Zero Length Recording Files

[whurlston]

Code:

2009-11-15 14:29:05.859    VERBOSE    locked=1    present=1     strength=100     quality=0

Do you have any amplifiers installed on the line? It looks like the signal is too hot. (over amplified).

[cmattus]

No, I do not have any amplifiers in the antenna signal path. I have a 15-year-old Radio Shack directional UHF antenna inside my attic collecting signal through the roof of my two story home. It's a dipole with corner reflector and periodic directors (Yagi). The signal from the antenna is routed through a 3-way splitter (for 2 other TVs) before being connected to the HVR-1600. Last night I did notice that the signal strength reported while scanning for channels appears rather high. I don't know what units are being used, but I typically see -1000 for strength and 100 for quality when a channel is found during scanning. One of my TVs has a signal strength diagnostic mode that displays a real-time SNR value. For most channels, I see a SNR in the range of 30-32 db. Not clear how this might be related to the problem but, I believe I still have a 5dB attenuator in a box of old antenna goodies. I will try placing it in-line and report back with what I find.

[cmattus]

I found the attenuator (it turned out to be 6dB instead of 5dB) and placed it in line. Once again. no change. I can view all channels and record/pause all except 31.1 and 43.1. I scanned for channels again and paid closer attention to the "Strength" and "Quality" values displayed when a signal was found. All channels except one (59.1) displayed "Strength -10000" and "Quality 100". Channel 59.1 displayed "Strength -2000" and "Quality 84".

I really don't understand how the capture card can lock on to a channel and extract the video and audio streams for live viewing but fail when it attempts to store this data in a file. What's even more frustrating is that it does work properly for some channels and not for others, even when they have the same stream types.

[soccerdad]

Well this sounds odd, but I had the same basic issue, mostly with back to back failures. Some one suggested it might be my hard drive going bad. I didn't believe it, but the system started to go less stable so I threw in a new drive and no longer have any issues. It was likely some config or driver issue, but the new drive and reload fixed the problem. It is worth noting that I replaced the drive, then installed pvrx2, along with the needed filters, then I copied my entire previous gbpvr directory over the new install (so I would not have to set up the tuners, comskip, epg, etc) and it works fine. So the issue could not have been in my gbpvr config. I know it is odd, but food for thought.

[8ace]

did anyone ever make any progress with this?

[whurlston]

8ace, I looked at your logs again and I missed this the first time:

Code:

2009-11-15 01:59:03.750    VERBOSE    FindFilterByName failed to locate filter: GB-PVR PSI Parser

Try running Re-RegisterFilters.bat located in the GBPVR program directory. You will need to "Run as Admin" if on Vista or Win7

[cmattus]

I uninstalled version 1.4.7 and re-installed version 1.2.13. I kept the config.xml and gbpvr.db3 files from the 1.4.7 install so everything was configured the same. I am once again able to record and pause all channels (using version 1.2.13). Sure would be nice to know what version 1.4.7 didn't like about channels 31.1 and 43.1. For now, I guess I'll be running 1.2.13 and watching the support forum for more clues. Chalk up another one for "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

[8ace]

I uninstalled version 1.4.7 and re-installed version 1.2.13. I kept the config.xml and gbpvr.db3 files from the 1.4.7 install so everything was configured the same. I am once again able to record and pause all channels (using version 1.2.13). Sure would be nice to know what version 1.4.7 didn't like about channels 31.1 and 43.1. For now, I guess I'll be running 1.2.13 and watching the support forum for more clues. Chalk up another one for "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

Absolutely fresh XP SP3 install. Fresh 1.4.7 install. Scans all channels, but will only record 0KB apart from on one channel KVUEDT.

I did an uninstall and followed cmattus' luck... went retro for 1.2.13 ....
PERFECT RECORDINGS ON ALL CHANNELS!

Hope this helps someone... no idea what the delta is between the versions.

cheers

[cmattus]

Glad to hear you are up and running even if it is with the old version. Going back to 1.2.13 is admittedly something of a retreat, but it has been working well for me. I spent a tremendous amount of time picking through log files and reading about the technical details of the various OTA channels in my area. I expected to find something unique about the 2 channels that produced zero length recordings (I had 7 others that worked fine). I never did find anything significant (except the obvious - channel number). I concluded that there's just something different about 1.4.7 that doesn't work well with my hardware and software configuration. Just for curiosity's sake, what kind of tuner card are you using and what multiplexers does MuxChecker report?

[8ace]

hey.... i'm using a hauppauge 1800 hvr, pci-xpress. Yeah I agree with you about reverting back, it seems defeatist, but at least I can record!

I am not familiar with mux-checker (that's a gbpvr app?), but I use TS-MUX to record ATSC shows over the air (i play them on a Popcorn Hour)

I thought my channel scanning issue might be in some way to do with having the right drivers to preview the channels with when it scans, but I installed the GBPVR app almost immediately after a fresh XP install (once I received SP3 and all the other patches).

I am wondering what would happen if I was to copy the cache for 1.2.13 and reuse that for 1.4.7 ??... (actually maybe I will enjoy a little stability before I mess with it again )