Full length recordings - no video

[snagglewest]

Upgraded to 3.4.8 and now I'm getting some strange recordings.Not every time, just occasionally. The recordings are full length time wise, appear full size bit wise and windows reports the correct length/time but the file won't play in Npvr nor VLC. I've tried running them through mpeg2repair, handbrake and avermedia. All fail and won't read them.

Never had this before, zero bit recordings yes, but not this. My signal appears good, HDHR reports signal strength 90% and signal quality 100%.

Logs attached, any ideas?
[ATTACH=CONFIG]40011[/ATTACH]

Sub - I PMd you a link to the full recording if you want to down load it and look at it.

Snag

[sub]

I've downloaded it and taken a look. The recording went fine, but the audio/video streams are encrypted. ie, most likely your cable company had it marked as copy-once or copy-never at the time of the recording (or less likely - some bug in HDHR which caused it to pass on a copy-freely but encrypted stream, instead of removing the encryption before sending the stream).

[snagglewest]

A couple of the recordings have happened on a PBS channel WHRO-Create (WHRO4) which is Channel 109, Freq:70 SID:33559. I can't be positive, but I have the two USB tuners first in line and they would pick up this channel first normally so I believe the problem is not HDHR related. I just rescanned with one of the USB tuners and verified there's no DRM set and I can watch it live with no video or sound issues. Logs attached with the scan.

Oh, this is also a SD channel. DRM doesn't apply to SD does it?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]40012[/ATTACH]

[sub]

That file very definitely has encrypted audio/video streams. NextPVR didn't do that encryption. It was like that in the stream delivered from the HDHR.

Even copy-freely channels are broadcast with encryption. It's the cablecard + HDHR's responsibility to decrypt the channel before it is delivered across the network to the client. I have a sneaking suspicion there is some bug in the HDHR that can cause it to occasionally deliver the encrypted stream, like the cablecard has failed to decrypt the stream, but the HDHR has delivered it anyway. (I have seen another user with very occasional recordings like this, encrypted, even though those channels are usually copy-freely)

[snagglewest]

Thanks Sub, I'll try and keep a close eye on which tuner this is occurring on, the USB or HDHR. If I can figure it out I'll let you know.

[BrettB]

Thanks Sub, I'll try and keep a close eye on which tuner this is occurring on, the USB or HDHR. If I can figure it out I'll let you know.

You might want to use something like the following in ParallelProcessing.bat. It will log to a file called Recordings.log which tuner was used for each recording. (To be most useful, you need to adjust it with the tuner OIDs and names for your setup.) I've found it very useful when debugging problem recordings.

Code:

@echo off
Rem ParallelProcessing.bat
Rem This script will be run automatically by NEXTPVR when found after a recording is started

cd C:\Users\Public\NPVR\Scripts\

Rem The script is called with four parameters
Rem %1 is the fully qualified name of the recorded mpeg file.
Rem %2 is the channel number of the recording
Rem %3 is the OID of the recording
Rem %4 is the OID of the tuner being used

if "%4" == "1526" set tuner=HDHomeRun Tuner 0-0
if "%4" == "1528" set tuner=HDHomeRun Tuner 0-1
if "%4" == "1527" set tuner=HDHomeRun Tuner 0-0
if "%4" == "1529" set tuner=HDHomeRun Tuner 0-1
if "%4" == "1522" set tuner=AVerMedia Tuner 0
if "%4" == "1523" set tuner=AVerMedia Tuner 0
if "%4" == "1524" set tuner=AVerMedia Tuner 1
if "%4" == "1525" set tuner=AVerMedia Tuner 1
if "%4" == "1532" set tuner=DCR-2650 Tuner 0
if "%4" == "1533" set tuner=DCR-2650 Tuner 1
if "%4" == "1535" set tuner=HDHomeRun Tuner 1-0
if "%4" == "1536" set tuner=HDHomeRun Tuner 1-0
if "%4" == "1537" set tuner=HDHomeRun Tuner 1-1
if "%4" == "1538" set tuner=HDHomeRun Tuner 1-1
if "%4" == "1547" set tuner=HDHR Prime Tuner 0-0
if "%4" == "1548" set tuner=HDHR Prime Tuner 0-1
if "%4" == "1549" set tuner=HDHR Prime Tuner 0-2
if "%tuner%" == "" set tuner=%4

echo %date% %time% Recording %1 from channel %2 on tuner "%tuner%" >>..\logs\recordings.log

[Reddwarf]

You might want to use something like the following in ParallelProcessing.bat. It will log to a file called Recordings.log which tuner was used for each recording. (To be most useful, you need to adjust it with the tuner OIDs and names for your setup.) I've found it very useful when debugging problem recordings.

Code:

@echo off
Rem ParallelProcessing.bat
Rem This script will be run automatically by NEXTPVR when found after a recording is started

cd C:\Users\Public\NPVR\Scripts\

Rem The script is called with four parameters
Rem %1 is the fully qualified name of the recorded mpeg file.
Rem %2 is the channel number of the recording
Rem %3 is the OID of the recording
Rem %4 is the OID of the tuner being used

if "%4" == "1526" set tuner=HDHomeRun Tuner 0-0
if "%4" == "1528" set tuner=HDHomeRun Tuner 0-1
if "%4" == "1527" set tuner=HDHomeRun Tuner 0-0
if "%4" == "1529" set tuner=HDHomeRun Tuner 0-1
if "%4" == "1522" set tuner=AVerMedia Tuner 0
if "%4" == "1523" set tuner=AVerMedia Tuner 0
if "%4" == "1524" set tuner=AVerMedia Tuner 1
if "%4" == "1525" set tuner=AVerMedia Tuner 1
if "%4" == "1532" set tuner=DCR-2650 Tuner 0
if "%4" == "1533" set tuner=DCR-2650 Tuner 1
if "%4" == "1535" set tuner=HDHomeRun Tuner 1-0
if "%4" == "1536" set tuner=HDHomeRun Tuner 1-0
if "%4" == "1537" set tuner=HDHomeRun Tuner 1-1
if "%4" == "1538" set tuner=HDHomeRun Tuner 1-1
if "%4" == "1547" set tuner=HDHR Prime Tuner 0-0
if "%4" == "1548" set tuner=HDHR Prime Tuner 0-1
if "%4" == "1549" set tuner=HDHR Prime Tuner 0-2
if "%tuner%" == "" set tuner=%4

echo %date% %time% Recording %1 from channel %2 on tuner "%tuner%" >>..\logs\recordings.log

I'v done something similar but in PostProcessing.bat and I append the tuner name in [recording name].xml in the form <tuner>[tuner name]</tuner>

[BrettB]

I'v done something similar but in PostProcessing.bat and I append the tuner name in [recording name].xml in the form <tuner>[tuner name]</tuner>

The primary reason that I put it in ParallelProcessing.bat is that PostProcessing.bat doesn't always get run (specifically when a recording is cancelled or the recording process is stopped, etc.). It also keeps the entries in chronological order by start time not end time.

Having said that, I'd be interested in seeing the code you use to update the .xml file.

[mvallevand]

The primary reason that I put it in ParallelProcessing.bat is that PostProcessing.bat doesn't always get run (specifically when a recording is cancelled or the recording process is stopped, etc.). It also keeps the entries in chronological order by start time not end time.

That's the job of PostCancel.bat

Martin

[snagglewest]

Very cool!

Were would I find the tuner number (eg 1526) to populate the script?

Code:

if "%4" == "1526" set tuner=HDHomeRun Tuner 0-0