[skp20040]

Originally Posted by Sam B

Hi All

Can you please let me know what programmes specifically you are recording that are lasting for 3 hours? It would also be useful to know if these recordings were setup before the software download, and if they were series links.

This usually only happens when the programmer has not sent the correct data for the end of the programme. There shouldn't be any difference by software version, and we certainly haven't seen any issues here.

The new software was preominantly a maintenance release and you are unlikely to notice any differences. However, if you do not remain on the new software then this will cause you problems in a couple of weeks with picking up EPG data so it is worth reverting back when you can and we'll try to help with resolving any recording issues.

Thanks
Sam

Sam

My box updated before Christmas and did not work (missing recordings or recording for hours on end ) so I reverted back to 4.08 and no problems ( well no more than usual ) .

Yesterday it updated again and this morning it missed the recording I set for Terry and June on ITV 3 , I was watching the TV at tthe time and noticed it did not record and went to messages and low and behold it told me it missed the recording, for no reason at all.

When will Top Up sort this out , sorry but after all these years it is becoming a joke nearly every update has problems, and I cannot believe that the call centre has not had more complaints ( unless people arent bothering to call and are just reverting as they now know thats the only way forward ) And ok maybe it is because we set up recordings before the update , but should we really have to go about deleting all planned recordings and setting them up again?

Its all very well advising to stay on the same software for the tv guide and adverts , but whats the point if it means the box doesnt work as it should, thats a bit like asking people who have got on the wrong train to stay on it otherwise they wont be able to hear the driver announce its going to the wrong destination.

[Ray Cathode]

Originally Posted by Mike_P

Could signal strength be partly the issue i.e. is it far better in the TUTV lab than that of those who are having problems. TUTV might do well to assess all changes made in the differing versions (and publish them ?) as since putting mine back to 4.09 it has behaved itself perfectly.

No, it's more than likely to be untested firmware being released. That and the fact that legacy format partitions probably still exist on many HDDs. TUTV used to have an active beta testing programme until recently. Sadly the fact that they don't beta test any more only adds to the speculation that things are coming to an end.

[television2004]

To me V5.08 is very stable and both of mine ,my sister and fathers boxes are back on this version.
It is a pain having to quickly revert back to the old software especially trying to get my 91 year old dad to do it!
Pity they cannot bring out an option to download or not new updates.
One good point Sue from TopUp Tv let slip was if you are not on the latest software. you will not get those annoying advertisement banners.or the 14 day epg.
By the way, a way to stop these banners is, providing you are using Freeview 8 day plus guide is do a channel scan and just when the second band has finished. Press red to cancel so band 3 and 4 are not loaded! you need also to have a freshly formatted HDD.

[JohnnyM100]

Reporting back after a few days.......

I suggested a modification to Irish Pete's method earlier in this thread. All was great for about 4 days and then back to the old problems of missed recordings and slowdowns/crashes.
Drizzle73 - I see your experiences were similar.

There are also several other threads on DigitalSpy that v6.01 and 6.54 has been causing extensive problems:

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s....php?t=1434903
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s....php?t=1409947
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s....php?t=1432283

Given the volume of postings on problems, TUTV must be aware.

Further 3 hour recordings (or 2h55m):
More4 - The Good Wife (Thursday 21:00)
FiveUSA - CSI (Thursday 21:00) 3 hours and recorded even though it also recorded the same episode from Tuesday but on Five (could be that the episodeID changed between channels).
Also missed recordings too - In each case the Now&Next seems to be stalled at an earlier programme.

Remember the Astratec decoder box that TUTV were selling to subscribers at a discount in 2006 approx 6 months before the Thomson boxes came out? The Now&Next on that still works fine even when the Thomson box either showed blank or failed to update.

I gave 6.01 a go. I gave 6.54 a good chance. Have now reverted to 5.08 again!

John.

[Tassium]

I don't use the TUTV service, and only record a few programmes from Freeview.

I havn't noticed any problems with recording but Now/Next is frequently missing.

I tried switching to 14day and back to Freeview+ EPG and it seems OK for a day, and then goes wrong again.

The box (DTI6300) also seems to lock up more frequently.


What a shame since the old firmware (5.08?) was totally solid for me.

[Fudge]

I noticed my DTI6300 rebooting this afternoon when it had been in standby since yesterday. Then wondered what it was recording at 21:45, as I couldn't remember scheduling anything. Checked and it was 2:45 hours into a one hour programme on BBC Four which began at 19:00! Then also noticed that Now/Next was stuck at 19:00 on all channels. I use the FV+ 8 day guide

I'm on 6.54 and have nver had this happen with any previouse software versions.

[creddish]

Originally Posted by Fudge

I noticed my DTI6300 rebooting this afternoon when it had been in standby since yesterday. Then wondered what it was recording at 21:45, as I couldn't remember scheduling anything. Checked and it was 2:45 hours into a one hour programme on BBC Four which began at 19:00! Then also noticed that Now/Next was stuck at 19:00 on all channels. I use the FV+ 8 day guide

I'm on 6.54 and have nver had this happen with any previouse software versions.

If the Now/Next data is not being detected by the PVR that would account for the extended recordings. It is the Now/Next (EITp/f) data stream which controls the recording start and end.

Colin

[pkc]

Originally Posted by creddish

If the Now/Next data is not being detected by the PVR that would account for the extended recordings. It is the Now/Next (EITp/f) data stream which controls the recording start and end.

Colin

you're correct.. the Tv Guide is correct, but the now and next isn't being updated.

I have a screen shot.. Time was 19:30 and now/next was 16:30.. at 20:00 its sorted itself and recording stoped.

[creddish]

Originally Posted by pkc

you're correct.. the Tv Guide is correct, but the now and next isn't being updated.

I have a screen shot.. Time was 19:30 and now/next was 16:30.. at 20:00 its sorted itself and recording stoped.

The EPG data is carried on a different data stream from the Now/Next data, As the EPG does not have to have the precision required to control the recording start and stop it can be transmitted with a lower repetition rate.

Colin.

[lstar337]

Originally Posted by creddish

the EPG does not have to have the precision required to control the recording start and stop it

Neither does the Now & Next, most of the time.

[misar]

... is there any chance of another bug fix? The information provided by creddish on the Now/Next update failure is the explanation for most of the reported problems with missed or over-run recordings using the FV+ 8 day guide. Sometimes recordings are fine but each time they fail you can see that Now/Next on all channels is displaying earlier programming.

I have two of the original 160GB 16300 boxes. One had this problem with v 6.01 and it is the same with v 6.54. The other one had no problem v 6.01 and is also OK with v 6.54. Neither box has a problem with the TUTV 14 day guide but this does not track late changes to programme times.

[Tassium]

Obviously this is not a priority to fix, or even test in the first place.

I'm sure most TUTV customers use the 14day EPG.

[kai666]

Originally Posted by Tassium

I'm sure most TUTV customers use the 14day EPG.

Why do you think that?

[creddish]

Originally Posted by Tassium

Obviously this is not a priority to fix, or even test in the first place.

I'm sure most TUTV customers use the 14-day EPG.

Personally I would not buy a PVR which does not provide Accurate Recording. With the possible exception of Series Record, for me it is the most important feature on a PVR. Virtually all PVRs with the exception of those restricted to the 14-day EPG have provided this feature for at least the last 3 years. It is a requirement of the Freeview+ specifications.

Colin

[creddish]

Originally Posted by creddish

The EPG data is carried on a different data stream from the Now/Next data, As the EPG does not have to have the precision required to control the recording start and stop it can be transmitted with a lower repetition rate.

Colin.

Originally Posted by lstar337

Neither does the Now & Next, most of the time.

I'm afraid I don't understand your comment? Accurate Recording depends entirely on the precision of the EITp/f data, Unless your are referring to the use of the 14-day EPG which does not support Accurate Recording?

Colin

[Ray Cathode]

This is strange because "Now & Next" is carried in the MPEG-2 video stream and should remain intact. If it is missing or corrupt, then the EIT should take over (which is a separate stream).

[creddish]

Originally Posted by misar

... is there any chance of another bug fix? The information provided by creddish on the Now/Next update failure is the explanation for most of the reported problems with missed or over-run recordings using the FV+ 8 day guide. Sometimes recordings are fine but each time they fail you can see that Now/Next on all channels is displaying earlier programming.

I have two of the original 160GB 16300 boxes. One had this problem with v 6.01 and it is the same with v 6.54. The other one had no problem v 6.01 and is also OK with v 6.54. Neither box has a problem with the TUTV 14 day guide but this does not track late changes to programme times.

I doubt the issue with the Now/Next data is the reason for all missed recording problems on the latest software versions. On my 6021 with 5,52 software the unit is incapable of retaining a Series Record setting for more than a few days. This applies even if the recording in the series immediately preceding the loss of the SR setting was recorded correctly.

Colin

[lstar337]

Originally Posted by creddish

I'm afraid I don't understand your comment?

The Now & Next data does not always coincide with the actual start or finish of a programme. On commercial stations you usually end up with a large amount of adverts at the start and end of the programme.

[creddish]

Originally Posted by Ray Cathode

This is strange because "Now & Next" is carried in the MPEG-2 video stream and should remain intact. If it is missing or corrupt, then the EIT should take over (which is a separate stream).

I was not aware that the ""Now & Next" is carried in the MPEG-2 video stream"? Do you have a reference to that?

Even if what you say is true I don't believe Freeview+ PVRs normally provide for one data source to take over from the other. None of the PVRs I have used have such a feature, The Humax and Vestel PVRs don't. On these PVRs loss of the EITp/f data causes recording timing to fail. The Humax Freeview+ PVRs do use the EIT EPG data to display the Now/Next banner, so as this data identifies programme transitions from present to future based on the Scheduled time of programmes this results in the Now/Next display being out of synch with the true EITp/f programme timings (as defined by the broadcaster).

Colin

[creddish]

Originally Posted by lstar337

The Now & Next data does not always coincide with the actual start or finish of a programme. On commercial stations you usually end up with a large amount of adverts at the start and end of the programme.

It is the broadcaster who defines what constitutes a "programme". Some commercial stations have had a policy of including the advert break which really belongs at the end of previous programme at the beginning of the following programme. ITV introduced such a policy in early 2007 but fortunately they saw sense later the same year and abandoned the policy. I suspect they were pressurized by the Freeview+ community as they were effectively sabotaging the Freeview+ functionality. I'm not aware of any commercial stations currently adopting this policy although some of the lesser channels don't provide very accurate data timing.

Colin

[lstar337]

Originally Posted by creddish

It is the broadcaster who defines what constitutes a "programme". Some commercial stations have had a policy of including the advert break which really belongs at the end of previous programme at the beginning of the following programme. ITV introduced such a policy in early 2007 but fortunately they saw sense later the same year and abandoned the policy. I suspect they were pressurized by the Freeview+ community as they were effectively sabotaging the Freeview+ functionality. I'm not aware of any commercial stations currently adopting this policy although some of the lesser channels don't provide very accurate data timing.

Colin

I know all that.

We were talking about Accurate recording. In my opinion the system does not live up to its name.

It is not that the technology is not precise, it is that it is not used properly by most of the channels on Freeview.

[Bainsyboy]

But thanks for trying to help creddish, is what I think lstar337 is trying to say

[stuntmaster]

Originally Posted by lstar337

I know all that.

We were talking about Accurate recording. In my opinion the system does not live up to its name.

It is not that the technology is not precise, it is that it is not used properly by most of the channels on Freeview.

exactly, only BBC channels and a few ITV ones utilize it, the others don't.

[lstar337]

Originally Posted by Bainsyboy

But thanks for trying to help creddish, is what I think lstar337 is trying to say

My initial comment was a little chuckle at how poorly utilised Freeviews 'Accurate recording' feature is.

Not difficult to understand.

[creddish]

Originally Posted by lstar337

I know all that.

We were talking about Accurate recording. In my opinion the system does not live up to its name.

It is not that the technology is not precise, it is that it is not used properly by most of the channels on Freeview.

I was responding to your comment "On commercial stations you usually end up with a large amount of adverts at the start and end of the programme." I do not find that to be the case. The EITp/f status change marks the end of one programme and the start of the next. So if you record a series of consecutive programmes on the same channel the adverts are bound to appear on one recording or the next one.

How are you making the judgement that the technology is not used properly by most of the channels on Freeview ? If you are basing your conclusion on the results using a TUTV PVR then I can see why you say that. My Vestel PVR gives excellent Accurate Recording performance.

Colin