Sever not honoring Tuner Priority for Recordings?

Channels DVR Server Troubleshooting
#1

I had my secondary Channels DVR server that is running on a Pi4 set so that Locast is higher Priority sever side than a HDHR. Locast set to use OTA numbering.
In the client apps, HDHR is higher priority, and locast source disabled.

This setup resulted in the user being able to use the client app, the guide, etc, as normal, tune to familiar numbered local stations via OTA and for live playback, uses the higher quality HDHR.
When user set a recording, either future via the guide, or clicked Record for an in progress program, the sever would engage and use Locast as the recording source.
I tested this several times and confirmed it was working like this.

My HDHR tuner failed and had to be replaced with a new one, thus I had to do the setup and guide data process for the new tuner into Channels in the server.

Now, I can NOT for the life of me get this setup to work again.
I mentioned in the long running thread about a guide bug that happens, duplicate program data blocks, when "use ota numbering" is enabled in the server.
This now happens 100% each time i enable this option, when before it did not have the issue. So I must now disable that setting.

As a workaround, i un favorited the HDHR channels, and set all the Locast as Favs, still having it set as higher priority still in sever, but the sever still uses HDHR.

When user sets recording in their app, i see it listed in the que, and at one point it did say xxxx,xx.x meaning locast channel, then OTA HDHR channel, and that should mean it uses the first channel listed (locast)But it did not.

The app is passing say, 11.1 to the server as the channel to be recorded, as that is what the user app is set to only use, however, shouldn't the server's priority take precedence when it goes to run its own recording task when it sees its the same mapped channel?

In this new use case, it is 2 different channel numbers, 11.1 and 5913, but it has the same channel call sign/guide data. (I have seen this work fine on my own server for programs I have set my self, where it even lists 3 or 4 channels numbers based on my sources, and it uses the first one each time)

In the previous setup, with Locast set to use ota numbering, both sources were the same channel number, so maybe that is why it worked as intended?
But still feel there is some issue here with honoring source Priority in the sever.

server
2021.05.20.0050

os
2021.0428.1701

#2

The numbers listed on the DVR web UI Schedule are the order in which the channels will be tried when recording. If that's not what you're seeing, please screenshot the schedule display and copy/paste the logs from the time of the recording which show what channels are tried and in which order.

Note that in addition to favs, HD status also determines which tuner is used. Does your HDHR report channels as HD correctly on my.hdhomerun.com under Channel Lineup?

#3

The new HDHR shows exactly the same line up as the previous one. HD indicators and all.

I gave up trying to get it to work as it was getting to aggravating.

But when i last set a test record yesterday, the web ui and the client app only showed the OTA channel number for the recording scheduled, despite the sever priorty level set higher for locast.

#4

Just set new record as test. It is only showing OTA channel.

set
set2388Ă—541 147 KB

server
server1141Ă—721 39.1 KB

#5

O. i think when i say i saw it say both channels, I had clicked into the show title and it listed the episodes and that is where it shows both stations.

fcsd
fcsd2851Ă—530 53 KB

here is an example from my other sever though, for manage recording
it shows the channel priority fine.

mine
mine2400Ă—610 118 KB

#6

After you uncheck/check OTA numbering option, you probably need to reload the guide data.

#7

Yup, did that many times.
Only the option to delete and re-create database option fixed the guide issues when i turned off the setting.
(sorry forgot to included that in this thread, i posted all that in the older thread on the guide issues )

#8

In the log so far.

2021/05/20 18:49:46.095133 [DVR] Waiting 9m13.904884366s until next job 1621555140-ch4.1 Young Sheldon

#9

Seems like you set it to record for that one channel from the guide. If you create the recording via a Pass or search results it should list all the channels on the Schedule.

The schedule is the source of truth. Unless the channel numbers are listed there, they will not be tried.

#10

As i said, yes, i am setting the record via the guide via the app on the Shield. That is the main way to do to. the user that uses this does not use passes. she just uses the guide, or quick guide when in progress and wants to record.

Again, this worked fine for well over a month and only stopped working when i changed out the HDHR.

It should not matter that exact channel the app sends the server, when the server settings are set to use its own priority...that is how logically Priority should work. If the sever will always use what the user clicks in the guide, then wat good is the settings in the server?

I suspect it will work fine with use ota enabled again, but that makes the guide un-useable to properly set something to record.

#11

When i enabled that setting, and reload the guide data, that is when the duplicate program data blocks happen as described in this thread:

I uncheck it, reload, or re-download entire Guide, it still persists.
Delete and Re-create database is what fixes it (until i try to enable the setting again)

#12

If user selects 4.1 in the guide, DVR will always record 4.1. Manual selection for a single recording does not work like a pass. It uses the channel that the user explicitly told it to record. If you had both HDHR and Locast set to use 4.1 with the same guide data, only then would the DVR priorities come into play on a manual user record from the client.

#13

Possible fix for locast duplicate data bug will be in v2021.05.21.0024

#14

Yes. i did. And it worked fine.
Can't get that to work now. that is the main issue? i dont know for sure.

#15

You probably also need to turn off tuner sharing.

#16

Never used tuner sharing for HDHR...and also, u can not disable it for TVE or locast.

1 Like
#17

My understanding is the same as @djcastaldo. Passes and recordings from the guide are fundamentally different. All the favorites and priorities you set on the server only apply to recordings done automatically by a pass. Any “custom” recording done by a user from a guide will record the exact channel they clicked in the guide. The DVR settings don’t come into play in any way in this case, it just queues it up.

#18

2021.05.21.0113

seems to have fixed the locast guide bug.

#19

Eureka!!!

I was right. The key was the setting use OTA numbering for Locast.
Now that the guide bug is fixed, i have that enabled and its is working as it was.
Setting a record is triggering Locast.
Excellent.

Thank You!

2 Likes