2016-10-25, 01:31 PM
Hey, this is my first post, although I've been using NextPVR for 2-3 years, off and on. My name is Jim, I'm 65, retired/disabled, and one of my "superpowers" is getting stuff to work. Currently, I'm using NextPVR on a consumer-level Toshiba Satellite running Windows 10. I hope this post helps someone to use NextPVR more effectively. NextPVR is the best program of its type: it is so well thought-out, and generally does exactly what it needs to do.
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1. Create the following batch file:
Save the file somewhere you have access, and give it a name, such as UpdateEPG.bat. You will probably need administrator-level access to perform the next step.
2. Create a scheduled task which calls this batch file 1 or more times a day. The important thing is that you change the user to SYSTEM, which will allow the net stop and net start commands to work properly. No other special attributes are needed, although I like to select the option, "Run this task on demand" for testing purposes, or if I just need to run it to update the EPG again for some reason.
(This is not a tutorial on using Task Scheduler, although you may ask any questions, and I will attempt to answer them.)
3. Finally, uncheck the options within NextPVR to auto-update the EPG at a set time, and to update the EPG during live TV. (This last is not as exciting as it sounds: it can only update the channels at the same frequency as the one you are watching, and you must watch for at least 1 minute to get it updated.)
Here are some observations about using NextPVR with a TV card or USB TV stick:
A. Your tuner can only do one thing at a time. If you are watching live TV when the background task runs, the recording service will be stopped and restarted but the EPG will not be able to update. You will not receive an error message when this happens.
B. This batch file should give you exactly the same results as manually updating the EPG from the settings, and it will take just as long. How long? 60 seconds per frequency (not per channel: a single frequency can include more than one channel). This means the update could take 10 or 15 minutes or longer depending on how many data streams are retrieved. The 60-second duration is hard-coded into the program and is a very clever way to make sure that the EPG update does not get stuck or take too long.
C. Therefore, it is up to you to decide when the task will run. You cannot record a show and update the EPG at the same time. My own task is set to run at 1:05 AM, 9:05 AM, and 5:05 PM; i.e., once every 8 hours. I have a particular channel which gives me only 10 hours of EPG, so I need more than a single daily update.
D. The concept of turning the recording service off and back on was derived from some articles in the forum archives. When the recording service turns back on, it will take a "fresh look" at your scheduling requests. This is primarily useful for recording TV series by name. Note that OTA data does not give you season and episode numbers, so the setting option to prevent duplicate recordings will not have any effect with this method. Sometimes I end up with a few duplicates of The Outer Limits, but this is no big deal. In fact, it helps, in case one of the recordings did not get good reception.
E. If you're using a USB TV stick, it may not work properly after your computer does a soft boot. You will know this when you are no longer retrieving EPG data, or cannot watch a live show. Generally, unplugging the USB stick for a few moments and then plugging it back in will do the trick. Then you can run the task on demand (if you selected that option when setting up the task).
F. This is cool: there is one exception to not being able to watch live TV while also recording a program: when the channel you wish to watch is on the same frequency as the channel recording, you can do both! The tray icon will turn red whenever you are recording a show or running NextPVR.
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1. Create the following batch file:
Code:
net stop "NPVR Recording Service"
"C:\Program Files (x86)\NPVR\NextPVR.exe" -updateepgonly
net start "NPVR Recording Service"Save the file somewhere you have access, and give it a name, such as UpdateEPG.bat. You will probably need administrator-level access to perform the next step.
2. Create a scheduled task which calls this batch file 1 or more times a day. The important thing is that you change the user to SYSTEM, which will allow the net stop and net start commands to work properly. No other special attributes are needed, although I like to select the option, "Run this task on demand" for testing purposes, or if I just need to run it to update the EPG again for some reason.
(This is not a tutorial on using Task Scheduler, although you may ask any questions, and I will attempt to answer them.)
3. Finally, uncheck the options within NextPVR to auto-update the EPG at a set time, and to update the EPG during live TV. (This last is not as exciting as it sounds: it can only update the channels at the same frequency as the one you are watching, and you must watch for at least 1 minute to get it updated.)
Here are some observations about using NextPVR with a TV card or USB TV stick:
A. Your tuner can only do one thing at a time. If you are watching live TV when the background task runs, the recording service will be stopped and restarted but the EPG will not be able to update. You will not receive an error message when this happens.
B. This batch file should give you exactly the same results as manually updating the EPG from the settings, and it will take just as long. How long? 60 seconds per frequency (not per channel: a single frequency can include more than one channel). This means the update could take 10 or 15 minutes or longer depending on how many data streams are retrieved. The 60-second duration is hard-coded into the program and is a very clever way to make sure that the EPG update does not get stuck or take too long.
C. Therefore, it is up to you to decide when the task will run. You cannot record a show and update the EPG at the same time. My own task is set to run at 1:05 AM, 9:05 AM, and 5:05 PM; i.e., once every 8 hours. I have a particular channel which gives me only 10 hours of EPG, so I need more than a single daily update.
D. The concept of turning the recording service off and back on was derived from some articles in the forum archives. When the recording service turns back on, it will take a "fresh look" at your scheduling requests. This is primarily useful for recording TV series by name. Note that OTA data does not give you season and episode numbers, so the setting option to prevent duplicate recordings will not have any effect with this method. Sometimes I end up with a few duplicates of The Outer Limits, but this is no big deal. In fact, it helps, in case one of the recordings did not get good reception.
E. If you're using a USB TV stick, it may not work properly after your computer does a soft boot. You will know this when you are no longer retrieving EPG data, or cannot watch a live show. Generally, unplugging the USB stick for a few moments and then plugging it back in will do the trick. Then you can run the task on demand (if you selected that option when setting up the task).
F. This is cool: there is one exception to not being able to watch live TV while also recording a program: when the channel you wish to watch is on the same frequency as the channel recording, you can do both! The tray icon will turn red whenever you are recording a show or running NextPVR.
