[scrfix]

Everything in accordance with the HOWTO is at the bottom of this post including the debug logs.

I run a gigabit network with CAT6 Shielded cable run throughout the house.
I have a QNAP TS809U-RP NAS which stores my media.

I have multiple Windows Boxes and a Mac-Mini.
It seems that XBMC is constantly having issues with this Mac vs the Windows Boxes which never have any problems.

The lastest issue.
720p MKV file will not play on the MAC. I have a TS HDTV version that does.

As soon as I play either in Library or Video mode, XBMC immediately crashes. I have turned on debugging mode and crashed it however that doesn't help much since I don't know where the logs are kept on a Mac and cannot find that in the Wiki or anywhere else.

I have attempted to change video rendering to all settings. This did not help. The file crashes when played in XBMC on the Macintosh

The file plays perfectly in VLC on the MAC. The file plays perfectly in XBMC on my Windows boxes in two different versions of XBMC.

What can be the issue? Any ideas?

There doesn't seem to be any other problems with any other files. Just this one mkv file. I am out of ideas? Anyone?

Note: I did read a note where I downloaded the file from that there are some interlace problems with the audio if that helps.

OSX Version: Snow Leopard 10.6.4
Platform: Mac-Mini

Install Method: Uh........ No Clue. Didn't install it. Someone else did.

SVN Revision: XBMC 9.11 r26018 (Hopefully this is what you are looking for because I followed the instructions for finding this and this was the only thing down there)

Detailed Instructions to Reproduce the Problem: There is no way you are going to be able to reproduce this issue unless I let you into the MAC-Mini via VNC because it plays on all my other XBMC boxes except the Macinstosh.

FULL Debug Log: See Below along with Crash Log.

GUI Problems: See above

Skin name: Confluence

Playback Problems:
Video codec and container: No Clue - MKV
Audio codec and container: AC-3 - Uh... MKV?
MediaInfo output: See Below
You may also be asked for a sample.
General:
Duration : 1h 33mn
Overall bit rate : 7 458 Kbps

Video:
Bit rate : 7 118 Kbps
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 29.970 fps

Audio
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Duration : 1h 33mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 192 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels

Encoding Settings:
Writing library : WonderShare Matroska Muxer
Format settings, CABAC : No
Format settings, ReFrames : 1 frame

Other things that may be useful:
Tell me where to find it in this Crapintosh and I will be more than happy to supply it.

Version: XBMC 9.11 r26018
Architecture: I386

xbmc.log:Removed
Crashreporter log: Removed

[davilla]

see my sig, xbmc.log and the crashreporter log are what we want to see.

[scrfix]

They are there at the bottom of the post. I have now highlighted all of the keynotes in bold for you so that you did not have to ask for them.

Note: I have copied the movie over the desktop of the Mac and attempted to do an open with XBMC.app and that crashed as well.

[snowdrift]

Version: XBMC 9.11 r26018
Architecture: I386

9.11 is quite old and it may be that your problem has been fixed in the latest releases. It may be useful to try your file with dharma beta 4 (Mac version).

[scrfix]

I attempted to install it.
Error: The operation can't be completed because the file "XBMCHelper" is in use.
I rebooted the computer. Same Error. I checked Task Manager and XBMC is not running.

Any thoughts?

Update:RESOLVED: SEE UPDATE 2 BELOW: I cannot drag the XBMC.app into the Applications folder due to the above error. When I go into te applications folder, I do not see an xbmc.app file there even though I am using xbmc and when I drag the new one in there it says there is one there and asks if I want to replace it.

However, I did test by dragging the new dharma xbmc icon onto the desktop and running it from there. I opened up the movie with no problem.

So now my issue has turned from what is causing the crash to How do I update my XBMC? How do I get around te XBMCHelper is in use error?

Update 2: I found out how to resolve that issue. There was an xbmc.app icon however the icon was that of the text editing program in the applications folder. I right clicked on that, moved to trash and then loaded the new one.

The movie now plays however the rendering of the movie is god awful! Every 1-2 seconds the movie blurs out and if you look at the people they get these jagged lines. It is an H.264 encode and I read about the problems with the new 10.6.4 update on the Mac-Mini's. I cannot find that apple thread however. Can someone provide me with the link to that so that I can add tho that thread?

[snowdrift]

Hmmm...sounds like XBMCHelper is in use which is odd as you've said you checked for it. Its also weird that its there after a reboot (did you have XBMC auto-starting after you log in, or something?) Apologies if you have already tried any or all of this, I'm not trying to teach you to suck eggs here, but...have you tried starting Terminal and typing:

Code:

ps -e | grep XBMC

Do you see XBMCHelper in the returned list. When I have it running, I get

Code:

15703 ??        10:29.43 /Applications/XBMC.app/Contents/MacOS/XBMC -psn_0_6665819
15708 ??         0:00.05 /Applications/XBMC.app/Contents/Resources/XBMC/tools/osx/[color=red]XBMCHelper -x[/color]

If its there, you can kill it using

Code:

kill -9 <pid>

where <pid> is the process number which appears at the front of the XBMCHelper entry, in my case 15708.

[scrfix]

snowdrift,

Do not think that you are teaching an old dog old tricks. This is a new puppy willing to learn. Even the most basic crap I do not know how to do on this Mac.

However, I was able to get the issue resolved. You must have been writing in the same time as I was updating.

Read my Update 2 above.

[snowdrift]

The movie now plays however the rendering of the movie is god awful! Every 1-2 seconds the movie blurs out and if you look at the people they get these jagged lines. It is an H.264 encode and I read about the problems with the new 10.6.4 update on the Mac-Mini's. I cannot find that apple thread however. Can someone provide me with the link to that so that I can add tho that thread?

You're probably thinking about this one. I've linked to the last page, but go back one page and thats where the post is where the apple discussion thread is started. Go back more pages for discussion about the 10.6.4 issues, its probably worth a read. Good luck!

[scrfix]

Snowdrift,

Unfortunately that is not the thread. I will look through it to see if it has the link to the Apple thread. This was a thread started here and Davilla started a thread on Apple's website. I went to the website and saw that thread and read it but closed out of it and now that I am having the same issues I wanted to add my 2 cents into that thread as requested by the thread on here. I don't know if it will matter however I wanted to do it anyway.

I need the link to that apple thread that Davila started.