tuner device keeps becoming "unavailable"

[RobBob]

I have a (admittedly inexpensive) USB tuner stick that has always worked fine with NPVR ver 4. Now I'm getting issues with NPVR ver 6.1.1 apparently not recognizing it. The tuner shows up in Windows 10 Device Manager (with no errors), it shows up in the NPVR Devices list (BDA 2870 TVtuner #0), it scans and pulls in all the ATSC channels in my area, the EPG updates, but when I close NPVR and reopen it, the device shows "unavailable" in the Device Settings. When I try Live TV I get "Unable to find available capture device". I have "Scan devices at startup" checked. The only way I can seem to get it to work is to rescan the channels every time - quite a pain in the behind. Don't know what else to do... 

Thanks

[mvallevand]

The Realtek 2870 drivers on Windows are unreliable at best. I have found that NextPVR doesn't necessarily unlock digital tuners after the scan so you might need to restart the server when the scan.

Also how long are you letting the OTA EPG update run for? It can easily be half an hour at 1 minute per channel.

Martin

[RobBob]

Thanks for the quick reply Martin!

Unfortunately, I'm not sure what you mean by "restart the server". I've used the Windows client and the web-based version, shutting down and restarting both several times to no avail.
The EPG seems to be updating fine (far as I can tell). I let it run its full duration. With only 7 frequencies to scan (38 channels total) it takes less than 10 minutes.

The weird thing is that it worked fine in Windows 10 before, on NPVR ver 4.x (not sure the exact ver number).

[mvallevand]

We can't help you without the zipped logs.

Martin

[RobBob]

Sorry for late response. Haven't been able to get back to this for awhile.

Here's my latest:

1. Uninstalled latest NPVR, reinstalled 4.2.5. Tuner was showing in Windows Device Manager and NPVR so did channel scan. Found 38.
2. Shutdown NPVR, rebooted. Tuner now no longer shows in Device Manager. Unplugged, waited 10 sec, replugged. Still nothing.
3. Fired up 4.2.5 and clicked around (EPG, Settings, etc). Still nothing in Device Manager.
4. Unplugged tuner (with NPVR still running), waited 10 sec, replugged. It now shows in Device Manager and everything seems to work
5. Unplugged tuner again (with NPVR still running), waited 10 sec, replugged. Again, tuner now shows in DM (Device Manager) and everything works.

6. Uninstalled 4.2.5, rebooted, reinstalled 6.1.1 but didn't change anything. Rebooted again. After 2nd reboot, no tuner in DM. Unplugged, replugged, still no tuner in DM - same as #2 above.
7. Fired up 6.1.1, and clicked around. Went to Settings > Devices. Nothing there but IPTV Device.
8. Clicked on Rescan For Devices. Still nothing. Poked around in other settings, then went back to Devices. Still only IPTV Device.
9. Unplugged tuner (with NPVR running), waited, replugged - same as #4 above. Nothing. No tuner in DM, nothing.
10. Rebooted and tried #7 - #9 again. Still no tuner in DM or anywhere.

I'm left to conclude there's something wonky with either the tuner or it's driver. I'll look for updated drivers but the tuner is an old off-brand so don't expect much luck.
I've included the latest log files (from after #8), hopefully there's something worth noting. I was hoping to turn my new laptop into a portable DVR, but that's not looking hopeful at this point.

Thanks again for your time!

[mvallevand]

I did mention the device was not reliable. If you want a portable DVR on the laptop get a better tuner device or switch to Linux and even there you will find many variations of the Realtek tuners and some work better than others.

Martin

[RobBob]

Yes you did. But sometimes I get (too) bull-headed stubborn to make something work - especially when I feel it SHOULD work. Alas, this time I guess I'll have to pursue other options.

Thanks.