Haven’t changed anything CEC or eARC related.
Covered here: 4k+ CEC EARC issue - #48 by sam_nazarko
Morning Sam,
I totally get this, so I think (with my non technically minded thought process) that this issue is not actually related to the CEC role back. But a configuration change between 03/22 and ongoing releases.
I know your focus is moving forward with V19.5 and V20 and our small (but vocal cohort) highlight this issue. I appreciate your continuing support.
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It most certainly is still an issue I’m afraid. Again, it potentially might not directly be related to CEC per se, but manifests where ARC is employed and/or where an AVR or other device is involved in the chain or where other devices otherwise are sharing the CEC bus with the Vero.
It is reproducible for me from 09/22 onwards 100% of the time, but occurs as others have said after a random interval of uptime which is not fixed.
There is absolutely no doubt it is something with the software on the Vero at fault since every single time a reboot of the Vero (or a restart of the Kodi service via SSH if I remember correctly) with zero other changes made to anything else in the chain immediately cures it until it will definitely do it again after a random interval.
I am too back on 03/22 just to enjoy a stable experience (and it’s rock solid by the way) since the device is heavily used by non-technically minded family members, I cannot be on a release which needs this manual intervention so frequently…
@sam_nazarko , I have asked you this a couple of times (most recently a few posts up from the thread you referenced) where you mentioned about the HDMI TX PHY stuff getting upgraded between 03/22 and 09/22 updates but received no response.
If you have not changed CEC behaviour explicitly (or reverted it to pre-09/22 status) is this not the next thing to look at potentially if you had the correct setup to reproduce - it’s a shame it cannot be reproduced in-house since many others have reported it and it exists on ALL updates that came after 03/22.
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There are indeed changes between 2022.03 and 2022.09 and later in terms of HDMI PHY.
We’re still looking at this – but we are stabbing in the dark somewhat.
It will be solved, and I do apologise here.
When we think we’re honing in on a solution, I’ll make USB/SD bootable images available so you can run OSMC from external media without needing to format your internal installation
Sam
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That’s great. Will be more than happy to test at that time…please keep us posted!
Managed to catch it today whilst I was out and the TV was off all day:
https://paste.osmc.tv/sudoneyosa
I had tried to set a logical address to try a theory, but it seems it is a waking the TV from sleep. I am trialling the do nothing command when the TV is switched off to see if that helps.
Mine is doing the same - i wake up in the morning occasionally to find the tv is on and the vero is on (red light out).
Thanks. I’m travelling but will check this shortly.
That would be great, and I’d be happy to test using that setup as well.
Any new update to this? Still scared to update to the latest build if this is still an open issue.
Not at this time. I will pull in some new AMLogic changes shortly, but I’m not sure if this will be beneficial.
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A quick follow up on this matter, whilst I’ve since switched over to using CoreELEC on an ODROID N2+ (which also experienced similar CEC errors in my setup around the same period when new versions of CoreELEC and OSMC were released), recent releases in their libCEC implementation includes an option to change the HDMI-CEC device type between playback, recording and tuner devices.
The default is set to “playback” however switching it over to “tuner” have seen no loss of CEC controls between the Panasonic TV, Samsung soundbar, Apple TV 4K and the ODROID device for the past few days.
I’ve stumbled on to a Sony support article which mentions a few lines that may explain this behaviour:
Here are some points to remember when connecting a BRAVIA Sync control system:
- In order for the system to function, all devices connected must compatible with the HDMI-CEC standard.
- The HDMI-CEC standard supports:
- 1 - TV
- 1 - Audio system (A/V Receiver or Soundbar)
- Up to 3 - Playback devices
- Up to 3 - Recording devices
- Up to 4 - Tuner devices
Notes:
- If you connect more devices than supported in a device category, errors in operation will occur.
- Some devices connected to the TV may show as more that one device (Soundbar with Smart functions) and may appear as an audio system and a playback device.
- If you are using a power strip, make sure that any of your components that are part of the HDMI-CEC system are plugged into either a regular power strip or a power strip that has a constant power section.
Could it be because the recent libCEC implementation somehow caused the total devices in the HDMI-CEC chain to exceed what the standard can support?
Either way I’ll continue to monitor this situation and will report back if CEC issues recur.
This is interesting. I know that CE have previously changed how a device is advertised. We hve done the same before, going from recorder to player.
The good news is that I now have access to CEC hardware which works. The bad news is that it works… so I’m struggling. But in the next few weeks I should be able to tinker.
If you could post your ~/.kodi/userdata/peripheral_data/cec_CEC_Adapter.xml log from your working CE device I can compare the configuration to the OSMC device and advise accordingly. Ideally if you could post working vs broke configurations that would be brilliant.
We’re still looking in to this aggressively, but CEC is (despite the name) not so one size fits all as manufacturers make it out to be.
Cheers
Sam
Not sure if any extra data points help, but one thing I noticed is that when the CEC stops working, it affects other devices too. So I can no longer power on my LG C8 with my Nintendo Switch or Chromecast. Sometimes it’s flakey in a weird way where power on works but it doesn’t jump input. I have to leave my Vero 4k box unplugged as a result of this unless I have to use it for something.
Yes, this has been mentioned before - once the issue is triggered (which those testing or affected cannot appear to establish a pattern to) it seems to completely “block” other HDMI-connected devices in the chain which might be connected to the TV/AVR/soundbar etc. It appears random but can always be resolved (only temporarily) by rebooting the Vero or restarting the “mediacenter” service, but it will ALWAYS re-occur after a random period of Vero uptime.
It causes some v. strange issues for me such as audio not working via the AVR output (not just for the Vero, but other HDMI-connected devices) and the inability to CEC-control or even switch to other devices using the TV menu.
I am still on the 2022-03 release which works fine. With the Vero connected on an affected release (after September last year), it basically renders my living room AV system inoperable for non-technical members of the family who don’t know how to power cycle the Vero.
Hey jaybird,
Thank you for sharing your experience and the insightful information regarding the recent releases in libCEC implementation. As a fellow user and software tester, I understand the frustration of dealing with CEC lock-up issues on streaming platforms. Allow me to provide some input based on my extensive experience in testing software on streaming platforms.
I have thoroughly tested the latest version of Kodi on the Vero 4K, and I can confirm that despite implementing the advice you mentioned, the CEC lock-up issue still occurs. In fact, it seems to happen even more frequently than before. To regain CEC control, the only reliable method I have found is to remove the HDMI cable and power cycle all connected devices.
I share your curiosity about whether the recent libCEC implementation has inadvertently caused the total number of devices in the HDMI-CEC chain to exceed the standard’s supported limit. The information you provided from the Sony support article indeed suggests that connecting more devices than supported in a device category may lead to errors in operation.
Considering your success with switching the HDMI-CEC device type to “tuner” on your ODROID N2+ running CoreELEC, it’s possible that this workaround is effective in your specific setup. However, it appears that the same approach does not resolve the CEC lock-up issues on the Vero 4K with the latest Kodi version.
I appreciate your dedication in monitoring the situation and your willingness to report back if any further CEC issues recur. Sharing such information with the community is valuable, as it helps us collectively understand and address these technical challenges.
My apologies for the delay in response, it seems like in haste I may have forgotten to submit a reply to my original post.
Yes you are correct, my initial suggestion seems to have not made much of a difference as a few days after my initial post, the issue recurred with my CoreELEC+ODROID N2+ setup, although was probably the longest period I’ve got out of it before issues recurring in this setup.
Whilst I can’t provide any more insight into this, I do recall this issue seems to occur about the same time frame when new software updates are available on both CoreELEC (19.4-Matrix to 19.5-Matrix_rc1) and OSMC (2022.03 to 2022.09), this could mean something potentially something upstream that was introduced/changed would have caused this behaviour?
Until then, I’ve relied on using Home Assistant to automate shutting down my Kodi boxes remotely via SSH whenever my TV is turned off, and powering it back on using a “smart” outlet - Not ideal as the last browsed section in the UI keeps getting reset whenever it’s power cycled.
Is anyone brave enough to try the new Kodi 20 based release of OSMC?
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I’m on the latest build and I still have the CEC issue.
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Same here. I’ve change the different CEC modes for the Vero and also reset my CEC chain each time.
The only way to reset it to remove the HDMI cable from the Vero.
I’m away at the moment, when I get back I will plug it and collect some logs for you @sam_nazarko. My thoughts are this is something further downstream as others have alluded to.