Can't Connect to Sage Server Anymore

[peternm22]

I'm setting up my HD extender, and I has having a problem with a ground loop (buzzing sound, and flickering line). I was trying to figure out what was causing it, but now the HD extender can't connect to the my SageTV server.

When I select my server from the main menu, the screen goes black and nothing happens. I tried the reset procedure, that didn't fix it. I rebooted the SageTV server, that didn't fix it.

I'm about to try the unbricking option, but it doesn't seem like it's bricked (I can still go in and change settings etc).

Any ideas?

Thanks.

-Peter

[carlgar]

The blank screen sounds like an issue I have seen. When that occurs I find that I have also lost control of the placeshifter and Sage client. Can you try the placeshifter on your server and see if it works.
I have not completely nailed down what it takes to recover but I think shutting down Sage, Delete the .lck type files in the sage directory and reboot your system should take care of it. You can try it without the system reboot which worked once for me but the last 2 times I needed the reboot to get Sage back to normal. I have never had a buzzing sound or flickering line.

[peternm22]

Placeshifter works fine. I deleted the .lck in the SageTV directory and rebooted but it still won't work.

Grrr... (that's my ferocious growl of anger, for those of you wondering).

Any other ideas?

-Peter

[carlgar]

Just the recovery process, but I agree it doesn't sound like it is bricked.

[peternm22]

I tried it rebooting, deleting those files, and resetting the extender 2 more times, and it worked on the 2nd try.

The ground loop problem is very annoying though. I haven't had this before with my DVD player, or with my PC connected directly to my TV.

The buzzing sound and line flickering only occurs from time to time. It seems to happen depending on which screen Sage is on (seems worse on darker screens, darker scenes on TV shows). I Googled ground loops, but I didn't find much in a way of a solution that I could understand (my TV and extender are on the same electrical outlet, which is suppose to help prevent ground loops).

A couple other problems with the extender, the icons are absolutely HUGE. I'm using MeInMaui's large icon set, but they seem to be twice as big on the extender than on the PC output (both the PC and extender are outputting 1080i). I could use a smaller set of icons, but then when I watch TV on the PC output (another TV), the icons will be really small. The same thing happens with channel logos, they are about twice the size on the extender output despite using the same resolution as the PC used.

Overall the UI looks a lot more blurry/fuzzy than the PC. It's not nearly as crisp.

I'm trying to get the extender to learn codes from my remote. When I try to use some commands twice in a row (TV, guide, Info, Select), they won't work. I have to press another button first. Seems like the extender is waiting for a toggle code (I can press Info 5x in a row, and only the first does anything). Other commands like Up, Down, Left, Right seem to work fine with repeated pushes.

I'm not having any issues with IR reception, but the extender is right under my TV so I usually have a direct line of sight. PQ of video is very good, and very smooth.


The ground loop issue is the biggest problem right now, the others are minor annoyances (the remote toggle thing is probably just me configuring it incorrectly, probably the same with the giant icons/logos).

Does anyone have any ideas on fixing the ground loop problem? Could it be something else other than a ground loop? I haven't had this issue before with any other equipment, just the extender. I'm using a component connection, and I tried both component inputs on my TV, both have the same problem.

Thanks.

-Peter

[peternm22]

I've fixed most of my problems.

For the ground loop, I started disconnecting all my devices one at a time to see if it went away. Turns out it was the HDMI cable I had recently connected the computer to the TV (since the HD extender and my DVD player are using the 2 component connections on the TV).

Next, I copied my existing SageMC theme to create a new one, and I changed my icons to the lower res ones from MeInMaui. It works, but I'm still unsure why I need to do this since it had worked fine before.

I opened up studio and edited the size of the container for the channel logo in the OSD. Looks great now.

Remote: I found an entry for the HD extender on Harmony's website (thanks to another post on this forum). That fixed all my toggle issues.

The UI still looks a little bit blurry, but I think I can live with it.

Still a couple bugs to iron out, but for the most part I'm quite happy with it.

-Peter