Bug if no tuners available

[janoonk]

I have quad tuner HDHomeRun.
If no tuners are in use and in the guide I select four current running shows to record this works great. The fifth show will give me an error "no tuner available".
BUT if 1 tuner is in use by another program (I my case TV Mosaic) and I only have three available for NextPVR and I then select three current shows to record it works.... BUT the fourth show won't give me an error.
If I then cancel 1 recording (from the three) and go back to the fourth show that didn't succeed to be recorded NextPVR thinks it is recording! I have to do cancel and go back to it again and press record.

[sub]

If you configure channels as being available to NextPVR on a certain tuner, then NextPVR's scheduler has to assume that tuner will be avilable to it. It has no way to know you'll later be using that tuner for something else. (or currently using it for something else)

[janoonk]

Why don't you use the HDHomeRun API to check tuner availability?
https://info.hdhomerun.com/info/http_api

You could also just check the status page through a simple web API call for example http://192.168.11.105/tuners.html
and parse the results.

You can also just use auto in the url so a free tuner will be used, no need to specify the exact tuner.
And if you check the API docs you can read that if a call to http://192.168.11.105:5004/auto/v1
and if it fails, because all tuners are occupied, a 503 HTTP status code will be returned. It even returns more detailed info in the response headers:
X-HDHomeRun-Error: 805 All Tuners In Use

[Graham]

Why don't you use the HDHomeRun API to check tuner availability?

Not everyone uses HDHR tuners ... plus not everyone uses multiple softwares to do more or less the same thing to record and watch TV ... There is much else to do and only one Sub.

Why don't you use one software to record and watch TV?

[janoonk]

Why don't you use the HDHomeRun API to check tuner availability?

Not everyone uses HDHR tuners ... plus not everyone uses multiple softwares to do more or less the same thing to record and watch TV ... There is much else to do and only one Sub.

Why don't you use one software to record and watch TV?

You're right ofcourse.  I am using multiple software that uses the tuners... main reason because I am still migrating from HDHomeRun app and TV Mosaic app and recording backend to NextPVR (and app) and still do some testing. TV Mosaic has become absolete / EOL, but sometimes I still use the HDHomeRun app to watch TV, a habit I guess. I guess I have to choose

Nevertheless it would make NextPVR more robust, but with only 1 man coding I agree that this not a prio.

Sidenote: Why not make NextPVR open-source so more people can help sub?

[Graham]

Sidenote: Why not make NextPVR open-source so more people can help sub?

It's not for me to say ... but what the heck ... A long time ago, Sub was was granted access to proprietary information by this or that tuner manufacturer on condition that he wrote closed source software.

Plus ... and importantly ... NextPVR "just works" because it is in the hands of one bloke who has been writing the same program for more than fifteen years and is really beginning to get the hang of it now ...

[mvallevand]

Using the API wouldn't buy too much since it will still try and use another tuner if it fails. It is a method that will work with all tuners not just Silcon Dust. Once you have a stable environment it will be better. Also your explanation doesn't cut it because while you may be using other apps for recording playback that doesn't mean you have to continue recording in them until a series ends.

I do have a utility to import TV Mosaic recordings if that helps.

Martin

[sub]

Why don't you use the HDHomeRun API to check tuner availability?
https://info.hdhomerun.com/info/http_api

You could also just check the status page through a simple web API call for example http://192.168.11.105/tuners.html
and parse the results.

You can also just use auto in the url so a free tuner will be used, no need to specify the exact tuner.
And if you check the API docs you can read that if a call to http://192.168.11.105:5004/auto/v1
and if it fails, because all tuners are occupied, a 503 HTTP status code will be returned. It even returns more detailed info in the response headers:
X-HDHomeRun-Error: 805 All Tuners In Use

In addition to what was already said above...

There would be no point in me checking what tuners are available at the time you schedule the recordings, since that in no way reflects what tuners will be available at some later time when the recordings are due to happen. ie, you might be watching live tv in some other software now, but it doesn't mean you will be later when the recordings are due to start. NextPVR has to assume that it can schedule recordings on any tuners you told it are available. ie, if you have four tuners which you've setup in NextPVR, it has to assume those four tuners will be available at recording time, so will allow you to schedule four recordings. When the recordings try to start, if a tuner isn't available, that recording will ultimately get an error.

If you're going to use the software in different applications, I'd recommend deleting a couple of the tuners in NextPVR, so that it's not working on the assumption that it can user all the tuners.

[janoonk]

Using the API wouldn't buy too much since it will still try and use another tuner if it fails.  It is a method that will work with all tuners not just Silcon Dust. Once you have a stable environment it will be better.  Also your explanation doesn't cut it because while you may be using other apps for recording playback that doesn't mean you have to continue recording in them until a series ends.

I do have a utility to import TV Mosaic recordings if that helps.

Martin

I meant watching *live* TV (with the HDHomeRun app). I am already doing all my recording with NextPVR in Docker on my NAS and it's working great (since I fixed my broken coax cable): 4 HD streams of 12MBit each and CPU < 8%.

Thanks for the offer about import tool but it wasn't much work to recreate the few re-recurring schedules I had.

[janoonk]

Sidenote: Why not make NextPVR open-source so more people can help sub?

It's not for me to say ... but what the heck ... A long time ago, Sub was was granted access to proprietary information by this or that tuner manufacturer on condition that he wrote closed source software.

Plus ... and importantly ... NextPVR "just works" because it is in the hands of one bloke who has been writing the same program for more than fifteen years and is really beginning to get the hang of it now ...

Then hopefully sub will get at least 100 years old so I can continue using it
All jokes aside as much as I love people working hard and be passionate about it... what if sub stops developing or something happens to him? Open-source is the way to go. It's inspiring to have multiple people working on the same project, helping and learning from each other. You spread/lower the risk that the project get's abandoned. But ok that's just my opinion.
Meanwhile I will continue contribute here on the forum (testing, giving feedback) but I could do much more... and with me many other users with dev experience also.