HDR-FOX T2 to HDHomeRun, my journey

I did try recording connecting a network cable, I was able to record four simultaneous HD recording and there were no video problems in any of them :doublethumbsup:
1638560377757.png

But later after 10pm the network cable fell out 22:16:14! :(
DvrOnTime stopped the recordings and terminated the service 22:17:12.
The service restarted about a minute later 22:18:25 and resumed the recordings 22:18:35.
This is much better than the Humax which loses schedule information as soon as the recording starts so doesn't resume recordings after a restart,

However rather terminating the service following a network problem I would have expected DvrOnTime to start periodic polling to find an active HomeRun box on the network to minimise gaps in the recording.
Code: 
02/12/2021 21:59:55 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4273: On BBC ONE South current EIT CRID being broadcast is: /m/L51I
02/12/2021 21:59:55 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4273: Program BBC News at Ten /m/L51I on BBC ONE South has started recording
02/12/2021 22:00:00 Information  Found the PAT, transport stream ID 17365 and PMT PID 100
02/12/2021 22:00:00 Information  Found the PMT for the program, setting tuner to filter on PIDs 0x00 0x65 0x66 0x6A 0x69 0x98 0x1C21 0x1C33 0x1BBF 0x1BC1 0x12
02/12/2021 22:00:00 Information  Now set single stream PAT and PMT packet to the recorder for program
02/12/2021 22:00:35 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4284: On BBC TWO current EIT CRID being broadcast is: /m/L5IB
02/12/2021 22:00:35 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4284: Program New: Mock the Week /m/L5IB on BBC TWO has started recording
02/12/2021 22:00:35 Information  Found the PAT, transport stream ID 17365 and PMT PID 200
02/12/2021 22:00:35 Information  Found the PMT for the program, setting tuner to filter on PIDs 0x00 0xC9 0xCA 0xCE 0xCD 0x1C21 0x1C33 0x1BBF 0x1BC1 0x12
02/12/2021 22:00:35 Information  Now set single stream PAT and PMT packet to the recorder for program
02/12/2021 22:06:51 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4368: On ITV current EIT CRID being broadcast is: /1001966211
02/12/2021 22:06:51 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4368: Program ITV News at Ten /1001966211 on ITV has started recording
02/12/2021 22:06:51 Information  Found the PAT, transport stream ID 3779 and PMT PID 1700
02/12/2021 22:06:52 Information  Found the PMT for the program, setting tuner to filter on PIDs 0x00 0x6A5 0x6A6 0x6A7 0x6C3 0x12
02/12/2021 22:06:52 Information  Now set single stream PAT and PMT packet to the recorder for program
02/12/2021 22:10:00 Information  Poller found task is now due for ProgramRecord
02/12/2021 22:10:00 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4281: Program recording start setup for South Today
02/12/2021 22:10:00 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4281: Created record by EIT
02/12/2021 22:10:00 Warning      ScheduledEventProgramId 4281: The channel is currently being recorded, waiting for that recording to stop before starting this recording
02/12/2021 22:16:14 Warning      TunerDevice: No data received in the last half a second, check network, device Id 1251F06B tuner number 1, if this continues for 20 seconds the tuner will be shut down and any recording stopped
02/12/2021 22:16:14 Warning      TunerDevice: No data received in the last half a second, check network, device Id 1251F06B tuner number 0, if this continues for 20 seconds the tuner will be shut down and any recording stopped
02/12/2021 22:16:14 Warning      TunerDevice: No data received in the last half a second, check network, device Id 1251F06B tuner number 2, if this continues for 20 seconds the tuner will be shut down and any recording stopped
02/12/2021 22:17:12 Error        TunerDevice: Data stopped being received from device 1251F06B tuner number 1, stopping the tuner receive code
02/12/2021 22:17:12 Error        TunerDevice: Data stopped being received from device 1251F06B tuner number 2, stopping the tuner receive code
02/12/2021 22:17:12 Error        TunerDevice: Data stopped being received from device 1251F06B tuner number 0, stopping the tuner receive code
02/12/2021 22:18:25 Information  DvrOnTime service version 1.0.5.2025 is starting...
02/12/2021 22:18:27 Information  EPG update starting due to service starting...
02/12/2021 22:18:27 Information  New thread created for EPGCollection, threadId 07
02/12/2021 22:18:27 Information  SimpleHTTPServer has started
02/12/2021 22:18:29 Information  Total old events purged 140, log files cleaned
02/12/2021 22:18:31 Information  Device found at IP address 192.168.1.83 with ID 1251F06B, set to priority 1
02/12/2021 22:18:31 Information  Device found at IP address 192.168.1.83 with ID 1251F06B, set to priority 1
02/12/2021 22:18:31 Information  Tuner found with Id 1251F06B, now resetting any tuner locks held by this service
02/12/2021 22:18:32 Information  EPG Data collection started...
02/12/2021 22:18:32 Information  DvrOnTime service has started successfully
02/12/2021 22:18:33 Information  Poller found next task start date time is: 02/12/2021 21:45:00
02/12/2021 22:18:33 Information  Poller found task is now due for ProgramRecord
02/12/2021 22:18:33 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4273: Program recording start setup for BBC News at Ten
02/12/2021 22:18:33 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4273: Created record by EIT
02/12/2021 22:18:33 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4273: Preparing to start EIT recording with program CRID /m/L51I, scheduled start time is 02/12/2021 22:00
02/12/2021 22:18:33 Information  EPG table Id 81 appears to be processed
02/12/2021 22:18:33 Information  Device found at IP address 192.168.1.83 with ID 1251F06B, set to priority 1
02/12/2021 22:18:34 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4273: Listening for EIT on BBC ONE South for program start until 02/12/2021 22:25, using device 1251F06B and tuner number 0
02/12/2021 22:18:34 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4273: Recording set up successfully
02/12/2021 22:18:34 Information  Recording watchdog timer started
02/12/2021 22:18:34 Information  Poller found task is now due for ProgramRecord
02/12/2021 22:18:34 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4284: Program recording start setup for New: Mock the Week
02/12/2021 22:18:34 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4284: Created record by EIT
02/12/2021 22:18:34 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4284: Preparing to start EIT recording with program CRID /m/L5IB, scheduled start time is 02/12/2021 22:00
02/12/2021 22:18:35 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4273: On BBC ONE South current EIT CRID being broadcast is: /m/L51I
02/12/2021 22:18:35 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4273: Program BBC News at Ten /m/L51I on BBC ONE South has started recording
02/12/2021 22:18:35 Information  Device found at IP address 192.168.1.83 with ID 1251F06B, set to priority 1
02/12/2021 22:18:35 Information  Found the PAT, transport stream ID 17365 and PMT PID 100
02/12/2021 22:18:35 Information  Found the PMT for the program, setting tuner to filter on PIDs 0x00 0x65 0x66 0x6A 0x69 0x98 0x1C21 0x1C33 0x1BBF 0x1BC1 0x12
02/12/2021 22:18:35 Information  Now set single stream PAT and PMT packet to the recorder for program
02/12/2021 22:18:35 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4284: Listening for EIT on BBC TWO for program start until 02/12/2021 22:30, using device 1251F06B and tuner number 1
02/12/2021 22:18:36 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4284: Recording set up successfully
02/12/2021 22:18:36 Information  Poller found task is now due for ProgramRecord
02/12/2021 22:18:36 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4368: Program recording start setup for ITV News
02/12/2021 22:18:36 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4368: Created record by EIT
02/12/2021 22:18:36 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4368: Preparing to start EIT recording with program CRID /1001966211, scheduled start time is 02/12/2021 22:05
02/12/2021 22:18:36 Information  Device found at IP address 192.168.1.83 with ID 1251F06B, set to priority 1
02/12/2021 22:18:37 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4284: On BBC TWO current EIT CRID being broadcast is: /m/L5IB
02/12/2021 22:18:37 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4284: Program New: Mock the Week /m/L5IB on BBC TWO has started recording
02/12/2021 22:18:37 Information  Found the PAT, transport stream ID 17365 and PMT PID 200
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4368: Program ITV News at Ten /1001966211 on ITV has started recording
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  Found the PMT for the program, setting tuner to filter on PIDs 0x00 0xC9 0xCA 0xCE 0xCD 0x1C21 0x1C33 0x1BBF 0x1BC1 0x12
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  Found the PAT, transport stream ID 3779 and PMT PID 1700
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4368: Listening for EIT on ITV for program start until 03/12/2021 01:48, using device 1251F06B and tuner number 2
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4368: Recording set up successfully
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  Now set single stream PAT and PMT packet to the recorder for program
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  Found the PMT for the program, setting tuner to filter on PIDs 0x00 0x6A5 0x6A6 0x6A7 0x6C3 0x12
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  Now set single stream PAT and PMT packet to the recorder for program
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  Poller found task is now due for ProgramRecord
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4281: Program recording start setup for South Today
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4281: Created record by EIT
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Warning      ScheduledEventProgramId 4281: The channel is currently being recorded, waiting for that recording to stop before starting this recording
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  EPG table Id 78 appears to be processed
02/12/2021 22:18:39 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4368: On ITV current EIT CRID being broadcast is: /1001966211
02/12/2021 22:18:39 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4368: Program ITV News at Ten /1001966211 on ITV has started recording
 
MymsMan said:
I did try recording connecting a network cable, I was able to record four simultaneous HD recording and there were no video problems in any of them :doublethumbsup:
Click to expand...
Good news! I'm still touching wood but no recording errors wired here too, and I've done loads, mostly in HD.

MymsMan said:
But later after 10pm the network cable fell out 22:16:14! :(
Click to expand...
Broken off retaining clip...? I assume you were using at the time and shoved it straight back in then!

MymsMan said:
However rather terminating the service following a network problem I would have expected DvrOnTime to start periodic polling to find an active HomeRun box on the network to minimise gaps in the recording.
Click to expand...
Yes that would seem logical, I don't see why it should have terminated. At some point (delayed due to lack of ports) I'll add my 2nd HomeRun Quatro to the network and would then be able to test a failover mechanism if @lc200 decides to include it. When it does resume the recording does append to the same file it had already started or create a new file? Hopefully the former which is what Sky boxes do if the signal is lost.
 
sceptic said:
Broken off retaining clip...? I assume you were using at the time and shoved it straight back in then!
Click to expand...
Of course. And you take the easy option as you can't bear to throw away an otherwise perfectly good cable just for that, although you really know you have to. I'm sure we've all been there. Those ones with the boot round the plug are just a different type of annoyance when you can't release the latch.
 
Last edited:
sceptic said:
Broken off retaining clip...? I assume you were using at the time and shoved it straight back in then!
Click to expand...
Yes, yes but it would have picked up wireless if left alone

sceptic said:
When it does resume the recording does append to the same file it had already started or create a new file? Hopefully the former which is what Sky boxes do if the signal is lost.
Click to expand...
It creates a new recording with 1 in name after the date eg ITV News at Ten 02-12-2021 1 S0E0.ts
I would prefer recording start time
 
MymsMan said:
I did try recording connecting a network cable, I was able to record four simultaneous HD recording and there were no video problems in any of them :doublethumbsup:
View attachment 5805

But later after 10pm the network cable fell out 22:16:14! :(
DvrOnTime stopped the recordings and terminated the service 22:17:12.
The service restarted about a minute later 22:18:25 and resumed the recordings 22:18:35.
This is much better than the Humax which loses schedule information as soon as the recording starts so doesn't resume recordings after a restart,

However rather terminating the service following a network problem I would have expected DvrOnTime to start periodic polling to find an active HomeRun box on the network to minimise gaps in the recording.
Code: 
02/12/2021 21:59:55 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4273: On BBC ONE South current EIT CRID being broadcast is: /m/L51I
02/12/2021 21:59:55 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4273: Program BBC News at Ten /m/L51I on BBC ONE South has started recording
02/12/2021 22:00:00 Information  Found the PAT, transport stream ID 17365 and PMT PID 100
02/12/2021 22:00:00 Information  Found the PMT for the program, setting tuner to filter on PIDs 0x00 0x65 0x66 0x6A 0x69 0x98 0x1C21 0x1C33 0x1BBF 0x1BC1 0x12
02/12/2021 22:00:00 Information  Now set single stream PAT and PMT packet to the recorder for program
02/12/2021 22:00:35 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4284: On BBC TWO current EIT CRID being broadcast is: /m/L5IB
02/12/2021 22:00:35 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4284: Program New: Mock the Week /m/L5IB on BBC TWO has started recording
02/12/2021 22:00:35 Information  Found the PAT, transport stream ID 17365 and PMT PID 200
02/12/2021 22:00:35 Information  Found the PMT for the program, setting tuner to filter on PIDs 0x00 0xC9 0xCA 0xCE 0xCD 0x1C21 0x1C33 0x1BBF 0x1BC1 0x12
02/12/2021 22:00:35 Information  Now set single stream PAT and PMT packet to the recorder for program
02/12/2021 22:06:51 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4368: On ITV current EIT CRID being broadcast is: /1001966211
02/12/2021 22:06:51 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4368: Program ITV News at Ten /1001966211 on ITV has started recording
02/12/2021 22:06:51 Information  Found the PAT, transport stream ID 3779 and PMT PID 1700
02/12/2021 22:06:52 Information  Found the PMT for the program, setting tuner to filter on PIDs 0x00 0x6A5 0x6A6 0x6A7 0x6C3 0x12
02/12/2021 22:06:52 Information  Now set single stream PAT and PMT packet to the recorder for program
02/12/2021 22:10:00 Information  Poller found task is now due for ProgramRecord
02/12/2021 22:10:00 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4281: Program recording start setup for South Today
02/12/2021 22:10:00 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4281: Created record by EIT
02/12/2021 22:10:00 Warning      ScheduledEventProgramId 4281: The channel is currently being recorded, waiting for that recording to stop before starting this recording
02/12/2021 22:16:14 Warning      TunerDevice: No data received in the last half a second, check network, device Id 1251F06B tuner number 1, if this continues for 20 seconds the tuner will be shut down and any recording stopped
02/12/2021 22:16:14 Warning      TunerDevice: No data received in the last half a second, check network, device Id 1251F06B tuner number 0, if this continues for 20 seconds the tuner will be shut down and any recording stopped
02/12/2021 22:16:14 Warning      TunerDevice: No data received in the last half a second, check network, device Id 1251F06B tuner number 2, if this continues for 20 seconds the tuner will be shut down and any recording stopped
02/12/2021 22:17:12 Error        TunerDevice: Data stopped being received from device 1251F06B tuner number 1, stopping the tuner receive code
02/12/2021 22:17:12 Error        TunerDevice: Data stopped being received from device 1251F06B tuner number 2, stopping the tuner receive code
02/12/2021 22:17:12 Error        TunerDevice: Data stopped being received from device 1251F06B tuner number 0, stopping the tuner receive code
02/12/2021 22:18:25 Information  DvrOnTime service version 1.0.5.2025 is starting...
02/12/2021 22:18:27 Information  EPG update starting due to service starting...
02/12/2021 22:18:27 Information  New thread created for EPGCollection, threadId 07
02/12/2021 22:18:27 Information  SimpleHTTPServer has started
02/12/2021 22:18:29 Information  Total old events purged 140, log files cleaned
02/12/2021 22:18:31 Information  Device found at IP address 192.168.1.83 with ID 1251F06B, set to priority 1
02/12/2021 22:18:31 Information  Device found at IP address 192.168.1.83 with ID 1251F06B, set to priority 1
02/12/2021 22:18:31 Information  Tuner found with Id 1251F06B, now resetting any tuner locks held by this service
02/12/2021 22:18:32 Information  EPG Data collection started...
02/12/2021 22:18:32 Information  DvrOnTime service has started successfully
02/12/2021 22:18:33 Information  Poller found next task start date time is: 02/12/2021 21:45:00
02/12/2021 22:18:33 Information  Poller found task is now due for ProgramRecord
02/12/2021 22:18:33 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4273: Program recording start setup for BBC News at Ten
02/12/2021 22:18:33 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4273: Created record by EIT
02/12/2021 22:18:33 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4273: Preparing to start EIT recording with program CRID /m/L51I, scheduled start time is 02/12/2021 22:00
02/12/2021 22:18:33 Information  EPG table Id 81 appears to be processed
02/12/2021 22:18:33 Information  Device found at IP address 192.168.1.83 with ID 1251F06B, set to priority 1
02/12/2021 22:18:34 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4273: Listening for EIT on BBC ONE South for program start until 02/12/2021 22:25, using device 1251F06B and tuner number 0
02/12/2021 22:18:34 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4273: Recording set up successfully
02/12/2021 22:18:34 Information  Recording watchdog timer started
02/12/2021 22:18:34 Information  Poller found task is now due for ProgramRecord
02/12/2021 22:18:34 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4284: Program recording start setup for New: Mock the Week
02/12/2021 22:18:34 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4284: Created record by EIT
02/12/2021 22:18:34 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4284: Preparing to start EIT recording with program CRID /m/L5IB, scheduled start time is 02/12/2021 22:00
02/12/2021 22:18:35 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4273: On BBC ONE South current EIT CRID being broadcast is: /m/L51I
02/12/2021 22:18:35 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4273: Program BBC News at Ten /m/L51I on BBC ONE South has started recording
02/12/2021 22:18:35 Information  Device found at IP address 192.168.1.83 with ID 1251F06B, set to priority 1
02/12/2021 22:18:35 Information  Found the PAT, transport stream ID 17365 and PMT PID 100
02/12/2021 22:18:35 Information  Found the PMT for the program, setting tuner to filter on PIDs 0x00 0x65 0x66 0x6A 0x69 0x98 0x1C21 0x1C33 0x1BBF 0x1BC1 0x12
02/12/2021 22:18:35 Information  Now set single stream PAT and PMT packet to the recorder for program
02/12/2021 22:18:35 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4284: Listening for EIT on BBC TWO for program start until 02/12/2021 22:30, using device 1251F06B and tuner number 1
02/12/2021 22:18:36 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4284: Recording set up successfully
02/12/2021 22:18:36 Information  Poller found task is now due for ProgramRecord
02/12/2021 22:18:36 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4368: Program recording start setup for ITV News
02/12/2021 22:18:36 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4368: Created record by EIT
02/12/2021 22:18:36 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4368: Preparing to start EIT recording with program CRID /1001966211, scheduled start time is 02/12/2021 22:05
02/12/2021 22:18:36 Information  Device found at IP address 192.168.1.83 with ID 1251F06B, set to priority 1
02/12/2021 22:18:37 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4284: On BBC TWO current EIT CRID being broadcast is: /m/L5IB
02/12/2021 22:18:37 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4284: Program New: Mock the Week /m/L5IB on BBC TWO has started recording
02/12/2021 22:18:37 Information  Found the PAT, transport stream ID 17365 and PMT PID 200
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4368: Program ITV News at Ten /1001966211 on ITV has started recording
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  Found the PMT for the program, setting tuner to filter on PIDs 0x00 0xC9 0xCA 0xCE 0xCD 0x1C21 0x1C33 0x1BBF 0x1BC1 0x12
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  Found the PAT, transport stream ID 3779 and PMT PID 1700
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4368: Listening for EIT on ITV for program start until 03/12/2021 01:48, using device 1251F06B and tuner number 2
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4368: Recording set up successfully
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  Now set single stream PAT and PMT packet to the recorder for program
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  Found the PMT for the program, setting tuner to filter on PIDs 0x00 0x6A5 0x6A6 0x6A7 0x6C3 0x12
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  Now set single stream PAT and PMT packet to the recorder for program
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  Poller found task is now due for ProgramRecord
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4281: Program recording start setup for South Today
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4281: Created record by EIT
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Warning      ScheduledEventProgramId 4281: The channel is currently being recorded, waiting for that recording to stop before starting this recording
02/12/2021 22:18:38 Information  EPG table Id 78 appears to be processed
02/12/2021 22:18:39 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4368: On ITV current EIT CRID being broadcast is: /1001966211
02/12/2021 22:18:39 Information  ScheduledEventProgramId 4368: Program ITV News at Ten /1001966211 on ITV has started recording
Click to expand...
Thanks for info and feedback. Honestly I haven't really tested or worried too much about the network failing so it's not been coded as robustly as it could in this regard. I've been using my own software for recording since October 2019 and never had the network fail so its not been something I've really worried about.

I think the way it is coded it will try and start recording again by calling out on the network for any available HomeRun and doesn't have an affinity for the same one to come back, so for those with 2 HomeRuns and one goes away, it will try tuners on the second one.

Once the network connection is broken for whatever reason, soon after the HomeRun will terminate that tuner as it sees the client disappear, so the software has no option but start again. It would be possible to append to the same file but this can become problematic as that join is going to be a corrupt splice, so we could see the situation where some decoders might decide to stop playback at that point, or just crash out. Safer to have a second file.

All these things I will take a look at over the Christmas break.
 
I believe there are going to be some tuning changes coming up later this month (see HERE) I assume we will need to manually retune DvrOnTime, but was wondering @lc200 what effect if any this might have on series links? Thanks.
 
sceptic said:
I believe there are going to be some tuning changes coming up later this month (see HERE) I assume we will need to manually retune DvrOnTime, but was wondering @lc200 what effect if any this might have on series links? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Series linked entries are kept and automatically updated once the guide has been reloaded after retuning. If you don't retune in time they should all still continue to record even though some channel numbers might have shifted around to allow BBC3 to go back in the list (behind the scenes the Freeview channel numbering isn't used).
 
I really like the simplicity and reliability of this software, as well as the fact that the recordings can be played on any machine, including my Humax Aura. (Recordings made on the Aura can only be played on that specific machine due to encryption).

For me the downside is still the need to have an always on Windows machine, which in my case is not doing anything else. And I really want to leave the micro$oft straightjacket!

I have recently started using Docker containers for my other home automation bits and pieces (Home Assistant, weather station, etc) and have found that very many programs and services are now available as containers. For example, MythTV is available: see this link Would this be a possible way to make DvrOnTime more widely available and also cross-platform?

I'm a user, not a programmer, so I don't know what would be involved in making this happen? Any comments?
 
I have previously suggested migrating this to Linux where, no doubt, it could run on all manner of low-power hardware such as a Raspberry Pi and a multitude of existing boxes.

The RPi is particularly attractive because of its maker following and therefore large range of parts available. It would be no problem at all to bolt one to the VESA mounting on the back of a telly, and possibly even power it from the TV's USB port (although you might not want to do that for "always on". Then there is the possibility of including tuners on the RPi...
 
Black Hole said:
I have previously suggested migrating this to Linux where, no doubt, it could run on all manner of low-power hardware such as a Raspberry Pi and a multitude of existing boxes.

The RPi is particularly attractive because of its maker following and therefore large range of parts available. It would be no problem at all to bolt one to the VESA mounting on the back of a telly, and possibly even power it from the TV's USB port (although you might not want to do that for "always on". Then there is the possibility of including tuners on the RPi...
Click to expand...
To run on a Pi it would need to be written again using C++ I should think in order to get the performance, possibly implementing APIs special to Broadcom in order to accelerate some packet handling of the transport stream packets, although it might have enough grunt not to need those.

Including additional tuners is also not trivial, I've looked into it and it's a pain in the neck and quite complicated, it would cost money buying all the various tuners and would take considerable time. As Freeview tuners seem to be fast disappearing from the market except for cheap Chinese clones on USB sticks, support from the manufacturers is also now lacking. I did request from Hauppauge three times to get access to their developer code and C# samples to implement their Freeview tuners, and never heard a thing from them.
 
jfshw said:
I really like the simplicity and reliability of this software, as well as the fact that the recordings can be played on any machine, including my Humax Aura. (Recordings made on the Aura can only be played on that specific machine due to encryption).

For me the downside is still the need to have an always on Windows machine, which in my case is not doing anything else. And I really want to leave the micro$oft straightjacket!

I have recently started using Docker containers for my other home automation bits and pieces (Home Assistant, weather station, etc) and have found that very many programs and services are now available as containers. For example, MythTV is available: see this link Would this be a possible way to make DvrOnTime more widely available and also cross-platform?

I'm a user, not a programmer, so I don't know what would be involved in making this happen? Any comments?
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It was written for Windows and unfortunately I don't have the time or experience to rewrite it for other operating systems. I'm not sure if it would work using Docker, and its not something I have any experience in.

I will say making something cross-platform is making something a jack of all trades and master of none. Take Plex for example, they build the same code base for different platforms, this requires many compatibility libraries to interface the same code to different hardware and hundreds maybe thousands of conditional compile statements to manage, not only does this add all sorts of bugs, it also hits performance. I saw Plex easily eating 20-30% CPU recording just one program using their DVR implementation, compared to DvrOnTime that barely registers, and Plex isn't even reading the packets to extract the EIT info (Plex doesn't do accurate recording). Plex's DVR software was bug ridden and seldom went a few days without a recording failure or some crash, and they have huge teams working on that software, its why I wrote my own! Plex may be better now as I've not used in a couple of years, but that was my experience of 'work on anything' Plex.
 
What's needed then is somebody with the interest and skills to re-implement your work for the different platform.
 
Black Hole said:
What's needed then is somebody with the interest and skills to re-implement your work for the different platform.
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Indeed. Also the Freeview packet structure and specification is freely available online, it's heavy going and can be challenging but is complete and doable. I knew nothing about how digital TV worked or how it was transmitted and organised until I started this project and learnt as I went, so perfectly possible for any good developer to follow those specifications and implement the accurate recording functions which is the bit that seems to be missing from other DVR software.
 
lc200 said:
Indeed. Also the Freeview packet structure and specification is freely available online, it's heavy going and can be challenging but is complete and doable. I knew nothing about how digital TV worked or how it was transmitted and organised until I started this project and learnt as I went, so perfectly possible for any good developer to follow those specifications and implement the accurate recording functions which is the bit that seems to be missing from other DVR software.
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It would be an easier task if your source was available as a starting point rather than totally reinventing the wheel.

Similarly for adding alternative hardware platforms, you can not be expected to bear the expense of buying additional hardware that you have no personal need for but if the source was available on a platform like github others could create forks to add additional function whilst maintaining full credit to you for the initial implementation.
 
I have set up DvrOnTime to record the winter Olympic an noticed an oddity - it is waiting for every programme until the 6th to start:
1643931411220.png
I will restart the service to see if it cures the problem - it did
 
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MymsMan said:
I will restart the service to see if it cures the problem - it did
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That's good to know. Just double checked mine and it's still going strong with no issues and is way more reliable than by T2 boxes, which will probably get decommissioned soon. I have not series linked the Winter Olympics though...
 
MymsMan said:
I have set up DvrOnTime to record the winter Olympic an noticed an oddity - it is waiting for every programme until the 6th to start:
View attachment 5944
I will restart the service to see if it cures the problem - it did
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Odd, I'm trying to replicate that by adding the same events but can't seem to and some have gone past now. I think it might have just been cosmetic in that the UI was showing the incorrect icons, perhaps a script error on the page. If you can attach the event log for the 3 Feb I can take a look and see if it was really thinking it was waiting for everything, which would have been a problem of course, or was just something benign.
 
lc200 said:
Odd, I'm trying to replicate that by adding the same events but can't seem to and some have gone past now. I think it might have just been cosmetic in that the UI was showing the incorrect icons, perhaps a script error on the page. If you can attach the event log for the 3 Feb I can take a look and see if it was really thinking it was waiting for everything, which would have been a problem of course, or was just something benign.
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The three programmes that should already have recorded but were still shown as Waiting all failed to record, following restart programmes appear to have recorded ok (not viewed yet)
 

Attachments

  • eventlog0302.zip
    42.2 KB · Views: 1
MymsMan said:
The three programmes that should already have recorded but were still shown as Waiting all failed to record, following restart programmes appear to have recorded ok (not viewed yet)
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Thanks for the log. This showed errors where the database stopped responding to requests for data in a timely manner. I'm going to have look at the code and see where some improvements can be made to handle this and recover from it.
 
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