Recordings doesn't use same channel tuners

[mvallevand]

mvallevand, get some dark goggles for the low-yield nuclear detonation that may result when Handy.Man screws with his database!

I'm still trying to figure out why he is screwing around with the padding. Canadian TV like US is very accurate because of the network scheduling and I'd be hard pressed to find an Infoman that needed adjustment.

Martin

[Handy.Man]

you shouldn't have all those zeros in the priority column. by default priority=oid and can never be zero. either something went very wrong during the upgrade when adjustable priority was added (3 or 4 releases ago at least), or TV Listings is doing this; I'd bet on the latter. I don't know how much alibert keeps TV Listings up to date; he isn't very active any more.

I opened the db3 from 00:41:48 and "La Semaine Verte" was with priority 83, so maybe just changing priority in NextPVR did shifted it to 0.

After fixing the db3, I will change some priorities and check if any changes to 0.

[johnsonx42]

if you have any recordings with priority=0, when you try to change priorities the zeroes will spread to other recordings. this is because the code doesn't expect any recording to have a priority of 0, and doesn't handle this condition (i.e. nothing in nextpvr will ever set priority=0, so the code doesn't account for that possibility). once you get rid of the zeros, and don't re-introduce any by using tv listings, the problem will not come back.

[Graham]

... re-introduce any by using tv listings, the problem will not come back.

I use TV Listings exclusively to specify recordings (quick and recurring) and have done for years and I have no zeroes in my priority column ... I don't think it's TV Listings that is responsible for the zeroes.

[johnsonx42]

I use TV Listings exclusively to specify recordings (quick and recurring) and have done for years and I have no zeroes in my priority column ... I don't think it's TV Listings that is responsible for the zeroes.

Then perhaps it was just some error during a past upgrade. I've not been able to get nextpvr to create any zeroes if none already existed. If Handy.Man can produce a scenario where NextPVR creates a zero in that column (where none existed before), then I'm sure sub will be happy to fix it.

[Handy.Man]

So I did the sqlite3.exe "npvr.db3" "UPDATE RECURRING_RECORDING SET priority=oid"
Then I changed the priority of recordings to my need and everything looks fine, I didn't "generate" any with priority 0 :-)

According to the Wiki :

Recurring recordings will be assigned a priority based on the order of your list with the highest priority going to the programme listed at the top.

In SQL term, I assumed that the lower numbers have the highest priority.

[Handy.Man]

I'm not going to change it to display or select the tuner, because there is so many situations that can cause it to move the recording to another tuner at recording time, that it'll just lead to numerous support posts saying 'it didn't record on the tuner it said it would' or 'it didn't record on the tuner I asked it to'.

At the end of the day, the app tries it's best to make sure it can do all the recordings requested. The tuner it'll ends up using is not always known in advance.

If it was displayed, we could take "evasive" manoeuvers and cancel recordings that would cause more important show to be interrupted.

Instead of "selecting" the tuner to use, what about giving tuner hints to the scheduler? So we could propose a plausible solution to start with and let the scheduler adjust the surrounding recordings.

Another feature could be to add a option to link a recording to another recording, that would align recordings on a channel to be recorded back to back on the same tuner with 30-60seconds overlap.

[johnsonx42]

In SQL term, I assumed that the lower numbers have the highest priority.

Correct.

[Handy.Man]

Changing the priority of Recurring Recordings seems to help align the channel on the same tuner.

From what I understand, during an EPG Update the scheduler will :

Program each Recurring Recordings using the ascending priority order and schedule recordings using first available tuner for that time-slot according to the priority without regards to padding or surrounding recordings.

Then it will schedule Quick Recordings in the order they present themselves chronologically, using the first available tuner for that time-slot without regards to padding or surrounding recordings. If no tuner is available, it will create conflict (remove it's scheduling) for the less priority Recurring Recording in the time-slot and schedule the Quick Recording.

So in a situation like this one


Looking at the db3 I find :

Code:

Start Tuner Pre Post CH Title
19:30 26    0   0    2  La Facture
20:00 26    0   1    2  Unité 9
20:00 24    0   0    6  Rick Mercer
20:30 24    1   1    6  22 Minutes
21:00 26    0   0    17 Banc Public
21:00 24    0   0    6  Schitt'S Creek

With this scheduling, the post padding on "Unité 9" can't be honored if next recording "Banc Public" stay scheduled on channel 26, maybe the logic will switch it to Tuner 20. However if no tuner is available, it will cut it short of it's post padding

The workaround I found was to schedule "Mémoires Vives" with a right priority, it will be scheduled to use Tuner 26 and this should allow the post padding for "Unité 9". "Banc Public" will be scheduled to use Tuner 20.
This way I don't have to edit the npvr.db3 file to change tuner for scheduled recordings.

Code:

Start Tuner Pre Post CH Title
19:30 26    0   0    2  La Facture
20:00 26    0   1    2  Unité 9
20:00 24    0   0    6  Rick Mercer
20:30 24    1   1    6  22 Minutes
21:00 26    0   0    2  Mémoires Vives
21:00 24    0   0    6  Schitt'S Creek
21:00 20    0   0    17 Banc Public

Priority of Recurring Recordings on Tuesday Night.


From this I guess pre and post padding are not really feasible unless there are available tuners to switch around Recordings.

[Handy.Man]

I found a strange recording "The National" oid 370784


I did remember resolving a conflict while scheduling CSI: Cyber and cancelling TVA Nouvelles at 22:00
At some point the National 22:00-23:00 (pre padding -1 min , post padding -1 min)
was scheduled as 22:01-22:59 (pre padding -1 min , post padding -1 min), meaning it would have started at 22:02 ending at 22:58. I canceled that pending recording.

I also made a lot of EPG update while scheduling Recuring Recordings and adjusting priority.

I looked thru the logs but they rolled over when I noticed, however I still have the db3 before and after the scheduling of this recording [npvr (4).db3 npvr (5).db3]

https://www.sendspace.com/file/2sd64h