Timers silently cleared

[engjs]

I set up autotimers and some timers. After a month or two the new recordings stop. I push the TIMER button, use the cleanup, and there are no recordings listed. I go into Setup->AutoTimer->first on list and push OK and SAVE. And 78 new timers are added to the list. This has happened three times now. I have missed recording some shows. I can't trust the V2 to do its job. How do I fix this?

[Gully]

Hi

You really need to provide a lot more information for any constructive answers.

What version of firmware?
How are you setting time?
Location?
Example of an autotimer you have set up?
Is your V2 connected to your network/the internet?
Have you created any bouquets?
Are you using one in your autotimer?
Is your EPG populated?
How are you refreshing it?
etc, etc

[Grumpy_Geoff]

I set up autotimers and some timers. After a month or two the new recordings stop. I push the TIMER button, use the cleanup, and there are no recordings listed.

Do you have the AutoTimer setting 'Poll automatically' enabled?

I go into Setup->AutoTimer->first on list and push OK and SAVE. And 78 new timers are added to the list.

You don't have to open a definition, simply pressing GREEN/Save from the AutoTimer definitions list screen will cause the AutoTimer definitions to be parsed against the EPG.

[prl]

Do you have the AutoTimer setting 'Poll automatically' enabled?

Exactly what I wondered.

[engjs]

Hi

You really need to provide a lot more information for any constructive answers.

What version of firmware? 4.4.35, 19.3, 20191106
How are you setting time? Goto EPG, locate program, push record, select Add Timer or Add Autotimer, Save. For Auto timers I usually go back later and remove the filters.
Location? /media/hdd/movie which is on the supplied hard drive.
Example of an autotimer you have set up? 8 Out of Ten Cats Does Countdown. What information do you want out of the morass? I'm pretty sure all of it is out of the box standard. The only thing I've altered is that it adds 5 minutes at the start and 20 at the end.
Is your V2 connected to your network/the internet? Yes
Have you created any bouquets? No, we just use Favourites.
Are you using one in your autotimer? No, bouquets are disabled.
Is your EPG populated? Yes.
How are you refreshing it? From the channel information broadcast by each station as part of the picture. My wife will generally loop around the channels at least once a day.
etc, etc If you want specific information you'll have to tell me what you want.

I haven't done anything weird with the box. And most of the time it works. It's just that it has on three occasions deleted all the timer and autotimer entries from the timer list, meaning it stops recording things. The EPG is still populated and up to date. The Autotimer list is still present. But all the active timers are gone (the completed ones are still present).

Jim

[engjs]

Do you have the AutoTimer setting 'Poll automatically' enabled?

Poll automatically is set. Given that the EPG only extends 7 days and the system works for much longer periods before deleting everything I would assume this is working okay, i.e. that the EPG is updating and that Autotimers are being properly set from it. I'd also point out that the system is not just failing to set auto timers, it is actively deleting all the preexisting timers including manually set ones.

I'd assume there was a daemon running that managed the setting of autotimers and the file containing the list of queued timers, and that that doemon was somehow clearing out the file of queued timers and then locking itself out of the autotimer file, perhaps due to a crash. Then accessing the Autotimer list restarts/resets the daemon which causes the autotimers to be recreated. But I don't know the system.

[Gully]

How are you setting time?

No time not timers.

Goto EPG, locate program, push record, select Add Timer or Add Autotimer, Save. For Auto timers I usually go back later and remove the filters.

You can just use the coloured buttons to directly create the timer/autotimer. What filters are you removing?

Location? /media/hdd/movie which is on the supplied hard drive.

Your location not where you are recording to.

Example of an autotimer you have set up? 8 Out of Ten Cats Does Countdown. What information do you want out of the morass? I'm pretty sure all of it is out of the box standard. The only thing I've altered is that it adds 5 minutes at the start and 20 at the end.
Is your V2 connected to your network/the internet? Yes

So you can use OpenWebif and view your settings in your browser, then you should have a fairly easy view of autotimer settings.
Also have you changed any of the default Autotimer settings (Menu/Autotimer/Menu/Settings)

Have you created any bouquets? No, we just use Favourites.
Are you using one in your autotimer? No, bouquets are disabled.

Sorry that is confusing - you created a favourite bouquet but they are disabled?[/quote]

[engjs]

No time not timers.
-- TV Broadcast

What filters are you removing?

When I create an autotimer, Restrict to Specific Services and Restrict to days are enabled, and Restrict to specific Bouquets and Use other filters are disabled. I generally disable the two that are enabled.

Your location not where you are recording to.

Newcastle, Australia.

So you can use OpenWebif and view your settings in your browser, then you should have a fairly easy view of autotimer settings.
Also have you changed any of the default Autotimer settings (Menu/Autotimer/Menu/Settings)

... /Setup. I've looked through them and I don't think I changed any. I changed a few things when I set the box up last year, but I don't remember exactly what, and I don't think I would have changed any of these.

Have you created any bouquets? No, we just use Favourites.
Are you using one in your autotimer? No, bouquets are disabled.

Sorry that is confusing - you created a favourite bouquet but they are disabled?[/quote]
[/quote]

The Beyonwiz has 5 bouquets: Terrestrial TV LCN, Last Scanned, Favourites (TV), Terestrial Radio LCN, Favourites (Radio). I think these are all present by default. We have adjusted the Favourites (TV) list and use that exclusively. When you create an autotimer, it has a setting for Restrict to Specific Bouquets, which is disabled whrn the auto timer is created and I leave it that way.

[Gully]

You would be best using Network time rather broadcast. Much more reliable and possibly could be the cause or at least contributing.

There is no need to remove filters each time (or at all with what you are doing) Best to go through the autotimer setup and do it there and that will then default for future autotimers.

A common choice is to restrict to your favourite bouquet for best results so you could add that as a default and enabled but make sure you have it set up with all the services you want to include.

I am well aware what default bouquets are created but you said you weren't using them (had them disabled) and while there are favourites created by default they will be empty until you manually fill it so I had to go by the information you provided.

[adoxa]

You would be best using Network time rather broadcast. Much more reliable and possibly could be the cause or at least contributing.

Yeah, sometimes I get a bad broadcast time (bad signal) which jumps a few months into the future, wiping all the timers (and sometimes trash).

[Grumpy_Geoff]

You would be best using Network time rather broadcast. Much more reliable and possibly could be the cause or at least contributing.

Yeah, sometimes I get a bad broadcast time (bad signal) which jumps a few months into the future, wiping all the timers (and sometimes trash).

But in this case the completed timers remain, only the pending timers disappear.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

Do you have the AutoTimer setting 'Poll automatically' enabled?

Poll automatically is set. Given that the EPG only extends 7 days and the system works for much longer periods before deleting everything I would assume this is working okay, i.e. that the EPG is updating and that Autotimers are being properly set from it. I'd also point out that the system is not just failing to set auto timers, it is actively deleting all the preexisting timers including manually set ones.

Three times since you started using the V2 - so how long has that been, three months right? In between those 3 times the V2 has behaved and pending timers stick around to get actioned?

I'd assume there was a daemon running that managed the setting of autotimers and the file containing the list of queued timers, and that that doemon was somehow clearing out the file of queued timers and then locking itself out of the autotimer file, perhaps due to a crash. Then accessing the Autotimer list restarts/resets the daemon which causes the autotimers to be recreated. But I don't know the system.

Are there crash logs present in /home/root/logs?

As far as I know, the timer list is kept in flash memory and written to disk on GUI shutdowns. I could understand it if some of the newly added timers never persisted if the box crashed or lost power, but I can't see how only the pending timers disappeared still leaving the completed ones.
Even then, the AutoTimer plugin should regenerate the "lost" timers.

Did this ever happen on your T4?

[engjs]

You would be best using Network time rather broadcast. Much more reliable and possibly could be the cause or at least contributing.

Yeah, sometimes I get a bad broadcast time (bad signal) which jumps a few months into the future, wiping all the timers (and sometimes trash).

But in this case the completed timers remain, only the pending timers disappear.

Which is my problem. Thanks guys.

Would it be possible to add a check to compare the broadcast time with the network time/ local time inside the V2 and reject any broadcasat times that were totally ridiculous?

[MrQuade]

Would it be possible to add a check to compare the broadcast time with the network time/ local time inside the V2 and reject any broadcasat times that were totally ridiculous?

If you at using network time, then the broadcaster time is not used. No real point in comparing them if network time is available.

[engjs]

Would it be possible to add a check to compare the broadcast time with the network time/ local time inside the V2 and reject any broadcasat times that were totally ridiculous?

If you at using network time, then the broadcaster time is not used. No real point in comparing them if network time is available.

That's true. But the reason I was using broadcast time is that there were problems with network time. From memory I think channels were out of sync with actual time and as a result starts of shows were being cut off. Using broadcast time fixed those problems. My point is that if you have a source of information that is occasionally going to return nonsense, and you have a way of detecting that nonsense, it makes sense to try and filter it out. If after 30 minutes you capture the time from the broadcast and compare it with current time the two results should differ by no more than seconds. If they differ by days then something is wrong and you shouldn't just mindlessly accept the false data, especially when it can cause problems such as I have seen happen. That's just sloppy programming.

Jim

[Gully]

That really doesn't make any sense as there would be no reason for the network time to go out of sync unless the V2 is not connected to the network.

Also please make sure you uncheck the Disable BBCode option when replying as that is stuffing up the format of your replies. Better still go into your profile and change the setting there.

[engjs]

Right.

I switched the box to use the internet time signal instead of broadcast time in the expectation that that would fix the problem, but it has happened two more times since then. Things stop getting recorded, I press the timer button, choose cleanup, and am left with a blank screen. I go into the autotimer settings, save, and 86 timers are added.

When I pay $550 for a PVR I expect to be able to rely on it to record the programs that I have asked it to record.

If there is any information you need detail it and I will post it here. But please find a fix for this thing.

Jim

[Grumpy_Geoff]

My guess is that something is stopping the AutoTimer plugin from polling automatically, even though setting 'Poll automatically' is enabled.
Perhaps 'Only poll while in standby'?
Or even 'Skip poll during records'?

Please open this URL in a browser and paste the 'config.plugins.autotimer' lines - http://beyonwizv2/api/settings
My AutoTimer settings are shown below.

Code: Select all

[
   "config.plugins.autotimer.maxdaysinfuture", 
   "0"
  ], 
  [
   "config.plugins.autotimer.popup_timeout", 
   "20"
  ], 
  [
   "config.plugins.autotimer.editdelay", 
   "3"
  ], 
  [
   "config.plugins.autotimer.disabled_on_conflict", 
   "True"
  ], 
  [
   "config.plugins.autotimer.interval", 
   "30"
  ], 
  [
   "config.plugins.autotimer.check_eit_and_remove", 
   "True"
  ], 
  [
   "config.plugins.autotimer.show_help", 
   "False"
  ], 
  [
   "config.plugins.autotimer.delay", 
   "9"
  ], 
  [
   "config.plugins.autotimer.timeout", 
   "5"
  ], 
  [
   "config.plugins.autotimer.enable_multiple_timer", 
   "b"
  ], 
  [
   "config.plugins.autotimer.show_in_plugins", 
   "True"
  ], 
  [
   "config.plugins.autotimer.show_in_extensionsmenu", 
   "True"
  ], 

Unanswered -

Three times since you started using the V2 - so how long has that been, three months right? In between those 3 times the V2 has behaved and pending timers stick around to get actioned?

Are there crash logs present in /home/root/logs?

As far as I know, the timer list is kept in flash memory and written to disk on GUI shutdowns. I could understand it if some of the newly added timers never persisted if the box crashed or lost power, but I can't see how only the pending timers disappeared still leaving the completed ones.
Even then, the AutoTimer plugin should regenerate the "lost" timers.

Did this ever happen on your T4?

[Grumpy_Geoff]

Apart from the settings above, enable debug logging - Setup>>System>>Log settings, then reboot to start the logging.
Keep an eye on the timer generation (e.g. daily) and when they stop then attach the relevant log files here (covering the period they were generating and then stopped generating).
There's an SMB share on that debug log directory as 'Logs', so you can grab the files using Windows File Explorer (or I think Finder for Mac, dunno 'bout Linux).