HDR-FOX T2 to HDHomeRun, my journey

Just a suggestion, not being a user, but it might be nice to allow the user to allocate tuners manually.
 
if someone comes along and watches one of the recordings then deletes it
Click to expand...
Yeah, that would be me while watching late at night.:rolleyes:

We are not short on tuners, so let's use two. Tuner usage is only higher during the few minutes of padding overlap.
 
Last edited:
lc200 said:
Although the guide update uses up a tuner to update the guide and can take around 10 or 15 minutes,
Click to expand...
But if it's not doing anything then why not put it to some use, instead of leaving it idle?
if recordings are taking place and there aren't enough tuners available the guide update is automatically terminated to let the recording take place.
Click to expand...
So there is no problem with doing the above, as the only niggle is already solved.
 
After around 10 or 15 minutes there are no changes to the guide so it just keeps seeing the same data, and the guide isn't usually updated frequently enough to need to keep things running constantly.

I've written the software on the basis that other applications (Android TV boxes etc) may also want to use the tuners, so it's written to keep tuners free rather than grab hold of them all the time which would prevent other apps using them. Absolutely though, if tuners are not needed elsewhere and the person is not concerned with the extra small increase in power consumption 24/7 it could just run a tuner continuously and constantly update the guide. I will see about making that an option.
 
lc200 said:
@mike, welcome on board. I should be on commission with Silicondust :) The frequency to use for the guide data should default to one of the HD Muxes, but the option is available to change to a different frequency, for example if you are on the margins of reception and can't get the HD muxes too well you might want to go for a different frequency. All muxes carry the same guide data. Enjoy.

@Black Cloud @tonylon

I've been playing about with the network share, and have been successfully able to get it working for me, so hopefully this will help.

So give this a try:
  • Stop the DvrOnTime service
  • Change the permissions for the database to allow users to access it. Go to C:\Program Files\DvrOnTime, right click DvrOnTime.mdf and click Properties, then Security, then Edit… give the Users group Full Control, OK to save and repeat for DvrOnTime_log.ldf
  • Now set up a new user* in Windows (e.g. a user called DvrOnTime), set a password, make sure the password is set not to expire and also not to need changing at log-in, add the Administrators and User groups to the new user Members Of.
  • Now log in as this new User, navigate to the shared drive, i.e. \\NasBox\DvrOnTime, if a password is required, enter a password and make sure to tick the Remember option. This new user should now be able to access the shared folder, if they can't, then this problem needs to be fixed first.
  • Log back in as your normal Administrator user, find the DvrOnTime service, right click it and go to the Log On tab, set to Log on as: This account and enter the new DvrOnTime user name and password, click OK.
  • Start the DvrOnTime service, it should start normally but now using this special user. In the DvrOnTime settings, set the shared drive and click Save, this should hopefully succeed and the text file is written to confirm read and write access. Test a recording out.
* you could use any existing user of course, but maybe best to set a new one with a password not to expire.

Let me know how your get on.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for you detailed instructions.

I'd already got a separate user set up but changing those permissions on the mdf & ldf files sorted out the issue and I can now record directly to a network drive. :)

A quick follow up question: You have an option to convert to .m2ts format - what are the pros & cons of doing that. Both file formats .ts & .m2ts seem to end up about the same size and both seem to play alright in Plex.
 
Excellent news to hear you are now set up and running.

The m2ts format was a request from someone as the files were, I think from memory, being processed later in something else which only wanted m2ts files. It's only a container change, the video and audio is exactly the same in both, so unless someone has issues with the raw transport stream files then no need to convert.
 
lc200 said:
The m2ts format was a request from someone as the files were, I think from memory, being processed later in something else which only wanted m2ts files.
Click to expand...
The HDR-FOX will only play M2TS labelled as .TS, and any software utilities written for the HDR-FOX expect M2TS.
 
Black Cloud said:
Results are in...

I added 5 minutes of padding to the end of 3 back to back shows recorded on E4.

First recording included 5 minutes of second show
Second recording started 5 minutes into second show, and included 5 minutes of third show
Third recording started 5 minutes into third show, and included 5 irrelevant minutes at the end.

I guess that means only one tuner was used.
Click to expand...

In your test scenario my preference for single tuner behaviour would be for the 1st and 2nd recordings to start and end at their broadcast times and only the final recording to get the extra 5mins padding time. If each recording was requested with different padding times then add whatever the max padding time was to the last recording.
 
sceptic said:
In your test scenario my preference for single tuner behaviour would be for the 1st and 2nd recordings to start and end at their broadcast times and only the final recording to get the extra 5mins padding time
Click to expand...
Yeah, but that doesn't fix the problem where the end of the first show only exists at the beginning of the second recording. Just as it gets exciting, the player stops and you need to access your media files to get the second recording (that's if the recording weren't so long ago that you can still remember that it was back to back with something). Back to back recordings aren't always from the same series - maybe the second recording was an unrelated film. Maybe I watch the film first, then delete it, and there goes the end of the first show. And, I do like to remove the ad breaks automatically, so the end of the first show could be gone before I know it.

The lesson to learn is, don't record ITV until they get it fixed. But don't hold your breath, it's been 10 years already.
 
sceptic said:
In your test scenario my preference for single tuner behaviour would be for the 1st and 2nd recordings to start and end at their broadcast times and only the final recording to get the extra 5mins padding time. If each recording was requested with different padding times then add whatever the max padding time was to the last recording.
Click to expand...
This is undoubtedly the correct strategy if you are tuner constrained which was the case with VHS recorders and when the humax was being developed 15 years or so ago but the world has moved on and now quad tuners are common and with dvrontime now supporting multiple hdhomeruns it is a chance to do padding properly for back to back programmes.

For the purposes of tuner scheduling each programme should be considered including its start and end padding and if there is any overlap with the preceding programme then another tuner should be allocated, only if there are no free tuners available would you need to consider removing padding
 
MymsMan said:
For the purposes of tuner scheduling each programme should be considered including its start and end padding and if there is any overlap with the preceding programme then another tuner should be allocated, only if there are no free tuners available would you need to consider removing padding
Click to expand...
Yes agreed when you have free tuners available. Hopefully dvrontime will allocate recordings across its free tuners and only resort to dropping any padding if it runs out of tuners. I will have 8 tuners to play with if multiple HDHomeruns are supported so I'm not expecting that to ever happen.

Black Cloud said:
The lesson to learn is, don't record ITV until they get it fixed. But don't hold your breath, it's been 10 years already.
Click to expand...
I'm definitely not holding my breath on that one! Unfortunately whatever systems they implement fall apart when they can't get the data right consistently...
 
lc200 said:
If anyone has any suggestions for things they want to see added or changed let me know.
Click to expand...
Something along the lines of schedchk by @MymsMan Monitoring the recording schedule for a variety of issues and attempting to fix them (if not resolved by a human first) using some built in algorithms. Idealy with the addition of an option to send an email with a link in it which then links back into the dvrontime web interface to present the options for the user to make the ultimate decision.
 
Version 1.0.5 is now up for anyone who wants it. Please follow the usual process to take a backup of the database, however upgrading from this new version to the other versions the database is automatically transferred and kept, so it is much easier to upgrade.

This version has the following changes:
  • Support for multiple HDHomeRun tuners on the same network, and so with 2 Quatro tuners you can then utilise both and record up to 8 programs simultaneously! By default DvrOnTime will use all devices it finds on the network, but you can tell it not to use a device or to set a preference which one is used first, leaving other ones as backups for when the primary device has all tuners in use. (Under settings.)
  • Series linked recordings that have come to an end now indicate this clearer in the recording schedule
  • Better handling of accurate recordings to avoid the situation of a program failing to record due to a very last minute reschedule
  • Faster display of the Guide when it has been filtered
  • Service now starts correctly even if no HDHomeRun device found on the network, previously it might have failed to start if the service came up before a network connection was available, for example a PC reboot, still recommended to have the service on a delayed start due to the database engine somethings not coming up quickly.
  • Fixed a bug that meant tuning channels failed in FireFox
  • When in the guide hovering over the series linked icon or the tag (indicating a single program) will show the program description in a pop up
  • The DvrOnTime event log can now be downloaded and viewed from the Settings page, might be useful for trouble shooting or sending to me if a problem, and there is also an option to enable debug logging that logs a bit more info.
  • Better handling of split films (i.e. CH5 with a five minute break)
Note you might be seeing several warnings at the moment in the Recording Schedule (yellow exclamation mark) saying a program has not recorded, this is simply due to various last minute scheduled changes we are seeing for sport, especially Wimbledon, and the program was never broadcast and DvrOnTime gave up waiting for the CRID to appear.

I also recommend after installing to set the service back to Automatic (delayed start) and adjusting the settings so it auto restarts if there is an error. I'm currently looking on how to do this automatically at installation.

For those who are using special accounts for NAS drives, Do not forget to set log-in details back into the service.

DvrOnTime – Google Drive

drive.google.com drive.google.com
 
Last edited:
Thanks for this - I'd just come back to trying it out last week but will update and continue - so far so good. 😊

P.s. is this still the main point of contact for you or are you using github etc?
 
emdubya77 said:
Thanks for this - I'd just come back to trying it out last week but will update and continue - so far so good. 😊

P.s. is this still the main point of contact for you or are you using github etc?
Click to expand...
Yes still contact me here or send a message here, I'll check out GitHub as that is a good way to track issues.
 
lc200 said:
Yes still contact me here or send a message here, I'll check out GitHub as that is a good way to track issues.
Click to expand...
Using Github will help other Homerun users find you - A Humax forum is not the natural home for Homerun software 😜
Git is also a good way of keeping track of changes to your code
 
Just got around to trying this finally! I had some issues with the tuning where the service would die and no channels were tuned. I eventually ran it via the command line to capture the error. It appeared the issue was caused by a channel number search finding no channels...

Code: 
16:30:57.252 Debug      : HdHomeRun command executed: 1250E143 key 3077587.0 set /tuner0/target none
16:30:57.321 Debug      : HdHomeRun command executed: 1250E143 key 3077587.0 set /tuner0/channel none
16:30:57.367 Debug      : HdHomeRun command executed: 1250E143 key 3077587.0 set /tuner0/lockkey none
16:30:57.427 Debug      : HdHomeRun streaming started on new thread
16:30:57.427 Debug      : HdHomeRun command executed: discover
16:30:57.502 Information: Streaming stopped on device 1250E143 tuner 0
16:30:57.893 Debug      : HdHomeRun command executed: 1250E143 get /sys/features
16:30:57.941 Information: Device found at IP address 192.168.1.33 with ID 1250E143, set to priority 1
16:31:03.984 Error      : Could not connect to a tuner on device 1250E143, status code returned , response was HTTP/1.1 503 Service Unavailable
Server: HDHomeRun/1.0
Connection: close
Content-Length: 0
Cache-Control: no-cache
X-HDHomeRun-Error: 807 No Video Data                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
16:31:03.986 Information: No device was found or no tuners available

Unhandled Exception: System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
   at HdHomeRun.TunerDevice.StopStreaming()
   at DvrOnTime.ServicesByFrequency.StopTuner()
   at DvrOnTime.Tuning.RetrieveServiceInformationFromFrequencies()
   at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
   at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()

C:\Program Files\DvrOnTime>

Removing those channel numbers the tuning worked as expected. In ruling out out the HD Homerun, I noticed their software provides an automatic scan of the entire channel range, which worked as expected, I think this would be a good idea for DvrOnTime as well as it would save users having to lookup (and possibly miskey the channel/frequency numbers!) and just seems a simpler option all round for the user...

Regarding the guide it would be nice if this could scroll from one day to the next instead of just being restricted to a day a time with "No Program data" shown on occasions if you move forward a day and then scroll back to midnight. I would also love the ability to filter the guide by Category (i.e Movie), or perhaps highlight different categories in different colours?

I'll start setting up some recordings and let you know how I get on. Thanks again @lc200 for giving us the opportunity to try this :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top