Nvidia Shield DVR recording only 75% of programs

Channels DVR Server Troubleshooting
#1

I’m new to channels. I have a nvidia shield 2017, I have a HDHomeRun Connect Quattro and a HDHomeRun Flex Duo connected to an antenna. My channels come in clear. Of course because of the HDHomeRuns, I have Ethernet cords going directly into the HDHomeRuns from the Router.

I have no special DNS settings, and no special settings in my internet other than the default from my ISP.

All my recording passes only record “most” of the show. If it’s a 60 minute show, I can only watch up to about 50 minutes and then it stops. This is on every recordings whether it’s from the antenna or TVE channels.

I have searched for a resolution along the Channels DVR forum.

What I have tried:

My settings for DVR I have changed several times to try and fix the issue. From Direct to Stream, from Linear to Blend.

I have tried to disable commercial detection.

I have tried to set padding to record 1 minute, 3 minutes, 15 minutes later…

I made sure that the HDHR connect is first priority and tested playing from clients to see which tuners are being used. The first 4 get used and if there is a 5th and 6th show, I then see the tuners on the Flex Duo being used.

I have tested the playback on Apple TV, iPhone, and through the channels back end from the IP address online.

I have tried to go to the recordings and fix time stamps. When I do this, all it does is make the recording say 50 minutes instead of 60 minutes. Or 53 minutes instead of 63 minutes depending on the padding at that time. So this tells me that the recording tried to record for the full duration and shows the full duration of 60 minutes. By during playback it stops at around 50 minutes and cuts off. Then after fixing time stamps, it actually shows the recording being 50 minutes instead of 60 minutes.

I literally have tried everything that I can think of and nothing works. All of my recordings end up cutting off before the show ends.

Also, prior to having 2 hedge’s, I just have the flex duo and it was still doing it then. So I thought maybe getting extra tuners would work and now that I have 6 tuners instead of just 2, the DVR still does not record properly.

Is there any fix to this?

#2

If you post logs from the time in question someone might be able to assist.

#3

Thanks for responding. Below you will see the logs for this morning 7:00 AM CBS Mornings.

Whatever happened this this recording, it happens to all my recordings. I have been making passes and recordings of things as tests and I have never had 1 recording that finished all the way through. They all get cut off early.

Thanks for your help.

#4

Are you using a signal amp? the seq is going from 0-100% See this article from Silicon Dust
https://info.hdhomerun.com/info/troubleshooting:signal_strength_quality

Not sure this is the issue but it is an issue... I would submit diagnostics as well.

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#5

I just installed a signal amp about 18 hours ago. Prior to that I only had 1 hdhr flex and no amp. I installed the hdhr connect a couple days ago and then added the amp about 18 hours ago.

But still, amp, no amp, 6 tuners, or 2 tuners, the same thing keeps happening since day one when I started using Channels. I’ve never had a completed recording since I began.

#6

It looks like best bet is to submit diagnostics, then the devs can look at more details and maybe get an answer.

Also, what version of channels are you on?

Have you checked under "Support" > "Troubleshooting" to see if everything is green? (some may not apply to you if you are only using OTA, and no TVE).

#7

Yeah that may not be your issue but... Amplifiers should be used only after calculating the starting level of your signal less the loss for the entire environment. Increasing the signal is not always desirable. I would remove it and see what your %signal is for your OTA channels. If it is decent then connect your 2-way splitter and see what your signal is. In my case i am 7 miles from the broadcast towers. Between my 4 way splitter and my attenuators I drop the signal -17dB. This makes the signal level for most channels about 97-99%. With HDHR, an overdriven signal is as bad or worse than a weak signal.

Like I said this is probably not the issue but it is another one....I would submit diagnostics as well.

#8

I’m currently on version 2023.08.18.2205 which looks like the most recent version.

I checked under “support” > “troubleshooting” and yes everything is green. I posted a screenshot.

IMG_6930
IMG_69301150×1990 92.8 KB

How do I send diagnostics to the devs?

#9

I didn’t need an amplifier when I just had one hdhr. I assumed I needed one when I got the second to split the signal.

I removed the amplifier and after I removed it, my local fox station was not coming in strong and kept getting errors. When I put the amp back on, it came in strong.

My stations are working and have great picture, and the DVR is clear and looks good and isn’t choppy. It has s good frame rate, not jumpy, it actually looks way better than cable boxes or even the streaming platforms like paramount or peacock for example.

However, the only issue is that it just ends early. If I record a 60 minute show, it stops at 59 minutes. If I record a 30 minute show, it stops at 20 minutes. I can never watch the end. That is the only issue and it’s been the only issue since day one.

#10

On that same troubleshooting page, there is a button to submit the diagnostics.

#11

Thanks. I just submitted the diagnostics.

I appreciate the help.

#12

Started recording at 7am

Finished recording at 9am

Your logs look fine and it says it recorded for two hours.

#13

Have you tried playing back the raw file directly in VLC (or other Video Player) to see if the recording is complete?

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#14

Right. It shows that it records for the amount of time that the show is scheduled. That’s the issue.

For example, CBS mornings is a 2 hour show. I had no padding for this record “this time”. It started at 7 am and ended at 9 am.

I go to play back and at around the 90 minute mark, it stopped. The recording never finished.

It closes out. I go back to open it again, there is no play from the beginning so every time I hit ply, it goes back to that 90 minute mark and stops.

I finally hit “mark as watched”. And then tried to play again, same thing happens. It shows that it is a 120 minute recordings but it only played for 90 minutes then stops.

I opened it from the video player from my iPhone from the server side, same thing. Only played 9 minutes then stopped.

I opened the settings for that recording and clicked “fix time stamps” and then after pressing that, the 120 minute recordings is now displayed as a 90 minute recordings.

This is the same exact thing that has been happening to all my recordings.

It records and it shows the correct time but stops prematurely. When I go to try and fix it, it then shows the “Actual” time that it prematurely stops at.

I have never had a complete recording since I began. That’s the issue.

#15

Yes. I have tried on multiple recordings to play through VLC or a video player, not through channels, and the same thing happens. It stops prematurely.

#16

I wouldn't do that unless the devs tell you to and then make a backup of your recording before doing it.

What are you running Channels DVR server on and where are the recordings being written to?

#17

This is so strange and definitely not normal. Since you are new to channels and probably don’t have many recordings yet I would start over by deleting and reinstall channels.

#18

I’m using Nvidia Shield 2017 and it’s being written to a 2 TB external Hard drive dedicated to Channels.

I’ve been testing recordings and passes.

Everything seams to be working correctly on the back end. I can go in and still see the recording in place all the way up until the show ends. But when I go to play it, it’s just always cut short.

Today I tried something different Because it’s a big night for Big Brother tonight and I can’t afford to have the DVR crap out for my family members, so I tested recordings and set the end padding out for 30 minutes.

Same thing happens. On a 60 minute show, it records 30 minutes over, so the recording displays 90 minutes. But when I go to play it, it stops at about 75 minutes. But I was able to finally watch the recording of the show that I set out to record which was 60 minutes of the 75 minute playback of the 90 minute recording.

This is my “temporary” resolution for now so that the recordings can actually play what we set out to record.

#19

I would suggest it you have another device to test as a server, try installing it on something else to see if it works (it should).

#20

I would move the DVR server to a different platform.