Recordings fail: empty .ts file (1 Viewer)

willemx

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  • November 20, 2008
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    TV-Server Version: 1.0
    MediaPortal Version: 1.0
    MediaPortal Skin: Blue 3
    Windows Version: XP Pro SP3
    CPU Type: Intel Core 2 6400 2.14GHz
    HDD: 3 x WDC3200KS
    Memory: 2 GB
    Motherboard: ASUS P5W DH Deluxe
    Video Card: NVIDEA GeForce 7600 GS
    Video Card Driver: 6.14.11.7824
    Sound Card: Realtek on MB
    Sound Card AC3:
    Sound Card Driver: 5.10.0.5247
    1. TV Card: FireDTV DVB-S2
    1. TV Card Type: DVB-S
    1. TV Card Driver: 5.0.1.0
    2. TV Card: FireDTV DVB-S2
    2. TV Card Type: DVB-S
    2. TV Card Driver: 5.0.1.0
    3. TV Card: Terratec Cinergy 2400i
    3. TV Card Type: dual DVB-T
    3. TV Card Driver: 1.1.0.283
    4. TV Card:
    4. TV Card Type:
    4. TV Card Driver:
    MPEG2 Video Codec: ffdshow
    MPEG2 Audio Codec: ffdshow
    h.264 Video Codec: ffdshow
    Satelite/CableTV Provider: Astra 19, Astra 23, Astra 28, Hotbird, KPN Digitenne
    HTPC Case: Antec P180
    Cooling: Antec
    Power Supply: Antec
    Remote:
    TV: Eizo HD2441W
    TV - HTPC Connection: DVI

    My TV-server frequently fails to record a tv show. Most recordings succeed, but sometimes a recording results in an empty .ts-file. I have attached logfiles for one evening when I scheduled six recordings:
    23-1-2009 20:00:07-23-1-2009 20:30:00 NOS Journaal
    23-1-2009 20:20:05-23-1-2009 20:30:00 Jasbuus vol Drents.
    23-1-2009 20:25:11-23-1-2009 23:10:00 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
    23-1-2009 23:25:02-24-1-2009 1:45:00 Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
    23-1-2009 23:25:05-24-1-2009 0:55:00 Cinema 2: Me and you and everyone we know
    23-1-2009 23:50:12-24-1-2009 0:50:00 Twin Peaks
    Five recordings completed succesfully, but (to my son's big disappointment) the third one (Star wars:Episode III) failed, only producing an empty .ts-file, see attached dirlist.
    I am unable to detect a cause for this behaviour in the logfiles; can someone help me with this problem?
     

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    willemx

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    baffledboy: Free disk space on recording volume is >100 GB, so I don't think this is a problem. Also: subsequent recordings of comparable size have succeeded.

    revs: The ":" is not the problem either, because the next recording "Cinema 2: Me and you and everyone we know" (including a ":") also succeeded.

    BTW: I do appreciate your suggestions very much; it is a great comfort to know that someone is listening...
     

    Mart

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    July 3, 2008
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    Searching for my problem lead me to this thread. I experience the same problem: 0 byte .ts files. The only thing is that it only happens when I program a recording manually.
     

    willemx

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    Hi Mart,
    This is a very weird problem. When I started this tread, my recordings only occasionally failed; most recordings were OK. Soon after that, things got really worse: most of my recordings failed and only some succeeded. It turned out that only recordings using my DVB-T card (Terratec Cinergy 2400i)
    succeeded; recordings from my DVB-S cards (FloppyDTV S2) allways failed, except when I started the recording manually (selecting the channel to watch it live and then pressing "record now").
    However, a few days ago, the problem has mysteriously disappeared and now all my scheduled recordings are fine again. During the last week I have not changed anything to my TV server or to the MP configuration settings, so I am completely in the dark as to how this is possible.
    This leaves me with an uneasy feeling. (I don't dare to let the wife and kids use MP again before I am convinced that the problem is really solved; I am afraid that I won't have a family life anymore if I screw up another Desperate housewives or StarWars recording...)
     

    Paranoid Delusion

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    One of the most common failures seems to be not saving recorded\timeshift folder details correctly, this needs to be done for each tuner under the recorded folder tab and then saved, even though there are defaults set, TVServer may not use them :(
     

    willemx

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    PD,

    I am very sure that my recording folder settings are OK for each of my tuners. I have separate disks appointed to my DVB-T and DVB-S recording folders. (And I have played with these settings (swapped them several times) trying to solve my problems...)

    To really solve this problem, I think we need more detailed logging info. There is not enough information (at least not for me...) in the current log files to see what is going wrong. I cannot even see that something IS going wrong.
    I would suggest that more error status checking in the recording code could also help. It seems strange to me that MP can think that it is recording a program (that means writing data into a file) while actually there is no data being written at all. When the recording is finished and the file is closed, I think MP should at least check the recording file size to see if it matches the amount of data that MP thinks it has written into it.

    BTW: Thank you for your advice; it is because there are people out there like you that take the trouble to look into these nasty problems that I am not giving up on MP.
     

    Mart

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    July 3, 2008
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    One of the most common failures seems to be not saving recorded\timeshift folder details correctly, this needs to be done for each tuner under the recorded folder tab and then saved, even though there are defaults set, TVServer may not use them :(

    Thanks for the tip. I will try your suggestion later this week and see if it helps.
     

    Paranoid Delusion

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  • June 13, 2005
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    Most of these problems are "user permissions" when installing MP, for htpc use, I cannot recommend anything bar a full admin account be used to install\configure MP, especially if there may be "other users" who have access to the pc.
    under the above circumstances, even uninstalling\reinstalling MP with admin priveleges may not take correctly and still give errors, like failed recordings.

    BTW: Thank you for your advice; it is because there are people out there like you that take the trouble to look into these nasty problems that I am not giving up on MP.

    Thanks for the compliment, i get it from the rest of the guys that support the forum :D
     

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