Vista + MP 1.10: Recordings Consistently Fail (1 Viewer)

BeDucky

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MediaPortal 1.10.0 installed on 32-bit Vista Lenovo X200 Laptop Tablet direct connecting to an old HDHomerun dual tuner with ATSC broadcast input. Watching live TV works fine, but scheduled recordings always fail.
 

mm1352000

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    Hello and welcome :)

    There's a couple of things going on there.

    To fix the problem:
    1. Open TV Server configuration.
    2. Go to the tuner list (expand TV Servers, click on "lenovo-PC").
    3. Select your first HDHR tuner and click "edit".
    4. Change "preferred network provider" to ATSC and click "save".
    5. Repeat instructions 3 and 4 for the second HDHR tuner.
    Second thing: it looks like your channels are only mapped/linked to one tuner, which means that TV Server doesn't know it can use the second tuner to tune them. To fix:
    1. Open TV Server configuration.
    2. Expand the TV Channels section.
    3. Select your first HDHR tuner up the top.
    4. Select any/all channels on the left (select the first, then press [shift] + [end]).
    5. Click ">>" to map/link the channels to the tuner.
    6. Repeat instructions 3, 4 and 5 for your second tuner.
    I'd also recommend that you visit the DVB EPG section and untick the two "enabled" checkboxes. The DVB EPG grabber can't grab ATSC EPG. Leaving it enabled would result in unnecessary power use and wear and tear on your tuners.

    Regards,
    mm
     

    BeDucky

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    Thanks for your help, mm. I'll make the changes and try it again.

    By the way, the reason there aren't any channels mapped to the second tuner is because there aren't any channels to map at the moment. The HDHR is one of the early generations where each tuner needs its own coax input...and I just never got around to buying a cable splitter. I'll order one this weekend. Hopefully this hardware has enough oomph to handle simultaneous recordings.

    Toodles!
     

    BeDucky

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    Sorry to have to report, but the problem persists.

    I changed the tuner preference on both tuners to ATSC (although there still aren't channel mappings on the second tuner), and unchecked everything in the DVB-EPG section. When that didn't work, I tried changing the tuner priorities, but when that didn't work I switched them back. The last thing I've tried was unchecking the "Allow this card to be used for EPG grabbing" in the tuner edit options.

    I'm happy to try any further suggestions anyone can suggest. Thanks!
     

    BeDucky

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    I'm pleased to report that it's working now. Yay!
    I'm confused to report that it started working without applying the patch you linked me to. Huh?

    I was about to apply the patch when it occurred to me that I hadn't tried a Record Now of something that was already displaying, so I gave it a shot...and it worked. Um...

    Well, I thought, trying one more scheduled recording wouldn't hurt, and when it failed I could go ahead with the patch. But it didn't fail, because computers are jerks. This is why we can't let computers become smart enough to take over the world. It's not because they'd go all psycho and wipe us out, it's because they'd be *terrible* people to work for. WORST. OFFICE. ENVIRONMENT. EVER.

    Thanks for all your help, mm. Toodles!
     

    mm1352000

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    I hate to be a wet blanket, but I think you'll find that your celebrations are premature.

    The issue I was seeing in your log files was that retuning channels was failing. In other words: if you started live TV on any channel... then stopped live TV... then tried to start live TV on the same channel... it would fail. If you then tried to start a channel that is broadcast on a different frequency (AKA physical channel) it would have succeeded... and then you could change to the original channel again. Same limit/issue would apply with recordings.
     

    BeDucky

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    Ah, I see! Apply the patch, it is then.

    Computers are still terrible coworkers, though.

    Thanks again.
     

    BeDucky

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    It took me the better part of a week to realize that the reason I hadn't gotten a response to my last post in this thread is that it hadn't actually published. Clearly I am not management material either.

    In any case, the problem persists, I'm sorry to report. I tried to record two consecutive shows on the same physical channel on two separate occasions, and each time the first recording works, but the second fails. Logs appended...

    Thanks again.
     

    mm1352000

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    It took me the better part of a week to realize that the reason I hadn't gotten a response to my last post in this thread is that it hadn't actually published.
    Heh, that would certainly do it. :)

    In any case, the problem persists, I'm sorry to report. I tried to record two consecutive shows on the same physical channel on two separate occasions, and each time the first recording works, but the second fails. Logs appended...
    Thanks for the log files. (y)
    First impression: they're huuuuuuge! The TsWriter log alone is 3.3 million lines long.

    It looks like the patch is functioning as intended... but without the intended effect. I'm now starting to wonder whether this is a signal strength/quality problem that is only affecting one physical channel (ch 13). Reported signal strength and quality appear to be 0:
    [2015-03-29 20:58:00,173] [Log ] [scheduler thread] [INFO ] - atsc:Tune:ATSC:tv:Terrestrial WNYA-HD Freq:-1 ONID:1 TSID:3711 SID:3 PMT:0x30 FTA:True LCN:13 phys:13 maj:51 min:1 mod:Mod8Vsb
    ...
    [2015-03-29 20:58:08,178] [Log ] [scheduler thread] [INFO ] - ***** SIGNAL LEVEL: 0, SIGNAL QUALITY: 0 *****

    ...and the TsWriter log fills with continuity errors (hence the 3.3 million lines) when you tune channels that are carried on that physical channel (eg. WNYA). Stream continuity errors are most commonly caused by 2 things:
    1. Low signal strength and/or quality.
    2. High timeshift and/or recording HDD load (often caused by security software such as anti-spyware and anti-virus products which attempt to scan the contents of the timeshift and/or recording folders).
    Could one of these be affecting you?
     

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