Nothing plays on TV app (blank but with control overlays showing)

[tecnicasopr]

Update on this issue - there's a recent commit in Whatevergreen with a description of "Fixed FairPlay DRM playback patches on 10.15". For grins, I downloaded and built the kext locally. It DOES correct the playback of Apple Store purchased videos on my system (17,1 SMBIOS, Vega 56, HD530 setup as headless). Looks like it'll be in v1.3.5 of WhateverGreen when that's officially released.

Confirmed. Apple TV+ works now with latest WhatEverGreen.kext (1.3.5). The problem is that this version is not available yet for downloading, but you can compile it yourself with Xcode if you download the source files. Hackintool can do this for you automatically if you have Xcode installed.

Remember to add the following boot arguments in your config.plist: shikigva=160 shiki-id=Mac-7BA5B2D9E42DDD94

No need to switch to another SMBIOS. I'm on 17,1 with headless mode (HD530/Vega 64).

Update: Now it's recommneded to use: shikigva=80 and don't add shiki-id=Mac-7BA5B2D9E42DDD94 (if using MacPro5,1 then use shikigva=160 shiki-id=Mac-7BA5B2D9E42DDD94)

 

[scottkendall]

No need to switch to another SMBIOS. I'm on 17,1 with headless mode (HD530/Vega 64).

Funny thing is it is not the SM that really matters, it is turning off the IGPU that actually fixes the DRM issues. People change their SM to the iMac Pro because that system does not have an IGPU so it prevents potential problems with HVEC.

 

[tecnicasopr]

Funny thing is it is not the SM that really matters, it is turning off the IGPU that actually fixes the DRM issues. People change their SM to the iMac Pro because that system does not have an IGPU so it prevents potential problems with HVEC.

I'm not quite sure, think about it. It's possible that different SMBIOS's have different instructions to establish which Graphics Processor Unit has priority to decode, when interacting with DRM apps. By spoofing iMacPro 1,1 with a boot argument, we are changing the priority order (and in some cases avoiding problems with incompatible SMBIOS's). Maybe it's possible to achieve this in a different matter without having to spoof another SMBIOS Board-ID, but right now this is a quick fix. I'm just wondering...

 

[scottkendall]

I'm not quite sure, think about it. It's possible that different SMBIOS's have different instructions to establish which Graphics Processor Unit has priority to decode, when interacting with DRM apps. By spoofing iMacPro 1,1 with a boot argument, we are changing the priority order (and in some cases avoiding problems with incompatible SMBIOS's). Maybe it's possible to achieve this in a different matter without having to spoof another SMBIOS Board-ID, but right now this is a quick fix. I'm just wondering...

I have booted my system with just about every SM there is in my pursuit to resolve the crashing issue I was experiencing. One thing was very consistent during my time trouble shooting and that was that DRM content played if the IGPU was disabled. The other thing that was very consistent was that all the ports worked on the DGPU without whatevergreen if you were using an SM of a Mac mini or Mac Pro basically the models that were not All in One.

 

[tecnicasopr]

I have booted my system with just about every SM there is in my pursuit to resolve the crashing issue I was experiencing. One thing was very consistent during my time trouble shooting and that was that DRM content played if the IGPU was disabled. The other thing that was very consistent was that all the ports worked on the DGPU without whatevergreen if you were using an SM of a Mac mini or Mac Pro basically the models that were not All in One.

I also did a lot of testing and reading. What really help me was the shiki FAQ. Search for FAQ.Shiki.en It's on the WhateverGreen GitHub web page.
Another side note: After adding the right boot argument, Apple TV+ can still fail and not work. What I did was:

1. Click on the TV Menu

2. Select Preferences


3. Click on advance






4. Click on the three boxes and then on OK



5. Quit the TV app


6. Finally when I tried again it work.

There is also some commands to clear things up that might help with other errors...

 

[LisaAlterEgo]

Remember to add the following boot arguments in your config.plist: shikigva=160 shiki-id=Mac-7BA5B2D9E42DDD94

I think the advice about setting shikivga=160 is one option in the new Whatevergreen documentation,
and another option is shikigva=16. I don't think you should add the shiki-id when you are using the
shikigva=16 option.

The shiki flags are enumerated in

acidanthera/WhateverGreen

Various patches necessary for certain ATI/AMD/Intel/Nvidia GPUs - acidanthera/WhateverGreen

github.com

.

One new addition is "UseHWDrmDecoder". As it says there:

// Use hardware decoder (normally AMD) by pretending to be iMacPro in apps that require it.
// For example, in Music.app or in TV.app for TV+.
UseHwDrmDecoder = 16,

There is also a new addition "UseLegacyHwDrmDecoder" = 128.

You can see the effect of shikigva=16 in IORegistryExplorer under Root / <SMBios system Identifier>. You will
see a new property called "hwdrm-id" with the identifier for an iMacPro1,1: <"Mac-7BA5B2D9E42DDD94">

Your suggestion is the one given in the documentation for an SMBios identification of a MacPro5,1. It tells
the new DRM implementation to use the LegacyHwDRM (128) with a replaced board-id (32). I'm testing your
suggestion when the legacy is HD2500 graphics, and will report back on that.

 

[tecnicasopr]

tecnicasopr,

I think the advice about setting shikivga=160 is a typo in the documentation, and it should be shikigva=16.
I also don't think you need to add the shiki-id when you are using shikigva=16.

The shiki flags are enumerated in

acidanthera/WhateverGreen

Various patches necessary for certain ATI/AMD/Intel/Nvidia GPUs - acidanthera/WhateverGreen

github.com

.

The new addition is "UseHWDrmDecoder". As it says there

// Use hardware decoder (normally AMD) by pretending to be iMacPro in apps that require it.

// For example, in Music.app or in TV.app for TV+. UseHwDrmDecoder = 16,

There is also a "UseLegacyHwDrmDecoder" = 128.

You can see the effect of shikigva=16 in IORegistryExplorer under Root / <SMBios system Identifier>. You will
see a new property called "hwdrm-id" with the identifier for a iMcPro1,1: <"Mac-7BA5B2D9E42DDD94">

I already did the testing with all the different boot arguments available and the only one that work for me was:

shikigva=160
shiki-id=Mac-7BA5B2D9E42DDD94

And it's not a typo because I copy and paste it directly from the original source document which is "FAQ.Shiki.en.md"
I really like to make it work with something else and not have to spoof a different id-board, especially because iMac 17,1 SMBIOS is suppose to be one of the boards supported. But it seems that the spoofing is done only between the Apple Services, the system keeps working with the original SMBIOS which is important for better hardware functionality and power management. When I read the article I thought that the best option could be: shikigva=16, because this is suppose to be use for enabling AMD DRM for Music, Safari, TV, leaving IGPU for other applications. But when I tried, I didn't work for me. I'll try again when I have time and see if I find another piece of the puzzle. But right now the one that I'm using, (which is recomended for MacPro 5,1) is working fine with my system...

 

[LisaAlterEgo]

Thank you for clarifying that. I'm also testing the various permutations, and
can see activity on the IGPU with the shikigva=160 setting, but I'm still not
decoding DRM properly. I'm thinking the HD2500 graphics of the i5-3470 are
simply deficient, but don't have a definite answer.

 

[tecnicasopr]

Thank you for clarifying that. I'm also testing the various permutations, and
can see activity on the IGPU with the shikigva=160 setting, but I'm still not
decoding DRM properly. I'm thinking the HD2500 graphics of the i5-3470 are
simply deficient, but don't have a definite answer.

Do you have WhateverGreen.kext version 1.3.5 ? It's not availble yet for download, it must be compile. Do you have a dedicated graphics with your IGPU ?

 

[Asural]

@LisaAlterEgo, I don't use this feature myself, but I am interested in the test results.
Please test whether it works with the attached file.
I deleted it because I received it.