[Matt Devo]

Just for closure:  I figured out that an EDID handshake was having issues, mainly if there was some type of system crash while sitting idle.  The solution was to save/dump the EDID from the TV and save it, I used libreelec's script to do so: https://wiki.libreelec.tv/custom_edid
Hope this helps anyone else with black screen issues when turning on their TV. 

  
thanks for closing the loop on this

[sow07]

Hi there, I'm a long time user of both Kodi and Chromebox.  I first want to say thank you for the excellent work you've done allowing an easy path for Kodi to work on the Chromebox.  It's a really nice solution and I've deployed it a number of times now for grandparents and myself.

My aspiring setup is having trouble however and I could use some help.  I have been using a standard x86 PC connected to my Yamaha RX-V467 Receiver which worked well but am trying to slim down the profile with an Asus Chromebox.  It essentially doesn't work.

I've put a lot of energy into diagnosing the problem and have numerous clues but despite that am currently stuck.  I've gone so far as to order an upgraded receiver from a different manufacturer (Integra/Onkyo DTR 30.4) as well as an HDMI detective and still no luck.  That was really frustrating.

I'm also in possession of a handful of Chromeboxes I recently accumulated including an i7 CN62 so have definitely ruled out hardware failure.  The i7 fails the same was as the basic Celeron CN60's too.

Below is a list of configurations I've tried with the results.  These are all with the latest Libreelec Kodi and EZ Script/UEFI load unless otherwise stated.
 

• Directly attaching to (Vizio) TV's works fine.
  
• RX-V467 + Asus CN60 + standard 1080p - fails
  
• RX-V467 + Asus CN60 + standard 1080i - works
  
• DTR 30.4 + Asus CN60 + 1080p or 1080i - fails
  
• HDMI detective using built-in profiles or the working TV profile all fail when going through either Receiver.
  
• CN6X with original ChromeOS works through Receivers at full 1080p.
  
• 2017 era EZ script (no UEFI) + Kodi Libreelec v16 through Receivers also fails.  This was more first happily functioning install which used in a bedroom sans receiver.
  
• Hitting esc to bring up the UEFI BIOS boot menu works and displays properly through the Receivers.  Screen goes blank after proceeding to boot Kodi.  Says its 1080p also.
  
• Latest Ubuntu 18.04.1 live USB boot also fails
  
• Various resolutions 720p, etc. no-go on the Onkyo.  As previously stated, 1080i worked on the Yamaha.
  

I've dumped the EDID using xrandr on Kodi and confirmed HDMI detective + Receivers was doing its job.

It's interesting to me that the original ChromeOS works with 1080p (and fwiw, I tried cloning the active EDID using HDMI Detective for the working ChromeOS configuration but it still failed).  So the hardware is certainly capable of outputting through the receivers successfully but something about the software is getting in the way.

The Kodi logs showing the initial (failed) Receiver hookup and then changing over to the TV directly (12:11 timeframe) are here https://paste.kodi.tv/idomidubuq.kodi

Note, this is with ARC enabled (my current workaround) so you'll still see the ONK 30.4 referenced even though it's really hooked up to the Vizio directly.

Any thoughts on how to proceed would be most appreciated.  Even confirmation that people are, routinely or otherwise, successfully using HDMI Receivers in their setups with Asus CN6x devices would be helpful.

Tia!

[Matt Devo]

Hi there, I'm a long time user of both Kodi and Chromebox.  I first want to say thank you for the excellent work you've done allowing an easy path for Kodi to work on the Chromebox.  It's a really nice solution and I've deployed it a number of times now for grandparents and myself.

My aspiring setup is having trouble however and I could use some help.  I have been using a standard x86 PC connected to my Yamaha RX-V467 Receiver which worked well but am trying to slim down the profile with an Asus Chromebox.  It essentially doesn't work.

I've put a lot of energy into diagnosing the problem and have numerous clues but despite that am currently stuck.  I've gone so far as to order an upgraded receiver from a different manufacturer (Integra/Onkyo DTR 30.4) as well as an HDMI detective and still no luck.  That was really frustrating.

I'm also in possession of a handful of Chromeboxes I recently accumulated including an i7 CN62 so have definitely ruled out hardware failure.  The i7 fails the same was as the basic Celeron CN60's too.

Below is a list of configurations I've tried with the results.  These are all with the latest Libreelec Kodi and EZ Script/UEFI load unless otherwise stated.
 

• Directly attaching to (Vizio) TV's works fine.
  
• RX-V467 + Asus CN60 + standard 1080p - fails
  
• RX-V467 + Asus CN60 + standard 1080i - works
  
• DTR 30.4 + Asus CN60 + 1080p or 1080i - fails
  
• HDMI detective using built-in profiles or the working TV profile all fail when going through either Receiver.
  
• CN6X with original ChromeOS works through Receivers at full 1080p.
  
• 2017 era EZ script (no UEFI) + Kodi Libreelec v16 through Receivers also fails.  This was more first happily functioning install which used in a bedroom sans receiver.
  
• Hitting esc to bring up the UEFI BIOS boot menu works and displays properly through the Receivers.  Screen goes blank after proceeding to boot Kodi.  Says its 1080p also.
  
• Latest Ubuntu 18.04.1 live USB boot also fails
  
• Various resolutions 720p, etc. no-go on the Onkyo.  As previously stated, 1080i worked on the Yamaha.
  

I've dumped the EDID using xrandr on Kodi and confirmed HDMI detective + Receivers was doing its job.

It's interesting to me that the original ChromeOS works with 1080p (and fwiw, I tried cloning the active EDID using HDMI Detective for the working ChromeOS configuration but it still failed).  So the hardware is certainly capable of outputting through the receivers successfully but something about the software is getting in the way.

The Kodi logs showing the initial (failed) Receiver hookup and then changing over to the TV directly (12:11 timeframe) are here https://paste.kodi.tv/idomidubuq.kodi

Note, this is with ARC enabled (my current workaround) so you'll still see the ONK 30.4 referenced even though it's really hooked up to the Vizio directly.

Any thoughts on how to proceed would be most appreciated.  Even confirmation that people are, routinely or otherwise, successfully using HDMI Receivers in their setups with Asus CN6x devices would be helpful.

Tia! 

 As you've diagnosed, it's an LE / display driver issue, so changing the firmware display init (BIOS vs UEFI) isn't going to help, nor is looking at Kodi logs (since Kodi doesn't set up the display).  Let's a see a dmesg log from a clean boot as well as output from 'xrandr --props' for the non-working case (Chromebox->AVR->TV).

FWIW, I ran my CN60 for years in such a config, with Sony, Onkyo, and Marantz AVRs - never had an issue with any of them.  Others like yourself have, and injecting the EDID as per the post directly before yours has proved helpful, as has manually setting the mode using xrandr via an autostart script

[sow07]

Hi there, I'm a long time user of both Kodi and Chromebox.  I first want to say thank you for the excellent work you've done allowing an easy path for Kodi to work on the Chromebox.  It's a really nice solution and I've deployed it a number of times now for grandparents and myself.

My aspiring setup is having trouble however and I could use some help.  I have been using a standard x86 PC connected to my Yamaha RX-V467 Receiver which worked well but am trying to slim down the profile with an Asus Chromebox.  It essentially doesn't work.

I've put a lot of energy into diagnosing the problem and have numerous clues but despite that am currently stuck.  I've gone so far as to order an upgraded receiver from a different manufacturer (Integra/Onkyo DTR 30.4) as well as an HDMI detective and still no luck.  That was really frustrating.

I'm also in possession of a handful of Chromeboxes I recently accumulated including an i7 CN62 so have definitely ruled out hardware failure.  The i7 fails the same was as the basic Celeron CN60's too.

Below is a list of configurations I've tried with the results.  These are all with the latest Libreelec Kodi and EZ Script/UEFI load unless otherwise stated.
 

• Directly attaching to (Vizio) TV's works fine.
  
• RX-V467 + Asus CN60 + standard 1080p - fails
  
• RX-V467 + Asus CN60 + standard 1080i - works
  
• DTR 30.4 + Asus CN60 + 1080p or 1080i - fails
  
• HDMI detective using built-in profiles or the working TV profile all fail when going through either Receiver.
  
• CN6X with original ChromeOS works through Receivers at full 1080p.
  
• 2017 era EZ script (no UEFI) + Kodi Libreelec v16 through Receivers also fails.  This was more first happily functioning install which used in a bedroom sans receiver.
  
• Hitting esc to bring up the UEFI BIOS boot menu works and displays properly through the Receivers.  Screen goes blank after proceeding to boot Kodi.  Says its 1080p also.
  
• Latest Ubuntu 18.04.1 live USB boot also fails
  
• Various resolutions 720p, etc. no-go on the Onkyo.  As previously stated, 1080i worked on the Yamaha.
  

I've dumped the EDID using xrandr on Kodi and confirmed HDMI detective + Receivers was doing its job.

It's interesting to me that the original ChromeOS works with 1080p (and fwiw, I tried cloning the active EDID using HDMI Detective for the working ChromeOS configuration but it still failed).  So the hardware is certainly capable of outputting through the receivers successfully but something about the software is getting in the way.

The Kodi logs showing the initial (failed) Receiver hookup and then changing over to the TV directly (12:11 timeframe) are here https://paste.kodi.tv/idomidubuq.kodi

Note, this is with ARC enabled (my current workaround) so you'll still see the ONK 30.4 referenced even though it's really hooked up to the Vizio directly.

Any thoughts on how to proceed would be most appreciated.  Even confirmation that people are, routinely or otherwise, successfully using HDMI Receivers in their setups with Asus CN6x devices would be helpful.

Tia!  

 As you've diagnosed, it's an LE / display driver issue, so changing the firmware display init (BIOS vs UEFI) isn't going to help, nor is looking at Kodi logs (since Kodi doesn't set up the display).  Let's a see a dmesg log from a clean boot as well as output from 'xrandr --props' for the non-working case (Chromebox->AVR->TV).

FWIW, I ran my CN60 for years in such a config, with Sony, Onkyo, and Marantz AVRs - never had an issue with any of them.  Others like yourself have, and injecting the EDID as per the post directly before yours has proved helpful, as has manually setting the mode using xrandr via an autostart script 

Thanks for the quick reply.

Here's the xrandr dump:  https://paste.kodi.tv/egululegix
dmesg:  https://paste.kodi.tv/neyuguweza
And in case it's useful, a Xorg.0.log:  https://paste.kodi.tv/enamaginos

Also, my TV is not 4K.

[sow07]

Hi there, I'm a long time user of both Kodi and Chromebox.  I first want to say thank you for the excellent work you've done allowing an easy path for Kodi to work on the Chromebox.  It's a really nice solution and I've deployed it a number of times now for grandparents and myself.

My aspiring setup is having trouble however and I could use some help.  I have been using a standard x86 PC connected to my Yamaha RX-V467 Receiver which worked well but am trying to slim down the profile with an Asus Chromebox.  It essentially doesn't work.

I've put a lot of energy into diagnosing the problem and have numerous clues but despite that am currently stuck.  I've gone so far as to order an upgraded receiver from a different manufacturer (Integra/Onkyo DTR 30.4) as well as an HDMI detective and still no luck.  That was really frustrating.

I'm also in possession of a handful of Chromeboxes I recently accumulated including an i7 CN62 so have definitely ruled out hardware failure.  The i7 fails the same was as the basic Celeron CN60's too.

Below is a list of configurations I've tried with the results.  These are all with the latest Libreelec Kodi and EZ Script/UEFI load unless otherwise stated.
 

• Directly attaching to (Vizio) TV's works fine.
  
• RX-V467 + Asus CN60 + standard 1080p - fails
  
• RX-V467 + Asus CN60 + standard 1080i - works
  
• DTR 30.4 + Asus CN60 + 1080p or 1080i - fails
  
• HDMI detective using built-in profiles or the working TV profile all fail when going through either Receiver.
  
• CN6X with original ChromeOS works through Receivers at full 1080p.
  
• 2017 era EZ script (no UEFI) + Kodi Libreelec v16 through Receivers also fails.  This was more first happily functioning install which used in a bedroom sans receiver.
  
• Hitting esc to bring up the UEFI BIOS boot menu works and displays properly through the Receivers.  Screen goes blank after proceeding to boot Kodi.  Says its 1080p also.
  
• Latest Ubuntu 18.04.1 live USB boot also fails
  
• Various resolutions 720p, etc. no-go on the Onkyo.  As previously stated, 1080i worked on the Yamaha.
  

I've dumped the EDID using xrandr on Kodi and confirmed HDMI detective + Receivers was doing its job.

It's interesting to me that the original ChromeOS works with 1080p (and fwiw, I tried cloning the active EDID using HDMI Detective for the working ChromeOS configuration but it still failed).  So the hardware is certainly capable of outputting through the receivers successfully but something about the software is getting in the way.

The Kodi logs showing the initial (failed) Receiver hookup and then changing over to the TV directly (12:11 timeframe) are here https://paste.kodi.tv/idomidubuq.kodi

Note, this is with ARC enabled (my current workaround) so you'll still see the ONK 30.4 referenced even though it's really hooked up to the Vizio directly.

Any thoughts on how to proceed would be most appreciated.  Even confirmation that people are, routinely or otherwise, successfully using HDMI Receivers in their setups with Asus CN6x devices would be helpful.

Tia!   

 As you've diagnosed, it's an LE / display driver issue, so changing the firmware display init (BIOS vs UEFI) isn't going to help, nor is looking at Kodi logs (since Kodi doesn't set up the display).  Let's a see a dmesg log from a clean boot as well as output from 'xrandr --props' for the non-working case (Chromebox->AVR->TV).

FWIW, I ran my CN60 for years in such a config, with Sony, Onkyo, and Marantz AVRs - never had an issue with any of them.  Others like yourself have, and injecting the EDID as per the post directly before yours has proved helpful, as has manually setting the mode using xrandr via an autostart script  

Thanks for the quick reply.

Here's the xrandr dump:  https://paste.kodi.tv/egululegix
dmesg:  https://paste.kodi.tv/neyuguweza
And in case it's useful, a Xorg.0.log:  https://paste.kodi.tv/enamaginos

Also, my TV is not 4K. 

I also wasn't sure if I'm missing something stupid like not using upgraded HDMI cables, etc.

[Matt Devo]

Here's the xrandr dump:  https://paste.kodi.tv/egululegix
dmesg:  https://paste.kodi.tv/neyuguweza
And in case it's useful, a Xorg.0.log:  https://paste.kodi.tv/enamaginos

Also, my TV is not 4K. 

  
nothing jumps out in the logs, compared to my CN62 here. have you tried setting the refresh rate to 59.94 via xrandr?

[sow07]

Here's the xrandr dump:  https://paste.kodi.tv/egululegix
dmesg:  https://paste.kodi.tv/neyuguweza
And in case it's useful, a Xorg.0.log:  https://paste.kodi.tv/enamaginos

Also, my TV is not 4K. 

  
nothing jumps out in the logs, compared to my CN62 here. have you tried setting the refresh rate to 59.94 via xrandr? 

Just tried along with a variety of other resolutions and no change.  Strangely the AVR recognizes each resolution after a few seconds of the HDMI symbol blinking (which is a sync indicator by all accounts) and reports it through the setup display, yet can't pass it through.

It's apparently not an EDID issue or else my clone of the working ChromeOS setup would be successful.  Wondering if there are settings which fall outside of EDID or if this is a case of the Ubuntu OS not honoring EDID properly.

I'm stumped.

[Matt Devo]

Just tried along with a variety of other resolutions and no change.  Strangely the AVR recognizes each resolution after a few seconds of the HDMI symbol blinking (which is a sync indicator by all accounts) and reports it through the setup display, yet can't pass it through.

It's apparently not an EDID issue or else my clone of the working ChromeOS setup would be successful.  Wondering if there are settings which fall outside of EDID or if this is a case of the Ubuntu OS not honoring EDID properly.

I'm stumped.

have you tried booting the latest LibreELEC from usb to see if that works?

[sow07]

Just tried along with a variety of other resolutions and no change.  Strangely the AVR recognizes each resolution after a few seconds of the HDMI symbol blinking (which is a sync indicator by all accounts) and reports it through the setup display, yet can't pass it through.

It's apparently not an EDID issue or else my clone of the working ChromeOS setup would be successful.  Wondering if there are settings which fall outside of EDID or if this is a case of the Ubuntu OS not honoring EDID properly.

I'm stumped.

have you tried booting the latest LibreELEC from usb to see if that works?   

Last night after trying additional configurations (including yet another AVR), I think I figured something out which would explain the voodoo nature of the problem - cable length and quality.

My original (7 years going) configuration uses a longer (12-15ft), seemingly good quality, HDMI cable which goes through the wall.  In one test where I used the same equipment (Yamaha AVR + CN62) but shorter HDMI cables, everything worked fine at 1080p.  The crucial observation was if I use CN62->Cable A (generic 6ft)->AVR->Cable B (legacy 12ft)->TV it fails, but if I use CN62->Cable A (generic 6ft)->AVR->Cable C (generic 3ft)->TV it works!  It appears it is the totality of the signal path length and quality used that determines whether the configuration is going to work.

The AVR being in the signal path also has a hand in the equation; empirically I found certain AVR+cable combinations (with the 12ft cable) using even my "trusty" DirecTV DVR would fail as well.  The same cabling on different AVR's produces varying results suggesting the embedded AVR HDMI switches contribute to the overall system sensitivity.

My built-in assumption that if, Cable B is operational on a particular configuration (say DTV or standard PC based Kodi machine), it's good across the board, appears to be wrong.  The premise being the AVR is regenerating the signal so problems can't be with the totality of the cabling...but my testing proves that it is.  Additionally, the assumption HDMI being a standard in today's day and age would not suffer from these types of issues appears suspect.

As for the fact the CN62 with ChromeOS works at 1080p using original Cables A and B; I'm surmising the OS video drivers have some control over the signal amplitude/strength which could explain the differences there.  I'm not sure how else to account for that.  HDMI is digital of course, but that digital data is flowing over analog copper wires.

My follow-on question now is whether there is a Ubuntu/Chromebox knob for controlling signal strength/amplitude or anything else that could account for the observed behavior?

I'd also like to hear opinions on finding quality HDMI cables that can be trusted to eliminate any finickyness from systems.  I had been purchasing cheap Ebay china made HDMI cables thinking that relatively short cables can't be done wrong.  I'm no longer so sure.  But I'm also not on board with blindly purchasing extreme $ monster cables either...

Meanwhile, hopefully this brings some measure of relief and understanding to those who have battled similarly strange issues especially involving AVR's.  It has for me...

Thanks!

[sow07]

Just tried along with a variety of other resolutions and no change.  Strangely the AVR recognizes each resolution after a few seconds of the HDMI symbol blinking (which is a sync indicator by all accounts) and reports it through the setup display, yet can't pass it through.

It's apparently not an EDID issue or else my clone of the working ChromeOS setup would be successful.  Wondering if there are settings which fall outside of EDID or if this is a case of the Ubuntu OS not honoring EDID properly.

I'm stumped.

have you tried booting the latest LibreELEC from usb to see if that works?    

Last night after trying additional configurations (including yet another AVR), I think I figured something out which would explain the voodoo nature of the problem - cable length and quality.

My original (7 years going) configuration uses a longer (12-15ft), seemingly good quality, HDMI cable which goes through the wall.  In one test where I used the same equipment (Yamaha AVR + CN62) but shorter HDMI cables, everything worked fine at 1080p.  The crucial observation was if I use CN62->Cable A (generic 6ft)->AVR->Cable B (legacy 12ft)->TV it fails, but if I use CN62->Cable A (generic 6ft)->AVR->Cable C (generic 3ft)->TV it works!  It appears it is the totality of the signal path length and quality used that determines whether the configuration is going to work.

The AVR being in the signal path also has a hand in the equation; empirically I found certain AVR+cable combinations (with the 12ft cable) using even my "trusty" DirecTV DVR would fail as well.  The same cabling on different AVR's produces varying results suggesting the embedded AVR HDMI switches contribute to the overall system sensitivity.

My built-in assumption that if, Cable B is operational on a particular configuration (say DTV or standard PC based Kodi machine), it's good across the board, appears to be wrong.  The premise being the AVR is regenerating the signal so problems can't be with the totality of the cabling...but my testing proves that it is.  Additionally, the assumption HDMI being a standard in today's day and age would not suffer from these types of issues appears suspect.

As for the fact the CN62 with ChromeOS works at 1080p using original Cables A and B; I'm surmising the OS video drivers have some control over the signal amplitude/strength which could explain the differences there.  I'm not sure how else to account for that.  HDMI is digital of course, but that digital data is flowing over analog copper wires.

My follow-on question now is whether there is a Ubuntu/Chromebox knob for controlling signal strength/amplitude or anything else that could account for the observed behavior?

I'd also like to hear opinions on finding quality HDMI cables that can be trusted to eliminate any finickyness from systems.  I had been purchasing cheap Ebay china made HDMI cables thinking that relatively short cables can't be done wrong.  I'm no longer so sure.  But I'm also not on board with blindly purchasing extreme $ monster cables either...

Meanwhile, hopefully this brings some measure of relief and understanding to those who have battled similarly strange issues especially involving AVR's.  It has for me...

Thanks! 

So I replaced my "12 ft cable" and found out it was actually 30ft long!  Now using a Costco 12' cable and everything came up just fine with both my older Yamaha AVR and the new Integra/Onkyo AVR.  No issues whatsoever.  Confirmed kill I would say!

So if you are pulling your hair out thinking the AVR or source device (Chromebox or otherwise) isn't working the way you expect, make sure to look closely at the cables length/quality to rule that out first.  This is especially true if you have cables in the wall where you cannot verify either the length or quality.  Importantly, don't assume that because it was previously working with other components (for years even) it will continue to do so with newly added components especially when involving an AVR.

Regards!

[Rrrr]

Hi Matt,

After years and years of happily using my CN60, I decided to upgrade Kodi and look for how this is done.
I went back to your original web pages and was gladly surprised you are still there!
Thank you so much for your years of amazing support on this.

Using EZ script, I wanted to install LE 9.0, but was offered LE 9.0 beta version (8.95.001) or 8.0 (Kodi 17.6).

I chose LE 9.0 beta, but the download failed to extract (twice). 
Downloading 8.0 worked fine, so that's what I have now.

Do you plan to upload 9.0 final version ?
Best,

[Matt Devo]

Hi Matt,

After years and years of happily using my CN60, I decided to upgrade Kodi and look for how this is done.
I went back to your original web pages and was gladly surprised you are still there!
Thank you so much for your years of amazing support on this.

Using EZ script, I wanted to install LE 9.0, but was offered LE 9.0 beta version (8.95.001) or 8.0 (Kodi 17.6).

I chose LE 9.0 beta, but the download failed to extract (twice). 
Downloading 8.0 worked fine, so that's what I have now.

Do you plan to upload 9.0 final version ?
Best,

  
I don't upload anything, my script just points to current LibreELEC release. I've just now updated it for the 9.0 release, so new installs should work, and you can of course upgrade manually as usual. There is a LAN performance bug in the kernel used for 9.0.0 (and the 8.9x betas) that needs to be worked around, info on the FAQ

[visiter555]

Just tried to upgrade my Dell Chromebox with dual boot to LibreElec 9.0.0 and ran into the fun partition is too small error.  

Now I have to reread on how to change the partition size.  LoL

we have been spoiled by the script just working...

Thanks again Matt

[sow07]

Hi Matt,

After years and years of happily using my CN60, I decided to upgrade Kodi and look for how this is done.
I went back to your original web pages and was gladly surprised you are still there!
Thank you so much for your years of amazing support on this.

Using EZ script, I wanted to install LE 9.0, but was offered LE 9.0 beta version (8.95.001) or 8.0 (Kodi 17.6).

I chose LE 9.0 beta, but the download failed to extract (twice). 
Downloading 8.0 worked fine, so that's what I have now.

Do you plan to upload 9.0 final version ?
Best,

  
I don't upload anything, my script just points to current LibreELEC release. I've just now updated it for the 9.0 release, so new installs should work, and you can of course upgrade manually as usual. There is a LAN performance bug in the kernel used for 9.0.0 (and the 8.9x betas) that needs to be worked around, info on the FAQ 

Which faq?  Yours doesn't mention it.  There's the LibreElec FAQ but don't see anything there.  Or the Kodi FAQ/Linux FAQ.  

I ask because I believe I'm seeing this issue and am anxious to work around it but can't find information about it anywhere I've looked.  Can you provide a link?

[Matt Devo]

Which faq?  Yours doesn't mention it.  There's the LibreElec FAQ but don't see anything there.  Or the Kodi FAQ/Linux FAQ.  

I ask because I believe I'm seeing this issue and am anxious to work around it but can't find information about it anywhere I've looked.  Can you provide a link?

I misspoke, I should have said Kodi Chromebox wiki page (the one linked in my sig) rather than FAQ