Zero-byte recordings. Why, and will NPVR fix it?

[McBainUK]

Zero-byte recordings are at 2010-09-29 20:00, 2010-09-29 21:00 and 2010-10-01 21:00. A few snippits of interest (full logs attached):

Code:

2010-09-29 19:56:00.127    ERROR    [5]    Unexpected error checking tuning on back-to-back multirecords
2010-09-29 19:56:00.128    INFO    [5]    Found new programme requiring recording: Waterloo Road    (650)
2010-09-29 19:56:00.131    VERBOSE    [5]    Changing to channel (GBPVR.Backend.Common.NullTunerController): 1
2010-09-29 19:56:00.146    VERBOSE    [5]    Requesting IRecordingSource to start recording: D:\Recordings\Waterloo Road\Waterloo Road_20100929_20002100.mpg
2010-09-29 19:56:00.146    VERBOSE    [5]    start recording @1
2010-09-29 19:56:00.152    VERBOSE    [5]    start recording @2
2010-09-29 19:56:00.172    VERBOSE    [5]    BDARecordingSource about to start recording  oid:1 channel:T:C34,578166,0,0,8~NID:12303~ONID:9018~TSID:4099~P:4163~V:600~A:601~L:eng~PMT:4163~LCN:1~PCR:600~N:>BBC ONE file:D:\Recordings\Waterloo Road\Waterloo Road_20100929_20002100.mpg
2010-09-29 19:56:01.477    VERBOSE    [5]    getValue() loading new key/value into cache: /settings/BDASubmitTuningRequestTwiceOnRecord
2010-09-29 19:56:01.477    VERBOSE    [5]    getValue: /settings/BDASubmitTuningRequestTwiceOnRecord : true
2010-09-29 19:56:02.506    VERBOSE    [5]    start recording @3
2010-09-29 19:56:02.506    VERBOSE    [5]    start recording @4
2010-09-29 19:56:02.507    VERBOSE    [5]    Programme is now recording
2010-09-29 19:56:02.521    VERBOSE    [5]    RecordingFactory.save()
2010-09-29 19:56:02.619    VERBOSE    [5]    Save(): Updated existing scheduled recording
2010-09-29 19:56:02.622    VERBOSE    [5]    getValue() loading new key/value into cache: /settings/ProcessCommercialsDuringRecording
2010-09-29 19:56:02.622    VERBOSE    [5]    getValue: /settings/ProcessCommercialsDuringRecording : false
2010-09-29 19:56:02.625    VERBOSE    [5]    Adding D:\Recordings\Waterloo Road\Waterloo Road_20100929_20002100.ts to parallel processing queue
2010-09-29 19:56:02.625    VERBOSE    [5]    RecordingFactory.getExtrasForGroup(52)
2010-09-29 19:56:02.632    VERBOSE    [3]    getValue() loading new key/value into cache: /settings/CommercialDetectionScheme
2010-09-29 19:56:02.632    VERBOSE    [3]    getValue: /settings/CommercialDetectionScheme : 0
2010-09-29 19:56:02.632    INFO    [3]    Parallel Processing thread starting...
2010-09-29 19:56:10.576    VERBOSE    [7]    RenewLease 2
2010-09-29 19:56:10.576    VERBOSE    [7]    forcing refresh of next 2 hour events for all capture sources
2010-09-29 19:56:10.579    VERBOSE    [7]    Checking for other recordings using device: DEVICE:Hauppauge Nova-T (90002):2
2010-09-29 19:56:10.579    VERBOSE    [7]    RenewLease finished (accepted - preview mode)
2010-09-29 19:56:25.241    INFO    [5]    Recording is unusually small. Giving second chance: D:\Recordings\Waterloo Road\Waterloo Road_20100929_20002100.ts  (0)
2010-09-29 19:56:25.241    VERBOSE    [5]    Trying to relock signal

Code:

2010-09-29 21:00:00.676    ERROR    [5]    Unexpected error checking tuning on back-to-back multirecords
2010-09-29 21:00:00.676    INFO    [5]    Found new programme requiring recording: Ugly Betty    (651)
2010-09-29 21:00:00.676    VERBOSE    [5]    Changing to channel (GBPVR.Backend.Common.NullTunerController): 28
2010-09-29 21:00:00.676    VERBOSE    [5]    Requesting IRecordingSource to start recording: D:\Recordings\Ugly Betty\Ugly Betty_20100929_21002200.mpg
2010-09-29 21:00:00.676    VERBOSE    [5]    start recording @1
2010-09-29 21:00:00.676    VERBOSE    [5]    start recording @2
2010-09-29 21:00:00.676    VERBOSE    [5]    BDARecordingSource about to start recording  oid:1 channel:T:C32,562166,0,0,8~NID:12303~ONID:9018~TSID:8206~P:8448~V:570~A:571~L:eng~PMT:304~LCN:28~PCR:2307~N:>E4 file:D:\Recordings\Ugly Betty\Ugly Betty_20100929_21002200.mpg
2010-09-29 21:00:01.990    VERBOSE    [5]    getValue cached value: /settings/BDASubmitTuningRequestTwiceOnRecord : true
2010-09-29 21:00:03.040    VERBOSE    [5]    start recording @3
2010-09-29 21:00:03.040    VERBOSE    [5]    start recording @4
2010-09-29 21:00:03.040    VERBOSE    [5]    Programme is now recording
2010-09-29 21:00:03.040    VERBOSE    [5]    RecordingFactory.save()
2010-09-29 21:00:03.160    VERBOSE    [5]    Save(): Updated existing scheduled recording
2010-09-29 21:00:03.160    VERBOSE    [5]    Adding D:\Recordings\Ugly Betty\Ugly Betty_20100929_21002200.ts to parallel processing queue
2010-09-29 21:00:03.160    VERBOSE    [5]    RecordingFactory.getExtrasForGroup(50)
2010-09-29 21:00:12.710    VERBOSE    [13]    Conversion thread configured for ASAP
2010-09-29 21:00:25.760    INFO    [5]    Recording is unusually small. Giving second chance: D:\Recordings\Ugly Betty\Ugly Betty_20100929_21002200.ts  (0)
2010-09-29 21:00:25.760    VERBOSE    [5]    Trying to relock signal

GB-PVR was use to watch LiveTV in between and sometimes during these failed recordings.

Can anyone tell me why they failed (the logs have errors but I don't understand all the messages) and will moving to NPVR fix it?

[sub]

2010-09-29 21:00:01.308 ERROR Failed to start BDA Graph
2010-09-29 21:00:01.308 VERBOSE ERROR_GEN_FAILURE

When GBPVR asked the device to started it returned "General Failuire". Unfortunately its hard to guess why that might be. Most common reasons would be the device in use in another process, or the driver has suffered a 'brown trousers error'.

[liteswap]

I still get this problem.

This weekend I lost a few programmes after BBC1 decided not to work. Other channels work fine, and BBC1 has always worked until, with no change in config (when it's working I never change it), it decided not to do so. Rebooting and swapping my two tuners around with the config.exe made no difference - whether trying to watch live TV or record, nothing came out of BBC1, even though the recording status box reported that the tuner was tuned in and working.

Eventually, I remapped it to another regional BBC1 channel (not my region but hey) and it now works. But unless they changed the settings at the satellite for BBC1 (and how likely is that?), it's not really addressed the root of the problem of why this happens in the first place. It's not the first time.

I'm hoping Media SubStation (which I'm campaigning for as the name of the next rev of GBPVR) will fix this once and for all...

[imilne]

But unless they changed the settings at the satellite for BBC1 (and how likely is that?)

They did.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showt...?t=1369013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/info/sat_...cies.shtml

Lots of changes and reshuffling, primarily to get the transponders ready for BBC1 HD which starts on Nov 3rd.

[liteswap]

Thanks for the info. Can't believe they did that....

[martint123]

Thanks for the info. Can't believe they did that....

They don't shift things often, but when they do there seems to be little public notice. Probably because for some reason Sky boxes and the like just handle the changes without the user knowing.
At least things don't seem to change as often as Freeview does!

[imilne]

Actually, some of the lesser (ie crap) Freesat channels jump around quite a bit. I usually run a full scan with DVBDream every so often as it's quite good as letting you know what's new, lost, or changed since the last scan, and then I can go fix it in GBPVR (if we've not already noticed the channel being gone).

But yeah, both Sky and proper Freesat boxes (supposedly) handle these changes transparently, so that's probably why there isn't usually announcements. Most changes are posted to this thread over on Digital Spy: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showt...p?t=794087 and also often on the Join Freesat web site.

Iain