nextpvr does not find same channels as hdhomerun

[purplecat]

I have two hdhomeruns and when I go to the channel setup I notice that at least one channel that appears in hdhomeruns channel list does not appear in nextpvr's channel list. I'm using schedulesdirect as my EPG provider if that helps.
I clicked on devices in the setup dialog, followed by Scan but the channel does not appear in the scanned channels. Any idea what could be going on? I've attached the nextpvr log.

[Graham]

I clicked on devices in the setup dialog, followed by Scan but the channel does not appear in the scanned channels.

The npvr.log has this ...

2019-02-04 00:40:11.591 [DEBUG][1] adding: FX East
2019-02-04 00:40:11.591 [DEBUG][1] adding@2
2019-02-04 00:40:11.591 [DEBUG][1] adding@3
2019-02-04 00:40:11.591 [DEBUG][1] Skipping DRM channel: 53 - FX East

Other DRM channels are also being skipped. IS FX East one of the missing channels?

[ElihuRozen]

Do you have Verizon? Are the missing channels FX, FXX, BTN, NatGeo, NatGeo Wild, FNC, FBC? Are you using CableCard? If you answered yes to all of these, then you have run into the issue where Verizon was forced by Fox to set all of Fox's cable channels as Copy-Once and you cannot record them with CableCard. I use an HDPVR attached to an STB to record those channels.

[pkscout]

And if you're on another cable provider in the USA, even more channels are likely to be DRM protected. NPVR can't do anything with the DRM channels, so that's why they are being skipped. If you look at the HDHomeRun interface you'll see a little DRM logo next to all the encrypted channels. In many cases that will be everything except the local networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CW, PBS, and a few like CSPAN).

[purplecat]

The npvr.log has this ...



Other DRM channels are also being skipped. IS FX East one of the missing channels?

I took a look at the channel list of HDHOMERUN (accessible from the HDHOMERUN setup application) and noticed that some channels were tagged DRM or AVC or both AVC/DRM -- NPVR has always found DRM
channels and lists them, however I can't record from them because no signal is available on the channel (as I would expect because of DRM), however this AVC is a new thing AFAIK. Anyways all the channels marked
AVC never get found by NPVR, even though I can see them in the HDHOMERUN video app. FX East does appear in my channel list, however as I said I can't record from it, however ReelzHD (which carries the AVC tag)
never appears in the channel list.

[purplecat]

Do you have Verizon? Are the missing channels FX, FXX, BTN, NatGeo, NatGeo Wild, FNC, FBC? Are you using CableCard? If you answered yes to all of these, then you have run into the issue where Verizon was forced by Fox to set all of Fox's cable channels as Copy-Once and you cannot record them with CableCard. I use an HDPVR attached to an STB to record those channels.

Yes I do have Verizon FIOS and those channels are listed though they are not accessible because they have the DRM tag. What's happening now is that I notice some channels are tagged as AVC and NPVR never even finds the channel.

Thanks for your help!

[HarryH3]

Sounds like your provider (Comcast perhaps?) is switching channels from MPEG-2 to h.264. That is what causes the AVC flag to appear. To be able to watch/record those channels, you will need to go into the NPVR settings screen. Select Devices, then double click on your HDHomeRun. A screen will pop up that lists all of the channels that the device can tune. Under "Details" you should see "MPEG-2" listed to each channel. For every channel that your HDHomeRun screen shows as AVC, right click on that channel in the NPVR setup screen. Select Edit Channel. In the popup window, change Service Type to H.264 HD. Do this for all of the channels tagged AVC. Now those channels should tune properly.

I think that there's a way to set all the channels for just the FIRST HDHomeRun tuner and then use Bulk Map to change the other tuners automagically, but I can't remember for sure. Perhaps someone else can fill in those details.

[HarryH3]

I found an old thread that discusses the switch to h.264. Hopefully there is some info in there that will help you get things sorted.

https://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.ph...cast+h.264