MythNews fails with some BBC pages

[Ian Goddard <iang@…>]

On attempting to read some stories on the BBC web-site the front-end closes abruptly. It doesn't happen with every story but it seems consistent on the stories on which it does fail. The attached log file excerpt fails on BBC Sport F1 story about Ecclestone having fears for Korean GP after successfully viewing one or two other stories.

Front end version data: MythTV Version : 26437 MythTV Branch : branches/release-0-23-fixes Network Protocol : 23056 Library API : 0.23.1.201000710-1 QT Version : 4.6.2 Options compiled in:

linux debug using_oss using_alsa using_pulse using_jack using_pulseoutput using_backend using_dvb using_firewire using_frontend using_glx_proc_addr_arb using_hdhomerun using_hdpvr using_iptv using_ivtv using_joystick_menu using_libudev using_lirc using_mheg using_opengl_video using_opengl_vsync using_qtdbus using_qtwebkit using_v4l using_x11 using_xrandr using_xv using_xvmc using_xvmc_vld using_xvmcw using_bindings_perl using_bindings_python using_opengl using_vdpau using_ffmpeg_threads using_libavc_5_3 using_live using_mheg

Log excerpt: Starting mythfrontend.real.. 2010-10-02 11:46:19.847 mythfrontend version: branches/release-0-23-fixes [26437] www.mythtv.org 2010-10-02 11:46:19.848 Using runtime prefix = /usr 2010-10-02 11:46:19.848 Using configuration directory = /home/ian/.mythtv 2010-10-02 11:46:20.773 Empty LocalHostName?. 2010-10-02 11:46:20.773 Using localhost value of mythtv 2010-10-02 11:46:20.791 New DB connection, total: 1 2010-10-02 11:46:20.798 Connected to database 'mythconverg' at host: localhost 2010-10-02 11:46:20.800 Closing DB connection named 'DBManager0' 2010-10-02 11:46:20.829 ScreenSaverX11Private: XScreenSaver support enabled 2010-10-02 11:46:20.832 DPMS is active. 2010-10-02 11:46:20.837 Primary screen: 0. 2010-10-02 11:46:20.838 Connected to database 'mythconverg' at host: localhost 2010-10-02 11:46:20.842 Using screen 0, 1024x768 at 0,0 2010-10-02 11:46:20.886 Desktop video mode: 1024x768 60.006 Hz 2010-10-02 11:46:20.965 MythUI Image Cache size set to 20971520 bytes 2010-10-02 11:46:21.027 AudioPulseUtil?: Suspend Success 2010-10-02 11:46:21.029 Enabled verbose msgs: important general 2010-10-02 11:46:21.044 Primary screen: 0. 2010-10-02 11:46:21.046 Using screen 0, 1024x768 at 0,0 2010-10-02 11:46:21.048 Using theme base resolution of 1280x720 2010-10-02 11:46:21.062 LIRC: Successfully initialized '/dev/lircd' using '/home/ian/.lircrc' config 2010-10-02 11:46:21.062 JoystickMenuThread? Error: Joystick disabled - Failed to read /home/ian/.mythtv/joystickmenurc 2010-10-02 11:46:21.146 Using Frameless Window 2010-10-02 11:46:21.146 Using Full Screen Window 2010-10-02 11:46:21.539 Using the Qt painter 2010-10-02 11:46:21.951 XMLParseBase: Loaded base theme from '/usr/share/mythtv/themes/MythCenter-wide/base.xml' 2010-10-02 11:46:21.968 XMLParseBase: Loaded base theme from '/usr/share/mythtv/themes/default-wide/base.xml' 2010-10-02 11:46:21.983 XMLParseBase: Loaded base theme from '/usr/share/mythtv/themes/default/base.xml' 2010-10-02 11:46:22.000 Current MythTV Schema Version (DBSchemaVer): 1254 2010-10-02 11:46:23.029 Registering Internal as a media playback plugin. 2010-10-02 11:46:23.097 Cannot load language en_us for module mytharchive 2010-10-02 11:46:23.103 Cannot load language en_us for module mythbrowser 2010-10-02 11:46:23.112 Registering WebBrowser? as a media playback plugin. 2010-10-02 11:46:23.113 Cannot load language en_us for module mythbrowser 2010-10-02 11:46:23.191 MediaMonitorUnix::AddDevice?() - empty device path. 2010-10-02 11:46:23.192 MediaMonitorUnix::AddDevice?() - empty device path. 2010-10-02 11:46:23.193 MediaMonitorUnix::AddDevice?() - empty device path. 2010-10-02 11:46:23.195 MonitorRegisterExtensions?(0x100, gif,jpg,png) 2010-10-02 11:46:23.196 Cannot load language en_us for module mythgallery 2010-10-02 11:46:23.213 Cannot load language en_us for module mythgame 2010-10-02 11:46:23.221 Cannot load language en_us for module mythmovies 2010-10-02 11:46:23.277 Current MythMusic Schema Version (MusicDBSchemaVer): 1017 2010-10-02 11:46:23.387 MonitorRegisterExtensions?(0x40, mp3,mp2,ogg,oga,flac,wma,wav,ac3,oma,omg,atp,ra,dts,aac,m4a,aa3,tta,mka,aiff,swa,wv) 2010-10-02 11:46:23.403 Cannot load language en_us for module mythmusic 2010-10-02 11:46:23.422 Cannot load language en_us for module mythnetvision 2010-10-02 11:46:23.435 Cannot load language en_us for module mythnews 2010-10-02 11:46:23.456 Current MythVideo? Schema Version (mythvideo.DBSchemaVer): 1032 2010-10-02 11:46:23.528 Cannot load language en_us for module mythvideo 2010-10-02 11:46:23.545 Cannot load language en_us for module mythweather 2010-10-02 11:46:23.550 XMLParseBase: Loading window theme from /usr/share/mythtv/themes/MythCenter-wide/menu-ui.xml 2010-10-02 11:46:23.825 Loading menu theme from /usr/share/mythtv/themes/defaultmenumainmenu.xml 2010-10-02 11:46:23.829 Found mainmenu.xml for theme 'MythCenter?-wide' 2010-10-02 11:46:23.891 MythContext: Connecting to backend server: 127.0.0.1:6543 (try 1 of 1) 2010-10-02 11:46:23.894 Using protocol version 23056 2010-10-02 11:46:26.690 Loading menu theme from /usr/share/mythtv/themes/defaultmenuinfo_menu.xml 2010-10-02 11:46:28.079 XMLParseBase: Loading window theme from /usr/share/mythtv/themes/MythCenter-wide/news-ui.xml 2010-10-02 11:46:28.079 XMLParseBase: Loading window theme from /usr/share/mythtv/themes/default-wide/news-ui.xml 2010-10-02 11:46:46.758 XMLParseBase: Loading window theme from /usr/share/mythtv/themes/MythCenter-wide/browser-ui.xml 2010-10-02 11:46:46.759 XMLParseBase: Loading window theme from /usr/share/mythtv/themes/default-wide/browser-ui.xml 2010-10-02 11:46:47.179 MythUIWebBrowser: Loading css from - ​file:///usr/share/mythtv/themes/default/htmls/mythbrowser.css (process:2773): DEBUG: NP_Initialize (process:2773): DEBUG: NP_Initialize succeeded (process:2773): DEBUG: NP_Initialize (process:2773): DEBUG: NP_Initialize succeeded (process:2773): DEBUG: NP_Initialize (process:2773): DEBUG: NP_Initialize succeeded (process:2773): DEBUG: NP_Initialize (process:2773): DEBUG: NP_Initialize succeeded 2010-10-02 11:47:05.394 XMLParseBase: Loading window theme from /usr/share/mythtv/themes/MythCenter-wide/browser-ui.xml 2010-10-02 11:47:05.395 XMLParseBase: Loading window theme from /usr/share/mythtv/themes/default-wide/browser-ui.xml 2010-10-02 11:47:05.403 MythUIWebBrowser: Loading css from - ​file:///usr/share/mythtv/themes/default/htmls/mythbrowser.css * NSPlugin Viewer * WARNING: unhandled variable 18 (<unknown variable>) in NPN_GetValue() * NSPlugin Viewer * WARNING: unhandled variable 18 (<unknown variable>) in NPN_GetValue() * NSPlugin Wrapper * WARNING: unhandled variable 18 in NPP_GetValue() * NSPlugin Wrapper * WARNING: unhandled variable 18 in NPP_GetValue() * NSPlugin Wrapper * WARNING: unhandled variable 18 in NPP_GetValue() * NSPlugin Wrapper * ERROR: NPP_DestroyStream() wait for reply: Connection closed mythfrontend.real: /build/buildd/nspluginwrapper-1.2.2/src/npw-common.h:138: npw_get_plugin_instance: Assertion `plugin->instance == instance' failed.

[Ian Goddard <iang@…>]

Mythfrontend log excerpt

[stuartm]

It seems to be those articles with embedded video. You could check whether the flash plugin is installed somewhere that QtWebkit? will find it, but this is a problem with Webkit and not something we can fix.

It will probably be fixed by a future release of QT.

[Ian Goddard <iang@…>]

Fair enough, but surely it should fail more gracefully without a FE crash & burn.

[stuartm]

I don't believe we can trap these errors unfortunately, it's a problem that has plagued all browsers and even lead to Apple banning Flash from some of it's platforms. Although in this case it's not flash which is crashing itself, it's nspluginwrapper aborting. Their use of 'abort' is frankly amateurish, it's very bad practice to abort in any production code.

[stuartm]

s/abort/assert/

[Ian Goddard <iang@…>]

Replying to stuartm:

I don't believe we can trap these errors unfortunately, it's a problem that has plagued all browsers and even lead to Apple banning Flash from some of it's platforms. Although in this case it's not flash which is crashing itself, it's nspluginwrapper aborting. Their use of 'assert' is frankly amateurish, it's very bad practice to assert in any production code.

I downloaded Arora which is a webkit based browser and although it will play some Flash it also crashes & burns in the same way on the same item ; on other browsers the item plays OK. It looks as if it isn't a problem with webkit finding Flash (which might have been a problem for the iPlayer plugin in 0.24) but the interaction between particular Flash movies, Flash & Webkit.

Re "assert" - agreed!

Thanks for the info.

[Ian Goddard <iang@…>]

After a tip from Mike Dean by email (thanks, Mike), I upgraded to Qt4.7 and that overcomes the problem. Maybe it would be worth while making this the recommended Qt version.

[paulh]

(In [26729]) mythbrowser: Add a setting to enable/disable the use of browser plugins in the internal web browser.

Unfortunately there are some combinations of Qt/WebKit/Flash? that constantly crash bringing down mythfrontend with it. There isn't anything we can do to prevent the crashes other than disable the use of plugins. I believe Qt4.7 will fix or at least work around the problem with the flash plugin but until then at least this setting allows you to still use the internal browser without it crashing all the time although you do lose the ability to play flash videos.

Themers note: there is a new mandatory check box "enablepluginscheck" on the "browserconfig" window.

Translators note: This adds a couple of new strings one in the theme files and one in bookmarkmanager.cpp.

Refs #9044.