Power Outages...

[Pilot]

How do people handle power outages (the unannounced variety)? I just watched two of my recorded shows ruined because we had a two power blips (like the entire neighborhood), and of course when the system rebooted it started recording over the first part of the recording due to the same file name.

I know, I know..."Get a UPS". That would cause the WAF to take a SEVERE hit, because a UPS isn't exactly cheap. Wouldn't a simple "If...then...else" be a better (and cheaper) solution? Is there any way to handle this via any of the existing editable support files?

I'm currently considering adding to my autoexec.bat or startup folder a simple script that renames my usual recording folder and creates another one of the same name. That way, if my PC restarted during a recording, it wouldn't overwrite the file. Primative? Yes. Slick? No. Would it work? Yup.

Anyone have any better suggestions. Is there something within WindowsXP where a power outage triggers something that would allow me to implement my above solution ONLY when a power outage occurs (rather than every time I startup my PC)?

Am I the only one who has this problem? I do live in Florida, where every time someone spits on the grass or a dog does his business, we lose power. Maybe I'm the only Florida user?

[capone]

The problem is tv card viewing is demanding on reliable power. It makes it very sensitive to almost any flicker I've found. Wacthign a recording could take a bump, and recording w/o watching could do better, but the tv and vid card going is a lot I've found.

My WAF factor included dealing w/ those breaker flashes in the spring, so a UPS was an acceptable buy. You need a pretty good one, as live tv viewing seems to need *very* reliable power.

Try to find one on ebay. You can support the WAF by pointing out in case of emergency it could be used to power a phone or other small device (I wonder if there's enough juice to recharge a cell?...hmmm)

[daphatty]

Wouldn't a simple "If...then...else" ...

This made me laugh hysterically! Power surges aren't that simple. How would GBPVR know that a power surge had occurred if the box rebooted spontaneously?

I understand your WAF apprehension. All I can say is hope that a power surge occurs during one of her soaps, or worse, Oprah. I bet you'll be running to the store to buy that UPS after that.

[Pilot]

This made me laugh hysterically! Power surges aren't that simple. How would GBPVR know that a power surge had occurred if the box rebooted spontaneously?

Actually, I'm suggesting the "If...then...else" solution from a different angle. GBPVR doesn't need to know if there was a power outage -- only that a recording file with the exact same name already exists, so don't overwrite it, and instead rename the original file.

Actually my WAF is rapidly heading toward signficant issues. All of her shows were on Thursday nights (NBC and CBS), as well as Alias. NBC Thursdays is basically gone, Alias is ending with this season, and that only leaves a couple of shows for her. She's quick to point out that the VCR can take care of those with very few technical issues.

I know -- I'm in trouble!

The networks here in the USA need to pony up with some more "Must-See TV"!

[Pilot]

Try to find one on ebay. You can support the WAF by pointing out in case of emergency it could be used to power a phone or other small device (I wonder if there's enough juice to recharge a cell?...hmmm)

I don't even want to think how much a heavy UPS is going to cost me in shipping from eBay. eBay sellers already typically overcharge for shipping. I'll have to do an eBay search but limit it to regional so maybe I can have a chance of picking it up in person.

Unfortunately, I live in Florida...ie, hurricanes. A UPS isn't going to impress my wife for temporary power -- we have an 8KW generator that can power everything in the house except the central air conditioning, but that doesn't help for these 10 second power outages.

Must...get...UPS...must...get....

[herbs]

I got a ups for £29.99 made by belkin from the local pc superstore, nothing special only rated for 5-7 mins but thats enough for spikes. click here this is the one.

[JohnInSJ]

Right - APC and others make small, quiet 500-750vac UPSs that go for $50US or so... slap one of those on, it should give you 10-20 minutes of backup runtime... and it connects to the pc via USB and can tell the pc to shutdown cleanly if the power does not come back in time.

[Pilot]

As always, thanks folks! You got me revisiting the UPS options, and I've discovered some 500VA ones (Belkin and APC) on clearance for as low as $20. Can't beat that.

Of course, if we lose power for longer than 5-10 minutes, I'm still in the same boat. Maybe the software interface will allow for running an external file prior to shutting down the system or something similar. I could basically set it up so that if the UPS tells it to shutdown, that my designated GBPVR recording folder be renamed. Admittedly, that would screw things up with my current recordings list, but it's better than missing out on a big chunk of a show because of a 7-minute power outage where the power comes on just in time to record the 5 minute recording buffer, erasing the better part of the first hour of the show in the process, right?

Thanks again. I think I need to just start regular revisting hardware and software solutions from time to time. I'm always surprised by what is affordable at the moment that wasn't anywhere close to obtainable in the recent past (due to price).

[capone]

Try it out when you get it. I started w/ 800VA or so. It will probably handle the dimms/surges, but if an outage (lights off, even just for 1-3 sec) will be an issue, it may not be enough.

I wanted something that could handle at least "lights off.1...2...3..lights on again" (eg, more than brownout dimming/power loss). I started watching live TV (in TS mode), pulled the plug, system rebooted. It wasn't that it didn't have enough juice, it just couldn't handle the sudden demand.

I got a Belkin 1200VA. Less than $80 I think w/ shipping. Now I can pull the plug, and it not only keeps the PVR going, but the TV, too. It puts the system into hibernate if out for more than 10-15sec (by that point, it's usually out for a while).

Don't let this dissuade you, though. My needs may have been more than yours, and yours may handle the power switch-over better (I think this was before I got a good PSU, too)

[sub]

I'm surprised you guys have such flakey power in the US. We probably get one power outage a year here.