keeping EPG current

boragthung

I have some questions regarding keeping the EPG information as up to date as possible to cover schedule changes and TV programme runovers and delays, etc. I am in the UK so this means I have Freeview (DVB-T2) and Freesat (DVB-S2).

The OTA EPG grabbers are set as below:
On Freesat, I have highest priority Freesat(EIT) - 6, then Freesat -5, then OpenTV(Sky) - 2.
On Freeview, I have EIT DVB Grabber - 7, UK Freeview -5.
Is this the correct order of priority, i.e. Now/Next before Scheduled?

I used to have the EIT last and have changed it in the last few weeks to be first, assuming I had it set up wrong for years. In the past I have missed programmes or a chunk of programmes that have been delayed too long or even moved to a different channel altogether - this can be common on the BBC, particularly during Wimbledon coverage when the TV schedule can be switched from BBC 1 to BBC 2, for example.

I generally set a buffer of 3 minutes at the end, unless I have consecutive recordings set for different channels. I have also enabled 'use EPG running state' on some of my installations, but I have not yet encountered possible delays, etc to see if this makes a difference.

The Freeview box just populates the EPG automatically. I have no idea how often this updates itself.

My Freesat installations have Mux schedulers set - I have the Freeview (11425H) set twice a day and the OpenTV (11778V) also twice a day an hour earlier. This is because the Freeview will not always populate some channels EPG's and needs the Sky one to do so. I also suspect there might be more information contained on the OpenTV, (but it might be the other way round?). I also have a scheduled 11126V once a week as this is where my bouquet is.

Is there anything wrong with my current configuration? I have never been too sure how the EPG collectors work. If the Sky 7 day populates first, does the Freeview 7 day overwrite or add missing information and vice versa.

As I have a working 7 day EPG it shows that the Now/Next doesn't clear all the data and write it's own info instead, so I assume it just overwrites or updates the Now/Next part. If a programme overruns I would assume the EIT part kicks in and will update the EPG. Does all following schedule move as well?

If I have a recording scheduled is it vital to have the EPG running state enabled in order to accurately record at the correct time? i.e. a normal scheduled recording will only start and stop at the set time and does not look at the Crid (I think it's called).

I just actually noticed on the GUI (on v. 4.3-2336_g366e56290) on my docker that the information columns for a while had this Crid info on it but do not now. That must have changed in the last week with the docker update.

I've not really used the EPG running state until recently due to bad memories of PDC not working very well back in the VHS days.

Lots of questions I know. I've been busy this morning 😉.

davep

The OTA EPG grabbers are set as below:
On Freesat, I have highest priority Freesat(EIT) - 6, then Freesat -5, then OpenTV(Sky) - 2.
On Freeview, I have EIT DVB Grabber - 7, UK Freeview -5.
Is this the correct order of priority, i.e. Now/Next before Scheduled?

I have the same setup as you, and have the grabber modules set as Freeview 7, FreeSat(EIT) 6, FreeSat 5, OpenTV 2, EIT 1. I believe those are the default values.

If I have a recording scheduled is it vital to have the EPG running state enabled in order to accurately record at the correct time? i.e. a normal scheduled recording will only start and stop at the set time and does not look at the Crid (I think it's called).

There are problems with EPG Running State on systems using both Freeview and Freesat, due to the EventIDs for programmes being different on the two networks. I have tried to fix the issue but got hopelessly bogged down in TVH's internals. What does seem to work is to set a 'warming-up time' of maybe 30 seconds (Configuration -> Recording -> Miscellaneous) - TVH starts the EPG grabber during the warmup, notices that the start time of the programme has changed and updates the timer. Of course this won't help if a programme starts early and it relies on the broadcaster keeping his EPG up-to-date with changes.

CRIDs (Content Reference IDs) are used for 'series link' recordings.

I have never been too sure how the EPG collectors work. If the Sky 7 day populates first, does the Freeview 7 day overwrite or add missing information and vice versa.

My understanding is that TVH uses the data from the highest priority source. So in your case OpenTV will only be used if there is no data for a programme from the other two sources. TVH does not try to merge multiple sources for a single programme.

boragthung

I had set a recording on CH5 on Freesat (I do not have epg running state set on this device) for the film The Warriors around midnight Friday. i have just noticed when looking at the recording it is all boxing which was on beforehand and must have run over a good bit and the film must have been cancelled.

Jonas Lang

boragthung as no doubt you are aware EPG is not an exact science but just as it is advertised as, a guide. These overruns usually happen when live coverage is involved so I’d be mindful of that when setting up future recordings.

boragthung

If I was to use the running epg status setting, in the example above recording a film that was then cancelled from the schedule would this stop the recording altogether rather than recording whatever is in its place?

I assume that using running epg would record correctly a late start and finish programme - I've not had a chance to see this in action as yet. But what about one that is moved to another channel? I would think that a recording would need to have more than one target channel for this?

davep

If I was to use the running epg status setting, in the example above recording a film that was then cancelled from the schedule would this stop the recording altogether rather than recording whatever is in its place?

Yes I believe so. The same effect can be achieved by setting a warm-up interval to the DVR settings, to allow tvheadend to run its EPG grabber and realise that the programme to be recorded is no longer in the EPG.

I assume that using running epg would record correctly a late start and finish programme - I've not had a chance to see this in action as yet. But what about one that is moved to another channel? I would think that a recording would need to have more than one target channel for this?

Again in principle yes, however the recording would have to be scheduled as a Series Link rather than an individual programme and the EPG grab would need to run in order to pick up the change. Also the broadcaster would have to keep the CRIDs unchanged when the programme was moved.

boragthung

It could be interesting to experiment during Wimbledon or even the Football latter stages when games run over, extra time, penalties, etc and see what happens.