH via CLI and feeding it with the mux works fine, but how do I log in to the admin interface? It keeps rejecting my usual credentials.

DeltaMikeCharlie

phaze75 but how do I log in to the admin interface?

Use --noacl to bypass security for the duration of your testing. If I recall correctly, the WebUI will be in English only in this mode.

phaze75

phaze75
I mananged to get past the login prompt with "-C". However, the "Debugging" menu doesn't show up. What am I missing?

tvheadend -C -l --logfile --debug --trace --uidebug --tsfile_tuners 1 --tsfile ORF2St.ts

phaze75

phaze75
--noacl did the trick. I now see the "Debugging" menu.

phaze75

DeltaMikeCharlie I think the PAT and the PMT are the tables that we need, so 'tbl-base' should be the right subsystem.

I managed to create a logfile for 'tbl-base.' However, the descrambling didn't work as planned, but I did get the ORF2St Stream tuned and running through. There might be something useful in the logfile, and the national/regional switch should be covered. My guess is, that the switch starts at 2025-10-28 12:02:52.557.

https://www.transfernow.net/dl/20251028967a97jR

boern99

hello, i also have the same problem for channel ORF2S HD:
Maybe it helps: i recorded the regional tv show having debug turned on: https://next.libe.net/s/f7rxmbLAZtiPdkE
As described, after the recording finishes, it is not possible to use this channel: black screen. Restarting TVHeadend solves the problem.

phaze75

DeltaMikeCharlie When the stream freezes because of the change from scrambled to unscrambled, go into the WebUI and re-tune that mux only. (Config/DVB Inputs/Muxes, Scan Status=ACTIVE)
Perhaps the stream will restart by itself, but I suspect that you will have to restart the stream.
Does the service now work?

Today the ORF2St HD stream didn't crash switching from national to regional, but from regional back to national. Same black screen, no audio. I tried to re-tune the mux as described, but more than a "Pending" was not achieved. I tried additionally to switch channels back and forth, but no success either.

But what I observed is, that the ORF2St HD stream was still running in the /Status/Stream window, the bandwith values were constantly changing as usual and the error counters were not counting up. I then checked the oscam live-log and I could see, that also descrambeling of ORF2St HD was still up and running and not throwing any errors. So, I assume that whatever in the process crashes on the TVH side, crashes after receiving the descrambling keys.

boern99

looks simular to my setup:
yesterday: recorded it and in parallel watched live stream on Kodi: at the begin of regional (switch from national to regional): Screen freezes, but was able to stop and start the channel again. After regional Live Screen once more freezes and after stop, start was not able to tune the channel: Switch to regional at about 18:58 and back on 19:21:40. Recording is now in Failed recordings: Status: Too many data errors
https://www.transfernow.net/dl/20251029g4gG6iOx

phaze75

boern99
Looks good! Now we have a logged "successful" switch and one that caused a crash. I scrolled through the log, but honestly, I have no idea what to look for.

boern99

Just another test, which does not solve this: Yesterday added a second network, so all muxes twice and mapped them in Services. After regional tv ended, i was able to change the network an the adapter and this way the channel starts working without restarting tvheadend. Is there an other way to tell tvheadend to complete close all muxes and start over using the same network and muxes? Thinking about a workaround using an watchdog for resetting the muxes? But this all does not solve the underlaying problem ..

DeltaMikeCharlie

@boern99 - You may have found a workaround.

Each channel can be associated with multiple services. If a channel encounters a fault, it can try another service.

You could try this experiment: Edit an existing channel to point to 1 service from each copy of the duplicated mux.

When you start watching a channel in national mode, it will select the service from mux A. When mux A freezes because it has changed to local mode, the channel should then switch to mux B. When mux B freezes because it has switched back to national mode, the channel should switch back to mux A.

DeltaMikeCharlie

A friend of mine in Vienna, not related to Tvheadend, has analysed his ORF2 stream (Thanks FireBird!)

Here is an extract of his log file:

00003897C  17:48:50 UTC  PMT[0x33F5] version 0 is active
    PCR PID  = 0x0BB8
    ES 1 PID = 0x0BB8 (HD Video)
    ES 2 PID = 0x0BB9 (AC3 Audio)
    ES 3 PID = 0x0BBA (AC3 Audio)
    ES 4 PID = 0x0BBD (Teletext)
    ES 5 PID = 0x1C8E (Unknown)
    ES 6 PID = 0x1C8F (Data)
    CA ID = 0x0D98 -> ECM PID = 0x09C5 (CrytoWorks (Irdeto))
    CA ID = 0x0650 -> ECM PID = 0x09C6 (Irdeto)
    CA ID = 0x0D95 -> ECM PID = 0x09C7 (CrytoWorks (Irdeto))
    CA ID = 0x0648 -> ECM PID = 0x09C8 (Irdeto)
    CA ID = 0x06E2 -> ECM PID = 0x09C9 (Irdeto)
    CA ID = 0x098C -> ECM PID = 0x0A30 (News Datacom (Videoguard))
    CA ID = 0x09C4 -> ECM PID = 0x0A3A (News Datacom (Videoguard))
    CA ID = 0x098D -> ECM PID = 0x0A44 (News Datacom (Videoguard))
    CA ID = 0x0500 -> ECM PID = 0x0A47 (France Telecom (Viaccess))


0130BF808  17:57:16 UTC  PMT[0x33F5] version 2 is active
    PCR PID  = 0x0BC2
    ES 1 PID = 0x0BC2 (HD Video)
    ES 2 PID = 0x0BC3 (AC3 Audio)
    ES 3 PID = 0x0BC7 (Teletext)
    ES 4 PID = 0x1C8E (Unknown)
    ES 5 PID = 0x1C8F (Data)
    CA ID = 0x0D98 -> ECM PID = 0x09C5 (CrytoWorks (Irdeto))
    CA ID = 0x0650 -> ECM PID = 0x09C6 (Irdeto)
    CA ID = 0x0648 -> ECM PID = 0x09C8 (Irdeto)
    CA ID = 0x0D95 -> ECM PID = 0x09C7 (CrytoWorks (Irdeto))
    CA ID = 0x098C -> ECM PID = 0x0A30 (News Datacom (Videoguard))
    CA ID = 0x09C4 -> ECM PID = 0x0A3A (News Datacom (Videoguard))
    CA ID = 0x0500 -> ECM PID = 0x0A47 (France Telecom (Viaccess))
    CA ID = 0x06E2 -> ECM PID = 0x09C9 (Irdeto)
    CA ID = 0x098D -> ECM PID = 0x0A44 (News Datacom (Videoguard))


013189A38  17:57:19 UTC  PMT[0x33F5] version 3 is active
    PCR PID  = 0x0BC2
    ES 1 PID = 0x0BC2 (HD Video)
    ES 2 PID = 0x0BC3 (AC3 Audio)
    ES 3 PID = 0x0BC7 (Teletext)
    ES 4 PID = 0x1C8E (Unknown)
    ES 5 PID = 0x1C8F (Data)


018CD8FA8  18:23:03 UTC  PMT[0x33F5] version 4 is active
    PCR PID  = 0x0BB8
    ES 1 PID = 0x0BB8 (HD Video)
    ES 2 PID = 0x0BB9 (AC3 Audio)
    ES 3 PID = 0x0BBA (AC3 Audio)
    ES 4 PID = 0x0BBD (Teletext)
    ES 5 PID = 0x1C8E (Unknown)
    ES 6 PID = 0x1C8F (Data)


018D702B0  18:23:03 UTC  PMT[0x33F5] version 5 is active
    PCR PID  = 0x0BB8
    ES 1 PID = 0x0BB8 (HD Video)
    ES 2 PID = 0x0BB9 (AC3 Audio)
    ES 3 PID = 0x0BBA (AC3 Audio)
    ES 4 PID = 0x0BBD (Teletext)
    ES 5 PID = 0x1C8E (Unknown)
    ES 6 PID = 0x1C8F (Data)
    CA ID = 0x0D98 -> ECM PID = 0x09C5 (CrytoWorks (Irdeto))
    CA ID = 0x0650 -> ECM PID = 0x09C6 (Irdeto)
    CA ID = 0x0D95 -> ECM PID = 0x09C7 (CrytoWorks (Irdeto))
    CA ID = 0x0648 -> ECM PID = 0x09C8 (Irdeto)
    CA ID = 0x06E2 -> ECM PID = 0x09C9 (Irdeto)
    CA ID = 0x098C -> ECM PID = 0x0A30 (News Datacom (Videoguard))
    CA ID = 0x09C4 -> ECM PID = 0x0A3A (News Datacom (Videoguard))
    CA ID = 0x098D -> ECM PID = 0x0A44 (News Datacom (Videoguard))
    CA ID = 0x0500 -> ECM PID = 0x0A47 (France Telecom (Viaccess))

In summary:

At timestamp 17:48:50, there is the 'normal' situation.
At 17:57:16, most of the PIDs change, but encryption remains.
At 17:57:19 (3 seconds later), encryption is removed.
At 18:23:03, the PIDs go back to their original value. (No encryption yet).
At 18:23:03 (almost instantly), encryption is reactivated. Back to 'normal'.

What we now need to determine is why TVH is not detecting the changes in PIDs in the PMT and/or why TVH is not subscribing to these new PIDs.

phaze75

DeltaMikeCharlie A friend of mine in Vienna, not related to Tvheadend, has analysed his ORF2 stream (Thanks FireBird!)

That's great! Thank you too, FireBird!
And at this point thanks to you as well, @DeltaMikeCharlie, for taking care.

DeltaMikeCharlie In summary:

At timestamp 17:48:50, there is the 'normal' situation.
At 17:57:16, most of the PIDs change, but encryption remains.
At 17:57:19 (3 seconds later), encryption is removed.
At 18:23:03, the PIDs go back to their original value. (No encryption yet).
At 18:23:03 (almost instantly), encryption is reactivated. Back to 'normal'.

What we now need to determine is why TVH is not detecting the changes in PIDs in the PMT and/or why TVH is not subscribing to these new PIDs.

Maybe we should keep in mind that the issue is also affecting the ORF regional streams (there are nine regions in Austria), which remain encrypted after the national/regional switch. Therefore, I assume it might not be only about whether the stream is encrypted or not, but rather about all the changes triggered by the switch, including encryption.

DeltaMikeCharlie

I re-examined the mux dumps that we have and I realised that we did not appear to have a mux dump that captured the actual transition. We seem to have 1 mux dump from before the transition and 1 mux dump after.

I joined the 2 mux dump files that we have into a single file and then TVH was able to detect the change as shown in the following log entry.

The change is detected here.

[  DEBUG]:tbl-base: pmt: Service "TSfile Network/Multiplex [onid:0001 tsid:03ED]/ORF 2 EUROPE HD" PMT (version 24) updated, PCR PID changed, New elementary stream, Stream deleted, Language changed, Audio type changed

These are the new detected values (local service)

[  TRACE]:<none>: esfilter: "TSfile Network/Multiplex [onid:0001 tsid:03ED]/ORF 2 EUROPE HD" 018 03010 H264 und
[  TRACE]:<none>: esfilter: "TSfile Network/Multiplex [onid:0001 tsid:03ED]/ORF 2 EUROPE HD" 019 03011 AC3 ger
[  TRACE]:<none>: esfilter: "TSfile Network/Multiplex [onid:0001 tsid:03ED]/ORF 2 EUROPE HD" 020 08969 TEXTSUB ger
[  TRACE]:<none>: esfilter: "TSfile Network/Multiplex [onid:0001 tsid:03ED]/ORF 2 EUROPE HD" 021 03015 TELETEXT und

The service is restarted with the new PIDs.

[  TRACE]:service: restarting service 'TSfile Network/Multiplex [onid:0001 tsid:03ED]/ORF 2 EUROPE HD'
[  TRACE]:<none>: esfilter: "TSfile Network/Multiplex [onid:0001 tsid:03ED]/ORF 2 EUROPE HD" 018 03010 H264 und
[  TRACE]:<none>: esfilter: "TSfile Network/Multiplex [onid:0001 tsid:03ED]/ORF 2 EUROPE HD" 019 03011 AC3 ger
[  TRACE]:<none>: esfilter: "TSfile Network/Multiplex [onid:0001 tsid:03ED]/ORF 2 EUROPE HD" 020 08969 TEXTSUB ger
[  TRACE]:<none>: esfilter: "TSfile Network/Multiplex [onid:0001 tsid:03ED]/ORF 2 EUROPE HD" 021 03015 TELETEXT und

I added some extra logging and will continue with that tomorrow. I think that soon my inability to handle encrypted services (we don't have them in Australia) may limit my ability to investigate further.

I also found this transition in a log that someone had posted previously.

2025-10-25 18:59:31.930 [  DEBUG]:tbl-base: pmt: Service "Astra192e/11273.25H/ORF2S HD" PMT (version 7) updated, PCR PID changed, New elementary stream, Stream deleted, Language changed, Audio type changed
2025-10-25 19:24:05.461 [  DEBUG]:tbl-base: pmt: Service "Astra192e/11273.25H/ORF2S HD" PMT (version 8) updated, PCR PID changed, New elementary stream, Stream deleted, Language changed, Audio type changed

phaze75

DeltaMikeCharlie The change is detected here.

[ DEBUG]:tbl-base: pmt: Service "TSfile Network/Multiplex [onid:0001 tsid:03ED]/ORF 2 EUROPE HD" PMT (version 24) updated, PCR PID changed, New elementary stream, Stream deleted, Language changed, Audio type changed

Please note that the channel "ORF 2 EUROPE HD" stands out among the nine other regional channels. It is ORF's free-to-air broadcast channel and is always unencrypted.

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