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AR vs padding: which broadcasters are reliable?

O

OldGit

New Member
Just wondering which broadcasters tend to be the most reliable with regards to providing accurate and reliable AR information?

From my experience the main terrestrial broadcasters (BBC, ITV, Channel 4 etc) tend to provide pretty reliable info. On the other hand Pick, CBS Action, Dave etc have in the past proven to be less reliable with AR so I've got them set for padding.
Anyone care to relate their experiences?
 
Luke said:
Not terrible, but non-existent. If left to AR all the BBC radio channels I use record according to the schedule.
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This highlights a deficiency in the HDR Fox T2 to me. I'd like to be able to say "use AR for all channels that have it, and use padding for those that don't". Such an obvious feature to me.
 
Owen Smith said:
This highlights a deficiency in the HDR Fox T2 to me. I'd like to be able to say "use AR for all channels that have it, and use padding for those that don't". Such an obvious feature to me.
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It's a deficiency in the way that AR was introduced to freeview. At least back then there was nothing that would indicate whether a channel used AR or not. The AR start of a programme is flagged by changing the time that the real now and next information switches from one programme to another. For non-AR channels the real now and next information just changes at about the scheduled time. There wasn't a way to tell the two apart and as far as I am aware still isn't.
 
Luke said:
Using the CF it is you that has to decide on an individual channel basis, you can't just set it by saying "use AR for all channels that have it, and use padding for those that don't".
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Already explained there is no way of telling if the broadcaster uses AR :eek:. What's wrong with common sense ? If you have problems with a specific channel simply enable padding. Basically use AR for BBC ITV CH4 and CH5 content and for all the others (Which I never record anyway) enable padding.
 
As I understand it, Accurate Recording is part of the Freeview ETSI spec. so (theoretically ) all channels have AR., the Humax would have to work out which channels were feeding the correct setting into the AR data and which weren't
 
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free30 said:
A preset based on common knowledge would be good for the Multi-mode package.
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The permutations are very large, and unlike satellite the channels you can view are dictated by the transmitter you can receive. Frankly (It's not a package I use), all credit is due to the clever programmers that made the option possible. All my recordings use AR that's entirely down to my choice of channel viewing. Common knowledge already posted, PSB channels and derivatives are now generally reliable (Even channel 5 at long last, though you can't guarantee which channel the recording may be made from).

You can easily check for yourself, tune to the channel you have a recording due to start. Display the current recording schedule while tuned to the channel due to be recorded. If the Preview thumbnail displays the next programme and the scheduled recording has not started there is a clear problem with AR.

By all means post your observations.
 
Ezra Pound said:
As I understand it, Accurate Recording is part of the Freeview ETSI spec. so (theoretically ) all channels have AR., the Humax would have to work out which channels were feeding the correct setting into the AR data and which weren't
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See section 5.2.4. Recording starts by identifying either (1) a change from following to present, or (2) in the case of recorders that can cope with a power cut in the middle of recording and restart just the present instance of the EIT present/following entry. There is no difference in the content of the table between an AR provider and an AR non-provider.
 
Luke said:
See section 5.2.4. Recording starts by identifying either (1) a change from following to present, or (2) in the case of recorders that can cope with a power cut in the middle of recording and restart just the present instance of the EIT present/following entry. There is no difference in the content of the table between an AR provider and an AR non-provider.
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That's a poor spec. Tying AR to Now/Next doesn't seem like a good idea to me, and there should be a way to indicate whether AR is active on a channel or not.

One of the problems this scheme gives is on Channel 5 with a two minute news bulletin in the middle of a film you get two recordings for the film, when I want one that has the News in the middle of it (easier to handle on playback).
 
It think there is scope for using a particularly named favourites list as either an AR list or an AR exceptions list, to feed the multimode package. This would make it possible to manage through the SUI instead of having to use the WebIF (although the usual reboots would be required to update new recording schedule items to be either AR or padding).

Would that help?
 
I notice Quest+1 doesn't even always get the EPG right - even though you would think it is a simple matter of repeating the listing for Quest with a 1 hour time shift! Just at the moment Scrapheap Challenge is on, but the EPG says New Yankee Workshop.
 
Black Hole said:
I notice Quest+1 doesn't even always get the EPG right - even though you would think it is a simple matter of repeating the listing for Quest with a 1 hour time shift!
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Quest is the only freeview +1 channel that does usuaually do that. The others tend to use different series CRIDs on their plus ones.

Black Hole said:
Just at the moment Scrapheap Challenge is on, but the EPG says New Yankee Workshop.
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Sometimes the Humax freeview models display the events for now and next from the 7 day epg instead of the present/following event. I am not certain what the HDR-FOX T2 does and when. Was the 7 day epg OK?
 
No, the EPG was wrong and so was the Now & Next (I'm not sure where the data comes from). Not the first time either.

I wasn't talking about CRIDs.
 
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