Zero Length Recording Files

[cmattus]

I too am using a hauppauge tuner card. Mine is a HVR-1600 (PCI). I wonder if there are other 1.4.7 users out there with hauppauge hardware that have seen the zero length file problem. From what I have observed of the problem, it is not unreasonable to suspect that something has changed in the way 1.4.7 is passing arguments back and forth to the hauppauge driver functions. It's got to be some nit-picky little bug because 1.4.7 works fine for 7 of the 10 available channels in my area.

MuxChecker is a utility provided with GBPVR (at least in more recent versions). It is typically found in the main GBPVR folder with the rest of the executable files. On my system, there's a shortcut in the start menu GBPVR folder. I think it was put there automatically during the last install, but I may have created it manually. At any rate, when launched, MuxChecker will open a window and display a report of the multiplexers currently registered on your machine.

So far as copying a working 1.2.13 cache and inserting it in a 1.4.7 installation is concerned, been there, done that, didn't help. I also tried a few other permutations involving swapping config files and that didn't help either. I don't believe the zero length file problem is related to issues with scanning for channels or the cache. It doesn't seem to be related to the config files either. When I finally bailed on 1.4.7, I saved copies of my config files and dropped them into the 1.2.13 installation before I launched it. The configuration files from 1.4.7 worked fine with 1.2.13 and all channels recorded properly. This seems to me like pretty good evidence that the problem is not related to config settings.

I don't know if this helps you much. At least you have some idea of what didn't work for me.

[Esteban]

I uninstalled version 1.4.7 and re-installed version 1.2.13...

Any reason you chose that particular old GB-PVR version? It's not the most recent prior to 1.4.7. I found 1.37 available for download with a quick Google search. I'm thinking of trying an older version, and wondering which I should try, and where I could get it? I can't get the 1.4.7 to scan channels, as I reported here: http://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.php?t=45345 I don't know what else to try.

[cmattus]

I chose to go back to version 1.2.13 because that's what I was using before the update to 1.4.7 and the zero length recording problem. I was aware of other more current releases, but I knew 1.2.13 had been recording properly and I didn't want to throw additional variables into the mix. After installing 1.4.7 I didn't realize immediately that the zero length recording problem was occurring. By the time I was aware of the problem, I was not at all sure that 1.4.7 was the cause. It seemed possible that a Windows Update or some other change to my system might be the cause. Now that I am reasonably confident the problem was 1.4.7, I have considered trying a release newer than 1.2.13. It's on my list of things to investigate, but its not very high on the list. 1.2.13 is working fine and after being bit by 1.4.7 I'm hesitant to risk breaking things again.

If you can't find 1.2.13 and would like to try it, let me know. I can push my copy up to a server so you can download it.

[Esteban]

If you can't find 1.2.13 and would like to try it, let me know. I can push my copy up to a server so you can download it.

Thanks, I found it somewhere. Installing it was the catalyst for diagnosing my problem with 1.4.7. My SD-HDHomerun did not match any found tuners in the config of 1.2.13. That got me thinking that the included bda.ini file in 1.4.7 might have the wrong settings, and it did. Now I know this was a known issue, but I didn't understand that I needed to reapply the settings I had done with the first install when I reinstalled 1.4.7. Anyway, all is working well now. I completely understand why you wouldn't want to mess with the mix you have working now. This install was a nightmare for me.

But all is well that ends well, right?

[whurlston]

My SD-HDHomerun did not match any found tuners in the config of 1.2.13.

Unfortunately, Silicondust uses the Device ID as the filter name so the entry has to be different for each HDHomeRun.

[Tower]

I'm experiencing similar problems with my HDHR since upgrading to 1.4.7 - scans/LiveTV works fine, but if I try to pause the live TV or record anything from it, I only get a zero byte file. I've tried a number of things, including removing and re-adding GPBVRecordingService.exe to the Windows Firewall exclusion list, getting the latest HDHR drivers and firmware, redoing my QAM mappings (using the gbpvr support in HDHR rather than the old method), disabling the firewall entirely, etc, etc, etc. Still no luck... I've done several captures of logs with attempting to: watch a show, then record it; attempt the record and then watch; watch and pause, or record 2 shows at once. No dice. Needless to say, analog (Hauppauge PVR-500) works great as always.

In the attached logs, I have a case where I picked a show in the guide, started watching, and then pressed pause. Blackness for 10 seconds ensued while the file size was still 0.

Any thoughts? I would think that the firewall exception combined with disabling the firewall entirely would do it (and restarting the recording service after the re-add and disable).

Help?

[whurlston]

Does it wok if you use the TS mux instead of DVR-MS?

[Tower]

Does it wok if you use the TS mux instead of DVR-MS?

Thanks! That did it. I didn't run across that in my searching, and didn't have that written down from my previous installs. Sorry if I missed that info somewhere along the line.

[whurlston]

It might have been mentioned before somewhere. I just remembered having the same results with DVR-MS and the HDHR.