Recording/EPG issue (1 Viewer)

limpwhizkid

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  • February 22, 2008
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    When you select a tv show to record in a few days , and meanwhile the EPG gets an update with a different start/end time of the show the following issues come in play:
    1) there is no red marking on the to be recorded show in the EPG if the time has changed (but it does record)
    2) if the starttime of this tvshow is changed more then 10 minutes ahead, you could end up missing the end of the show, because the recording does only the start/stop time when you set the recording.

    This has started since Ziggo has been bought by UPC :( with the real ziggo never a problem with the EPG

    So the real question is if MP can be adjusted to record the correct times when the EPG changes for the "to be recorded show" ?

    I cant use advanced recordings anymore this way, because when i select a soap for the weekdays for the wife.
    it will be selected to record when the show appears on EPG (with wrong start time)
    Now the only way to get proper recordings is to manually select every recording every day (max 8 hours ahead)
     

    CyberSimian

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    I cant use advanced recordings anymore this way, because when i select a soap for the weekdays for the wife, it will be selected to record when the show appears on EPG (with wrong start time)
    If you use advanced recording such as "weekly on this channel" or "every time on this channel", and the EPG changes after the programme has first appeared in the EPG, MP should record both the old scheduled times and the new scheduled times; that is how it works for me (MP 1.9.0 pre). So you end up with two recordings -- one which is complete, and one which may be missing the start or end of the programme. That is a bit of a nuisance, but at least you won't miss anything. :)

    If you use the advanced recording options that fix the time of day, then you will get only one recording, and so may miss the start or end of the programme. It sounds as though this is what you are using.

    So the real question is if MP can be adjusted to record the correct times when the EPG changes for the "to be recorded show"?
    I completely agree that MP should be able to do this. But alas, currently it does not. :(

    Windows Media Center uses a "fuzzy match" algorithm to track programmes if they move around the EPG. On Vista, the programme is recorded if it is broadcast within plus/minus 2 hours of the originally scheduled start time. I understand that Windows 7 reduced this fuzzy match to plus/minus 15 minutes, and people who use Win7 MC have commented that plus/minus 15 minutes is too small to be useful. If a fuzzy match algorithm is added to MP sometime in the future, the acceptable range of times should (of course) be specifiable by the user, for each programme scheduled.

    -- from CyberSimian in the UK
     
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    limpwhizkid

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    I cant use advanced recordings anymore this way, because when i select a soap for the weekdays for the wife, it will be selected to record when the show appears on EPG (with wrong start time)
    If you use advanced recording such as "weekly on this channel" or "every time on this channel", and the EPG changes after the programme has first appeared in the EPG, MP should record both the old scheduled times and the new scheduled times; that is how it works for me (MP 1.9.0 pre). So you end up with two recordings -- one which is complete, and one which may be missing the start or end of the programme. That is a bit of a nuisance, but at least you won't miss anything. :)

    If you use the advanced recording options that fix the time of day, then you will get only one recording, and so may miss the start or end of the programme. It sounds as though this is what you are using.

    So the real question is if MP can be adjusted to record the correct times when the EPG changes for the "to be recorded show"?
    I completely agree that MP should be able to do this. But alas, currently it does not. :(

    Windows Media Center uses a "fuzzy match" algorithm to track programmes if they move around the EPG. On Vista, the programme is recorded if it is broadcast within plus/minus 2 hours of the originally scheduled start time. I understand that Windows 7 reduced this fuzzy match to plus/minus 15 minutes, and people who use Win7 MC have commented that plus/minus 15 minutes is too small to be useful. If a fuzzy match algorithm is added to MP sometime in the future, the acceptable range of times should (of course) be specifiable by the user, for each programme scheduled.

    -- from CyberSimian in the UK
    Yes , soap recording on mon-fri option from advanced. wife unhappy.

    I changed the option to everytime on this channel and have a look this week , thanks for the tip!
    It does record the rerun in the morning now also but i take that rather then an unhappy wife ;)
     

    CyberSimian

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    I changed the option to everytime on this channel and have a look this week , thanks for the tip! It does record the rerun in the morning now also but i take that rather then an unhappy wife ;)
    If you also receive "omnibus" editions broadcast at the weekends, you could avoid those by setting up five separate "weekly on this channel" schedules, one for each day of the working week (i.e. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday).

    I have done this in the past for a programme that had two episodes each week on different days, with repeats of those episodes on other days. A single "every time on this channel" schedule would record new episodes and repeats, but two separate "weekly on this channel" schedules would record the new episodes only. Of course, this technique works only if the repeats are not broadcast on the same days of the week as the new episodes.

    -- from CyberSimian in the UK
     

    limpwhizkid

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  • February 22, 2008
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    If episode info is transmitted in EPG, then you can activate the option in TV Server to not record duplicates.
    Ok , thx will look into that..

    If you also receive "omnibus" editions broadcast at the weekends, you could avoid those by setting up five separate "weekly on this channel" schedules, one for each day of the working week (i.e. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday).

    I have done this in the past for a programme that had two episodes each week on different days, with repeats of those episodes on other days. A single "every time on this channel" schedule would record new episodes and repeats, but two separate "weekly on this channel" schedules would record the new episodes only. Of course, this technique works only if the repeats are not broadcast on the same days of the week as the new episodes.

    -- from CyberSimian in the UK

    lol , i thought about that, but decided it was to much effort :) , instead i gave the wife the when you have watched a show press, i on remote, and choose option 2 (delete) speech :)
     

    mrkaras

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    I were about to post on what is probably the same issue, this clear up what is going on a fair bit (though it points out how badly broken it is).
    I frequently schedule recording then later when the time comes the red dot is mysteriously gone, as far as I know they don't record but is sounds like they possibly do.
    I also very frequently get 2 recording for one program, with start times very close, quite annoying.
    why doesn't MP just record programs when the EPG says there on? if the EPG changes then record at the new time? I don't see how its that complicated, if program x was on at 8:30 and when 8:30 come along there is something else on in the EPG, simply don't record it? both the EPG and the recording schedules are in a database aren't they, it should be quick to run a query after an EPG update to check for recording of the names specified, none of the data would be very big as far as databases go.
     

    limpwhizkid

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    I were about to post on what is probably the same issue, this clear up what is going on a fair bit (though it points out how badly broken it is).
    I frequently schedule recording then later when the time comes the red dot is mysteriously gone, as far as I know they don't record but is sounds like they possibly do.
    I also very frequently get 2 recording for one program, with start times very close, quite annoying.
    why doesn't MP just record programs when the EPG says there on? if the EPG changes then record at the new time? I don't see how its that complicated, if program x was on at 8:30 and when 8:30 come along there is something else on in the EPG, simply don't record it? both the EPG and the recording schedules are in a database aren't they, it should be quick to run a query after an EPG update to check for recording of the names specified, none of the data would be very big as far as databases go.
    things can look simple to fix, but can actually be very difficult to implement, i dont know if this is true or not for this case.
    sofar there is no respons from any developer to consider this a "bug to be fixed" , just be patient , everybody is donating their free time to make this program, dont forget that.
     

    hurley

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    I were about to post on what is probably the same issue, this clear up what is going on a fair bit (though it points out how badly broken it is).
    I frequently schedule recording then later when the time comes the red dot is mysteriously gone, as far as I know they don't record but is sounds like they possibly do.
    I also very frequently get 2 recording for one program, with start times very close, quite annoying.
    why doesn't MP just record programs when the EPG says there on? if the EPG changes then record at the new time? I don't see how its that complicated, if program x was on at 8:30 and when 8:30 come along there is something else on in the EPG, simply don't record it? both the EPG and the recording schedules are in a database aren't they, it should be quick to run a query after an EPG update to check for recording of the names specified, none of the data would be very big as far as databases go.

    The problems with schedules breaking when the EPG updates depend on the schedule type.
    MediaPortal currently has two broadly different schedule types:

    Time based schedules:
    • Once ("Record once") Internally different but falls in this category
    • Daily ("Record every day at this time")
    • Weekly ("Record every week at this time")
    • Weekends ("Record Weekends")
    • WorkingDays ("Record Weekdays")
    Title based schedules:
    • EveryTimeOnThisChannel ("Record every time on this channel")
    • EveryTimeOnEveryChannel ("Record every time on every channel")
    • WeeklyEveryTimeOnThisChannel ("Weekly on this channel")
    The time based schedules don't appear to take any account of guide data except in relation to marking upcoming recordings in the GUI / TvGuide. (Need to dig deeper into TvPlugun / GUI code to see how this is managed)
    These types -should- record at the set times but may not be marked if the program time/title? changes.
    Also the actual recording will have the name of whatever program is in the EPG at that time.
    (Sometimes this could be the show before the one you want)

    The EveryTime types check the EPG data by title or title + channel (+ Day of week for WeeklyEveryTime) so these types will track EPG time changes but will fail if the program title slightly changes in an EPG update.
    EveryTime types create a new Once schedule when a recording is due.

    It may help to know how they work behind the scenes and choose the most appropriate type.

    I agree there's certainly some room for improvement in MePo's schedules, with the caveat that the task would be epic as the current arrangement is woven into a lot of code.
    But keep in mind that MediaPortal evolved over a long period where features not foreseen have been added over time.
    I've read that there is a lot of work being done on TvEngine 3.5 so there may be some improvements there.
    ...

    I'm currently working on a plugin primarily for another purpose (removing spam from guide data) but it also includes a schedule repair component which addresses some of these issues. It can be used with the cleaning part disabled.

    It's in early alpha stage at the moment and posted/hidden here: EPGCleaner
    I would welcome brave alpha testers.

    This plugin repairs:
    • Once schedule types where the start/end/title changes.
    • Actively recording schedules where the end time changes after starting. (For Once and Everytime types)
    • Cancelled Everytime type series schedules which un-cancel because the start time changed.
    I've experimented with repairing the time based schedules but haven't found a satisfactory and reliable way to manage that from a plugin as yet and would probably need to part out to a dedicated plugin for that...
    When repaired these are properly marked in the TvGuide etc.

    Alternatively using an advanced scheduler plugin like TvWishList might be helpful.

    regards, hurley :)
     

    limpwhizkid

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  • February 22, 2008
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    I were about to post on what is probably the same issue, this clear up what is going on a fair bit (though it points out how badly broken it is).
    I frequently schedule recording then later when the time comes the red dot is mysteriously gone, as far as I know they don't record but is sounds like they possibly do.
    I also very frequently get 2 recording for one program, with start times very close, quite annoying.
    why doesn't MP just record programs when the EPG says there on? if the EPG changes then record at the new time? I don't see how its that complicated, if program x was on at 8:30 and when 8:30 come along there is something else on in the EPG, simply don't record it? both the EPG and the recording schedules are in a database aren't they, it should be quick to run a query after an EPG update to check for recording of the names specified, none of the data would be very big as far as databases go.

    The problems with schedules breaking when the EPG updates depend on the schedule type.
    MediaPortal currently has two broadly different schedule types:

    Time based schedules:
    • Once ("Record once") Internally different but falls in this category
    • Daily ("Record every day at this time")
    • Weekly ("Record every week at this time")
    • Weekends ("Record Weekends")
    • WorkingDays ("Record Weekdays")
    Title based schedules:
    • EveryTimeOnThisChannel ("Record every time on this channel")
    • EveryTimeOnEveryChannel ("Record every time on every channel")
    • WeeklyEveryTimeOnThisChannel ("Weekly on this channel")
    The time based schedules don't appear to take any account of guide data except in relation to marking upcoming recordings in the GUI / TvGuide. (Need to dig deeper into TvPlugun / GUI code to see how this is managed)
    These types -should- record at the set times but may not be marked if the program time/title? changes.
    Also the actual recording will have the name of whatever program is in the EPG at that time.
    (Sometimes this could be the show before the one you want)

    The EveryTime types check the EPG data by title or title + channel (+ Day of week for WeeklyEveryTime) so these types will track EPG time changes but will fail if the program title slightly changes in an EPG update.
    EveryTime types create a new Once schedule when a recording is due.

    It may help to know how they work behind the scenes and choose the most appropriate type.

    I agree there's certainly some room for improvement in MePo's schedules, with the caveat that the task would be epic as the current arrangement is woven into a lot of code.
    But keep in mind that MediaPortal evolved over a long period where features not foreseen have been added over time.
    I've read that there is a lot of work being done on TvEngine 3.5 so there may be some improvements there.
    ...

    I'm currently working on a plugin primarily for another purpose (removing spam from guide data) but it also includes a schedule repair component which addresses some of these issues. It can be used with the cleaning part disabled.

    It's in early alpha stage at the moment and posted/hidden here: EPGCleaner
    I would welcome brave alpha testers.

    This plugin repairs:
    • Once schedule types where the start/end/title changes.
    • Actively recording schedules where the end time changes after starting. (For Once and Everytime types)
    • Cancelled Everytime type series schedules which un-cancel because the start time changed.
    I've experimented with repairing the time based schedules but haven't found a satisfactory and reliable way to manage that from a plugin as yet and would probably need to part out to a dedicated plugin for that...
    When repaired these are properly marked in the TvGuide etc.

    Alternatively using an advanced scheduler plugin like TvWishList might be helpful.

    regards, hurley :)

    wow.. thank you for your typingwork , that took a while , appreciated!

    Timebased is not usefull, when a user selects a show, and sees an option to record the show on weekdays, you expect it to be based on the show , not on time. thats where the confusion starts in my view.
    Nevertheless, your story makes it crystal clear what should be used, in that sense, its not really a bug, but to say it works as expected is a bridge to far also.
    because when you use title based recordings and the EPG start time changes, it makes duplicate recordings, 1 of the Original starttime, and one for the changed starttime. that is confusing also :)

    I hear good storys about tvwishlist, and was planning to try it this weekend, it should do what i want, based on epg as far as i have been told.
     

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