Black screen when downloading very specific subs

I’ve just hit a really weird issue: my brand-new Vero V goes black while downloading subtitles with one specific plugin (a4kSubtitles) for one specific show (30 Rock season 6), for one specific subtitle file.

When I click on download, the TV goes black so quickly it looks like it turned off (but it didn’t, the AVR is also fine). I can connect to the Vero while it’s in this state and everything looks normal, although there’s suspiciously high CPU usage for kodi.bin given that it’s not doing anything. There’s also a suspicious lack of new logs in kodi.log, as you can see in the link below.

Turning the TV and/or AVR off and on again doesn’t restore the image, and rebooting just the Vero also doesn’t help, I have to power cycle the Vero and the TV to get back to normal. If I use a different subtitle plugin, everything works as expected, and a4kSubtitles works just fine with other shows. I guess there’s something about the specific subtitles that are being downloaded for 30 Rock. The subtitles are labeled as 30 Rock s06 1080p AMZN WEB-DL DDP5 1 H (264-MZABI) and they’re listed twice, once from SubSource and again from SubDL. Both of those files provoke a black screen, but others don’t. I think these are the subtitles, but the zip file available there looks totally normal (though it includes subtitles for the entire season, but I’m not sure if that would cause this).

Any idea what this could be? I can reproduce it 100% of the time. Here are the logs of one of the incidents: https://paste.osmc.tv/tocuyivaka

Hi,

5-02-22 17:51:03.352 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label1263) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.352 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label1274) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.352 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label1280) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.352 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label1312) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.352 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label1323) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.353 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label1329) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.353 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label136) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.353 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label1361) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.353 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label1372) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.353 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label1378) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.353 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label1410) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.353 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label1421) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.353 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label1427) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.353 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label1459) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.353 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label147) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.353 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label153) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.353 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label185) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.353 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label196) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.354 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label202) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.354 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label234) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.354 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label245) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.354 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label251) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.354 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label283) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.354 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label294) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.354 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label300) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.354 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label332) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.354 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label343) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.354 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label349) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.354 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label381) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.354 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label392) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.354 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label398) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.354 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label430) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.355 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label441) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.355 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label447) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.355 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label479) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.355 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label49) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.355 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label490) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.355 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label496) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.355 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label528) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.355 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label539) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.355 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label545) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.355 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label55) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.355 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label577) was not found.
2025-02-22 17:51:03.355 T:3574    debug <CSettingsManager>: requested setting (label588) was not found.

Not sure what’s causing that, but it isn’t ideal.
Don’t have a complete idea what could be causing this yet but can you try changing the skin to the OSMC skin?

If you select these subtitles locally, does Kodi crash?
If so, does selecting the subtitle on a different video also cause Kodi to crash?

Could be a dodgy subtitle track – I have’t looked in to the file directly. Even so, if it is, the log messages I’ve posted above need addressing too.

Sam

I took a look. What it is downloading is a bunch of subs batched together and not just one. Perhaps that is the issue? I took a look at a few of the individual subs in that zip and they looked perfectly fine to me both by manually inspecting with notepad++ and opening them with Subtitle Edit which will usually flag something amiss. They are just regular subrip encoded UTF-8 with BOM. Nothing unusual there and I didn’t spot any odd characters.

Those debug messages are still present with the OSMC skin: https://paste.osmc.tv/yejicaviwi

To save you some time, here’s the full deduplicated list of missing settings:

Full list

SSDPUSN
UserUrlResolver
backup_keyboard
backup_remote
debug
enregistrement_activer
extendedinfo-view
gum_gum_streaming_com
heure_verification
home_update
hoster_uptobox_mode_default
hoster_uptobox_password
hoster_uptobox_premium
hoster_uptobox_token
hoster_uptobox_username
kodi_addon_instance_enabled
kodi_addon_instance_name
kodion.access_token
kodion.access_token.expires
kodion.alternative_player.web.urls
kodion.fanart.show
kodion.mpd.hdr
kodion.mpd.limit.30
kodion.mpd.live_stream.selection.1
kodion.mpd.live_stream.selection.2
kodion.mpd.live_streams
kodion.mpd.proxy
kodion.mpd.proxy.port
kodion.mpd.webm
kodion.playback.history
kodion.refresh_token
kodion.video.quality.mpd
label0
label1
label10
label1018
label1029
label1035
label104
label1067
label1078
label1084
label11
label1116
label1127
label1133
label1165
label1176
label1182
label12
label1214
label1225
label1231
label1263
label1274
label1280
label13
label1312
label1323
label1329
label136
label1361
label1372
label1378
label1410
label1421
label1427
label1459
label147
label153
label185
label196
label202
label234
label245
label251
label283
label294
label3
label300
label332
label343
label349
label38
label381
label392
label398
label430
label441
label447
label479
label49
label490
label496
label5
label528
label539
label545
label55
label577
label588
label594
label6
label626
label637
label643
label675
label686
label692
label7
label724
label735
label741
label773
label784
label790
label822
label833
label839
label87
label871
label882
label888
label920
label931
label937
label969
label98
label980
label986
marge_auto
movie-view
pastebin_cacheDuration
pastebin_nbItemParPage
path_enregistrement
path_enregistrement_programmation
path_ffmpeg
plugin__4kstreamz
plugin_adkami_com
plugin_alldebrid
plugin_animecomplet
plugin_animeultime
plugin_asia_insane
plugin_buzzmonclick_com
plugin_cine974
plugin_cinemay_cc
plugin_cinemay_com
plugin_cinemey
plugin_dbanimes
plugin_ddl1
plugin_docu_fr
plugin_dpstream
plugin_dpstreamhd
plugin_enstream
plugin_enstream_series
plugin_extreme_down
plugin_filmspourenfants
plugin_filmstoon_pro
plugin_filmstreamingy
plugin_filmstreamvk_com
plugin_free_telechargement_org
plugin_freebox
plugin_french_stream_com
plugin_french_stream_lol
plugin_funeralforamanga
plugin_hds_fm
plugin_hds_stream
plugin_ianime
plugin_illimitestreaming
plugin_k_streaming
plugin_kaydo_ws
plugin_kepliz_com
plugin_kstreamingfilm
plugin_kstreamingserie
plugin_les_debiles
plugin_les_docus
plugin_libertyland_tv
plugin_livetv
plugin_lsbd
plugin_mamcin
plugin_mesfilms
plugin_mystream_zone
plugin_neko_sama
plugin_neuf_docu
plugin_o1seriestreaming
plugin_o1streaming
plugin_otaku_attitude
plugin_otakufr_com
plugin_pastebin
plugin_planet_streaming
plugin_psyplay
plugin_serie_streaming
plugin_series_en_streaming
plugin_series_stream
plugin_skyanimes
plugin_sokrostream
plugin_spion_com
plugin_stream_complet
plugin_streamay_series
plugin_streamcomplet
plugin_streamcomplet3
plugin_streamcomplet3_2
plugin_streamdivx
plugin_streaming_series
plugin_streaminz
plugin_streampourvous
plugin_telecharger_streaming
plugin_tirexo
plugin_topreplay
plugin_tvseriestreaming
plugin_vf_film
plugin_vf_serie
plugin_vfilms
plugin_videobuzzy_com
plugin_viki_com
plugin_voiranime
plugin_voirfilms_org
plugin_voirseries_best
plugin_vostfree
plugin_wawacity
plugin_wiflix
plugin_youtitou_com
plugin_zone_streaming
plugin_zone_telechargement_ws
plugin_zustream
plugin_zustream_co
rate_each_playlist_item
serie-view
service_futur
service_log
service_time
service_version
setting_time
simple.requests.ssl.verify
spinner_small
subscene.enabled
trakt_movies_show_boxoffice
trakt_movies_show_most_monthly
trakt_movies_show_most_weekly
trakt_movies_show_popular
trakt_movies_show_recommended
trakt_movies_show_watched
trakt_movies_show_watchlist
trakt_show_lists
trakt_tvshows_show_most_monthly
trakt_tvshows_show_most_weekly
trakt_tvshows_show_popular
trakt_tvshows_show_recommended
trakt_tvshows_show_watched
trakt_tvshows_show_watchlist
trakt_tvshows_show_watchlist_episodes
trakt_tvshows_show_watchlist_seasons
youtube.api.config.address
youtube.api.enable
youtube.api.key.switch
youtube.api.last.hash
youtube.channel.fanart.show
youtube.client.selection
youtube.get.watch_later.playlist.id
youtube.hide_shorts
youtube.search.remote.friendly
youtube.view.description.show_channel_name

This time, I got some more log output before it all stopped

2025-02-23 10:55:12.847 T:22624   debug <general>: CScriptRunner: running add-on script a4kSubtitles('plugin://service.subtitles.a4ksubtitles/', '2', '?action=download&service_name=subsource&action_args=%7B%22url%22%3A+%222739615%2330.Rock.S06.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-MZABI%22%2C+%22lang%22%3A+%22English%22%2C+%22filename%22%3A+%2230.Rock.S06.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-MZABI%22%2C+%22full_link%22%3A+%22%2Fsubtitle%2F30-rock-season-6%2Fenglish%2F2739615%22%2C+%22episodeid%22%3A+%22009%22%7D')
2025-02-23 10:55:12.848 T:22624   debug <general>: GetLanguageInvoker - Reusing LanguageInvokerThread 47 for script /home/osmc/.kodi/addons/service.subtitles.a4ksubtitles/main.py
2025-02-23 10:55:12.848 T:22624   debug <general>: [threads] name: 'LanguageInvoker' priority: '3'
2025-02-23 10:55:12.848 T:22885   debug <general>: initializing python engine.
2025-02-23 10:55:12.848 T:22885   debug <general>: CPythonInvoker(47, /home/osmc/.kodi/addons/service.subtitles.a4ksubtitles/main.py): start processing
2025-02-23 10:55:12.849 T:22885   debug <general>: CPythonInvoker(47): adding args:
2025-02-23 10:55:12.849 T:22885   debug <general>: CPythonInvoker(47):  plugin://service.subtitles.a4ksubtitles/
2025-02-23 10:55:12.849 T:22885   debug <general>: CPythonInvoker(47):  2
2025-02-23 10:55:12.849 T:22885   debug <general>: CPythonInvoker(47):  ?action=download&service_name=subsource&action_args=%7B%22url%22%3A+%222739615%2330.Rock.S06.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-MZABI%22%2C+%22lang%22%3A+%22English%22%2C+%22filename%22%3A+%2230.Rock.S06.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-MZABI%22%2C+%22full_link%22%3A+%22%2Fsubtitle%2F30-rock-season-6%2Fenglish%2F2739615%22%2C+%22episodeid%22%3A+%22009%22%7D
2025-02-23 10:55:12.849 T:22885   debug <general>: CPythonInvoker(47):  resume:false
2025-02-23 10:55:12.849 T:22885   debug <general>: CPythonInvoker(47, /home/osmc/.kodi/addons/service.subtitles.a4ksubtitles/main.py): entering source directory /home/osmc/.kodi/addons/service.subtitles.a4ksubtitles
2025-02-23 10:55:12.849 T:22885   debug <general>: CPythonInvoker(47, /home/osmc/.kodi/addons/service.subtitles.a4ksubtitles/main.py): instantiating addon using automatically obtained id of "service.subtitles.a4ksubtitles" dependent on version 0.0.0 of the xbmc.python api
2025-02-23 10:55:12.854 T:22885    info <general>: service.subtitles.a4ksubtitles: {
                                                     "action": "download",
                                                     "service_name": "subsource",
                                                     "action_args": {
                                                       "url": "2739615#30.Rock.S06.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-MZABI",
                                                       "lang": "English",
                                                       "filename": "30.Rock.S06.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-MZABI",
                                                       "full_link": "/subtitle/30-rock-season-6/english/2739615",
                                                       "episodeid": "009"
                                                     }
                                                   }
2025-02-23 10:55:12.863 T:22885    info <general>: service.subtitles.a4ksubtitles: POST ^ - https://api.subsource.net/api/getSub, {}
2025-02-23 10:55:13.176 T:22885    info <general>: service.subtitles.a4ksubtitles: POST $ - https://api.subsource.net/api/getSub - 200, 
2025-02-23 10:55:13.177 T:22885    info <general>: service.subtitles.a4ksubtitles: GET ^ - https://api.subsource.net/api/downloadSub/dm7au3RgKyLy87xzgqdLWAsLd3zELUxQgkr0St7wLJOmCCxO2KqjPsDroez9nxC1, {}
2025-02-23 10:55:13.517 T:22885    info <general>: service.subtitles.a4ksubtitles: GET $ - https://api.subsource.net/api/downloadSub/dm7au3RgKyLy87xzgqdLWAsLd3zELUxQgkr0St7wLJOmCCxO2KqjPsDroez9nxC1 - 200, 

At least this confirms what the subtitle file is. I downloaded this zip file and put it on a location I could load it from:

osmc@osmc:~$ cd /mnt/nas/calib/
osmc@osmc:/mnt/nas/calib$ curl https://api.subsource.net/api/downloadSub/dm7au3RgKyLy87xzgqdLWAsLd3zELUxQgkr0St7wLJOmCCxO2KqjPsDroez9nxC1 -o badsubs.zip
  % Total    % Received % Xferd  Average Speed   Time    Time     Time  Current
                                 Dload  Upload   Total   Spent    Left  Speed
100  345k  100  345k    0     0   865k      0 --:--:-- --:--:-- --:--:--  865k

I was then able to select it as a local subtitle without any issues. When selecting the zip file, I’m presented with all the included files and everything works as expected.

(I’m trying to upload new logs but grab-logs fails to upload them due to this error:

Grabbing log ifconfig ...
Grabbing log Kodi Log ...
An error occurred while grabbing Kodi Log:
 UnicodeDecodeError: 'utf-8' codec can't decode byte 0xa1 in position 4332: invalid start byte
Grabbing log Kodi Old Log ...
An error occurred while grabbing Kodi Old Log:
 UnicodeDecodeError: 'utf-8' codec can't decode byte 0xa1 in position 2931: invalid start byte
Grabbing log provision ...
Writing logs to temp file ...
Dispatching logs ...
Logs successfully uploaded.
Logs available at https://paste.osmc.tv/acujetakav

)

edit: finally got it to upload after modifying the log file to clean it up: https://paste.osmc.tv/avalabahez
The offending line was:

2025-02-23 11:30:05.444 T:4281    debug <general>: CKeyboardLayoutManager: keyboard layout "Bulgarian ¿¿¿" successfully loaded

Hi

I didn’t expect those messages to change by switching skin and suspect they may be caused by an add-on you are using.

If you can download the local subtitle and use it without an issue, I think it is a problem with the add-on you are using.

There was an issue some years ago where using a popular (but unfortunately not legal add-on) would crash Kodi when you selected a subtitle track using OpenSubtitles.

I would suggest taking it up with the add-on maintainer.