Cannot watch a Channel from an HdPvr Capture Source if the channel is recording

[PRBUK]

Issue: - Cannot start live streaming a channel on an HdPvr Source if the HdPvr channel is being recorded
            - Concurrent Live Streams from an HdPvr Source work OK if the channel is not being recorded
The issue does not happen on a Dvb-S or Dvb-T source

Scenario 1:
a) Start to view a channel on the HdPvr Source -> Live Stream works OK
b) Start to record the channel -> The recording starts (and records OK) and the Live stream continues
c) Stop the Live Stream -> The channel continues to record
d) Start to view the channel live again -> Fails
e) Stop the recording -> OK
f) Start to view the channel live again -> Live Stream works OK

Scenario 2:
a) Start to record a channel on the HdPvr source -> Recording starts
b) Start to view the channel live -> Fails
c) Stop the recording -> OK
d) Start to view the channel Live -> OK

Scenario 3:
a) Start to view a channel on the HdPvr source -> OK
b) Start to view the same channel from a different machine -> OK (NPVR Backend Status shows both clients active, so concurrent live streams work OK)
c) Start to record the channel -> OK (Backend status shows 2 live feeds and the recording feed)
d) Stop either feed and attempt to restart the live channel -> fails

An HdPvr capture card requires a dedicated Set Top Box, so a scarce resource which cannot be easily increased.  This bug prevents viewing a channel if you also want to record it - unless you are able to start the live channel before the recording starts!  It is obviously possible to watch (on multiple feeds) whilst recording, provided the live channels are started before the recording starts....

The attached logs show an example of scenario 3. 

The clients used were Kodi 19.1, but the same results are seen if using the Npvr Web interface (the logs get more noisy due to transcoding!).  Note that the test server is on the December NextPvr build, but the results are the same on the March build

Is there something I have missed in my config?

[mvallevand]

Is there a difference if you have Kodi use real-time?

Martin

[PRBUK]

It is the same.  I suspect a backend issue - if the channel is recording, the channel cannot be played via the web interface either - "Failed to start requested stream"

[mvallevand]

Thanks for checking, I thought maybe it was the timeshifting API since the web browser uses it too.

Marti

[three6zerocool]

I have an STB connected via Hauppauge Colossus, and use Kodi as client using NextPVR addon.

It has exhibited the behavior you describe for the longest time.

Once a recording starts and the tuner (capture card) is in use, you can not play (drop in) on that channel.

The only way I have found, is that if you go into the guide, and then select the recording show, it prompts you, whether you want to switch to the channel, or play the recording. If you try to switch to the channel, it does what you report, however, if you play the recording, you can timeshift forward and keep watching the show.

I always assumed it was something particular with these kinds of capture devices compared to a normal DVB-T or DVB-S tuner.

Not sure if this behavior can be changed, but not sure if it is a bug, as it has always done that for me.
I have had to go thru the guide, as once a recording is underway from the STB, it does usually not always appear in the recordings area until it is finished recording, which seems to be another quirk using this type of capture device.

It would be useful to be able to access the recorded stream as a live channel as one might expect, but for some reason you can't, and from what I can recall, it has never worked for me like that ever.

[PRBUK]

I also found the 'watch the recording' method, but playback ends when the recording completes (hence I need to seek on a consecutuve recording to allow for pre/post buffers ) and I have to restart Kodi to 'see' the next recording immediately when recording consecutive programs with buffer overlaps....

I just tested with the latest (June) version.... no change

Given that it is possible to start recording whilst watching a program live, hopefully there is a way to make this work (watch live whilst recording)?

Sub:  Any thoughts please?

I was thinking of adding a second STB to give access to more than one channel at a time, but I fear that for all the cost of a second service, both will end up on the same channel - one for recording and the second for live, hence I would need 3 boxes to get a second channel....

relevant lines on the NRecord.Log file seem to be:
2021-06-07 14:15:26.833 [DEBUG][134] checking: IPTV (http://...)
2021-06-07 14:15:26.833 [DEBUG][134] enabled and present
2021-06-07 14:15:26.833 [DEBUG][134] has channel
2021-06-07 14:15:26.833 [DEBUG][134] ...but resource is already in use
2021-06-07 14:15:26.833 [DEBUG][134] StartStream(9356:Sky News HD, LIVE&C:\Users\Public\NPVR-Buffer\live-Sky News-5760-15.ts) allocated handle: 0
2021-06-07 14:15:26.833 [DEBUG][134] Handle: 0
2021-06-07 14:15:26.833 [DEBUG][134] Failed to start stream. Handle 0.

[mvallevand]

Does it help changing config.xml

<ReversePriorityForLiveTV>false</ReversePriorityForLiveTV>

Martin

[sub]

Sub:  Any thoughts please?

It should be possible to have available as a live tv source for the same channel as it's recording. Unfortunately today is not a good day for me to look into it - busy with day job stuff. Bump it in a couple of days and I'll check out what is happening.

[PRBUK]

Does it help changing config.xml

<ReversePriorityForLiveTV>false</ReversePriorityForLiveTV>

Worth a try - but the same result (below - set to 'true').  The original test was already set to 'false' so that both live and and recording searched in the same order.  I have a lot of DVB-S/T tuners, but only one HdPvr, so I only want to drop through to the HdPvr card if the channel is not avaiable from the the Dvb-S/Dvb-T sources

2021-06-08 09:04:58.857 [DEBUG][43] Got request [10.0.0.76]: /live
2021-06-08 09:04:58.857 [DEBUG][43] /live?channeloid=9356&client=XBMC-21b40a6dee3f4091a56e1528883aaf26
2021-06-08 09:04:58.857 [DEBUG][43] - channeloid: 9356
2021-06-08 09:04:58.857 [DEBUG][43] - client: XBMC-21b40a6dee3f4091a56e1528883aaf26
2021-06-08 09:04:58.857 [DEBUG][43] range: bytes=0-
2021-06-08 09:04:58.857 [DEBUG][43] Checking XBMC sid: 21b40a6dee3f4091a56e1528883aaf26
2021-06-08 09:04:58.857 [DEBUG][43] StreamNative@1..
2021-06-08 09:04:58.857 [DEBUG][43] StreamNative@2
2021-06-08 09:04:58.858 [DEBUG][43] StreamNative@3
2021-06-08 09:04:58.858 [DEBUG][43] StreamNative@4
2021-06-08 09:04:58.858 [DEBUG][43] StreamNative@5
2021-06-08 09:04:58.870 [DEBUG][43] StreamNative@6
2021-06-08 09:04:58.870 [DEBUG][43] StreamNative@7...
2021-06-08 09:04:58.870 [DEBUG][43] StreamNative@8 (C:\Users\Public\NPVR-Buffer\live-Sky News HD-11396-2.ts)
2021-06-08 09:04:58.870 [DEBUG][43] about to start stream...
2021-06-08 09:04:58.870 [DEBUG][43] StartStream(9356:Sky News HD)
2021-06-08 09:04:58.871 [DEBUG][43] looking for capture source (in reverse priority order)
2021-06-08 09:04:58.871 [DEBUG][43] checking: IPTV (http://...)
2021-06-08 09:04:58.871 [DEBUG][43] enabled and present
2021-06-08 09:04:58.871 [DEBUG][43] has channel
2021-06-08 09:04:58.871 [DEBUG][43] ...but resource is already in use

[three6zerocool]

Hmm,  I use timeshift mode, not realtime, and have a timeshift buffer of 120 minutes.

Not sure if that makes a difference, but when I playback a currently recording show, and then jump forward to be few seconds behind livetv, I think I can still view the channel after the recording stops?.  Perhaps up to the point where the timeshift buffer runs out.

I might be wrong tho, as rather than continuing with the following show, I often stop the recording.
Am actually recording something via my STB right now, and watching it live via the playback from guide method.
Will see what happens when the recording ends.

I did just try out Martin's suggestion of altering the reverse priority setting in config.xml, and it made no difference, and that when trying to switch to livetv via HDPVR device whilst recording, it still does not let you.