Tvheadend

UPDATE - Sometimes it will be moved into removed, but it does not matter I have only gotten it to record all of the stream once only.

Update I just did a recording and I got more then 30 secs. I don't know but it looks random where it cuts off.

UPDATE:"service instance is bad, reason: No input detected" is printed in the logs

You have one tuner,
want to record event and watch something else on other channel

Is guessing correct?

Hello, I had a similar problem and it had to do with permissions. My tvheadend server would only record for about 10 seconds and then shut down. Make sure you give your recording directory permission to be used by tvheadend. For example: Sudo chmod 777 (storage path directory).

Lisa~

Good point but would it write at all to file if the write permission wasn’t correct. It’s definitely worth investigating though. Sounds more like signal is being lost during recording as the recorded length seems to be random and the error “no input detected” might point to that.

I've been getting something a bit similar to this recently, where a scheduled programme appears to complete without error (it's in completed, not removed/failed etc.) but the whole file is about 5MB, and is (obviously) unplayable.

In each case, the recording was scheduled for late at night. In the most recent case a programme running from 1am to 2am (there's a pre- and post- buffer period configured too.

Also in the most recent case, last night, I notice that the most recent set of files in ~/.hts/tvheadend/bouquet are timestamped 00:59... So I'm wondering if this is some bouquet-update task taking priority over my recording (whose priority would just have been default). I can't see an obvious place to set that process to a lower priority in the UI.

NB: This is 4.3-2094~gbecc74b28 (but last week would have been a slight earlier version) on linux x86-64 (Ubuntu 20.04) with a single USB receiver that reports itself to tvh as "Montage Technology M88DS3103". Other recordings made at other times seem to be OK.

What front end do you use.

Irrelevant I'm not using a front end when the recording is being made; I'm in bed. No front end is connected at the time of recording.

It's not a front end misreporting the size of a complete recording. This is confirmed by looking at the file in the filesystem directly. That is the size of the file. Interestingly perhaps? It is timestamped to the time the recording should have ended. Hm. It doesn't think it fails, it just takes the duration of the recording to receive a small stream of garbage, it's starting to look like.

Garbage that... mostly comprises 0xff byte values, but interspersed with random-looking sequences starting with 0x47 0x40

I have no idea. but it's nothing so banal as just being "interrupted" I think...

(In fact I hardly use a front end at all: I use an AppleTV with MrMC (which is a fork of an old version of Kodi), which has issues, sometimes exhibiting poor playback performance of live or time shifted content from tvheadend, so I normally don't bother with that, but just grab the files, edit them into shape, and import them into Plex. As you can imagine, sometimes my first clue that something's gone wrong is when I copy the file out and it takes way less time to copy than it should, and then I look... and it's clearly dead.)

I wouldn’t say irrelevant. Have you tried a scheduled recording via a front end to see what results it yields.

In many cases it’s a permissions issue at fault. Recording will start but as soon as an attempt is made to write to disk the recording terminates.

Personally on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS on an x86_64 setup I’ve no issues with failed recordings on schedules with TVH.

Do a bit more searching on the forum here. This topic has been covered before.

well, it turned out to be because the channels had gone. I fell victim to the Freesat HD "move" talked about in another thread. I've spent half a day rescanning, remapping, and eventually trying to set up tvh from scratch, and all I have is wreckage. (The point at which I needed to back up my existing config was... earlier than when I thought to do so.) So, I think I'm done with the "running a PVR" stage of my life. "I'm getting too old for this sort of thing!"

I mean, it took me literally weeks to figure out the problem because I wasn't using it enough to have spotted the pattern that whole channels had just gone dark. And I'm not finding any alternative to tvh that looks like it would be any less of a hassle to get working. And most of them seem moribund if not actually officially over as projects.

Jonas Lang wrote:

In many cases it’s a permissions issue at fault.

It should be obvious when someone says they have a file on disk, and even describes the contents of it, that this is not a permissions issue - if it was there will be no file on disk.

Rachel Greenham wrote:

I mean, it took me literally weeks to figure out the problem because I wasn't using it enough to have spotted the pattern that whole channels had just gone dark.

Sorry to hear about your problems - TVH can be great when it's working smoothly, and a pain when something goes wrong.

For the benefit of anyone else in this situation, the first thing to check in the case of unreliable recordings is "can I get a reliable, high quality live stream from this channel?". You'll know straight away if the channel has gone dark, and if you can get a stream but it stutters or is otherwise poor quality, that it likely the cause of unreliable recordings.

Hiro Protagonist wrote:

Jonas Lang wrote:

In many cases it’s a permissions issue at fault.

It should be obvious when someone says they have a file on disk, and even describes the contents of it, that this is not a permissions issue - if it was there will be no file on disk.

There’s nothing obvious in TVH. How come you’re just breezing in with that comment after the OP had posted they had resolved the issue. Then you offer your gem of wisdom based on the OPs solution. Honestly.

Rachel Greenham wrote:

well, it turned out to be because the channels had gone. I fell victim to the Freesat HD "move" talked about in another thread. I've spent half a day rescanning, remapping, and eventually trying to set up tvh from scratch, and all I have is wreckage. (The point at which I needed to back up my existing config was... earlier than when I thought to do so.) So, I think I'm done with the "running a PVR" stage of my life. "I'm getting too old for this sort of thing!"

I mean, it took me literally weeks to figure out the problem because I wasn't using it enough to have spotted the pattern that whole channels had just gone dark. And I'm not finding any alternative to tvh that looks like it would be any less of a hassle to get working. And most of them seem moribund if not actually officially over as projects.

Assuming you’re scanning Astra 28.2 I’m a little puzzled how it’s taking so long to scan and map the services. It’s a 40 minute job. Regarding the configuration of TVH again it’s 30 minutes tops.

Those USB tuners are notoriously flaky and that coupled with the mux changeover you mentioned certainly wouldn’t have helped.

I know you stated that you don’t use Kodi but it’s definitely a very good partner with TVH particularly when it comes to scheduling and EPG. I’ve tried so many other alternatives and they all lack in some way.

If for no other reason the TVH/Kodi combination would save you so much of the time you say you wasted above. And of course it’s completely subscription free and that includes the EPG that many other alternatives require.

I use a Sat/IP tuner with TVH and I can safely say I’ve never suffered from failed recordings.

well, it turned out to be because the channels had gone. I fell victim to the Freesat HD "move" talked about in another thread.

If you use Freesat 'bouquets' this should have been automatically taken care of.

(I don't personally use bouquets because I have both DVB-T and DVB-S feeds and I prefer the Freeview LCNs.)

Jonas Lang wrote:

There’s nothing obvious in TVH. How come you’re just breezing in with that comment after the OP had posted they had resolved the issue. Then you offer your gem of wisdom based on the OPs solution. Honestly.

A file will not be created if permissions prevent it - this is a function of the underlying OS, nothing to do with TVH.
And I'm "breezing in" to correct the mistaken suggestion that it could be permissions for the benefit of anyone reading the thread in future.

If I ever need a primer in the OS I know where not to go.

The OP had posted an issue, had a number of responses and finally posted their findings with a solution they had discovered themselves.

You “breeze in” with your two cents worth after the solution was posted by the OP and decide to correct a suggestion I made in quite a condescending manner.

At no stage were you involved in the discussion. I’m sure there are more pressing issues that need addressing on the forum if you look hard enough. I’m sure you get the point.