ITV1 Failed Recordings

[Peso]

Update for anyone with a similar problem.
After two days of ensuring the 3 T2‘s saw BBC1 HD in the morning, all the days AR recordings, across various channels, were successful.
Thanks again to all contributors. Let’s hope the faulty mux is sorted soon.

Spoke to soon. Mum just manually recorded the last 10mins of Everybody Loves Raymond on 4+1. And scheduled the next episode that followed immediately to record. T2 put in standby.
The following episode didn’t record. Still in the schedule with the sparkling AR symbol.

 

[prpr]

If you want recordings to work properly, don't leave the box sat receiving any service from PSB2, as well as before going to standby. All other muxes are fine.
The EPG service information on that mux. is so severely broken that it beggars belief.

I've been doing a lot of monitoring of it and it just doesn't complete transmission of the whole EPG schedule. Some of the data tables are corrupt and not compliant with the DVB spec.
Treating them as good doesn't work. Ignoring them doesn't work. Even filtering out the services with broken tables doesn't work.
This upsets both the Humax software and therefore the WebIf's EPG (which depends on the epg.dat file the Humax software writes - or rather doesn't write when on PSB2).

Having said that, the EPG Now/Next worked OK when I tried it on a couple of events but it's obviously impossible to test what other people's use cases are.

(This kind of follows on from some testing I did around this time last year, and a now out-of-date table in https://hummy.tv/forum/posts/176077)

 

[EEPhil]

I've been doing a lot of monitoring of it and it just doesn't complete transmission of the whole EPG schedule.

I've just done a quick check here (Waltham - BBC-Emids/ITV1-Central East) and, although I can't test everything the way you can, I can see that the D3&4 (PSB2) mux is a bit flaky. I can get Now and Next on ITV1 and then an empty space that doesn't want to populate. I cannot tell whether the data is corrupt. Other ITV1 regions seem to fill up properly. Other channels on the multiplex are also lacking data. (Source: Hauppauge dongle on PC)

 

[MartinLiddle]

If you want recordings to work properly, don't leave the box sat receiving any service from PSB2, as well as before going to standby. All other muxes are fine.
The EPG service information on that mux. is so severely broken that it beggars belief.

I've been doing a lot of monitoring of it and it just doesn't complete transmission of the whole EPG schedule. Some of the data tables are corrupt and not compliant with the DVB spec.
Treating them as good doesn't work. Ignoring them doesn't work. Even filtering out the services with broken tables doesn't work.

Have you reported this to whoever is responsible?

 

[Peso]

don't leave the box sat receiving any service from PSB2

OK.
Can I ask how long on the HD mux before turning the T2 would be sufficient?

 

[/df]

Is this not happening at Xtal Palace? Maybe I never leave a box on ITV (etc), or the Eagles sorted it out after trouncing Liverpool? Mitchell and Webb Aren't Helping recorded fine when it was running a few weeks ago (4seven was already on PSB2).

In relation to the up-thread discussion of SD vs HD, it's not for the nap of the snooker table or the blades of grass that sport is better in HD: you can see where the moving ball/racquet/sharp-studded boot is instead of a smear.

 

[Rodders53]

PSB2 aka D3&4 is now C&M in the cloud by BT for the companies concerned... https://www.mediaandbroadcast.bt.com/case-studies/coding-and-multiplex.html

Complaints to the Broadcasters (ITV, C4, C5) would be the correct route -- plus Everything TV (aka Freeview) and maybe Ofcom.

I would be gobsmacked if no-one is aware of the problem still - but then I am not affected by the issue with my personal viewing habits; nor do I have the Industry contacts I once had.

 

[EEPhil]

PSB2 aka D3&4 is now C&M in the cloud by BT for the companies concerned...

That explains a lot. I never knowingly use BT after the trouble I've had with them.
Cloud computing - isn't that where all the outages and hacks take place?

 

[prpr]

Have you reported this to whoever is responsible?

No, because I don't know who runs Code'n'Mux for ITV et al on PSB2 (nor for the COM4-6 muxes). And the thought of trying to find out how is one of those things that you just know is going to be a fruitless exercise.

Can I ask how long on the HD mux before turning the T2 would be sufficient?

Did you leave a word out - "turning off"? Sufficient for what?
I've just re-run my tests from last year and it turns out that PSB1 is the only one that is still operating as it was (PSB3 is worse than last year - details to follow). On PSB1, the entire EPG is received in exactly 5 minutes, as on the last test.

Is this not happening at Xtal Palace?

I would expect it is, but I don't have a transport stream from there, so unless you want to record me 10 minutes from anything on PSB2 and strip out all the PIDs apart from 18 and send me the zipped result, then I don't know. You'll probably need something to do the stripping - attached. Run it as tsfilt 18 <input.ts >output.ts

 

[prpr]

PSB2 aka D3&4 is now C&M in the cloud by BT for the companies concerned... https://www.mediaandbroadcast.bt.com/case-studies/coding-and-multiplex.html

I looked at the Contact Us page linked from there and it's pointless. The rest of it is just 'corporate bollocks'.

Complaints to the Broadcasters (ITV, C4, C5) would be the correct route -- plus Everything TV (aka Freeview) and maybe Ofcom.

That'd get filtered by the clueless morons on the front end.

I would be gobsmacked if no-one is aware of the problem still

Well the problem from last year I suspect is the same as the one this year, but I don't know for sure, so probably they don't know.

but then I am not affected by the issue with my personal viewing habits; nor do I have the Industry contacts I once had.

Likewise. I never watch stuff live from PSB2 and very rarely record it, but it would always be from a box sat on PSB3.

 

[prpr]

Times to populate EPG tables on various muxes (as received from Waltham).
Today's results (with problematic services filtered out) and changes from last year:

Mux	Now/Next Current mux	Now/Next Other muxes	Schedule Current mux	Schedule Other muxes	Comments
PSB1	2s	5s	30s	5m	No change; Ideal
PSB2	2s	10s	7m40 (was 30s)	14m30 (was 13m45)	Much worse on Schedule Current
PSB3	2s	5s	30s	9m (was 5m)	Surprisingly worse on Schedule Other
COM4	2s	5s	90s	9m30 (was 8m)	Minor worse
COM5	2s	5s	80s (was 50s)	9m (was 13m)	Puts it in line with the other COMs
COM6	2s	5s	90s	9m	No change
Local	2s	5s (was 2m)	90s (was 7m45)	12m30 (was 52m)	Much better; Probably as expected now

 

[Chris humax]

Which? The former or the latter?
How would a 15 year old box "manage to get it from the internet"? That's just a silly expectation. Even now there is no standard.

I agree it is a silly expectation but i meant its a silly way to do it because of that limitation. Its more half baked than hybrid to me.

 

[Black Hole]

Can I ask how long on the HD mux before turning the T2 would be sufficient?

Today's results

So my standard recommendation of 20 mins will cover it.

 

[Owen Smith]

I still use Disable-DSO package (or do I mean Disable-OTA?) with its schedule event creation, so all my HDR Fox T2s power on to channel 250 for 20 mins from 4:20am to 4:40am. Given 250 is on PSB1 that should do the job.

I also have a timer wake set from 16:20 to 16:40 every day to BBC1 HD in case I spot something during the day at work that I want to record that evening by RS. That should also do the job.