2013-05-20, 07:56 PM
I have a little list of outstanding issues I wanted to fix at home before I was super happy with my current Media Center setup with respect to NPVR so I figured I would list them out here to have what I view as bugs listed in one place. I hope this will be helpful to others or perhaps even me in the case that there are issues I am having which can potentially be fixed. A couple of these issues are absolute show-stoppers while others are just "nice to have".
If anyone else running the same setup as mentioned in the subject is having an issue not reported here please let me know so I can hopefully capture it. If you are having an issue which is not related to the specific setup mentioned here please do not use this thread.
NOTE: NOT ALL OF THESE ISSUES ARE ON THE NPVR SIDE, SOME ARE SIMPLY XBMC ISSUES ACROSS ALL BACKENDS
These issues are relevant for, but not limited to, the following setup:
Windows 7 64-Bit
XBMC 12.2 Frodo
NPVR 2.6.2
XBMC NPVR Addon 1.6.4 as packaged with XBMC 12.2
HDHomeRun Prime using CableCARD
NPVR Related Issues
Timeshift Files Stay in Place
Description of problem:
Upon changing channels the previous channel seems to continue recording.
Symptoms:
The issues with this are that 1) Eventually your hard drive will get full and they only way to delete the timeshift files is to stop all NPVR services, delete the files, and start the services back up and 2) After you change channels 3 times (in the case of a 3 tuner HDHomeRun Prime) you will run out of tuners and XBMC will freeze/crash/report there are no tuners left.
Thread discussing issue.
Current Fixes or Workarounds?
None have worked for me specifically, have not tried to temporarily disable the timeshift feature entirely.
EPG Genre Colors Not Set
Description of problem:
It is not possible to set XBMC to use colors in the EPG relevant to the genre of a program on television.
Thread discussing issue.
Current Fixes or Workarounds?
Apparently fixed in v1.6.5 of NPVR addon for XBMC however the relevant genre mappings may not be in place. Need documentation on how to create relevant mappings and/or customize EPG colors as are relevant to your source of EPG data.
Channel Changes Freeze
Description of problem:
When using XBMC 12.2 with NPVR Addon 1.6.5 changing channels causes XBMC to freeze and the only fix is to kill XBMC and restart it.
Symptoms
You can begin to watch one channel fine, upon switching to a second channel you will see it begin to record a timeshift file (which will quickly disappear) and the NPVR status will report the new channel is tuned and the tuner is in use but XBMC will sit there and behave as if it is playing the new channel although it is not. A frozen view of the previous channel will remain on the screen. At this point the only thing which can be done is to forcibly close XBMC, stop all NPVR processes, clean up timeshift files and restart everything. It is impossible to ever change channels for me when I am in this particular configuration.
Current Fixes or Workarounds?
Do not use version 1.6.5 of XBMC NPVR Addon
XBMC Live TV Issues
Unable to set up recurring recordings from within XBMC
Description of problem:
Recurring recordings set from within XBMC do not actually work.
Thread discussing issue.
Current Fixes or Workarounds?
This is apparently an issue on the XBMC side. Currently the only workaround is to use the NPVR web-gui to set up any recurring recordings.
Channel Changes are Slow
Description of problem:
This is not an NPVR issue but an XBMC issue where changing channels can take between 5-7 seconds.
Thread discussing issue
Current Fixes or Workarounds?
The above thread is actually not a discussion surrounding NPVR however the fixes posted within that thread will apparently speed up channel changes from 5-7 seconds down to 1-2 seconds when using NPVR. I have not had success with using the 12.2 "Margro" build of XBMC because it comes packaged with NPVR addon 1.6.5 which makes me unable to change channels as mentioned above.
If anyone else running the same setup as mentioned in the subject is having an issue not reported here please let me know so I can hopefully capture it. If you are having an issue which is not related to the specific setup mentioned here please do not use this thread.
NOTE: NOT ALL OF THESE ISSUES ARE ON THE NPVR SIDE, SOME ARE SIMPLY XBMC ISSUES ACROSS ALL BACKENDS
These issues are relevant for, but not limited to, the following setup:
Windows 7 64-Bit
XBMC 12.2 Frodo
NPVR 2.6.2
XBMC NPVR Addon 1.6.4 as packaged with XBMC 12.2
HDHomeRun Prime using CableCARD
NPVR Related Issues
Timeshift Files Stay in Place
Description of problem:
Upon changing channels the previous channel seems to continue recording.
Symptoms:
The issues with this are that 1) Eventually your hard drive will get full and they only way to delete the timeshift files is to stop all NPVR services, delete the files, and start the services back up and 2) After you change channels 3 times (in the case of a 3 tuner HDHomeRun Prime) you will run out of tuners and XBMC will freeze/crash/report there are no tuners left.
Thread discussing issue.
Current Fixes or Workarounds?
None have worked for me specifically, have not tried to temporarily disable the timeshift feature entirely.
EPG Genre Colors Not Set
Description of problem:
It is not possible to set XBMC to use colors in the EPG relevant to the genre of a program on television.
Thread discussing issue.
Current Fixes or Workarounds?
Apparently fixed in v1.6.5 of NPVR addon for XBMC however the relevant genre mappings may not be in place. Need documentation on how to create relevant mappings and/or customize EPG colors as are relevant to your source of EPG data.
Channel Changes Freeze
Description of problem:
When using XBMC 12.2 with NPVR Addon 1.6.5 changing channels causes XBMC to freeze and the only fix is to kill XBMC and restart it.
Symptoms
You can begin to watch one channel fine, upon switching to a second channel you will see it begin to record a timeshift file (which will quickly disappear) and the NPVR status will report the new channel is tuned and the tuner is in use but XBMC will sit there and behave as if it is playing the new channel although it is not. A frozen view of the previous channel will remain on the screen. At this point the only thing which can be done is to forcibly close XBMC, stop all NPVR processes, clean up timeshift files and restart everything. It is impossible to ever change channels for me when I am in this particular configuration.
Current Fixes or Workarounds?
Do not use version 1.6.5 of XBMC NPVR Addon
XBMC Live TV Issues
Unable to set up recurring recordings from within XBMC
Description of problem:
Recurring recordings set from within XBMC do not actually work.
Thread discussing issue.
Current Fixes or Workarounds?
This is apparently an issue on the XBMC side. Currently the only workaround is to use the NPVR web-gui to set up any recurring recordings.
Channel Changes are Slow
Description of problem:
This is not an NPVR issue but an XBMC issue where changing channels can take between 5-7 seconds.
Thread discussing issue
Current Fixes or Workarounds?
The above thread is actually not a discussion surrounding NPVR however the fixes posted within that thread will apparently speed up channel changes from 5-7 seconds down to 1-2 seconds when using NPVR. I have not had success with using the 12.2 "Margro" build of XBMC because it comes packaged with NPVR addon 1.6.5 which makes me unable to change channels as mentioned above.
