report your pvr results here.

[pmclean]

Thanks for the info System Dude

[jd00001]

Ok, I loaded the factory firmware version 103 and then testest multiple recordings during playback. I found out that when using the factory firmware everything works perfectly, I was able to record two shows at and once and watch a third with no errors or blank spots in the resulting recordings. So I guess the difference is something in the modified firmware. So how do we report this problem?

[s2byus]

jd00001

I will come up here with additional findings, shortly.
Can you please, meanwhile look on my request for help in #76 (permalink) in this thread, Thank you

[SystemDude]

Originally Posted by jd00001

Ok, I loaded the factory firmware version 103 and then testest multiple recordings during playback. I found out that when using the factory firmware everything works perfectly, I was able to record two shows at and once and watch a third with no errors or blank spots in the resulting recordings. So I guess the difference is something in the modified firmware. So how do we report this problem?

Sticky wicket there, to be sure. You certainly can't talk to SV tech support about it unless you choose your words very carefully -- they are legally obligated to refuse assistance in such cases. I am sincerely hoping that the acknowledged "problems with the advanced PVR functions" mentioned in recent support responses will be sufficient to have them look into the overall PVR reliability situation.

I have been successful in performing dual recording onto a single hard drive even with the modified firmware, but not consistently (although I now think it's more of an issue with tuner interaction than with the PVR....)

Thanks for letting us know about your experiment!

[jd00001]

Originally Posted by s2byus

jd00001

While using the factory firmware, could you also please, check if you can delete recorded files – video recordings and captured images? This should help me and may be others - in a pvr related problem with my sv-360 Elite discussed in the thread:
http://www.abadss.com/forum/942-sv-360-elite-help/74596-how-delete-single-recordings.html

It will be interesting to see the results of your pvr testing.

Sorry I meant to answer you in the other post, I was able to delete recordings just fine under both the modified and factory firmware.

[s2byus]

jd00001

Thank you for the testing. Your results are very interesting.

For quite a while I have been testing the freezes and missing recording segments problems. I was not able to relate them with playing a previously recorded file or being in the usb drive menu during an ongoing recording, described in your post #67 in this thread.

Like many of this thread’s subscribers, I encountered more than a few of the pvr related problems mentioned here. A common characteristic of most problems here is not being able to produce them in a consistent repeatable way, or to provide solid prove to their assumed reasoning.

After many tests and experiments aimed to systematically control and reproduce bugs mentioned here more than once and faced on my own, I came up with a scenario that corrupts an ongoing recording and results with missing segments and freezes during playback.

I am not saying that this is the only or even a frequent one that causes these problems. I bring this here, for what it's worth, mainly because I can reproduce it consistently.

I used the LED on the USB to hard drive adaptor, which flashes when chunks of data are transferred between the STB and the hard drive, to monitor the recording activity and observe if and when something changes. In addition I choose to record a time-stamped channel. This is a useful tool, to later see and compare - during playback - the timing of the events – if something happens - when and for how long it lasts. I found The Pentagon Channel showing ET on the lower left corner of the screen (hh:mm) – good enough for this purpose.

The recording gets corrupted when “hijacking” the tuner associated with the recorded channel, by choosing to view another channel of a different transponder on the same tuner. It is more than reasonable to expect such a corruption to occur, since the tuner - as a given fact - is able to handle only one transponder at a time.

If so, the remaining question is how the tuner can be hijacked.
At this point, it is to remind that the Channel List associated with the tuner involved, is limited during the recording, showing only channels belonging to the transponder used in the recording. These are the only channels allowed for selecting and viewing for that tuner (no limitations for the other tuner’s Channel List). I gess it was done this way, with the specific purpose to prevent recording corruption, by accessing not allowed channels. However, while the channel list is displayed, one can use the FAV key to scroll and select one of the previously made favorite channel groups. These favorite groups are not restricted to the above allowed channels. If they contain (and most likely will contain) not allowed channels, then, selecting such a channel for watching - no warning - here you are…… The ongoing recording looses its source of data - the tuner - that was hijacked for showing the other channel above; remember that recordings do not commence for no signal channels. So, at this point, the recording is frozen and no more LED flashes, until further notice: from here on, depending on what I was doing with the remote keys, it was possible to resume recording by returning the tuner back to its original owner (but not always). In these cases the playback was missing the recording minutes shown by the Pentagon clock jumps, in accordance with the timing previously indicated by the LED activity. In cases the recording did not resume, the playback got frozen long before the end of the show.

By the way, the above tests were done with factory firmware V0103, I loaded about a week ago. Nevertheless, the symptoms have been also observed in the previous V0104 that came with my STB.

[SystemDude]

s2byus:

Excellent analysis & useful information. This is exactly the kind of programming glitch one would expect to find on a very new machine whose factory testing has not yet been completed. Now let's hope SV can work it all out.

Thank you!

[jd00001]

lets say my findings with the factory firmware versus the dn/bev v150 firmware are correct for my sv360 elite. Then what is the difference between the firmwares and also who is it that does the modifications and also what tools do they use to modify the firmware?

[belwa]

Okies, that was a lot of reading. I'm using a simple tech 700 gb drive, and so far I haven't had any recording problems that didn't involve my set up issues. Once I've gotten everything wired right, these are the things I've played with so far just to see the results.

Duel recording - Perfect playback on both recordings - The only glitch I ran to was because my switch was faultering (almost sure it was a switch issue) , and when I changed the channel of one recording, the whole thing froze, then restarted when I went back to that channel, again I'm resonably sure this was cause my signal dropped out. (I did not get a freeze in playback tho, rather I changed the channel about 20 minutes in, and when I went back about 30 minutes later, when I took notice, I saw the the record time was at 28 mins, rather then 58 mins.

Playing in menus while recording didn't effect any of my recordings.

Starting record, then shutting off with front power. - No hiccups

Setting a record for future start time while in the EPG, then front power off. - Worked fine, as long as the EPG didn't lose its guide. In one try, when I shut off the receiver, the EPG for the program I had flagged reverted to "no information" so the recording didn't have a timeslot to hold onto.

Setting a record in event timers. - No hiccups, when power on or off. Great that it gives a "event recording started" but highly annoying that after that nice notice, it then changes to the event channel, so I lose that crucial moment in the program that I'm watching, the reason I set the timer for the other program, and by the time I've grabbed the remote and found my channel again, the moment is passed.

If you try to flag a recording in the EPG that has already started, even if the time JUST changed to the hour in question, it says the the "program is already in progress". Personally I think it would be better if this was a warning, followed by, "Would you like to record anyhow ; yes ; no" Because (Unless someone knows a way around this) if you just hit record while watching the channel, then you have to check back to hit stop when its done.

Also when flagging several programs in succession (same channel) in the EPG, I had thought each hour long block would save individually, but what I ended up with was a 3 hour single recording. I have yet to try setting 3 separate event timers to the same purpose, which I will try, but just thinking about that seams like too much work, as the event timer format is long and tedious.

SystemDude mentioned the 000 ..001.. after recordings, and just to add a note on to that;
After moveing some recordings in to a new folder, I then recorded a few more of the same program, thus the same file name, and because the first set was now moved to their folder, then second set started at 000 again. Then when I tried to move that recording to the folder, it wouldn't move till I changed the file name because there was already a 000 in the folder. So to that, I think it'd be cool if you could pick the destination folder, like you do on the computer, then the number sequence would keep going, and it would reduce the select, move, which folder, part of cleaning up.

Anywho, I think this is a cool receiver, and I have had no problems with the simple tech drive at all except the "damage file system" on improper shut down or power loss, and so far have only had to do the scan disk, with no loss or scrambling of saved recordings.

[SystemDude]

Great investigative reporting. Thank you!

Yes, there are a few sticky wickets around the PVR functions. For example, my experience with trying to record time-adjacent programs was different -- in my case the second program was always missed. And for the life of me, I have never been able to get a manually-entered recording event to work at all -- glad it was better for you.

The "last" problem I am investigating is the one where changing channels on one tuner affects the other tuner, as you note. Hoping for a light-bulb moment any time now......

A very helpful post.