freeview epg duplicate recordings

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wiredr

203 posts

Master Geek

#63084 20-Jun-2010 21:32

i have an magictv dvr and have been annoyed with finding duplicate recordings of the same show recorded at different times ie, primes encore screenings of dr who and sgu

if i delete the encore then the series link disappears.

are these problems only with prime and freeview , not happening on mysky epg

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#343678 21-Jun-2010 10:21

Mysky uses a totally different EPG system so I highly doubt this specific problem exists on theirs. However I believe several freeview boxes have been experiencing this.

bazzer

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#343703 21-Jun-2010 11:15

My JCMatthew box has problems with encore screenings but not the issue you specify. How should the box know that you haven't recorded the earlier screening?

My understanding based on how my PVR seems to work (ignoring the problem I'm having) is that after recording an episode it looks forward through the weeks EPG and schedules the next unique episode of the same show. So, it won't rerecord Flashforward because the episode IDs match but it will record Doctor Who because that is an episode from an earlier week.

When I delete episodes, the series link stays in place (rec list and play list aren't really linked).

wiredr

203 posts

Master Geek

#343762 21-Jun-2010 13:20

bazzer

just to clarify .
deleting the series option from the encore listing also removes the series link from the main list.
i initially thought this may have happened as i had deleted the first recording , so now i have left the first recording unwatched and later this week i will delete the series link from the encore recording .
so is this duplication specific to the magic tv or is it a fault with the Freeview Meheg5 epg data ?

bazzer

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#343775 21-Jun-2010 14:15

I don't quite understand what you mean about the deleting etc, but it sounds to me like it works fine. The encore screenings and the new episodes are all part of the same show, so series link records them all. You can't pick and choose which episodes of the show you want to series link, it's all or none.

Admittedly, they could be coded as two separate series (e.g. Doctor Who and Doctor Who Encore) but it's not that big a deal really, is it? Just delete the repeat episodes you don't want.

wiredr

203 posts

Master Geek

#343897 21-Jun-2010 19:14

bazzar
if i follow your logic then every time i record something with series link on tv3 it will also be recorded from tv3+, alas not so. yet if i record on prime the encore screening of the same prog is also recorded. so back to my question is this a fault with the magic or are there issues with meheg5 epg ?

bazzer

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#344013 22-Jun-2010 03:52

Maybe, maybe not. I don't know for sure if the PVRs record programs across different channels. Mine won't series link Glee on TV3 and C4 (encore) for example. From what you've described, it sounds as if things are working as designed.

If you could be a bit clearer about what exactly you consider the problem, I might answer differently. If the only problem is duplicate recordings, then I ask you how you expect the box to knwo which episodes you've already seen? I suppose it could remember all the episodes you've recorded/viewed but in my experience it doesn't work like this. I don't know about SGU, but Doctor Who is particularly troublesome because the encore screening is a couple of weeks behind.

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RingoTB

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#345346 25-Jun-2010 19:29

wiredr: i have an magictv dvr and have been annoyed with finding duplicate recordings of the same show recorded at different times ie, primes encore screenings of dr who and sgu
if i delete the encore then the series link disappears.
are these problems only with prime and freeview , not happening on mysky epg

Are you finding the same program recorded twice, or are you talking about just finding the record indicator set in the EPG? Having the record indicator set against both screenings of an episode does not necessarily mean that you will get the one episode recorded twice.

I think the Freeview EPG has a lot of different options and ways it can be set up. I have a MagicTV and have noticed a lot of different behaviours which are detailed below:

1.    I had already programmed the MagicTV to record two series on both TV2 and TV3 at 8:30pm. I then added a 3rd recording of a series on Prime at 8:30pm. The MagicTV accepted the recording and when I checked the recorded programs the next day, I had all 3 programs recorded. Had it recorded 3 programs on 3 different channels and muxes all at the same time? On closer examination I found that the MagicTV had recorded the Prime and TV2 programs at 8:30pm. It had then recorded the TV3 program at 9:30 from TV3+1 on Channel 8. The program was also not in the expected 5.1 Dolby Digital, but in plain stereo.

2.    I currently have a series recording set up for 24 on TV4. The EPG shows the series will be recorded on Friday night and also again on Wednesday when the Friday episode is repeated. What actually happens though is just the Friday episode is recorded. The 'marked for recording' repeated episode on the Wednesday is not actually recorded.

3.    I also have a series link set to record SGU on Prime. The EPG shows the series will be recorded on the Thursday night and also again on Wednesday when the Thursday episode is repeated. It recorded the first episode from the Thursday night. I then set up series recordings on TV2 and TV3 that overlapped the SGU timings. There was no error message. The result was that the repeat on Wednesday night was recorded, then the TV2 and TV3 programs on Thursday night were recorded, and all subsequent series of SGU were recorded on the Wednesday night repeat screening.

4.    I knew that FlashForward was played on TV2 on Wednesday night and it was repeated again on Sunday night. I had two series set to record on Wednesday night at 8:30 on TV3 and Prime. I then went to program it to record the series FlashForward. The EPG came up with a message something like, "conflict in recording times, recording the alternate time". The EPG then showed it recording FlashForward on both Wednesday and Sunday. The result was that it recorded the programs on TV3 and Prime on Wednesday, and then recorded the alternate/repeat screening on FlashForward on Sunday night.

5.    When I had set a series link for Hung which screened on TV1 on Monday nights, and then repeated on Friday nights, I ended up getting both the Monday episode, and the Friday repeat recorded.

wiredr

203 posts

Master Geek

#345359 25-Jun-2010 19:44

RingoTB,

5. When I had set a series link for Hung which screened on TV1 on Monday nights, and then repeated on Friday nights, I ended up getting both the Monday episode, and the Friday repeat recorded.

that is what i have being saying all along .

now that more than one person has experienced the op problem can we agree then that this is a fault with the magic tv or is it a problem with the meheg5 epg ?

RingoTB

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#345365 25-Jun-2010 20:03

It has to be how the EPG record link has been set up. Look at what I got in No 2. 24 only ever records once, and it is set up under identical circumstances to No 5.

Maybe have a look through a TV guide and identify all the programs on the various channels that have duplicate/repeat screenings. Set them all to record the series and see if they all behave the same, or if there are differences.

cb1

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#345373 25-Jun-2010 20:30

Again, for the Magic TV

I think there is another factor in the equation - When you have a series link for a program which is repeated later on, if you watch and delete the recording before the repeat screening, it is recorded again - as though it's the first instance. But if you still have the recording on disk, it doesn't record because it already there.

A variation on previous issues -
Recording Dancing on Ice TV1, Friday 20:30, 24 on C4 at the same time, Dr Who on Sunday's on Prime at 19:30. Says there is a conflict because Dr Who is repeated ~ 2 weeks later on Prime Friday night overlapping with Dancing on Ice (even though these will be on different muxes and after 24 finishes) - give it a lower priority and it still doesn't record 24, expecting to record the mid week repeat when there isn't a conflict. I've ended up deleting the Dr Who timer recording mid-week and then adding it back on the weekend so I get the screenings I want.

I don't think it's the Magic Tv unit itself, but some options put on the series linking that are creating the issues.

Any other thoughts?

RingoTB

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#345380 25-Jun-2010 20:41

cb1: Again, for the Magic TV

I think there is another factor in the equation - When you have a series link for a program which is repeated later on, if you watch and delete the recording before the repeat screening, it is recorded again - as though it's the first instance. But if you still have the recording on disk, it doesn't record because it already there.

I'll give this a try and make sure to watch and delete 24 this weekend, and then see if it records the repeat episode on Wednesday.

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Mac2008

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#346178 28-Jun-2010 22:00

In answer to the main question: Is it the fault of the MagicTV (or any other Freeview PVRs)

No. The series are linked by code within the Mheg-5 software that you can not see on the EPG. When the broadcaster (not Freeview) enters the program into the EPG, they enter in a Program ID and a Series ID. These are what the PVR looks at when you are booking a program. Often (but not always) each "series" of a show will have a different ID, and so the PVR books the current series you asked for, but will not 'notice' the new series that comes out later. However that is not always the case, and not all broadcasters follow that standard. So sometimes the PVR sees other shows with the same IDs, it has no idea that it is a repeat, it just knows that you want to record the programs with that Program ID and that Series ID.

Personally I would prefer it records anything in that series, old or new. I will just delete any I have already seen. I would rather that it did that and then I never miss out on the new series of CSI or whatever, or even any old episodes I previously missed.

Of course even better would be the option to choose that feature or not. But for some reason that option is not available yet with Freeview, though I have heard rumors that the option will be added in the future. As Freeview does not enter in the EPG data themselves, they have limited control over it's consistancy.

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RingoTB

118 posts

Master Geek
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#347408 2-Jul-2010 20:08

RingoTB:
cb1: Again, for the Magic TV

I think there is another factor in the equation - When you have a series link for a program which is repeated later on, if you watch and delete the recording before the repeat screening, it is recorded again - as though it's the first instance. But if you still have the recording on disk, it doesn't record because it already there.

I'll give this a try and make sure to watch and delete 24 this weekend, and then see if it records the repeat episode on Wednesday.

I watched and deleted 24 last weekend. It did not record the repeated episode on Wednesday.

wiredr

203 posts

Master Geek

#347412 2-Jul-2010 20:30

RingoTB:
RingoTB:
cb1: Again, for the Magic TV

I think there is another factor in the equation - When you have a series link for a program which is repeated later on, if you watch and delete the recording before the repeat screening, it is recorded again - as though it's the first instance. But if you still have the recording on disk, it doesn't record because it already there.

I'll give this a try and make sure to watch and delete 24 this weekend, and then see if it records the repeat episode on Wednesday.

I watched and deleted 24 last weekend. It did not record the repeated episode on Wednesday.

s i said in a prev post repeats on tv3 and c4 don't happen but definitley are a problem on prime .

example , dr who on Sunday ,
set series link and a [s] comes up on the thurs nite repeat. delete the series link on thurs and the series link on Sunday is also removed .

cb1

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Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 44

#347703 4-Jul-2010 16:28

wiredr:
RingoTB:
RingoTB:
cb1: Again, for the Magic TV

I think there is another factor in the equation - When you have a series link for a program which is repeated later on, if you watch and delete the recording before the repeat screening, it is recorded again - as though it's the first instance. But if you still have the recording on disk, it doesn't record because it already there.

I'll give this a try and make sure to watch and delete 24 this weekend, and then see if it records the repeat episode on Wednesday.

I watched and deleted 24 last weekend. It did not record the repeated episode on Wednesday.

s i said in a prev post repeats on tv3 and c4 don't happen but definitley are a problem on prime .

example , dr who on Sunday ,
set series link and a [s] comes up on the thurs nite repeat. delete the series link on thurs and the series link on Sunday is also removed .

This is weird!

I didn't watch and didn't delete 24 and it recorded it again on the Wednesday repeat! This is the first time it's done that for me.

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