[TESTING] Debian 11 Bullseye

Testing
#1

Summary

After some hard work, it is now time to test Debian 11 (Bullseye) for all currently supported devices. We need feedback before we can release this as a stable update.

We have conducted testing internally and would now like to expand testing to our user base that wish to do the same. The more testers we get, the quicker we can get this out of the door as a regular upgrade.

There are some significant changes:

  • The default and only Python interpreter is Python 3.x. Previously, we included Python 2 as this was needed for the Samba server package. As a result, a significant amount of space is saved on the root filesystem and initial installation. If you have your own scripts which use Python 2, you’ll need to upgrade these to use Python 3.
  • New installations of OSMC (i.e. using the images below) will contain the usrmerge package. This means that /{bin,sbin,lib}/ directories become symbolic links to /usr/{bin,sbin,lib}/. You can learn more about this here. Debian 12 (Bookworm) will only support the merged usr-root filesystem layout.
  • We’ve also made a number of OSMC improvements, and these will be documented separately with the forum post
  • HD audio passthrough should now work on the Raspberry Pi 4.

Known issues (will be added as discovered / reported)

  • TBC

Solved issues

  • TBC

Instructions

Please note that the only way to downgrade after installing this is to reinstall OSMC; unless you really know what you are doing. Please take a backup of any important data before testing.

To test this update in place:

  1. Ensure your system is up to date via My OSMC.
  2. Login via the command line
  3. Run the following command to add the staging repository:
    echo 'deb http://apt.osmc.tv buster-devel main' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/osmc-devel.list
  4. Check for updates via the My OSMC interface by going to My OSMC → Updates → Manual Controls → Check for Updates now. Install the updates when prompted to do so.
  5. Your system should have have received the update.

Please note: the use of ‘buster-devel’ instead of ‘bullseye-devel’ is intentional. OSMC will perform the necessary repository migrations and we want to check that this works as expected.

To test this update as a fresh installation, you can use an image for your device:

Raspberry Pi 2 / Zero W 2 /3
Raspberry Pi 4 / 400
Vero 4K/4K+

You can use the OSMC installer to image your device, selecting the ‘Use local image’ option.

We are looking forward to your feedback

Thanks

Sam

3 Likes
IR control unusable after 2022-05 update
#2

Hi Sam
I just tried updating but was hit with a failure.
Couldn’t find and internet connection. rebboting in 20 secs
Rebooted ok but no update done

Logs

I already had buster-devel main in my sources.list so I just uncommented it and didnt add it as per your instructions

Sorry Sam
My fault
Eyes not awake yet. Had the wrong devel in my list

#3

Let me know how you get on.

#4

Update just completed with no issue
Seems quite snappy. Very nice job!

1 Like
#5

A very lengthy install! :slightly_smiling_face: But I’ve run a few test clips, and no obvious problems so far. :+1:

#6

So far so good here. I’m now running the Git build from 20220512-osmc, and the operating system is showing OSMC 2022.05-1 (kernel 4.9.113-66-osmc). I’ve tried a few different videos with different codecs and resolution as well as music, running a couple addons I use frequently, and checking Live TV. I’ve got it on my main TV, so I’ll be able to do more testing tonight when the spouse and I sit down to watch TV for the evening.

#7

Question about the bullseye-devel branch. Should we keep accepting updates from it during this testing, or should I remove the osmc-devel.list file from sources.list.d? Since this is on my main unit now, I’d rather not be getting even more development updates unless they’re specific to this testing.

I only ask because I got prompted to do updates this morning (which I did).

#8

Just installed bullseye. Upgrade went smoothly, but I seem to have duplicate remote keypresses which weren’t present before. I hear the “click” twice (or sometimes even 3 times) but pressing up/down in the main menu for instance, sometimes only moves the cursor once. I use this as my main TV and if I press Guide, the guide briefly flashes up before disappearing again (due to the second phantom press I guess).

For context, I use an MCE RC6 remote; I had the rc6-mce-lircd config selected. I use the associated IR receiver that came with it, and blacklist meson_ir in modprobe.d. I found this the most reliable setup as the internal receiver didn’t seem to respond very well to this remote. This has worked very well since I got the device, until now :slight_smile:

I tried swapping out the RC6 config for a Samsung TV remote in My OSMC with the same results.

Not sure how to start debugging this, what information can I give you? I’m sceptical its my configuration as it worked great until before the upgrade, wondering if there’s something changed in lirc, perhaps I need to tweak some repeat delay?

Just to confirm, this is only affecting IR remotes, the OSMC RF remote is absolutely fine. I just use my own IR as I like having more buttons (direct button to TV Guide in particular) :slight_smile:

#9

If you don’t want updates, then turn off automatic updates. But each update you will get on devel will be an improvement :stuck_out_tongue:

If you remove the devel list, you’ll get debian updates on version 11 (Bullseye) but not osmc ones. I doubt there will be any osmc updates on devel not specific to this testing. From testing so far, it looks like Bullseye will be in the main repo ‘real soon now’.

1 Like
#10

I tested briefly earlier and had the same double input using a RC6 remote and a FLIRC usb.

#11

That’s good to know. Honestly, I didn’t want to accidentally get a very early Kodi Nexus build on this and have to reformat it. Any time I put the devel branch on my main unit, I risk my spouse becoming Very Upset, thus I am taking my life into my own hands here. :laughing:

#12

We are nowhere near Nexus roll-out. I think a testing thread for nightlies might appear soon-ish.

1 Like
#13

Can anyone please state the correct content of
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/
and
/etc/apt/sources.list
after the update?
My Raspy got bullseye today - but without altering the apt sources within the last months…

#14

Firefox reports that the links aren’t safe because they are in http://. You can prefix them with https://

#15

I can also confirm havok with lirc IR remotes. (I use a custom lirc.conf designed for a JP1 programmable remote).
In my case it’s not just doubled, it can be 3-4 “clicks” being picked up.
I’ve tried bumping up the gap to rediculus numbers, but that does not seem to have any effect.

#16

Hi,

two days ago I updated my Vero 4K+ to the May release through the “My OSMC” UI.
I was running the (by then) latest version before that (March release?).
Anyway, the May update rendered IR control unusable for me: every time I press a button on my remote, it bounces and is interpreted by the systems as a series of multiple button presses, eg. I press “Right” once and Kodi sees 3-4 “Right” events immediately.
This happens for all buttons I tried and makes navigating the UI impossible.

I am using the osmc-remote-lircd.conf and I have not changed anything.
It’s also definitely not caused by the remote itself.

Not sure if this helps: I had (from my point of view) the exact same issue two years ago, too, and it was fixed at some point: IR woes with vero 4K+ - #10 by _sebastian

Sebastian

#17

@_sebastian moved your post here as you ended up on the Development Version of OSMC and the remote issue was here already reported.

1 Like
#18

I was able to get it working correctly by killing eventlirc, and running lircd directly:

# sudo killall /usr/sbin/eventlircd
# sudo lircd --device /dev/input/event3 --driver devinput

noting that you can double-check the input device via
# ir-keytable

#19

Thanks Randall, at least in my case, that’s not working though.
Killing eventlircd causes Kodi to stop reacting to IR commands (as expected) and launching lircd afterwards does not change that.
I also noticed that after a reboot ir-keytable for me shows Driver: meson-ir which does not seem to be a valid choice for lircd’s --driver option.
I’m using the Vero 4K+'s builtin IR functionality via the included extension IR header.

Sebastian

#20

It will be removed after 14 days automatically.
I will push updates regularly to both the development and stable repositories, so it doesn’t matter which one you stay with now.