[PROBLEM] Fresh install on RPi 5: Kodi UI has no text

[Gyuunduh]

Software
XBian version: Latest as of 14 January 2015, both 32- and 64-bit
XBMC/Kodi version: 21.1 Omega
Overclock settings: none/stock

Hardware
Device type and model: Raspberry Pi 5 4 GB
Power supply rating: Official 27 W PSU
SD card size and make/type: Some Adata 32 GB
Network (Ethernet or wireless): Both
Connected devices (TV, USB, network storage, ...): LG 42" tv via HDMI, network both wired and wireless

Log files
Link to logfile(s): Don't have any right now and don't know how to produce relevent ones.

Problem description:
I have a perfectly working Xbian setup running on Raspberry Pi 3B+. I bought a Raspberry pi 5 and a new microHDMI cable and PSU to go with it and did a fresh install to import my home directory but I have the same problem the user here is having. The rainbow boot screen, text, Xbian splash screen and Kodi Nexus startup animation all play perfect, but once I get to the actual Kodi UI and set up wizard, the visuals are glitched: There is no text anywhere but the UI elements otherwise seem to be there. There are also some unclear vertical columns in the blue background color. Transferring the xbian-home-backup file didn't solve the issue.

Everything else works: SSH, CEC etc. but the Kodi UI is unusable. I tried both 32 and 64 bit versions of Xbian, even LibreELEC but it had the same problem. I tried Retropie and Raspberry pi OS and they both work perfect and my TV works with Rasperry Pi 3B+ Xbian.

The problem is already fixed in an OpenELEC nightly build from around the christmastime of 2024, linked in the Kodi forum post above. I tried a nightly build of OpenELEC and I'm watching a movie with it as I'm typing this. I don't know what fix or settings change is implemented there, but I hope it's also coming to XBian.

How to reproduce:
Get a Raspberry Pi 5, install latest Xbian and hope for the worst.

[Gyuunduh]

This problem seems to have been discussed on LibreELEC and Kodi forums.

https://forum.libreelec.tv/thread/29137-pi-5-no-boot-with-fresh-image-12-0-1/?postID=195953&highlight=%2522raspberry%2Bpi%2B5%2522%2Bmesa#post195953
https://forum.libreelec.tv/thread/29374-rpi5-bad-picture-after-starting-kodi/?postID=197579&highlight=%2522raspberry%2Bpi%2B5%2522%2Bmesa#post197579


The problem is apparently in the mesa drivers not being compatible with the minor changes to the GPU made with the RPi 5 2GB revision. Apparently those changes have also been implemented with later RPi 5 4GB (and probably 8GB) models.

Could the updated Mesa drivers also be added to the Xbian release so I can get my new Pi 5 up and running?

[Nachteule]

XBian uses the standard Mesa packages from Debian here, although I cannot currently understand where the currently used version 23.3 comes from.
On my Pi 5/8GB, which is over 1 year old, everything works as it should and so I can't test anything else.

You could try installing the newer Mesa packages from the bookworm backport repo and if it works with these (they are from january 3rd) then I can take them all over.

To do this, create the following file in /etc/apt/preferences.d

Quote:root@kmxbilr5 /etc/apt/preferences.d # cat /etc/apt/preferences.d/03bookworm-backports
#
# Mesa Packages
#
Package: libgl1-mesa-dri libdrm-amdgpu1 libdrm-common libdrm-etnaviv1 libdrm-nouveau2 libdrm-radeon1 libdrm2 libegl-mesa0 libgbm1 libglapi-mesa libglx-mesa0 mesa-libgallium mesa-libgallium
Pin: release n=bookworm-backports
Pin-Priority: 1001

and add a line in /etc/apt/sources.list like this:

Quote:deb http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian/ bookworm-backports main contrib non-free non-free-firmware

after that a

Code:

sudp apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libgl1-mesa-dri

should update the packages

I did this with my 32-bit Pi5 installation and Kodi desktop looks as usual

[Gyuunduh]

(16th Jan, 2025 11:50 PM)Nachteule Wrote:  XBian uses the standard Mesa packages from Debian here, although I cannot currently understand where the currently used version 23.3 comes from.
On my Pi 5/8GB, which is over 1 year old, everything works as it should and so I can't test anything else.

You could try installing the newer Mesa packages from the bookworm backport repo and if it works with these (they are from january 3rd) then I can take them all over.

To do this, create the following file in /etc/apt/preferences.d

Quote:root@kmxbilr5 /etc/apt/preferences.d # cat /etc/apt/preferences.d/03bookworm-backports
#
# Mesa Packages
#
Package: libgl1-mesa-dri libdrm-amdgpu1 libdrm-common libdrm-etnaviv1 libdrm-nouveau2 libdrm-radeon1 libdrm2 libegl-mesa0 libgbm1 libglapi-mesa libglx-mesa0 mesa-libgallium mesa-libgallium
Pin: release n=bookworm-backports
Pin-Priority: 1001

and add a line in /etc/apt/sources.list like this:

Quote:deb http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian/ bookworm-backports main contrib non-free non-free-firmware

after that a

Code:

sudp apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libgl1-mesa-dri

should update the packages

I did this with my 32-bit Pi5 installation and Kodi desktop looks as usual

That fixed the issue with the 64-bit build I tried and now Kodi looks like it should.
Thank you so much!

[Nachteule]

Thanks for the feedback
I will then borrow these packages and integrate them into the corresponding XBian repository

[Nachteule]

During my tests I noticed that with the new Mesa packages the playback of h264 videos only produces a black picture. h265 on the other hand is fine. I only see the picture with h264 when I deactivate drmprime.
Of course this could also be related to the developer version of Kodi, I need to investigate this further
So the new packages are not in the stable repository, but in staging

[Gyuunduh]

I had no problems with the new Mesa drives on my Raspberry Pi 5. H264 is software decoded, and also hardware decoding of a h265 file I tested worked

[Nachteule]

You beat me to it today. I have localized the problem and it is due to the Kodi Alpha and not the Mesa packages

[danielcraig]

Hi Gyuunduh,
Since SSH and CEC are working fine on your XBian setup, have you tried accessing the Kodi logs via SSH to see if there are any errors related to the UI rendering or font loading that might explain the missing text?
Chill Guy Clicker

[dianereese]

(14th Jan, 2025 08:21 AM)Gyuunduh Wrote:  Software
XBian version: Latest as of 14 January 2015, both 32- and 64-bit
XBMC/Kodi version: 21.1 Omega
Overclock settings: none/stock

Hardware
Device type and model: Raspberry Pi 5 4 GB
Power supply rating: Official 27 W PSU
SD card size and make/type: Some Adata 32 GB
Network (Ethernet or wireless): Both
Connected devices (TV, USB, network storage, ...): LG 42" tv via HDMI, network both wired and wireless

Log files
Link to logfile(s): Don't have any right now and don't know how to produce relevent ones.

Problem description:
I have a perfectly working Xbian setup running on Raspberry Pi 3B+. I bought a Raspberry pi 5 and a new microHDMI cable and PSU to go with it and did a fresh install to import my home directory but I have sprunki retake the same problem the user here is having. The rainbow boot screen, text, Xbian splash screen and Kodi Nexus startup animation all play perfect, but once I get to the actual Kodi UI and set up wizard, the visuals are glitched: There is no text anywhere but the UI elements otherwise seem to be there. There are also some unclear vertical columns in the blue background color. Transferring the xbian-home-backup file didn't solve the issue.

Everything else works: SSH, CEC etc. but the Kodi UI is unusable. I tried both 32 and 64 bit versions of Xbian, even LibreELEC but it had the same problem. I tried Retropie and Raspberry pi OS and they both work perfect and my TV works with Rasperry Pi 3B+ Xbian.

The problem is already fixed in an OpenELEC nightly build from around the christmastime of 2024, linked in the Kodi forum post above. I tried a nightly build of OpenELEC and I'm watching a movie with it as I'm typing this. I don't know what fix or settings change is implemented there, but I hope it's also coming to XBian.

How to reproduce:
Get a Raspberry Pi 5, install latest Xbian and hope for the worst.

To get XBian working on your Pi 5, the Mesa drivers need to be updated to a version that supports the Pi 5’s GPU properly. Mesa 23.3 (released November 2023) introduced initial Pi 5 support, but full compatibility, especially for later revisions, may require Mesa 24.x or specific patches. OpenELEC’s fix likely pulls from Mesa’s Git repository or applies a custom workaround.