Having issue with Automatic EPG updates on 3.1.1

[gEd]

Sub, just wondering whether you had chance to look at the log and associated info I uploaded? cheers.

[Zeb]

Lao Pan thought he solved this problem by unticking "Update DVB EPG during live tv" on Settings->Misc. If the problem occurs even with that setting unticked, there might still be clues in Lao Pan's post #20. Was your PC asleep prior to EPG update? We can rule out Patch 1 as the cure because haverer2 installed it Oct 14 but joined this thread Oct 17.

[liteswap]

My NPVR machine is asleep before it wakes up (duh!) at 0400 to do the EPG update using Alan Birtles' XMLTV. Using the batch file commands mentioned earlier in this thread, I've set it to restart the recording service afterwards, and that has fixed the null.ts problem but it still refuses to sleep now - and the only thing that's changed is the installation of 3.1.1.

All that said, sub, this remains a great application, for which many thanks.

[mvallevand]

My NPVR machine is asleep before it wakes up (duh!) at 0400 to do the EPG update using Alan Birtles' XMLTV. Using the batch file commands mentioned earlier in this thread, I've set it to restart the recording service afterwards, and that has fixed the null.ts problem but it still refuses to sleep now - and the only thing that's changed is the installation of 3.1.1.

All that said, sub, this remains a great application, for which many thanks.

If you turn off NTray does it sleep?

Martin

[baj1]

+1 on this problem for me as well. I just did a rebuild/upgrade yesterday to 3.1.1 from 2.6.2, and this is new for me. I am using SchedulesDirect and XMLTV EPG. My PC is on 24x7, EPG update is set for 2:08am. I had the additional surprise of seeing the login screen in Win7 this morning, that never use to happen. No screen saver so I'm not sure what would have prompted that. After I logged in NPVR was shown right where I left it last night, along with Firefox and a few other apps.

Logs attached in case anyone is curious.

Thx,
-Brad

[baj1]

So I looked back in my older logs (the one I sent didn't go back to 2am, sorry), and found this:

2013-10-20 02:11:31.849 [DEBUG][14] Registering channel
2013-10-20 02:11:31.849 [DEBUG][14] About to get: ipc://DigitalHost-23/RecorderRemote
2013-10-20 02:11:31.849 [DEBUG][14] Got: ipc://DigitalHost-23/RecorderRemote
2013-10-20 02:11:31.849 [DEBUG][14] Asking NDigitalHost to start: c:\devxxxxxx\null.ts
2013-10-20 02:11:32.487 [DEBUG][14] Scanning Freq:20 SID:1
60 seconds remaining...
2013-10-20 02:11:33.477 [DEBUG][14] Asking NDigitalHost to start: c:\devxxxxxx\null.ts
2013-10-20 02:11:34.067 [DEBUG][14] Scanning Freq:63 SID:4
60 seconds remaining...
2013-10-20 02:11:35.057 [DEBUG][14] Asking NDigitalHost to start: c:\devxxxxxx\null.ts
2013-10-20 02:11:35.647 [DEBUG][14] Scanning Freq:117 SID:66
60 seconds remaining...
2013-10-20 02:11:36.637 [DEBUG][14] Updating recording schedule

So I checked these three channels out. They are junk (Xfinity ad, BMA photo gallery, and a black screen). Then I checked the channel line-up and found they were set to DVB/ATSC EPG. I don't think I set them up that way, at least not that I remember.

I'm going to set them to "none" for EPG. If that doesn't work tonight I'll probably try deleting the channels altogether.

Hope this helps someone.

-Brad

[johnsonx42]

@baj1: yes, only the channels set to get EPG from the broadcast data ("DVB/ATSC EPG") will produce these null.ts recordings. So setting your channels to None will resolve it for you. Not so much for our DVB using friends however, as they often depend on the broadcast epg.

[bavan]

Hi everyone,

I had the same issues with the NULL ts recordings which kept my HTPC running instead of going into sleep modus and having fake recordings all the time to NULL ts files.
I see some comments here about digital tuner EPG updates maybe causing NPVR to keep hanging in NULL ts recording modus. In my system it was the digital tuner which kept NULL ts recordings going and never the analoge tuners so it must be something with the digital tuner settings or live EPG update via the digital channel broadcasts.

For what it's worth I've solved the NULL ts recording by unticking the NPVR setting "Use out of process digital recording" so it's OFF now and I gues recording is not handled in a seperate process anymore (after reboot).

Conclusion: My HTPC does all the recording correctly now, no NULL ts recordings and the HTPC goes to sleep modus and wakes up correctly everytime it needs to start a scheduled recording.
After the scheduled digital or analog channel recording is finished the PC goes back into sleep modus without hanging in NULL ts recording.
My EPG updates are both via XML grabbing and DVBC channel live EPG updates for as well analoge as digital channels. I have a mix of both duo tuners and can record 4 shows at the same time (2 digital + 2 analoge simultanious). This all works fine now and I'm very happy as since 3.1.1 a bug for receiving DVBC data from my digital Hauppauge tuner is fixed and NPVR is much more stable now.

Again for what it is NPVR works great now for about a week so my problem seems to be gone and I left the setting "Out of the process recording" disabled.
I can't comment on the technical aspect of disabling out of process recording but for the moment I leave it like it is until someone finds the root cause.

I hope this helps.
Cheers.

[johnsonx42]

wouldn't be the first time that there have been problems with "out of process digital recording" and epg updates.

[Lao Pan]

From the 3.1.1 change log:

- changes to the way the DVB EPG is collected when using out-of-process digital
- removed out-of-process-recording-service checkbox in Recording settings screen.

I no longer have the check box in my settings screen, but since unticking the [update epg during live TV] box I have not seen the problem re-occur - both with the computer running or asleep prior to the update.
Of course I only get one update per day and so miss any last minute reschedules by the TV co's - which was the reason I was testing that setting.