If I am watching TV (DVR Recordings) all of my channels come in with no problems. If I stop wattching TV the DVR stops recording after 20 minutes or so. But if I let it stop and start watching TV on my firestick It will instantly start recorrdinng again and have no more problems until I stop watching TV again/ And thats the part I dont understand. Wouldn't it not work if I was watching TV and the placement was bad? And why does it stop working if I am not watching tv?
Ahhh ok so the computer being idle likely has nothing to do with it. Sounds like when you are recording your stream is so bad that dies after a while and then maybe when you retune the channel it kick starts the recording again. Either way your signal issue needs to be sorted so get that corrected and then do some more testing.
20 minutes just happens to be the default time hard disks spin down in most Windows power plans. Could it be something odd like that?
Here are the logs from when I was watching TV. Therw is no mention of a bad signal when I am watching TV.
2024/12/20 22:00:00.050244 [SNR] Signal statistics for "TV\Green Acres\Green Acres S04E01 1968-09-25 Guess Whos Not Going to t 2024-12-20-2130.mpg": ss=82%,80%-85% snq=58%,0%-66% seq=94%,0%-100% bps=2072228,0-5182784 pps=185,0-443 sigerr=7%
2024/12/20 22:00:00.065297 [SNR] Signal statistics for "TV\The King of Queens\The King of Queens S06E03 2003-10-08 King Pong 2024-12-20-2130.mpg": ss=82%,80%-85% snq=58%,0%-66% seq=94%,0%-100% bps=2272180,0-5288064 pps=201,0-452 sigerr=7%
2024/12/20 22:00:00.066310 [SNR] Signal statistics for "TV\That '70s Show\That '70s Show S05E12 2003-01-22 Misty Mountain Hop 2024-12-20-2130.mpg": ss=89%,87%-92% snq=73%,50%-78% seq=98%,0%-100% bps=1286531,85728-3202016 pps=123,8-280 sigerr=4%
2024/12/20 22:00:00.066310 [SNR] Signal statistics for "Movies\The Santa Clause 2 (2002) 2024-12-20-2000.mpg": ss=100% snq=99%,95%-100% seq=100% bps=15894866,1881504-16128896 pps=1360,161-1381
2024/12/20 22:00:00.073111 [DVR] Starting job 1734750000-ch11.2 Forensic Files on ch=[11.2]
2024/12/20 22:00:00.073634 [DVR] Processing file-74: Movies\The Santa Clause 2 (2002) 2024-12-20-2000.mpg
2024/12/20 22:00:00.073634 [SNR] Buffer statistics for "TV\Green Acres\Green Acres S04E01 1968-09-25 Guess Whos Not Going to t 2024-12-20-2130.mpg": buf=0% drop=0%
2024/12/20 22:00:00.085235 [SNR] Buffer statistics for "TV\The King of Queens\The King of Queens S06E03 2003-10-08 King Pong 2024-12-20-2130.mpg": buf=0% drop=0%
2024/12/20 22:00:00.089846 [DVR] Finished job 1734748200-ch4.3 Green Acres
2024/12/20 22:00:00.104398 [DVR] Finished job 1734748200-ch4.4 The King of Queens
2024/12/20 22:00:00.104398 [SNR] Buffer statistics for "TV\That '70s Show\That '70s Show S05E12 2003-01-22 Misty Mountain Hop 2024-12-20-2130.mpg": buf=0% drop=0%
2024/12/20 22:00:00.104398 [SNR] Buffer statistics for "Movies\The Santa Clause 2 (2002) 2024-12-20-2000.mpg": buf=0% drop=0%
2024/12/20 22:00:00.104902 [DVR] Finished job 1734742800-ch9.1 The Santa Clause 2 (2002)
2024/12/20 22:00:00.122907 [DVR] Finished job 1734748200-ch7.3 That '70s Show
2024/12/20 22:00:00.261981 [IDX] Generating video index for file-74: Movies\The Santa Clause 2 (2002) 2024-12-20-2000.mpg
2024/12/20 22:00:00.280793 [DVR] Processing file-86: TV\That '70s Show\That '70s Show S05E12 2003-01-22 Misty Mountain Hop 2024-12-20-2130.mpg
2024/12/20 22:00:00.285403 [DVR] Running commercial detection on file 74 (Movies\The Santa Clause 2 (2002) 2024-12-20-2000.mpg)
2024/12/20 22:00:00.448824 [DVR] Processing file-85: TV\The King of Queens\The King of Queens S06E03 2003-10-08 King Pong 2024-12-20-2130.mpg
2024/12/20 22:00:00.602566 [DVR] Processing file-84: TV\Green Acres\Green Acres S04E01 1968-09-25 Guess Whos Not Going to t 2024-12-20-2130.mpg
2024/12/20 22:00:00.872248 [TNR] Opened connection to 10A75647/2 for ch11.2 Crime
2024/12/20 22:00:00.873262 [DVR] Recording for job 1734750000-ch11.2 from 10A75647 ch11.2 into "TV\Forensic Files\Forensic Files S13E02 2008-09-19 House Hunting 2024-12-20-2200.mpg" for 29m59.9268883s
2024/12/20 22:00:00.873262 [DVR] Starting job 1734750000-ch11.7 Cold Case Files on ch=[11.7]
2024/12/20 22:00:00.947281 [IDX] Generating video index for job 1734750000-ch11.2
2024/12/20 22:00:01.672072 [TNR] Opened connection to 10A75647/3 for ch11.7 NEST
2024/12/20 22:00:01.672072 [DVR] Recording for job 1734750000-ch11.7 from 10A75647 ch11.7 into "TV\Cold Case Files\Cold Case Files S01E05 1999-01-29 The Hunter Homicides The 2024-12-20-2200.mpg" for 59m59.1267378s
2024/12/20 22:00:01.672072 [DVR] Starting job 1734750000-ch7.3 That '70s Show on ch=[7.3]
2024/12/20 22:00:01.672072 [DVR] Waiting 29m58.3279275s until next job 1734751800-ch11.2 Forensic Files
2024/12/20 22:00:01.672072 [DBG] Scheduling wake timer for scheduled recording in 28m28.3279275s
2024/12/20 22:00:01.672072 [DVR] Waiting 29m58.3279275s until next job 1734751800-ch11.2 Forensic Files
2024/12/20 22:00:01.672072 [DBG] Scheduling wake timer for scheduled recording in 28m28.3279275s
2024/12/20 22:00:01.751063 [IDX] Generating video index for job 1734750000-ch11.7
2024/12/20 22:00:02.129213 [TNR] Opened connection to 10A75647/0 for ch7.3 WXYZ-LF
2024/12/20 22:00:02.129213 [DVR] Recording for job 1734750000-ch7.3 from 10A75647 ch7.3 into "TV\That '70s Show\That '70s Show S05E17 2003-02-26 Battle of Evermore 2024-12-20-2200.mpg" for 29m58.3279275s
2024/12/20 22:00:02.200872 [IDX] Generating video index for job 1734750000-ch7.3
2024/12/20 22:01:08.982773 [IDX] Finished video index generation for file-74 in 68s
2024/12/20 22:03:30.206318 [DVR] Waiting 26m29.7936816s until next job 1734751800-ch11.2 Forensic Files
2024/12/20 22:03:30.206318 [DBG] Scheduling wake timer for scheduled recording in 24m59.7936816s
2024/12/20 22:03:42.951067 [SNR] Signal statistics for "TV\Cold Case Files\Cold Case Files S01E05 1999-01-29 The Hunter Homicides The 2024-12-20-2200.mpg": ss=83% snq=47%,46%-48% seq=7%,0%-31% bps=1289406,412096-2147712 pps=123,50-194 sigerr=100%
2024/12/20 22:03:42.953810 [SNR] Buffer statistics for "TV\Cold Case Files\Cold Case Files S01E05 1999-01-29 The Hunter Homicides The 2024-12-20-2200.mpg": buf=0% drop=0%
2024/12/20 22:03:42.966361 [TNR] Closed connection to 10A75647/3 for ch11.7 NEST
2024/12/20 22:03:42.968386 [DVR] Job cancelled: 1734750000-ch11.7 Cold Case Files
2024/12/20 22:03:42.972241 [DVR] Waiting 26m17.0277587s until next job 1734751800-ch11.2 Forensic Files
2024/12/20 22:03:42.972241 [DBG] Scheduling wake timer for scheduled recording in 24m47.0277587s
2024/12/20 22:08:19.726877 [DVR] Commercial detection for The Santa Clause 2 (2002) 2024-12-20-2000.mpg finished with 12 markers in 8m19.4414747s.
2024/12/20 22:08:19.825300 [DVR] Running commercial detection on file 84 (TV\Green Acres\Green Acres S04E01 1968-09-25 Guess Whos Not Going to t 2024-12-20-2130.mpg)
2024/12/20 22:08:50.842578 [DVR] Commercial detection for Green Acres S04E01 1968-09-25 Guess Whos Not Going to t 2024-12-20-2130.mpg finished with 4 markers in 31.0178031s.
2024/12/20 22:08:50.908404 [DVR] Running commercial detection on file 85 (TV\The King of Queens\The King of Queens S06E03 2003-10-08 King Pong 2024-12-20-2130.mpg)
2024/12/20 22:09:27.460333 [DVR] Commercial detection for The King of Queens S06E03 2003-10-08 King Pong 2024-12-20-2130.mpg finished with 8 markers in 36.5525546s.
2024/12/20 22:09:27.526473 [DVR] Running commercial detection on file 86 (TV\That '70s Show\That '70s Show S05E12 2003-01-22 Misty Mountain Hop 2024-12-20-2130.mpg)
2024/12/20 22:09:56.051511 [DVR] Commercial detection for That '70s Show S05E12 2003-01-22 Misty Mountain Hop 2024-12-20-2130.mpg finished with 8 markers in 28.5255532s.
I'm not sure that's true; from the beginning of your posted logs:
58% average signal–to–noise and 94% average signal error seems to tell a different story.
In short, fix your antenna before troubleshooting Channels issues.
Yeah signal issues defintiely there. also i see wake timers being set in the logs so your machine is going to sleep. You might want to disable sleep.
And 100% of this recording affected by Signal error.
You're probably watching from a Channels Client that is accessing your HDHR tuner directly, bypassing the Channels DVR Server. Either that, or you're watching the recording in progress and ignoring the macro blocking, artifacts and lost frames. Digital TV is different than the old analog TV where you could VCR tape what we used to call snow and confetti on a poor signal. With digital, it's all or mostly nothing.
Wake timers being set is standard on certain OSes; this does not necessarily indicate the host system is set to sleep. (Think of it as a preventative measure for the case that the computer does go to sleep, without knowing whether it will be awake at the necessary time; I used to do the same for my MythTV system.)
How do I measure signal strength? Because I am going to move the antenna around until I get a strong signal.
Ahh ok i probably dont see this running linux server as sleep is not really a thing
Its got to be the signal error affecting both environments. The HDHR and antenna are the only common points for both environments other than the network but the logs indicate that its a signal issue.
Do you have an ios device? If so signal gh is what you want
Go for best SNQ-Signal Quality, which is SNR-Signal to Noise ratio.
Aiming an OTA antenna using the numbers
There are three percentages reported by the HDHomeRun -
Signal Strength (ss)
- raw power level as measured by the receiver
Signal Quality (snq)
- how clearly defined the digital data is
Symbol Quality (seq)
- Amount of correct or corrected data over the last second
The above definitions can be confusing, so a much simpler definition is to imagine listening to the radio:
- Signal Strength represents the volume
- Signal Quality represents how clearly you can hear the lyrics over background noise
- Symbol Quality indicates the percentage of the lyrics you could hear or guess correctly
As it turns out, Signal Strength is somewhat irrelevant; if your antenna isn't pointed properly, it doesn't matter how loud you turn up the volume, the static will prevent you from hearing the lyrics correctly. Similarly, amplifying a weak HDTV signal can result in a high signal strength but too much noise to decode the digital data correctly.
Use the Signal Strength for a rough idea of direction, but align the antenna for the highest Signal Quality, ignoring Signal Strength. When aimed correctly, Symbol Quality will show 100%, indicating no errors in the output. Splitters and amplifiers can introduce noise which will lower the Signal Quality, even if the Signal Strength increases.
Also i think signal gh shows you all of those in real time as well IIRC
Also, on Windows you can use SiliconDust's HDHRConfig_GUI tool to see those stats live.
And a good reminder, the "Signal Strength" entry cannot register above 100%, but often a value of "100" represents more than 100%, meaning a too–hot signal; usually aim your antenna to find a signal between 80–95%. (SiliconDust HDHR tuners are very temperamental, and have WAY more issues with too–strong signals that won't affect other devices, like the tuner built into your TV.)
Thanks for all your help everyone. I moved the antenna and I got a stronger signal, According to the hdhomerun_gui and almost every channel is all green. Except for 1 channel which is green on the top bar, yellow on the middle bar and green on the bottom bar, I lost 15 channels but if it records over night it will be worth it. I am about to head to bed and I will check it in the morning.
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Well I woke up this morning to only 5 channels coming in and nothing recorded. The unit must be bad because I didnt channge anything, I am going to get a replacement from Amazon,
P.S. thank you to everyone who helped me in this thread.
Have you filed a trouble ticket from Silicondust they can tell you what the problem is and replace the unit if needed. They have great support.
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You can always orde a new one and then put a ticket in for replacement with silicondust for the origjnal one in the mean time. They will replace it for you and then you will have 2 units. Never hurts to have more tuners.
Did it try recording from one of those 5 channels, or was it trying to record from the channels you lost when you moved the antenna?
After moving the antenna to get better reception you should have done a channel scan on the HDHR, refreshed the HDHR lineup on Channels DVR and Delete and Recreate the guide database on Channels DVR. Otherwise it could still have lineup and/or guide data for the channels that went missing and might have tried recording from them.
Just wanted to say thanks again to everyone who helped me. I recived my replacement from Amazon today and it works perfectly. I have been recording for hours with no problems. I am going to send the defective unit back to Amazon.
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