Recurring recordings not picking up all recurring programmes

[NigelG]

Hi,

First off I am still using 2.6.2. I did have a go at upgrading but had problems with database locked so reverted back to 2.6.2. I hope I can still get some help with this the older version.

Programs I have set up as recurring are not being picked up and recorded. I have had this problem for a while but can see no pattern to how this occurs.

I did try changing the time of the EPG update to a know quiet time, in the afternoon, but this didn't seem to help.

Noticed that the NRecord.log shows very low numbers for new listings after an update and wondered if this may be relevant:


2013-11-13 15:57:23.016 [DEBUG][8] - saving 1 listings for channel: Heart
2013-11-13 15:57:23.016 [DEBUG][8] - saving 1 listings for channel: Dave
2013-11-13 15:57:23.016 [DEBUG][8] - saving 6 listings for channel: E4+1
2013-11-13 15:57:23.016 [DEBUG][8] - saving 1 listings for channel: Ideal World
2013-11-13 15:57:23.016 [DEBUG][8] - saving 4 listings for channel: BBC ONE
2013-11-13 15:57:23.016 [DEBUG][8] - saving 1 listings for channel: BBC Parliament
2013-11-13 15:57:23.016 [DEBUG][8] - saving 2 listings for channel: More 4


I have attached the logs for anyone willing to have a look.

Thanks

Nigel

[sub]

Can you get to the Settings->Channels screen, do an 'Empty EPG', followed by an 'Update EPG', then post the npvr.log, along with a list of a couple of shows that should have had episodes scheduled, but didnt'.

[NigelG]

Thanks for the speedy response.

Having followed your instructions the recurring programmes appear to have now been picked up...

I have attached the Log as requested.

Thanks

[servalan]

If it helps, I have seen similar behaviour with varying versions of NextPVR up till now - also still using 2.6.2. For me the recurring shows not being picked up stemmed from an unreliable EPG update via the built-in EPG updater. So I'd be checking the EPG data post update & see if the EPG data is OK. I have fixed my problem with a .bat file EPG update & now recurring recordings are all OK. You can also just run a manual update from the Settings screen. I have no idea why the EPG update mechanisms are different, but they are. From a previous post.

An update:

$ cat /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files\ \(x86\)/NPVR/epgupdate.bat
NextPvr -updateepgonly

run once a day from task sched has fixed the epg update hassles here.

I think later versions of NPVR should come with a warning that the built in epg update mechanism has been known to be unreliable & that it is advisable to create a task sched job instead.

Still happy to help with the debugging if it helps - the inbuilt epg update is still failing with monotonous regularity - I haven't switched it off yet, the task sched epg update runs about 5 minutes after the built in one finishes.

[NigelG]

Hi Servalan,

Thanks for sharing what you have seen and done to overcome the issue.

The fact that the effect seems random for me aligns with what you are saying. I rely on NPVR downloading the EPG from the DVB-T transmission and wondered if there was an issue with the data being sent by the broadcaster from time to time.

Where can I get a copy of the .bat file?

How do I schedule, is this in windows or somewhere in NPVR.

I see in the NPVR logs that the EPG update is only picking up a handful of 'listings' is there an easy way to see what these are? Do you know how many I should typically expect? I would assume BBC1 would have something like 200 programmes listed in a typical week or am I misunderstanding what is going on here?

Thanks

Nigel

[servalan]

Create a file in notepad called: epgupdate.bat

Contents of the epgupdate.bat file are:

NextPvr -updateepgonly

Put the epgupdate.bat file in /c/Program Files (x86)/NPVR

Use these instructions to create a task to run the 'epgupdate.bat' file once per day (assume you are on W7):
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-au/windo...ule-a-task

You can test the epgupdate.bat file by running it manually from the Task Scheduler.

Screenshot of task sched entry if it helps:
http://i.imgur.com/Ms2LLzc.jpg

If it works out ok, you can disable the NextPVR built in EPG update in settings.


As to your other questions, I'm not sure what is normal for the UK, I'm in the antipodes. But the bad EPG behaviour I see is an empty/nearly empty TV Guide in NextPVR - lots of 'No program details' through the guide. I haven't had this problem since moving the EPG update to the bat file, I see full 7 day EPG data post epgupdate as expected.

[Reddwarf]

Create a file in notepad called: epgupdate.bat

Contents of the epgupdate.bat file are:


Put the epgupdate.bat file in /c/Program Files (x86)/NPVR

Preferably .bat files should be in ./Scripts in npvr's data directory.

[NigelG]

Servalan, thanks for the additional details.

I've set things up as you suggested and will monitor... A real frustration as it's great software but if it won't reliably record TV Series it will never get approval from the other half... Currently running NPVR and viewing via XBMC on an RPi but having the previous PVR running alongside...

Again, I need to monitor more closely over a period of time but I wonder if there is an issue with the DVB-T tuners being idle when the EPG update runs resulting in erratic behaviour. I have set the batch file to run at 13:03 and set a recurring manual record for 13:00 - 13:10 to ensure at least one tuner is awake...

It would be useful to know what determines the number of 'listings' in the log file to see if I am collecting all the data available/needed or if it is failing to obtain all the data for some reason...

[Reddwarf]

I use DVBGuide to collect epg data both from cable and terrestial broadcast, what I see is that to collect one week of epg from dvb-t you need to scan some 3 1/2 minute, while npvr just scans for one minute.

[NigelG]

Hi Reddwarf,

What you say seems to make a lot of sense and would I suppose explain the randomness of the issue depending on which part of the 3.5 minutes it looks at?

I'll look into downloading from DVBGuide

Thanks

Nigel