Recordings truncated for no apparent reason (1 Viewer)

[nick8571]

That was clearly tempting fate, this morning the recording was truncated at 07:54 am (it was scheduled to run until 09:10 am). Interestingly, the last touch on the file (as shown in Explorer) was 09:10 am, but it was just two-thirds the size it should have been.

I'm completely at a loss with this - I can't even imagine what *could* explain the sort of behaviour I'm seeing. I don't have the time or the patience to mess around with it any more, so I'm going back to WMC for TV recording purposes, but if anyone else has any ideas/suggestions, they'll be gratefully received.

 

[elliottmc]

You never did post full logs, just a selection. You will always get more help with full logs.

Were you able to watch TV for the duration of the program? Was it only recording that was affected?

The TBS cards are great (I only have DVB-T(2)).

Mark

 

[nick8571]

I normally schedule the programme to record from 6:00am, and then skip through it for bits of interest when I have time to sit down for a cup of coffee, usually between 08.00 and 08:30. I haven't tried watching it "live" right from the beginning, but the other day I used the Manual Control screen in TV Server Configuration to set it running from the "Start Time Shift" button just befor 6.00am, and the TS packet count stopped increasing at 07:10 (I used CamStudio to record what was happening on the screen). I'm assuming (possibly dangerous) that had I actually been watching it live, it would have come to a juddering halt at that point.

As I mentioned before, I'm not too bothered about this one programme, but if the problem *does* spread elsewhere and my better half misses one of her soaps there will be hell to pay.

I've just collected all the current logs (attached), please let me know if you need any more info.

 

[elliottmc]

Have you tried recording the non-HD version of this program? Is this okay?

Do you have a DVB-T2 card to record the HD channel on freeview?

Mark

 

[nick8571]

Yep, the non-HD version on BBC1 West records fine, both on Freesat and Freeview (the latter from the Mendip transmitter).

I don't have a DVB-T2 card, just the TBS6981 DVB-S2 and an old Hauppauge HVR-1300 (regular DVB-T).

 

[elliottmc]

Do other HD programs record fine? I guess if it is only the breakfast program on BBC HD, then we need to look into what they are doing with the stream, and you note that the regional news is SD, so I am guessing a stream switch is responsible.

I can try to record the same on DVB-T2 and see what happens. The problem is, not many people have DVB-T2 yet, and I'm not sure about DVB-S2, so maybe we have a problem and simply don't have enough reports of it to know.

Mark

 

[nick8571]

Yes, this is what has me banging my head against the wall - other HD programmes are fine, it's just this one channel at this one time which seems to be affected *so far*. Daybreak on ITV1 HD, which is broadcast at around the same time is fine (this is DVB-S, not S2 though I believe), and BBC1 HD is fine at other times.

I'd sort of suspected that something strange was happening with the actual stream or encoding that the BBC use, on the basis that I couldn't think of any other explanation, but if something's going on that somehow stops TsWriter in its tracks without leaving any traces in the logs (itself hard to understand), then why does it happen at different and (apparently) random times between 6.00am and 08.30 or so, and occasionally (eg yesterday) not at all?

FWIW someone at AVForums who has the same card and MePo version recorded an episode of Breakfast at my request, and it completed correctly for the full allotted time, with a filesize as expected of just under 11GB.

I'd almost be happier if the problem *did* start popping up at other times and with other channels, it would somehow seem less weird...[DOUBLEPOST=1341778965][/DOUBLEPOST]Oh, one other thing: I don't think there's a stream switch on BBC1 HD when the regional news is on, if that's what you meant - AFAIK the regional news *only* appears on the local (currently SD-only) channels, BBC1 West in my case. BBC1 HD continues to broadcast in HD with a suggestion that you switch channels for your local news, using a placeholder clip of hippopotami swimming in a circle against a red background.

 

[elliottmc]

How do you know that the local news is transmitted in SD? If there is a switch of encoding type/resolution, maybe this would cause a problem.

MediaPortal 1.3.0Alpha is going to be released very soon. There have been some improvements that could possibly resolve this issue. I would recommend trying it when it is released. I don't know if recording the program myself would make any sense since I am running 1.3.0Alpha now, and you have already had someone record the program with no problems.

One issue did crop up recently for me with a TBS DVB-T2 card - when the weather got warmer, it started overheating, which meant that I had corrupted and incomplete recordings. While I can't see any reason for this to only affect one program, it is worth checking the card, and possibly adding more ventilation or moving it to a different slot if airflow is not good.

 

[nick8571]

No, what I meant is that the local news isn't transmitted *at all* on BBC1 HD - a couple of minutes before each hour and half-hour, the swimming hippopotami appear, with an on-screen message suggesting you switch from BBC1 HD to your paricular BBC regional channel if you want to see your local news. AFAIK the stream continues unchanged and uninterrupted on BBC1 HD itself, you just get to see a highly artistic (and no doubt expensive) graphic for a few minutes.

I don't think my card is overheating, I did pay particular attention to ventilation when I was setting the system up... it's all in an Antec P182 with a 120mm fan attached to the back of the upper HDD cage, blowing directly over the PCI/PCIe slot area. And as you say, it wouldn't explain the specific time/channel oddities.

I'll definitely give 1.3.0 a go when it appears, although to be honest I do suspect it's something to do with my specific setup or environment rather than a general problem...

 

[jameson_uk]

My TV server runs on XP so not sure if this is related or not but I did notice you have

08/07/2012 07:54:27;"Service Control Manager";"(0)";"Information";"The Windows Media Center Scheduler Service service entered the running state.";"1073748860"
08/07/2012 07:54:38;"Service Control Manager";"(0)";"Information";"The Windows Media Center Scheduler Service service entered the stopped state.";"1073748860"
08/07/2012 07:56:03;"Service Control Manager";"(0)";"Information";"The Windows Media Center Scheduler Service service entered the running state.";"1073748860"
08/07/2012 07:56:14;"Service Control Manager";"(0)";"Information";"The Windows Media Center Scheduler Service service entered the stopped state.";"1073748860"

Are you sure the MCE services are disabled? (is there a possible conflict ?)

Also there are lots of errors in the system log about windows search (but most likely that has nothing to do with this)