[mythtv-users] PVR 150 Fails to Access Motorola Cable Decoder Box Composite Signal

[Mache Creeger]

I have a Comcast Motorola SD cable box externally controlled with the 
channel program from the 
/usr/share/doc/mythtv-docs-0.21/contrib/channel_changers/dct-channel 
program over a serial cable. I feed composite video from the cable 
box to the composite input on an SBE's PVR 150. After working fine 
for years, it has suddenly stopped working and is the only way I can 
access premium cable content on myth. I have verified that the 
composite signal coming out of the cable decoder box is fine.

I cannot record and when I try to watch live TV from the cable box it 
goes directly back to the menu. In /var/log/mythtv/mythfrontend.log, 
I get the following errors.

2009-09-12 13:45:16.820 Connecting to backend server
2009-09-12 13:45:16.821 Using protocol version 40
2009-09-12 13:45:16.831 TV: Attempting to change from None to WatchingLiveTV
2009-09-12 13:45:16.832 Using protocol version 40
2009-09-12 13:45:16.964 GetEntryAt(-1) failed.
2009-09-12 13:45:16.965 EntryToProgram(0 at Wed Dec 31 16:00:00 1969) 
failed to get pginfo
2009-09-12 13:45:16.965 TV Error: LiveTV not successfully started
2009-09-12 13:45:16.965 TV Error: LiveTV not successfully started
2009-09-12 13:45:17.037 TV: Deleting TV Chain in destructor
2009-09-12 13:45:17.043 DPMS Deactivated
2009-09-12 13:45:17.045 DPMS Reactivated.

I have 3 tuners (1 x PVR 150, 1 x PVR 500s) that use onboard NTSC 
tuning and a single HDHomerun for a total of five other tuners. The 
externally controled cable box tuner is number six. All other aspects 
of mythtv work fine.

The channel change program works fine manually and is configured 
properly in mythtv-setup.

Any ideas?

-- Mache Creeger

# uname -r
2.6.27.30-170.2.82.fc10.x86_64

# rpm -qa | grep frontend
mythtv-frontend-0.21-212.fc10.x86_64

# ls -al /usr/local/bin/channel
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 137 2009-09-08 18:55 /usr/local/bin/channel

# more /usr/local/bin/channel
#!/bin/bash
/usr/local/bin/channel-tuner "$1"
( /bin/sleep 5; /usr/bin/v4l2-ctl --set-audio-input 1 -d 
/dev/video0 > /dev/null 2>&1 ) &

# /usr/local/bin/channel 560
560