INTERACT FORUM

Devices => JRiver Id -- Hardware by JRiver => Topic started by: bob on February 03, 2015, 05:02:22 pm

Title: New Id firmware for testing
Post by: bob on February 03, 2015, 05:02:22 pm
This is a beta of the next Id firmware revision. It has the following new features:

1) Automatically makes a backup copy of your library (in /export) on boot.
2) The main menu includes a Id rename function.
3) Alsa mixer control from main menu.
4) A new External Media Menu which lets you:
   a) Control USB stick/disk availability on the Id.
   b) Allow use of NAS drives, CIFS shares.
5) Makes the update function verbose.
6) Better reboot/shutdown functions, waits for the MC to exit gracefully on the Id before reboot/shutdown.

New as of beta3 (2/6/2015)

7 ) Windows shares can be specified by the windows machine name as well as IP/DNS addresses.
8 ) Some menu rewording.

New as of beta4

9) internal use only

New as of beta5 (3/2/2015)

10) Usb drives are shared on the network, moved from /media to /mnt
11) Access key preserved (if possible) across firmware re-install.

Changes as of beta6 (3/3/2015)

12) Moved USB media to /media and the network shares to /mnt
13) Fixed the status display for usb disks.

Changes as of beta7 (3/6/2015)

14) Optionally try to preserve the MC settings and the Library during firmware update.
15) The Network configuration GUI will be exited (if up) upon reboot/shutdown.

Changes as of beta8

16) Not released

Changes as of beta9 (3/12/2015)

17) Renamed the Id's network shares and comments to make it more obvious as to what's going on when there is a mix of material on the Id's internal drive as well as material on any external drive plugged into the Id.
18) Linux kernel upgraded to that latest backport kernel (3.16-0.bpo.3-686-pae). This is a big deal. Don't install this upgrade unless you want to be a guinea pig.
19) Added a web browser so the links work from the MC menu in GUI mode.
20) Fixed the boot screen bugs to allow one to get at alternate boot configs if you can't for example boot the GUI.
21) Change the splash screen to get the icon out of the way.

Changes as of beta10 (3/17/2015)

22) One more linux kernel update.
23) Fix a text boot selection bug.

Beta10 was released as the OTA upgrade which is available from your Id menu.

Changes as of beta11 (4/10/2015)

24) Remote control via VNC or Remote Desktop (use the IP of the Id). This works whether the mode is GUI or headless. The default password is remote. You can change it from the Id menu. MC in headless mode will normally be running minimized, you can click on it to bring it up.


Before trying to use this update you MUST backup your library first.

Do this by going into GUI mode and in MC File->Library->Backup Library
You can choose the path /export/media for the backup (then to be safe you can copy it off with windows networking).

The update doesn't touch the Id's /export partition so if you've loaded it with media you should be ok. As usual you should have a backup of your media as a precaution.

Here is the link:
http://files.jriver.com/Id/idrepairbeta11.iso
MD5 sum to make sure the download was clean:
http://files.jriver.com/Id/idrepairbeta11.iso.md5

Burn it to a usb stick >= 1GB in size. Use the instructions from the restoring the Id firmware thread:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=94636.msg651618#msg651618

Feedback appreciated.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Hilton on February 03, 2015, 08:21:21 pm
Yeah! All great new features. Will give that a try tonight. :)
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Groundhog on February 05, 2015, 10:23:59 am
Does this firmware update the Intel NUC BIOS? Or is this an update to MC?

If it's the latter, I'll give it a try.

Thanks,
-Brent
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: JimH on February 05, 2015, 10:33:34 am
The BIOS is a separate update.  We run a slightly older BIOS to avoid a bug in the newest one, so it's not a good idea to update it.

This update is for the Id firmware.  It includes Linux, our utilities, and MC.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: jd7744 on February 05, 2015, 12:07:46 pm
Thanks. I will be able to work on this Monday night and will get right back to you.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on February 06, 2015, 05:13:50 pm
Updated 2/6/2015. See top post.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: jd7744 on February 08, 2015, 05:43:06 pm
tried address //jdcloud/music as well as static ip 192.168.1.150/music. the NAS is WD cloud and I tried both yes and no to "is it windows" (the WD should be linux). Selected RW and both guest (which the music drive is) and used my username / password. each time replied failure. Any ideas?
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: JimH on February 08, 2015, 05:59:37 pm
Try this:

//192.168.1.150/music

It isn't Windows.

Try logging on from Explorer to make sure you can, then use that login and password.

Does it work from Explorer?
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: jd7744 on February 08, 2015, 06:02:04 pm
yup \\jdcloud\music takes me right there
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: jd7744 on February 08, 2015, 06:18:15 pm
Looks like it's a problem connecting to the wireless network. Stuck on "obtaining IP address". I assumed it was connected. How do I connect under this new interface?
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: jd7744 on February 08, 2015, 06:39:04 pm
Ok didn't realize I lost network info on reloading I'd firmware. That's fixed and it acknowledged network drives. I included the drive with MC playlist rules and will see if I can access it to reload rules. Running import now with over 15k hires flac/wav files. Stay tuned
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: jd7744 on February 08, 2015, 07:43:32 pm
works perfectly including rules. thanks
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on February 08, 2015, 11:40:33 pm
Yea, glad it works.

You discovered that reloading the firmware resets the wifi. It pretty much resets everything..
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: mcw on February 10, 2015, 10:09:47 am
Yea, glad it works.

You discovered that reloading the firmware resets the wifi. It pretty much resets everything..


Yea, got it working too.

REALLY appreciate the ID name change, and even more, mounting external drives (NAS) !!!!!

But probably unrelated to the new features, I'm still having a problem with double track entry when accessing a library from a synology.
Discussed it in this thread  http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=94594.0
And concluded in that thread it was due to having the synology's DNLA on. So I turned DNLA off, but lost the ability to directly load the NAS......
Now with the ability to directly access the synology again, I have to believe i just don't understand the library / track storage stuff well enough.
Can you point me to a really good overview ?

Again, many thanks !!!
Best,  mark
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on February 10, 2015, 10:35:34 am
Yea, got it working too.

REALLY appreciate the ID name change, and even more, mounting external drives (NAS) !!!!!

But probably unrelated to the new features, I'm still having a problem with double track entry when accessing a library from a synology.
Discussed it in this thread  http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=94594.0
And concluded in that thread it was due to having the synology's DNLA on. So I turned DNLA off, but lost the ability to directly load the NAS......
Now with the ability to directly access the synology again, I have to believe i just don't understand the library / track storage stuff well enough.
Can you point me to a really good overview ?

Again, many thanks !!!
Best,  mark
When you load a library from another machine either as a DLNA library or Media Center Library server the client MC unloads the current library then requests all of the files metadata in one operation from the new DLNA or Library server. When connecting to a DLNA server this is done with the Search function. If you're not doing anything more complex than this, you should not see 2 entries unless the NAS DLNA server is returning 2 for some reason.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Groundhog on February 11, 2015, 03:08:49 pm
I have the beta3 firmware installed and have access to the network share on my NAS. That functionality is working just fine. I've wanted this functionality since the Id first arrived. Thanks!

I do have a problem though. When the Id boots up, I get a message that the trial license has expired. How do I get the original license reinstalled?

Thanks,
-Brent
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on February 11, 2015, 09:53:31 pm
I have the beta3 firmware installed and have access to the network share on my NAS. That functionality is working just fine. I've wanted this functionality since the Id first arrived. Thanks!

I do have a problem though. When the Id boots up, I get a message that the trial license has expired. How do I get the original license reinstalled?

Thanks,
-Brent
Strange. The update is supposed to preserve your license. Can you PM me the serial number off the bottom of the Id and I'll send you the registration code.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: shang_2000 on February 13, 2015, 10:34:54 pm
The BIOS is a separate update.  We run a slightly older BIOS to avoid a bug in the newest one, so it's not a good idea to update it.

This update is for the Id firmware.  It includes Linux, our utilities, and MC.

New Id firmware can choose "12" to upgrade?
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on February 13, 2015, 10:41:37 pm
New Id firmware can choose "12" to upgrade?
Not quite yet. It's still beta but looking good.

If you want to install the beta you can download it from the top link and burn it to a usb stick boot the Id off of that stick and do the firmware update. Otherwise just wait for the online update (number 12 on the menu). I'll let everyone know when that's ready.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: shang_2000 on February 14, 2015, 07:39:19 am
Not quite yet. It's still beta but looking good.

If you want to install the beta you can download it from the top link and burn it to a usb stick boot the Id off of that stick and do the firmware update. Otherwise just wait for the online update (number 12 on the menu). I'll let everyone know when that's ready.

What about when the official version will be released?
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on February 14, 2015, 11:11:22 am
What about when the official version will be released?
It's pretty much ready to go but needs to be tested across the existing Id revisions to make sure they can all be updated without trouble.
Perhaps the coming week.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: shang_2000 on February 15, 2015, 01:39:22 am
It's pretty much ready to go but needs to be tested across the existing Id revisions to make sure they can all be updated without trouble.
Perhaps the coming week.

I look forward to the arrival of the official version of the firmware! :)
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: alglove on February 17, 2015, 05:19:50 pm
I have found that the firmware (or perhaps the default settings) has a missing path to the default File Location --> Video. I get an error message if I try to proceed without filling in some value.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: greatgreyowl on February 20, 2015, 07:13:37 am
I installed the new beta firmware & ran into the same problem I had when I first received the ID. The monitor screen went blank & the tiny led indicator showed there was no signal coming from the ID. Ran the boot repair option & that fixed the problem.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on February 23, 2015, 10:52:25 am
Thanks all for testing the beta firmware.

I'm thinking of moving the external shares to be mounted out of the /media directory and into the /mnt directory then allowing the /media directory to be shared by the Id.

Any comments? I'm concerned about permission and ownership issues for usb devices created on some other machine then used on the Id but then shared by the Id on the network.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 02, 2015, 07:21:03 pm
Updated in the top post to beta5.
This is probably the next stable release.

The main change is the moving of mounted usb drives to /mnt and the sharing of /mnt on the network so that the drives can be remotely accessed.
Also, there was a fix to the access key on restore which was not being preserved.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 03, 2015, 12:45:58 pm
Updated in the top post to beta6.
Found a bug in the "Display Status" of the attached drives and swapped the external drivers to /media and the network shares to /mnt.
I'm really thinking this will be the release version.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: alglove on March 03, 2015, 09:23:22 pm
I found a problem with beta 6. I loaded it on 2 Ids, and they both ended up with identical Access Keys and UUID's:

"reverting to default settings or updating Id firmware causes duplicate UUIDs"
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=96001.0
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: alglove on March 03, 2015, 10:13:48 pm
I have found problems when I try to drag or resize the JRiver MC interface around in the GUI, especially if I am dragging or resizing up or to the left. The cursor jumps around all over the place. Sometimes I totally lose control of what I am doing, and MC ends up on some random place on the screen, or even off of it. I do not seem to have this problem with the Main Menu window, though.

At first, I thought it was the mouse, so I changed mice, but it still happens. I do not remember this happening with earlier firmware versions (though that may be my imagination), so that is why I am putting it here.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 03, 2015, 10:59:50 pm
I found a problem with beta 6. I loaded it on 2 Ids, and they both ended up with identical Access Keys and UUID's:

"reverting to default settings or updating Id firmware causes duplicate UUIDs"
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=96001.0
Had you installed a previous beta? That's probably when it happened. That was one of the things fixed in the last beta.
You can always reset the key in the GUI.

Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 03, 2015, 11:01:01 pm
I have found problems when I try to drag or resize the JRiver MC interface around in the GUI, especially if I am dragging or resizing up or to the left. The cursor jumps around all over the place. Sometimes I totally lose control of what I am doing, and MC ends up on some random place on the screen, or even off of it. I do not seem to have this problem with the Main Menu window, though.

At first, I thought it was the mouse, so I changed mice, but it still happens. I do not remember this happening with earlier firmware versions (though that may be my imagination), so that is why I am putting it here.
I don't think that's changed.
Use the Alt left click to drag and Alt-middle click to resize.
I'll probably disable the non-alt stuff in the next revision.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: alglove on March 03, 2015, 11:25:42 pm
I don't think that's changed.
Use the Alt left click to drag and Alt-middle click to resize.
I'll probably disable the non-alt stuff in the next revision.


Wow, that works much better!!! I can actually control what I am doing now. Though for me, it is Alt-left click to drag, and Alt-right click to resize. Thanks. :)
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: whatcomfalls on March 04, 2015, 12:05:21 am
I found a problem with beta 6. I loaded it on 2 Ids, and they both ended up with identical Access Keys and UUID's:

"reverting to default settings or updating Id firmware causes duplicate UUIDs"
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=96001.0
I'm running beta 6 and bios rev 48.

1. When in GUI mode, entering "13" in Main Menu opens "Wireless Network Manager" instead of "Wireless Network Config". Results in an alarm message ("Unnamed> The wicd daemon has shutdown....") when attempting to reboot that must be acknowledged before successful reboot.

2. I assumed the Rfkill command in Wireless Network Config menu was to turn off wireless, but it doesn't. The Id still identifies wireless networks in the neighborhood and their signal strengths.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 04, 2015, 12:09:33 am
I'm running beta 6 and bios rev 48.

1. When in GUI mode, entering "13" in Main Menu opens "Wireless Network Manager" instead of "Wireless Network Config". Results in an alarm message ("Unnamed> The wicd daemon has shutdown....") when attempting to reboot that must be acknowledged before successful reboot.

2. I assumed the Rfkill command in Wireless Network Config menu was to turn off wireless, but it doesn't. The Id still identifies wireless networks in the neighborhood and their signal strengths.

Thanks for testing that. I'll check the GUI mode command 13.
I played with rfkill and as far as I could tell it is unable to disable the internal intel networking card.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on March 05, 2015, 03:42:43 pm
Bob, I've installed beta 6 earlier today. I can report that reboots are smoother without, so far, any hang-ups which I have regularly experienced beforehand. Also, Id now boots even with the HDMI projector/amp attached, previously it would hang up if this HDMI was attached during the boot sequence (it was always ok with a HDMI monitor, just not ok with the amp-projector). It seems like volume levelling is working, though I'll keep testing.

The only issue I encountered was a couple of minor but unpleasant dropouts while listening to a 5.1 track. I assume this could have been a buffer underrun, though my network is 1000mb. I wish I could set a longer prebuffering than 20s to test it.

I've noticed one major improvement: JRemote playhead lag when tracks change is now down from 45 s to only 15 seconds. There really ought to be no lag, but this is so much better. However, it means this issue is not specific to JRemote alone but also to Id. I'll try to get time set aside to compile a proper issue report on this.

Name change was easy, update sequence works. Overall, it all seems very good, many thanks.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 05, 2015, 06:11:42 pm
Bob, I've installed beta 6 earlier today. I can report that reboots are smoother without, so far, any hang-ups which I have regularly experienced beforehand. Also, Id now boots even with the HDMI projector/amp attached, previously it would hang up if this HDMI was attached during the boot sequence (it was always ok with a HDMI monitor, just not ok with the amp-projector). It seems like volume levelling is working, though I'll keep testing.

The only issue I encountered was a couple of minor but unpleasant dropouts while listening to a 5.1 track. I assume this could have been a buffer underrun, though my network is 1000mb. I wish I could set a longer prebuffering than 20s to test it.

I've noticed one major improvement: JRemote playhead lag when tracks change is now down from 45 s to only 15 seconds. There really ought to be no lag, but this is so much better. However, it means this issue is not specific to JRemote alone but also to Id. I'll try to get time set aside to compile a proper issue report on this.

Name change was easy, update sequence works. Overall, it all seems very good, many thanks.
Thanks for the testing. The audio issue is curious. I'm not aware of a reason why that should have changed.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 05, 2015, 06:18:50 pm
Beta7 is up. Updated in the top post.
An option to try to preserve the MC settings and the Library has been added.
Also, the Network configuration GUI will be exited upon reboot/shutdown.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on March 06, 2015, 01:23:06 pm
Bob, may I ask a couple of questions about the new firmware, which I am still testing (successfully) please?

What is the mixer for?

If I connect to a NAS (effectively the shared out volume on my Mac, which is currently served by MC on the Mac) should I expect fewer issues with network or Mac-induced etc drop-outs? Would I lose anything by removing MC from the Mac and only running it natively on the Id?

Finally, if I were to do the above, can I transfer the library, considering that all file location references would have to change?

Thank you.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 06, 2015, 02:48:40 pm
Bob, may I ask a couple of questions about the new firmware, which I am still testing (successfully) please?

What is the mixer for?
We initialize the master mixer and pcm mixer to 100% while booting but that doesn't seem to work on some devices which need to have individual channels turned on and in some cases the mute switch is on a different control.
The alsa mixer lets you control all of that.
Quote
If I connect to a NAS (effectively the shared out volume on my Mac, which is currently served by MC on the Mac) should I expect fewer issues with network or Mac-induced etc drop-outs? Would I lose anything by removing MC from the Mac and only running it natively on the Id?
That might be somewhat more efficient. Of course if your Mac has to spin up to provide content you may still get a hesitation when playing a track.
It's certainly worth a try.
Quote
Finally, if I were to do the above, can I transfer the library, considering that all file location references would have to change?
Thank you.
The libraries aren't really portable yet because of the filesystem differences. (ie / vs \ and different forbidden characters).
I know some people have messed with this but I'm not an expert with this..
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: alglove on March 06, 2015, 04:38:15 pm
My feedback so far...

I can finally reset network UUID's by updating the firmware and telling it I do not want to save any of my old settings or libraries. Hooray!

I can actually read the output when I check for software updates, instead of having it zoom by. A nice change. My eyes aren't that fast. ;) It'd be nice if I did not have to reboot unless there is an actual update, though.

In terms of the issues that have been affecting me, it looks good. Thanks!
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 12, 2015, 07:48:34 pm
Beta9 is out. See the notes in the first post. Especially note this!
 Don't install this upgrade unless you want to be a guinea pig.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: whatcomfalls on March 14, 2015, 04:08:04 pm
Beta9 is out. See the notes in the first post. Especially note this!
 Don't install this upgrade unless you want to be a guinea pig.

Are you planning to update firmware to where wireless can be disabled? The "switch-off Wi-Fi"or "rfkill" commands still don't work.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 14, 2015, 10:29:21 pm
Are you planning to update firmware to where wireless can be disabled? The "switch-off Wi-Fi"or "rfkill" commands still don't work.
I haven't found a way to do that other than physically removing the card.
Do you have any leads?
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: whatcomfalls on March 16, 2015, 06:46:36 am
I haven't found a way to do that other than physically removing the card.
Do you have any leads?
No, sorry. Whatever electrical noise generated from wifi is probably minimal compared to electrical noise from the fan anyway. Electrical noise does impact sound quality in my experience. Inserting a Concero usb/spdif converter between the Id and my DAC improved sound quality compared to without the Concero---the improvement not being that dramatic however. I've cut the fan speed to half the default without negative impact whatsoever--no overheating; but then I use the Id strictly as a renderer for audio.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 17, 2015, 01:27:16 pm
Beta10 is out. Same warning as beta 9. This is frozen and will be the basis for the OTA upgrade.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: alglove on March 17, 2015, 07:59:59 pm
Got beta 10 installed. Comments so far.........

It is so much easier to read the initial bootloader screen with the logo moved up to the top corner, away from the middle of the screen. Thanks!!!!!

Updating the firmware reset the Id name and the Id library access key to their original values. As discussed before, not necessarily a big deal, since they are easy to change... but when I went to change the access key through the Id GUI, the JRiver MC program window disappeared after it gave me the new key. The desktop and main menu were still there, though. I had to reboot to get everything back on the screen. (I have not tried repeating this yet.)

The upgrade process did seem to retain all the other settings and changes I had made to MC, though, as far as I can tell. All my zones and device settings were still there.

Resizing and moving the MC program window without using the Alt key seems to be a lot more stable now than it was before. Still not perfect, but it does seem to be better. I am not sure if this was a change you made, a change that came with the Debian package... or just my imagination again. ;)

I love the addition of the web browser!!!!!

However, if I have the web browser open, and I am using the Id as a DLNA renderer (pushing music over the network from a Windows computer running MC 20.0.84), the Id does not seem to receive files from the network. From the Windows MC computer's point of view, it looks like the network zone hangs, then it starts pushing files to the Id in rapid succession. From the Id's point of view, no new files appear in the local "Playing Now" section. However, once I close the web browser, the Id starts receiving files normally again.

That's all I got for now. Thanks for making this available.  8)
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 17, 2015, 10:44:35 pm
Got beta 10 installed. Comments so far.........

It is so much easier to read the initial bootloader screen with the logo moved up to the top corner, away from the middle of the screen. Thanks!!!!!

Updating the firmware reset the Id name and the Id library access key to their original values. As discussed before, not necessarily a big deal, since they are easy to change... but when I went to change the access key through the Id GUI, the JRiver MC program window disappeared after it gave me the new key. The desktop and main menu were still there, though. I had to reboot to get everything back on the screen. (I have not tried repeating this yet.)

The upgrade process did seem to retain all the other settings and changes I had made to MC, though, as far as I can tell. All my zones and device settings were still there.

Resizing and moving the MC program window without using the Alt key seems to be a lot more stable now than it was before. Still not perfect, but it does seem to be better. I am not sure if this was a change you made, a change that came with the Debian package... or just my imagination again. ;)

I love the addition of the web browser!!!!!

However, if I have the web browser open, and I am using the Id as a DLNA renderer (pushing music over the network from a Windows computer running MC 20.0.84), the Id does not seem to receive files from the network. From the Windows MC computer's point of view, it looks like the network zone hangs, then it starts pushing files to the Id in rapid succession. From the Id's point of view, no new files appear in the local "Playing Now" section. However, once I close the web browser, the Id starts receiving files normally again.

That's all I got for now. Thanks for making this available.  8)
Thanks for the comments.
With the missing main window, it's really easy to accidently change the virtual desktop in which case it looks like MC vanishes, it's there, just on another desktop. Look in the lower left corner for the current desktop number.
There is a bug in the tasking with the current MC revision on the Id. It spawns off the browser and waits for it to exit before continuing. It's fixed but I'm waiting to make sure I have a totally stable build to upload to the update server. Probably later this week if the latest build for linux up on the download page test out ok.


Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: alglove on March 18, 2015, 11:04:18 am
Thanks for the comments.
With the missing main window, it's really easy to accidently change the virtual desktop in which case it looks like MC vanishes, it's there, just on another desktop. Look in the lower left corner for the current desktop number.

Ah, ok. I'll look out for that next time.

Quote
There is a bug in the tasking with the current MC revision on the Id. It spawns off the browser and waits for it to exit before continuing. It's fixed but I'm waiting to make sure I have a totally stable build to upload to the update server. Probably later this week if the latest build for linux up on the download page test out ok.

Sounds good. I'll be looking forward to testing it. Thanks.
Title: Beta 10 HDMI Issue
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on March 20, 2015, 03:54:39 pm
Bob, it looks like upgrading from Beta 6 or 7 to Beta 10, the first one with the new Linux kernel and drivers, has caused a serious issue for me. Neither mode 2 nor 3 are capable anymore of sustaining HDMI to my Anthem MRX 710. What I mean by that is that if I boot Id with the receiver switched to the Id HDMI input everything works, but only until I switch the receiver to another input or power it off. As soon as I switch it back on, or switch back to the input Id is plugged by HDMI into the receiver, the receiver claims there is "No signal".

Previously, I was able to use the Id while switching inputs and being able to power it on and off. Having said that, previously it only worked if I had booted the Id without it being plugged into the receiver. With older Id if I tied to boot while connected, Id would freeze and would not boot. Now, however, it boots perfectly, but refuses to "maintain" whatever is needed to talk to the receiver between power cycles and input switching.

Is there anything I can test further?

PS. It works in mode 1 (GUI) even without a projector turned on, in other words, it seems to survive input switching and power cycling. It seems the issue is limited to the two text modes. For now I will leave it in GUI even though I don't need a GUI.
Title: Re: Beta 10 HDMI Issue
Post by: bob on March 20, 2015, 04:41:41 pm
Bob, it looks like upgrading from Beta 6 or 7 to Beta 10, the first one with the new Linux kernel and drivers, has caused a serious issue for me. Neither mode 2 nor 3 are capable anymore of sustaining HDMI to my Anthem MRX 710. What I mean by that is that if I boot Id with the receiver switched to the Id HDMI input everything works, but only until I switch the receiver to another input or power it off. As soon as I switch it back on, or switch back to the input Id is plugged by HDMI into the receiver, the receiver claims there is "No signal".

Previously, I was able to use the Id while switching inputs and being able to power it on and off. Having said that, previously it only worked if I had booted the Id without it being plugged into the receiver. With older Id if I tied to boot while connected, Id would freeze and would not boot. Now, however, it boots perfectly, but refuses to "maintain" whatever is needed to talk to the receiver between power cycles and input switching.

Is there anything I can test further?

PS. It works in mode 1 (GUI) even without a projector turned on, in other words, it seems to survive input switching and power cycling. It seems the issue is limited to the two text modes. For now I will leave it in GUI even though I don't need a GUI.

You're making my head spin
2 possibilities.
One from the Grub boot menu, boot the older Kernel (3.14.4) and see if there is any difference.
The other, did you update your bios in this process and if so when? That bios changed the HDMI initialization (allowed the Id to boot in GUI mode without an attached monitor).
Title: Re: Beta 10 HDMI Issue
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on March 20, 2015, 05:19:06 pm
You're making my head spin
2 possibilities.
One from the Grub boot menu, boot the older Kernel (3.14.4) and see if there is any difference.
The other, did you update your bios in this process and if so when? That bios changed the HDMI initialization (allowed the Id to boot in GUI mode without an attached monitor).


Sorry about your head, Bob! I'll test booting the older Kernel to see if that helps. To the best of my knowledge I did not knowingly update the BIOS unless the USB stick did that. I used the full sequence on the stick, fixing the boot loader, checking the file system, updating to the new firmware, and for a good measure, even did the memtest. :) I'll check the version next time, too.

Many thanks.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on March 22, 2015, 06:58:48 am
Unfortunately, mode 1 (GUI) also stops sending audio to my receiver, as I have learned trying to play the following morning. The receiver knows HDMI is plugged it, as it reports it is "1080p", but also says "No signal". Unplugging and plugging HDMI back changes nothing. Rebooting helps.

I still have to try the older Kernel.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 23, 2015, 09:42:00 am
Unfortunately, mode 1 (GUI) also stops sending audio to my receiver, as I have learned trying to play the following morning. The receiver knows HDMI is plugged it, as it reports it is "1080p", but also says "No signal". Unplugging and plugging HDMI back changes nothing. Rebooting helps.

I still have to try the older Kernel.
Are you absolutely certain that this is a new issue?

Let me know when you try the older kernel. I'm holding up on the OTA update until we can track this down. Thanks.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on March 23, 2015, 12:10:49 pm
Are you absolutely certain that this is a new issue?

Let me know when you try the older kernel. I'm holding up on the OTA update until we can track this down. Thanks.


Bob, I'm just on a trip abroad to Norway, and I won't be back till Thursday afternoon—I am sorry about this, but the last few days were very full and I had no chance to retest with the older kernel. I hope it doesn't mess up your plans too much.

Regards from Oslo,
Rafal
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 23, 2015, 02:59:51 pm
Bob, I'm just on a trip abroad to Norway, and I won't be back till Thursday afternoon—I am sorry about this, but the last few days were very full and I had no chance to retest with the older kernel. I hope it doesn't mess up your plans too much.

Regards from Oslo,
Rafal
Enjoy your vacation!
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on March 29, 2015, 12:47:51 pm
Enjoy your vacation!


Alas, this was a business trip. But I am back home, and I had a chance to have another look at the Id and the problem of it losing connection to the amp. It seems like it *is* working in GUI mode (1) and it is surviving amp power-offs and input changes. What triggered the last failure was that it must have rebooted (perhaps we had a power failure, which happens relatively more often here than in US) and it locked up on the boot screen with the message I have been seeing, occasionally, from the very beginning of me owning this Id: "a thermal trip occurred...press Enter to continue". Once I attached the keyboard and pressed Enter it booted into GUI and is working now. I will check if it is so tomorrow, giving it overnight.

Would you still like me to check the older Kernel with modes 2 and 3, which, currently, do not work—ie. they "lose" the HDMI "connection" to the amp?

Also, is there any way to get rid of that message or at least make it go away automatically?

Thanks, Rafal.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on March 29, 2015, 01:18:10 pm
^^^^ I concluded too early. Even in GUI mode 1 Id still loses the "connection" to my amp. Here is the weird thing. It only loses audio and not video. I can see it on the screen, it thinks it is playing something, but there is no signal on the HDMI audio coming in.

Will test the older kernel.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on March 29, 2015, 01:40:39 pm
^^^^ Nope. I cannot even boot Id using the older kernel. This is what happens when I select it in the grub menu, and it gets stuck on this forever. On a next reboot also using older kernel screen just goes black.

It does boot using the new kernel, but loses the audio connection.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 30, 2015, 10:31:43 am
^^^^ Nope. I cannot even boot Id using the older kernel. This is what happens when I select it in the grub menu, and it gets stuck on this forever. On a next reboot also using older kernel screen just goes black.

It does boot using the new kernel, but loses the audio connection.
That's the 3.14.4 kernel boot, not the 3.2 kernel boot?

Could you try the OTA update (make a library backup first for safety)?

It should be easy to boot the 3.14.4 kernel after the OTA update, I've done it lots here.

Thanks.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on March 30, 2015, 11:16:48 am
That's the 3.14.4 kernel boot, not the 3.2 kernel boot?

Could you try the OTA update (make a library backup first for safety)?

It should be easy to boot the 3.14.4 kernel after the OTA update, I've done it lots here.

Thanks.

Yes, this was me trying to boot into 3.14.4 on an Id that had its beta 10 installed, together with the updated grub. However, I have *not* updated the BIOS of this Id. Could you confirm, Bob, if you would like me to update the BIOS or not, and should I just do OTA update then try booting into 3.14.4? I have some time now to try it. Thanks.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 30, 2015, 11:40:38 am
Yes, this was me trying to boot into 3.14.4 on an Id that had its beta 10 installed, together with the updated grub. However, I have *not* updated the BIOS of this Id. Could you confirm, Bob, if you would like me to update the BIOS or not, and should I just do OTA update then try booting into 3.14.4? I have some time now to try it. Thanks.
The bios is still on 0034 correct?
The OTA is just a bit different than beta 10 and that difference is in the boot menu.
If you wouldn't mind trying the OTA update that would be great. Be sure to have a backup of the library and the beta-10 stick available in case something goes wrong.
With beta 10 you MAY have to run the update twice.
It's always safer to do it from text mode.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on March 30, 2015, 11:47:10 am
The bios is still on 0034 correct?
The OTA is just a bit different than beta 10 and that difference is in the boot menu.
If you wouldn't mind trying the OTA update that would be great. Be sure to have a backup of the library and the beta-10 stick available in case something goes wrong.
With beta 10 you MAY have to run the update twice.
It's always safer to do it from text mode.


OK. Will switch to text mode and run the update option twice. BIOS is still the older one, I have never updated it—I presume this is what you would prefer. I will report as soon as I am back up and running, hopefully soon.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 30, 2015, 11:51:17 am
OK. Will switch to text mode and run the update option twice. BIOS is still the older one, I have never updated it—I presume this is what you would prefer. I will report as soon as I am back up and running, hopefully soon.
Yes, please start with the 34 bios. Thanks!
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on March 30, 2015, 02:54:54 pm
Yes, please start with the 34 bios. Thanks!


Ok, I've spent a couple of hours testing, here are the results. First of all, I am using BIOS which identifies itself on the boot screen as 2.16.1242 Ver 1AREF021. If I go into the boot setup menu, somewhere there I can see the string "0034" but that is not displayed on the start-up screen. Hope it is the right one, I've never updated it, it is what the Id came with.

I've switched to text mode using a different monitor and I have run the OTA update twice. First one took some 98 MB and installed, the second one did not seem to need to update anything, but it did connect. The new update sequence is more verbatim, thanks for that. It requires "Enter" at the end, which might not be ideal for some users, but OK with me.

After the update I quickly checked if the new version in either of the text modes would work for me. It would not at all: there was no HDMI sound coming to the amp, but the image was there. GUI mode works but I did not test it extensively. Interestingly, I had to disconnect and reconnect the external USB hard drive for it to be recognised: it was not recognising it upon boot, now it does, after reboots.

Reboots are not fail-proof. Occasionally it all locks up with a black screen after ending the reboot sequence, just prior to hardware restarting, requiring force-shutdown (long power press). I'd say 1 out of 5 reboots causes this issue.

I tried booting 3.14 and 3.16 in text mode with HDMI init: it locks up the hardware completely as soon as it tries to initialise HDMI. Keyboard becomes inoperative and force power-down is needed. It boots in 3.14 and 3.16 in text without HDMI init, however, no sound arrives at the amp, only the image (hard to read as it is multiply wrapped-around itself in huge font).

It will not boot 3.14 into GUI at all: hardware locks up after a very few Linux messages flash up on the screen, perhaps related to HDMI or maybe not. The very first time I tried to boot 3.14 into GUI I got these messages and it locked up requiring forced power-off (see attached image).

I am currently running 3.16 in GUI mode, which works. I have tried a few power-off and input-change sequences, and it seems to have survived them maintaining audio. However, I have not tried that yet after a prolonged amp off period, like overnight, which caused the previous GUI mode to lose its audio HDMI "connection". I will report tomorrow, after the overnight period. I have no reasons to believe that 3.2 GUI would be any different after those updates, as I have only tried 3.2 GUI before the updates (and it had the overnight problem). So if all works tomorrow (or not) I will report and I will try 3.2 GUI too, with the overnight amp downtime test.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 30, 2015, 03:34:16 pm
Ok, I've spent a couple of hours testing, here are the results. First of all, I am using BIOS which identifies itself on the boot screen as 2.16.1242 Ver 1AREF021. If I go into the boot setup menu, somewhere there I can see the string "0034" but that is not displayed on the start-up screen. Hope it is the right one, I've never updated it, it is what the Id came with.

I've switched to text mode using a different monitor and I have run the OTA update twice. First one took some 98 MB and installed, the second one did not seem to need to update anything, but it did connect. The new update sequence is more verbatim, thanks for that. It requires "Enter" at the end, which might not be ideal for some users, but OK with me.

After the update I quickly checked if the new version in either of the text modes would work for me. It would not at all: there was no HDMI sound coming to the amp, but the image was there. GUI mode works but I did not test it extensively. Interestingly, I had to disconnect and reconnect the external USB hard drive for it to be recognised: it was not recognising it upon boot, now it does, after reboots.

Reboots are not fail-proof. Occasionally it all locks up with a black screen after ending the reboot sequence, just prior to hardware restarting, requiring force-shutdown (long power press). I'd say 1 out of 5 reboots causes this issue.

I tried booting 3.14 and 3.16 in text mode with HDMI init: it locks up the hardware completely as soon as it tries to initialise HDMI. Keyboard becomes inoperative and force power-down is needed. It boots in 3.14 and 3.16 in text without HDMI init, however, no sound arrives at the amp, only the image (hard to read as it is multiply wrapped-around itself in huge font).

It will not boot 3.14 into GUI at all: hardware locks up after a very few Linux messages flash up on the screen, perhaps related to HDMI or maybe not. The very first time I tried to boot 3.14 into GUI I got these messages and it locked up requiring forced power-off (see attached image).

I am currently running 3.16 in GUI mode, which works. I have tried a few power-off and input-change sequences, and it seems to have survived them maintaining audio. However, I have not tried that yet after a prolonged amp off period, like overnight, which caused the previous GUI mode to lose its audio HDMI "connection". I will report tomorrow, after the overnight period. I have no reasons to believe that 3.2 GUI would be any different after those updates, as I have only tried 3.2 GUI before the updates (and it had the overnight problem). So if all works tomorrow (or not) I will report and I will try 3.2 GUI too, with the overnight amp downtime test.
Thanks for the testing!
Don't bother with the 3.2 kernel.

What I can draw from above
----------------------------------
It appears your amp requires the HDMI init.
3.14.4 fails  and it looks like it's because of a hardware lockup.
Can you test with no external hardware connected (dac or drive)
I'm wondering if your Id has a memory issue, can you do the memtest off of the beta-10 boot stick?

I have no trouble making 3.14.4 boot here.

Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on March 30, 2015, 03:40:21 pm
Thanks for the testing!
Don't bother with the 3.2 kernel.

What I can draw from above
----------------------------------
It appears your amp requires the HDMI init.
3.14.4 fails  and it looks like it's because of a hardware lockup.
Can you test with no external hardware connected (dac or drive)
I'm wondering if your Id has a memory issue, can you do the memtest off of the beta-10 boot stick?

I have no trouble making 3.14.4 boot here.



Thanks, Bob. I'll test the boot into GUI or HDMI using 3.14 and I will test it not just on the regular hifi setup with the amp that needs HDMI init, but also on a regular monitor, just to see if it boots. I will test without the external USB hard drive, which is the only device plugged in other than the keyboard. I do not use any external DACs, as I feed the amp via HDMI.

I have done the full memtest a short while ago, a couple of weeks at most, using the USB for beta 5 or 6 or 7. It took almost 30 minutes and passed without any issues to report. Should I do it again?
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on March 30, 2015, 04:38:06 pm
^^^^ Bob, I just read your comments about BIOS 0048 fixing hang-on-reboot issues and some HDMI init related ones. Would you recommend I upgraded the BIOS, too? Or would you like test results with 0034?
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 30, 2015, 05:28:04 pm
^^^^ Bob, I just read your comments about BIOS 0048 fixing hang-on-reboot issues and some HDMI init related ones. Would you recommend I upgraded the BIOS, too? Or would you like test results with 0034?
The particular effect I wanted to test was your issues with the kernel in the beta 10 vs 3.14.4. Upgrading the bios first adds another variable.
That said, if you are getting tired of this it's fine to upgrade the bios to 48.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on March 31, 2015, 02:01:34 pm
The particular effect I wanted to test was your issues with the kernel in the beta 10 vs 3.14.4. Upgrading the bios first adds another variable.
That said, if you are getting tired of this it's fine to upgrade the bios to 48.

Bob, I have a few new test results for you. I have continued to use BIOS 34, I have not updated it, so that you got an answer without introducing this new variable, as kindly suggested by you.

First of all, the overnight test of GUI 3.16 was negative, I am sorry to say. In other words, although video remained, audio had "disconnected" as in all the previous attempts. I do not know at what point in time this happens, but I expect it takes about 1-2 hours of no use. Perhaps the issue is that when the amp comes back to the input it somehow wants to resynch but it is not getting the audio syncing? Which is strange, as video works. I have little knowledge of HDMI protocol, so I am making a very uneducated guess, of course.

Subsequently I unplugged the external hard drive and I tried booting the device into 3.14. As before, I cannot boot 3.14 with HDMI init (it locks up) and I can without HMDI init (but I get no audio, only video in 25x80).

Then I tried booting 3.14 with HDMI init on a computer monitor, which was successful. Clearly to me, the issue is something to do with the HDMI not agreeing with Id anymore.

Then I remembered how I had to boot Id before I tried the beta, that is to boot without HDMI plugged in, but in text with HDMI mode, plugging HDMI later. I could not make it autostart 3.14, but it does autostart in 3.16 (since I cannot see what it starting it needs to select the system automatically). As expected, it booted, but after plugging HDMI I could not get the audio.

Then I tried booting it again in 3.16 with HDMI init, but with the amp plugged in via HDMI but the projector (which goes to the amp) switched off: this combination would hang the Id on boot. Interestingly, it did boot this way and I could get audio, but audio was lost after the first amp power off.

It seems the only way to sustain audio for a while is by booting into GUI, but that does not last more than 2 hours of downtime.

I will download the BIOS v48 as per your instructions and try that. If you have any other suggestions, please let me know. I am keen to help, but it would be nice to "have my Id back" so to speak, so I may have to revert to the much older version if none of this works out—what do you think?
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on March 31, 2015, 02:05:04 pm
Bob, I also noticed one other unrelated (it seems) issue. When running Id in GUI mode I got this error (see first attachment) which meant that the "playing now" bar keeps showing that music is playing but it says "buffering". As a result JRemote does not update the playhead until the error message is dismissed by clicking OK on the screen, which is not possible without a monitor.

Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 31, 2015, 02:59:04 pm
Bob, I have a few new test results for you. I have continued to use BIOS 34, I have not updated it, so that you got an answer without introducing this new variable, as kindly suggested by you.

First of all, the overnight test of GUI 3.16 was negative, I am sorry to say. In other words, although video remained, audio had "disconnected" as in all the previous attempts. I do not know at what point in time this happens, but I expect it takes about 1-2 hours of no use. Perhaps the issue is that when the amp comes back to the input it somehow wants to resynch but it is not getting the audio syncing? Which is strange, as video works. I have little knowledge of HDMI protocol, so I am making a very uneducated guess, of course.

Subsequently I unplugged the external hard drive and I tried booting the device into 3.14. As before, I cannot boot 3.14 with HDMI init (it locks up) and I can without HMDI init (but I get no audio, only video in 25x80).

Then I tried booting 3.14 with HDMI init on a computer monitor, which was successful. Clearly to me, the issue is something to do with the HDMI not agreeing with Id anymore.

Then I remembered how I had to boot Id before I tried the beta, that is to boot without HDMI plugged in, but in text with HDMI mode, plugging HDMI later. I could not make it autostart 3.14, but it does autostart in 3.16 (since I cannot see what it starting it needs to select the system automatically). As expected, it booted, but after plugging HDMI I could not get the audio.

Then I tried booting it again in 3.16 with HDMI init, but with the amp plugged in via HDMI but the projector (which goes to the amp) switched off: this combination would hang the Id on boot. Interestingly, it did boot this way and I could get audio, but audio was lost after the first amp power off.

It seems the only way to sustain audio for a while is by booting into GUI, but that does not last more than 2 hours of downtime.

I will download the BIOS v48 as per your instructions and try that. If you have any other suggestions, please let me know. I am keen to help, but it would be nice to "have my Id back" so to speak, so I may have to revert to the much older version if none of this works out—what do you think?
I'd like to confirm that the way you were using the Id before the Beta updates is that you booted it (3.14) without ANY HDMI devices plugged in (amp, monitor, etc) in text HDMI initialization mode?
That never worked before, it was the point of creating a headless text mode that didn't try to initialize HDMI.

It wouldn't hurt to try bios 48, you can always go back to 34 if you need to.

Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on March 31, 2015, 03:07:28 pm
I'd like to confirm that the way you were using the Id before the Beta updates is that you booted it (3.14) without ANY HDMI devices plugged in (amp, monitor, etc) in text HDMI initialization mode?
That never worked before, it was the point of creating a headless text mode that didn't try to initialize HDMI.

It wouldn't hurt to try bios 48, you can always go back to 34 if you need to.



Yes, this is how I used to use it, however, I cannot be sure what was the version of the software on it, as I have never verified it. Suffice to say, I have not upgraded it in any other way since buying it except for the OTA updates which you have made available. So to confirm, this is how it worked for me:

  1. Unplug HDMI from the back of Id.
  2. Power it on, wait a few minutes (2-3).
  3. Plug HDMI in, and now forget and enjoy.

At that time, Id was always in mode "Text with HDMI". I never used it in GUI mode (it was too hard to see things) and it would definitely NOT work in "Headless text no monitor required".

If you can offer me the image, I could rebuild it and check for you if that helps, though I realise I would lose the external USB drive support.

I also have new test results for you, as I have just completed the BIOS update to 0048. I have tested 3.16 Text with HDMI Init and it boots and audio works initially but it does not survive even one amp power off. I am now running it in 3.16 GUI, which like before, works and survives amp power-off and input changes on the amp, but I do not know for how long. I will leave it purposefully untouched for 2-3 hours and I will report back before I'm off for the night, otherwise I will know tomorrow morning. I wonder if this is related to the screen saver etc on the GUI Id.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on March 31, 2015, 03:34:56 pm
Yes, this is how I used to use it, however, I cannot be sure what was the version of the software on it, as I have never verified it. Suffice to say, I have not upgraded it in any other way since buying it except for the OTA updates which you have made available. So to confirm, this is how it worked for me:

  1. Unplug HDMI from the back of Id.
  2. Power it on, wait a few minutes (2-3).
  3. Plug HDMI in, and now forget and enjoy.

At that time, Id was always in mode "Text with HDMI". I never used it in GUI mode (it was too hard to see things) and it would definitely NOT work in "Headless text no monitor required".

If you can offer me the image, I could rebuild it and check for you if that helps, though I realise I would lose the external USB drive support.

I also have new test results for you, as I have just completed the BIOS update to 0048. I have tested 3.16 Text with HDMI Init and it boots and audio works initially but it does not survive even one amp power off. I am now running it in 3.16 GUI, which like before, works and survives amp power-off and input changes on the amp, but I do not know for how long. I will leave it purposefully untouched for 2-3 hours and I will report back before I'm off for the night, otherwise I will know tomorrow morning. I wonder if this is related to the screen saver etc on the GUI Id.

I just don't understand how you were able to get it to boot without a monitor in that "Text with HDMI mode" with nothing plugged into the HDMI port at any point of the booting process!
How did the amp ever get initialized?

As for the headless mode, when you say "would definitely NOT work" do you mean it wouldn't boot or wouldn't use the amp after booting?

On the GUI if you go into MC Options->Audio->Device Settings and Check "Disable display from turning off (Useful for HDMI Audio)" it will prevent the HDMI from going off.

In general, I don't really know how the Id is supposed to be able to tell your amp has been powercycled while playing.


On the other topic, I was able to reproduce the issue with the playback display not updating while the tagging error is on the screen. Mine kept playing though, did yours?

Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on March 31, 2015, 05:36:28 pm
I just don't understand how you were able to get it to boot without a monitor in that "Text with HDMI mode" with nothing plugged into the HDMI port at any point of the booting process!
How did the amp ever get initialized?

As for the headless mode, when you say "would definitely NOT work" do you mean it wouldn't boot or wouldn't use the amp after booting?

On the GUI if you go into MC Options->Audio->Device Settings and Check "Disable display from turning off (Useful for HDMI Audio)" it will prevent the HDMI from going off.

In general, I don't really know how the Id is supposed to be able to tell your amp has been powercycled while playing.


On the other topic, I was able to reproduce the issue with the playback display not updating while the tagging error is on the screen. Mine kept playing though, did yours?



Bob, that option (Disable display from turning off) has already been checked on. So far, audio stayed "connected". I have experienced a different problem, though: the external USB drive somehow disappeared and nothing would play from the library. I have unplugged it and plugged it back and it is OK again. I will leave it overnight to see if audio stays connected with the new BIOS...fingers crossed...

I don't know what is causing those issues, but my feeling is that HDMI drivers, whatever they are, may not be robust enough in this case. The only way to prove would be, I think, to revert back to the old system and see if it remains stable. Unless things are good tomorrow, of course!

As for the other issue, thanks for reproducing. In my case it seemed to play (bars moving in GUI) but I could not hear anyway as the audio had disconnected by then.

Thanks for helping.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on April 01, 2015, 06:14:38 pm
Bob, I am sorry to say but the new BIOS, 48, did not help. The issue still remains that even in GUI mode the audio no longer comes back after an overnight idle.

Do you have any other suggestions to test? If not, may I ask you for an older image, before the beta, and using the previous kernels/grub, so as to restore my Id to usability? Sorry about this...
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on April 02, 2015, 09:20:43 am
Bob, I am sorry to say but the new BIOS, 48, did not help. The issue still remains that even in GUI mode the audio no longer comes back after an overnight idle.

Do you have any other suggestions to test? If not, may I ask you for an older image, before the beta, and using the previous kernels/grub, so as to restore my Id to usability? Sorry about this...
I'm out of ideas. I'm sorry for the trouble.
It looks like beta7 is the last firmware before the 3.16 kernel was added:
http://files.jriver.com/Id/idrepairbeta7.iso (http://files.jriver.com/Id/idrepairbeta7.iso)
If you do install this and it doesn't solve the problem you may need to reflash bios 34.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on April 06, 2015, 07:46:59 am
I'm out of ideas. I'm sorry for the trouble.
It looks like beta7 is the last firmware before the 3.16 kernel was added:
http://files.jriver.com/Id/idrepairbeta7.iso (http://files.jriver.com/Id/idrepairbeta7.iso)
If you do install this and it doesn't solve the problem you may need to reflash bios 34.


Bob, I'm pleased to confirm that beta7 has restored the functionality of my Id. Specifically, I am running with BIOS 48, beta7, an external USB HDD containing the music, library on the internal SSD. I am running in Text mode with HDMI and audio *does* survive amp power cycles and input changes, both short-term, and overnight. In exactly the same setup and mode, beta10 would not survive even a single amp power cycle, as I described earlier. As a bonus, I can now boot into this mode with everything connected up, something I could not do with the older versions/BIOS 34.

I would still like to test the GUI mode to see if it exhibits the overnight audio loss issue that I have experienced with beta10. I will report back tomorrow.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on April 06, 2015, 09:41:35 am
Bob, I'm pleased to confirm that beta7 has restored the functionality of my Id. Specifically, I am running with BIOS 48, beta7, an external USB HDD containing the music, library on the internal SSD. I am running in Text mode with HDMI and audio *does* survive amp power cycles and input changes, both short-term, and overnight. In exactly the same setup and mode, beta10 would not survive even a single amp power cycle, as I described earlier. As a bonus, I can now boot into this mode with everything connected up, something I could not do with the older versions/BIOS 34.

I would still like to test the GUI mode to see if it exhibits the overnight audio loss issue that I have experienced with beta10. I will report back tomorrow.
Ok thanks for the report back. It's a mystery to me why you can't boot 3.14.4 in the beta10 or new release to get the same behavior as beta7 though.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on April 06, 2015, 02:03:12 pm
Ok thanks for the report back. It's a mystery to me why you can't boot 3.14.4 in the beta10 or new release to get the same behavior as beta7 though.


I'm sorry but I'm out of ideas, too, other than it seems related to HDMI init. When working with beta10, the "text no init" boots, but "hdmi init" locks up with a black screen, when hooked up to the amp. However, when hooked up to a PC monitor they both boot.

I've a new issue. Playhead doesn't move on JRemote in beta7 and the Play Doctor returns an empty playlist. Playhead definitely worked in beta10. I wonder if this is at all related to the BIOS or did you know of this issue when testing beta7?

Also, would it be possible to the OTA upgrade without going for the newer kernel?

Finally, if you any other ideas what I could test to find out more about the hdmi issue, let me know, please.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on April 06, 2015, 02:29:07 pm
I'm sorry but I'm out of ideas, too, other than it seems related to HDMI init. When working with beta10, the "text no init" boots, but "hdmi init" locks up with a black screen, when hooked up to the amp. However, when hooked up to a PC monitor they both boot.
I could understand how the new kernel in Beta10 could act differently however booting the 3.14.4 kernel in Beta10 with the  "text no init" and  "hdmi init" choices should give you exactly the same behavior as the Beta7.
Quote
I've a new issue. Playhead doesn't move on JRemote in beta7 and the Play Doctor returns an empty playlist. Playhead definitely worked in beta10. I wonder if this is at all related to the BIOS or did you know of this issue when testing beta7?
Playhead ? It that elapsed time? The BIOS can't change that. I'd guess your JRemote settings are different (different access key)?
Quote
Also, would it be possible to the OTA upgrade without going for the newer kernel?
No. That will get you back to Beta10 (with a couple of other minor fixes).
Quote
Finally, if you any other ideas what I could test to find out more about the hdmi issue, let me know, please.
Will do. thanks for your feedback.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on April 06, 2015, 03:22:45 pm
I could understand how the new kernel in Beta10 could act differently however booting the 3.14.4 kernel in Beta10 with the  "text no init" and  "hdmi init" choices should give you exactly the same behavior as the Beta7.Playhead ? It that elapsed time? The BIOS can't change that. I'd guess your JRemote settings are different (different access key)?No. That will get you back to Beta10 (with a couple of other minor fixes).Will do. thanks for your feedback.

Playhead: track duration shows as 0 and playhead stays at 0. Same access key as before.

Kernel and HDMI. Is it possible that although you have two different kernels, keeping the old version together with the newer, the drivers and other OS stuff (not MC) are newer? So maybe the issue is not the kernel, but some other OS-related stuff that go upgraded. Just guessing...
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on April 06, 2015, 04:58:07 pm
Playhead: track duration shows as 0 and playhead stays at 0. Same access key as before.

Kernel and HDMI. Is it possible that although you have two different kernels, keeping the old version together with the newer, the drivers and other OS stuff (not MC) are newer? So maybe the issue is not the kernel, but some other OS-related stuff that go upgraded. Just guessing...
All of the drivers go along with the respective kernel. The only other thing that might affect it is that the firmware for onboard devices like wifi, ethernet have also been upgraded. However if that was the error you'd think I could reproduce it here.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on April 10, 2015, 04:13:32 pm
Bob, I've got some additional information for you, hopefully it can help you help me. To recap: I'm on Beta 7 with BIOS 48. I cannot boot into GUI (black screen lock up, keyboard dies) while connected to my amp via HDMI. I can boot into GUI while connected to a PC monitor.

I can boot into Text with HDMI while connected to my amp, but only if the amp has not selected the Id input, in that case either Id locks up or boots but does not play (No signal, play head does not move in JRemote). However, if the Id is booted in Text with HDMI mode while connected to the amp but the amp is on some different input, everything works: I can switch to Id and listen, and it sustains audio connection between multiple amp restarts and further channel changes.

It makes me think that the HDMI drivers on the Id are a bit unreliable, and also there is no reason Id should lock up unresponsive just because it is connected to a HDMI source it does not like for some reason. Having said all of that, I am glad I can use it, and I will sit out the next few updates hoping that a new slew of HDMI drivers is made available to you. FYI the amp is an Anthem MRX-710. No issues with any of my other 4 HDMI sources.

If there is anything else I can check out for you, let me know, please. I would like to be back on the update path some time in the future, of course. Now, back to the music. :)

PS. The problem of the played not moving and duration showing as 0 in JRemote has gone away after a Text-GUI-Text switching and a couple of reboots, I suppose.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: gabeg on April 11, 2015, 02:59:47 pm
Using beta11...having trouble with DLNA rendering from mc20 (latest) on windows.   Often skips tracks before "settling" on playing one.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on April 17, 2015, 04:54:51 pm
Found a bug in beta11 (and probably earlier) firmware that doesn't save the backup copy of the license properly when you tell it to preserve settings.
This means that if you later use the restore default settings from the menu on the Id the license goes away. It will be fixed in the next beta.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: astromo on April 20, 2015, 09:51:34 am
Before I do something potentially daft, is it possible to get involved here but with an Id USB kit loaded onto some Intel architecture?
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on April 20, 2015, 10:48:15 am
Using beta11...having trouble with DLNA rendering from mc20 (latest) on windows.   Often skips tracks before "settling" on playing one.
Have you checked to see that conversion is turned off for the DLNA server you have setup to push to the Id and that the DSP studio settings on the Id are set for the capabilities of whatever output device you are using?
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on April 20, 2015, 10:49:30 am
Before I do something potentially daft, is it possible to get involved here but with an Id USB kit loaded onto some Intel architecture?
The main requirements for the Id USB kit is your device needs to have Intel video to support the GUI mode and the cpu has to support at lease SSE2.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: astromo on April 20, 2015, 03:55:35 pm
The main requirements for the Id USB kit is your device needs to have Intel video to support the GUI mode and the cpu has to support at lease SSE2.

Yep, got that. Already up, running and fully functional with the latest official build. So, would I be good to go for beta?
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on April 20, 2015, 03:58:00 pm
Yep, got that. Already up, running and fully functional with the latest official build. So, would I be good to go for beta?
I'd wait for the licensing backup fix along with a couple of others, beta 12.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: astromo on April 21, 2015, 04:02:33 am
I'd wait for the licensing backup fix along with a couple of others, beta 12.

Copy that. I'll follow your lead. Thanks for letting me know.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on April 21, 2015, 04:11:15 am
I'd wait for the licensing backup fix along with a couple of others, beta 12.

Bob, any chance that it will be easier to select/use the older kernel, 3.14, with the upcoming betas or the full release? Or do you have any ideas how to solve the freeze-up/lock-up of the Id on HDMI init with the newer kernels? Many thanks.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on April 21, 2015, 10:18:29 am
Bob, any chance that it will be easier to select/use the older kernel, 3.14, with the upcoming betas or the full release? Or do you have any ideas how to solve the freeze-up/lock-up of the Id on HDMI init with the newer kernels? Many thanks.
It's pretty easy to select the old one now but that doesn't seem to solve your problem from what I remember.
I think the whole plug/unplug cables before/after the boot process isn't the proper way to handle your issue anyway
I'd rather go forward than backward, the problem is that I cannot duplicate your issue.
I wonder if perhaps a dummy hdmi plug would do what you need?
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on April 21, 2015, 12:41:24 pm
It's pretty easy to select the old one now but that doesn't seem to solve your problem from what I remember.
I think the whole plug/unplug cables before/after the boot process isn't the proper way to handle your issue anyway
I'd rather go forward than backward, the problem is that I cannot duplicate your issue.
I wonder if perhaps a dummy hdmi plug would do what you need?


You're right, it was not just the selection issue... What is a dummy HDMI cable, could you point me to something I could order? I am not familiar with the concept. Thanks!
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on April 21, 2015, 06:11:48 pm
You're right, it was not just the selection issue... What is a dummy HDMI cable, could you point me to something I could order? I am not familiar with the concept. Thanks!
Here's an example of one: (there are lots out there)
http://www.fit-pc.com/web/products/fit-headless/

Here is a thread discussing this:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=91117.msg626304#msg626304
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on April 22, 2015, 06:04:18 am
Here's an example of one: (there are lots out there)
http://www.fit-pc.com/web/products/fit-headless/

Here is a thread discussing this:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=91117.msg626304#msg626304

Thanks, Bob. I posted a query on that thread, hoping that someone has tried the fit-pc device already. The gist of the thread, if I understood it, is that it might not work, but a different (and much more expensive) Geffen device might do the trick.

As an aside, I am wondering if I might be having a hardware issue at all with the Id.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on June 01, 2015, 07:23:33 am
Thanks, Bob. I posted a query on that thread, hoping that someone has tried the fit-pc device already. The gist of the thread, if I understood it, is that it might not work, but a different (and much more expensive) Geffen device might do the trick.

As an aside, I am wondering if I might be having a hardware issue at all with the Id.

Bob, I have been running Beta 7, BIOS 48 and kernel 3.14.4 for a while now (since April) after backtracking from the newer beta which prevented me from booting or prevented signal staying synced to the amp, as documented on this thread. I wanted to ask you if you had any new developments that might come with newer HDMI drivers, or any new ideas how to move forward and not be stuck "in the past" as I am at present.

Also, I had no luck getting anyone to comment on the suitability of the HDMI dummy devices on the other thread...before I buy one, I hoped someone weighed in on my specific issue more, but it seems there is even disagreement which device does the trick. Any suggestions?

Finally, the issue of play doctor not working was solved by rebuilding the whole library. Unfortunately the issue of the playhead and elapsed/total time getting stuck at 0 is not gone. Fortunately, restating MC on the Id using JRemote "restart server" function fixes this issue.

Any suggestions if this is a good time to move forward or to wait longer, or to try anything else would be much appreciated.

Thank you.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on June 01, 2015, 11:04:16 am
Here's an example of one: (there are lots out there)
http://www.fit-pc.com/web/products/fit-headless/

Here is a thread discussing this:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=91117.msg626304#msg626304

Further to above summary, couple more thoughts, Bob. The device you suggested would not work, I think, at all, as it would block the HDMI port (ie I could not plug the cable into it, it just uses the port up on its own). It is not a pass-through adapter of any kind, it is just a simulator of HDMI for cases when one does not need to use the HDMI port. In our case HDMI is essential. The $100+ devices might do the job, but this is the wrong route, in my opinion, with Id.

If Id is to succeed more broadly (and I am not sure what your intentions and plans may be, so apologies for making any assumptions) it just has to work with a broad set of amps and other hifi devices. My amp is a popular and a well liked one, Anthem. It works with every other HDMI device well. So I have been thinking what is different about Id and what do the $100 dongles, like Dr HDMI or HDMI Detective do that could make it work. I wonder if it may be down to something as "simple" as faking EDID information all the time. Those dongles seem to make the other end of the cable think that there is a device connected all the time. Do you think there is any scope in your plans to try and have a look at playing with EDID etc so as to make the amp resynch with the Id every time it comes back online, as opposed to doing this only when Id boots up? Thanks for your thoughts.
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on June 01, 2015, 11:52:14 am
Further to above summary, couple more thoughts, Bob. The device you suggested would not work, I think, at all, as it would block the HDMI port (ie I could not plug the cable into it, it just uses the port up on its own). It is not a pass-through adapter of any kind, it is just a simulator of HDMI for cases when one does not need to use the HDMI port. In our case HDMI is essential. The $100+ devices might do the job, but this is the wrong route, in my opinion, with Id.

If Id is to succeed more broadly (and I am not sure what your intentions and plans may be, so apologies for making any assumptions) it just has to work with a broad set of amps and other hifi devices. My amp is a popular and a well liked one, Anthem. It works with every other HDMI device well. So I have been thinking what is different about Id and what do the $100 dongles, like Dr HDMI or HDMI Detective do that could make it work. I wonder if it may be down to something as "simple" as faking EDID information all the time. Those dongles seem to make the other end of the cable think that there is a device connected all the time. Do you think there is any scope in your plans to try and have a look at playing with EDID etc so as to make the amp resynch with the Id every time it comes back online, as opposed to doing this only when Id boots up? Thanks for your thoughts.
I think it might be possible to play around with the EDID. The problem we have is that we can't directly duplicate what you are seeing here. The Sony HDMI amp we have just seems to work.
What you are doing to get it to "work" with the old firmware and your amp is pretty kludgy. The interaction with the bios of the Id isn't helping either.
I'll do some research into linux and EDID reset, etc. If you run into something on this topic would you let us know?
Thanks
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: Rafal Lukawiecki on June 01, 2015, 11:57:32 am
I think it might be possible to play around with the EDID. The problem we have is that we can't directly duplicate what you are seeing here. The Sony HDMI amp we have just seems to work.
What you are doing to get it to "work" with the old firmware and your amp is pretty kludgy. The interaction with the bios of the Id isn't helping either.
I'll do some research into linux and EDID reset, etc. If you run into something on this topic would you let us know?
Thanks

I'll do some research and share if I find anything remotely useful. Do you have any kind of a flowchart or (high-level) code showing how you are initialising and maintaining HDMI signal?
Title: Re: New Id firmware for beta testing
Post by: bob on June 01, 2015, 12:40:28 pm
I'll do some research and share if I find anything remotely useful. Do you have any kind of a flowchart or (high-level) code showing how you are initialising and maintaining HDMI signal?
Will PM you...
Title: Re: New Id firmware for testing
Post by: gabeg on June 10, 2015, 04:27:36 pm
When does the next official firmware come out?
Title: Re: New Id firmware for testing
Post by: bob on June 12, 2015, 02:12:58 pm
When does the next official firmware come out?
Just now (June 12th 2015)