Channels DVR failed at recording 3 shows at once (got only 2)

Beta Community DVR Beta
#1

I had three shows set to record today at 8 am (actually, all to start 30 seconds early): Edit: actually Face the Nation started at 8:30.

  • NBC 11.1 Meet the Press
  • ABC 7.1 This Week
  • CBS 5.1 Face the Nation

I have 3 HDHomerun Extends (latest model, up to date firmware).

Only the first two were recorded. I see no evidence that the third was even attempted. The DVR log and the Extend priority listed first show the activity (see below). Nothing in the DVR log nor any of my three Extend logs show any attempt to record the show on channel 5.1.

Note: all three Extends are fully operational. They are listed in the DVR settings page. They all have the same guide USA-OTA94303.

In attempting to debug this issue, I note that the DVR will not use the other two tuners even if I list them first in priority and then go to the guide in the web GUI and play a station. I could try restarting the DVR, butā€”since failing to record a program is a big dealā€”Iā€™m wondering if you developers want me to check anything before I try restarting.

Also, even if the DVR is acting as if I have one Extend, shouldnā€™t I see something in the logs?

Supporting logs below.

DVR log
2017/04/02 07:59:30 [DVR] Starting job 1491145170-12 Meet the Press on ch=[11.1]
2017/04/02 07:59:30 [DVR] Starting job 1491145170-18 This Week With George Stephanopoulos on ch=[7.1]
2017/04/02 07:59:30 [DVR] Waiting 1h59m59.991842572s until next job 1491152370-16
2017/04/02 07:59:30 [DVR] Recording for job 1491145170-12 from 10542D1A ch11.1 into ā€œTV/Meet the Press/2017-04-02-0759 Meet the Press 2017-04-02.mpgā€ for 1h1m29.991480366s
2017/04/02 07:59:30 [DVR] Recording for job 1491145170-18 from 10542D1A ch7.1 into "TV/This We

HDHomerun 1 log
20170402-14:59:30 Tuner: tuner0 tuning 11.1 KNTV HD (8vsb:207MHz-3)
20170402-14:59:30 Tuner: tuner0 streaming http to 192.168.168.193:41711
20170402-14:59:30 Tuner: tuner1 tuning 7.1 KGO-HD (8vsb:177MHz-3)
20170402-14:59:30 Tuner: tuner1 streaming http to 192.168.168.193:41712

HDHomeruns 2 and 3 have nothing in the logs around this time.

#2

Was face the nation listed in the schedule before hand?

#3

I would give it about a 95% certainly that it was listed. I checked the station guide online (after the fact) and it showed it at 8:30AM. I also see for the next two weeks that Face the Nation is listed to record in Channels DVR.

Is there any way on your end that you could check your guide for OTA94303?

#4

You could check http://tvschedule.zap2it.com

Also you can check the log for the last time ā€œFace the Nationā€ is mentioned, and see what jobs were queued up.

Visit http://x.x.x.x:8089/log?n=5000 to see more of the log.

#5

The link you listed for TV schedules, like the one I already checked, shows Face the Nation airing at 8:30 am on channel 5.1.

I also checked the log and found nothing remarkable about Fcve the Nation. From time to time, new airings are found, but the log message does not give a listing date. Perhaps if more info were added, this would be easier to debug. (After the fact, itā€™s tough proving a listing existed or if it had a NEW tag.)

Lastly, I just tried hitting record on six current programs and it all workedā€”that is, the DVR is recording on all six tuners. That kills my theory that the DVR is only using one tuner.

I guess this will remain a mystery.

#6

See if there was ever one listed for 1491146970 (which is 30min after the other two recordings, i.e. 08:29:30)

#7

Thanks. Yes, it was queued:

2017/03/19 09:20:50 [DVR] Rule ā€˜Face the Nationā€™ found 1 new airings
2017/03/19 09:20:50 [DVR] queued recording job 1491146970-17

And then, a day later, on March 20, it was deleted (expired serial):

2017/03/20 09:54:10 [DVR] Deleting job with expired serial 1.489940444e+09: 1491146970-17: Face the Nation

#8

One more thing, KPIX here in SF often cuts Face the Nation short and plays the rest of it at 2AM Monday.

As you can see in the image below, another 1/2 hour of Face the Nation is airing a little less than six hours from now. Tonight's airing is also marked NEW. Could it be both airings have the same ID and that is causing the first airing to be deleted by Channels DVR?

#9

Sounds like some sort of guide issueā€¦

The job was initially queued, but then removed because the guide data updated and the airing was no longer match any passes (either it disappeared, or was no longer marked as New).

The original airing and re-airing DO have the same ID, but thatā€™s normal and expected. In fact, thatā€™s why the DVR decided to record the second airing. Usually it ignores the second airing, because it already has a recording with that episode ID.

Let me know if you see this againā€¦

#10

@tmm1 I see the exact same thing happening again on April 16.

(1) Face the Nation is in the guide at 8:30AM on channel 5.1. See photos 1 and 2.

(2) Face the Nation is not scheduled for April 16 at 8:30AM. Rather, the Monday 2AM half hour replay is scheduled.

#11

Interesting. What happens if you pause and resume your pass for Face the Nation?

#12

Pausing and resuming resulted in Face the Nation being scheduled at 8:30 AM on April 16.

#13

The log looks remarkably like the case I previously reported.

2017/03/27 09:46:35 [DVR] Rule ā€˜Face the Nationā€™ found 1 new airings
2017/03/27 09:46:35 [DVR] queued recording job 1492356570-17

2017/03/31 09:37:43 [DVR] Deleting job with expired serial 1.490890831e+09: 1492356570-17: Face the Nation

And then, after pause and resume:

2017/04/04 16:12:42 [DVR] Rule ā€˜Face the Nationā€™ found 3 new airings
2017/04/04 16:12:42 [DVR] queued recording job 1491751770-17
2017/04/04 16:12:43 [DVR] queued recording job 1492356570-17
2017/04/04 16:12:43 [DVR] queued recording job 1493024370-17

Is it possible these listings are disappearing and then coming back and you never check if they came back?

#14

I think this is a bug due to how data for future days loads in, perhaps combined with the fact that guide data is downloaded between 9am-10am, which is after this program starts.

Basically the pass ends up matching the 2:30am airings, and then after that it has no reason to switch to the other one since according to the data theyā€™re the same.

Not quite sure what the best resolution here isā€¦

In this case, since you prefer the earlier showing, the easiest thing would be for you to edit your pass and add a Time == 8:30AM condition to it. That way it will only record what you want.

#15

Iā€™m not sure if the show ever moves from 8:30, so I donā€™t want to hardcode it.

In any event, it sounds like youā€™ve identified the bug. I still have DirecTV, so I can record it there.

#16

Possible solution for you to test:

Retain the current pass

Add a new pass with exact info as above, + add the ==8:30AM condition, then make sure the priority of the added pass is set higher than the current.

#17

Thanks. Iā€™m testing Channels DVR to find and report bugs. Iā€™ve been using it for all the OTA channels; but, as I said above, I can just record the show on my DirecTV DVR.

#18

OK, thought it might be a possible workaround which could be used by others in same situation.

Iā€™d test it myself, however, I canā€™t replicate your situationā€¦my schedule only has the original show in the late morning (10:30 edt)ā€¦ hence:

  1. show starts after the daily guide update here and
  2. no replay later in the day.
#19

Ok, thatā€™s fair. I created a season pass for another show and then converted it to the same series ID. It seems the time attribute does not support ==. One can only use contains. As such, I chose time contains 08:30. Weā€™ll see what happens. Of course, Iā€™d rather see the bug fixed.

#20

Iā€™m not sure if a second pass will help hereā€¦

The issue has to do with how our guide provider makes data available to us, and how itā€™s downloaded into the DVR. This summer we hope to switch to a new API that our provider is launching, which will make it much easier to keep the DVRā€™s guide database fresh (since weā€™ll be able to download ā€œupdatesā€ directly from them instead of having to re-download all the data every day).