Fox Prime-Time QAM issue

[DON3k]

OK, this will sound odd, I know, but myself, and three other SageTV/2250 users all experience the same issues, and only with Fox Prime-time QAM programming.

Three of us are in the New Orleans area, and the other is in the Chattanooga TN area.

The basic problem is, halfway thru any prime time recordings from FOX, on the QAM tuner, the channel will 'change'. Normally, when a commercial skip is hit, or if you fast-forward jump manually. Not live... Just on recordings.

That's the oddest part, this does not happen if you're watching the channel live. Also, this does not happen with any other QAM channels that I've found.

You can fast forwards, and suddenly instead of, for example, the Simpsons, it's suddenly ION television, and some movie.

But if you jump-back, to where it's the Simpsons again, and let it play forward, it will often play the Simpsons throughout.

As I said, viewing it live, you see the Simpsons the whole time.

These recordings also cause two odd issues:

1 - Show Analyzer will hang on this one recording, over and over, crashing and restarting it's service. Often never completing. I have my Dirmon set to not process any files that are still growing, so Show Analyzer is not not launched until a recording is complete. I have to delete the recording, or this file will try to be analyzed forever, it seems.
2 - Sometimes the show will begin playing in Sage, but the time-counter is jumping 2-3 minutes for every minute played. The show's run-time will indicate 30 mins, or 1 hr, or whatever, but the playback timer is hopping forward. This means that when you start a show, it will reach the 30 minute mark in about 10 minutes or less, as if it's at the end of the recording.

Each of us discovered this independently of each other, and didn't bring it up, until one of the other asked about the problem, to see if we've noticed the same thing. Turns out all 4 of us were trying to figure this same issue out. One guy, we forgot even had a 2250, so we hadn't talk about it to him, and then on day at lunch, he starts complaining about his Sunday night recordings not working on Fox.... Same problem.

This began about two months ago, I think. Before that, my Fox recordings were fine.

Sometimes, I can covert the recording, using Sage's convert feature, and can then watch the intended show. Other times the convert will never complete.

This means that I have had to set my shows on FOX to the Analog channel, or I never get my shows during prime time.

I say 'during prime time' because if I record this FOX QAM channel at other times, this problem does not happen. Like if I record the Seinfeld rerun on the FOX QAM channel at 10:30 PM (which is in 720p BTW.. Very odd, them thinking ahead and framing the show for WS back in the early 90s...) it will record Seinfeld fine. Or the Local News in HD on the QAM channel, No issues at all.

It seems this is somehow an issue with Fox's national feed, or the local provider in the way they handle Fox's national feed.

I figured it was a New Orleans COX Cable issue, but when my sister in TN reported the same problem to me, from Charter, I was surprised. I hadn't asked her about it, but she called and reported that her So You Think You Can Dance was changing channels and that Show Analyzer kept crashing. Bingo - Same problem.

I can provide a recording, if someone wants to look at it. Of course, we're talking about a big QAM file, but I can send it via IM File Transfer, if Someone at Sage would like to arrange something.

[kkeller20]

Exact same thing happens for me, very irritating.

[rawbrown]

similar issue for me. except its the recording that gets the mixup. And its pissing the wife off. problem for me, she has dancing with the stars set to record. The timeline gets off as well. then when she goes to fast forward through the commercials it then changes the channel to mercy or some other show. Fast forwarding more doesn't change it back. And going back and trying to watch it through the commercials it changes to the other show.
I have a 2250, pvr pvi II and an avermedia duet.
but I can't go back and see which one it was that recorded the show cuz she deleted it.

[brainbone]

I had the same problems.

It always seemed to be the same channel that it would "switch" to. Removing that channel appears to have stopped it from happening.

[DON3k]

So, the question is, is this a Sage issue, or a 2250 issue?

I know that a couple of Sage releases ago, there was an issue with another QAM channel, where it would detect the recordings for just one channel as the wrong format, aspect ratio, etc. It was a Sage issue, and was resolved via an update to the splitter and demuxer.

http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...3&postcount=12

Maybe this is somehow related?

[brainbone]

I think this is probably a SageTV issue -- I'm just not looking forward to filing another bug report.

[DON3k]

I thought I would post a follow-up to this thread.

Oddly, as of about a month ago, the prime-time QAM issue has vanished. I do not know exactly when the issue vanished, but about a month ago I re-enabled the QAM channel in my lineup, and let it begin recording again, and oddly, all recordings have been fine.

I made no changes, no driver updates, and no reloads of Sage or windows.

So, I can't say what has happened, but I would assume that whatever was embedded in the Fox QAM signal has gone away, or into compliance, or something unknown.

I am asking the other couple of people I know to give it a try and let me know.

[brainbone]

Originally Posted by DON3k

Oddly, as of about a month ago, the prime-time QAM issue has vanished.

Problems with Fox-QAM have just recently re-appeared for me.

While the file shows, in both SageTV and WMP, as being 1hr long, the time-line seems to advance at ~4x the expected rate. In SageTV, trying to click the middle of the time-line, expecting it to bring you ~30min into the show, instead brings you to about the 7min mark. In WMP, clicking in half way will bring you to about half way, though it will advance quickly, requiring you to keep clicking back on the time-line to continue watching the show.

[Prestermatt]

Originally Posted by brainbone

Problems with Fox-QAM have just recently re-appeared for me.

While the file shows, in both SageTV and WMP, as being 1hr long, the time-line seems to advance at ~4x the expected rate. In SageTV, trying to click the middle of the time-line, expecting it to bring you ~30min into the show, instead brings you to about the 7min mark. In WMP, clicking in half way will bring you to about half way, though it will advance quickly, requiring you to keep clicking back on the time-line to continue watching the show.

This is the same problem I've been having. We noticed it after we moved into a new house, and then it went away a few months later -- shortly after we had seen a Comcast guy working with the lines out back. Things were fine for a couple of months, but then returned a few weeks ago. We have to watch Fringe on Hulu.

I've noticed issues watching live TV with Fox as well: some blank screens (just for a second), and then sometimes the TV will suddenly just change channels from Fox to ABC -- but only during commercials. It's odd, and I'm not sure the two problems are related (could be my new TV doing the channel thing). But, given that others are experiencing the same Fox-QAM thing as I am, I have a feeling it's problems with the feed.

I'm in NW Twin Cities metro, btw, and I'm using an Avermedia m780.

[brainbone]

Originally Posted by Prestermatt

I've noticed issues watching live TV with Fox as well: some blank screens (just for a second), and then sometimes the TV will suddenly just change channels from Fox to ABC -- but only during commercials. It's odd, and I'm not sure the two problems are related (could be my new TV doing the channel thing). But, given that others are experiencing the same Fox-QAM thing as I am, I have a feeling it's problems with the feed.

I'm in NW Twin Cities metro, btw, and I'm using an Avermedia m780.

Exactly the same issue. I'm near downtown st. paul, using an HVR 2250 -- comcast could be doing something strange with the stream, but I have a friend not far from me using Windows 7 Media Center also with an HVR 2250 that is not experiencing this problem.

[Prestermatt]

Originally Posted by brainbone

Exactly the same issue. I'm near downtown st. paul, using an HVR 2250 -- comcast could be doing something strange with the stream, but I have a friend not far from me using Windows 7 Media Center also with an HVR 2250 that is not experiencing this problem.

Brooklyn Center. I used to live in Uptown Minneapolis and used my m780 with MCE2005 with no problems. Well, no problems other than those inherently related to MCE2005, that is...

The Fox issues only started when I moved to BC, got a new cable service (although both were through Comcast, we have different channels and pricing in BC), and switched to Sage (not long after moving). I guess it could be Sage's inability to handle the stream properly, since I had no problems when using MCE and your friend isn't with 7, but there must be something wrong with the stream since it got better for me for a while. I trust Sage to stay constant on me unless I update it; I don't trust Comcast at all.

[DON3k]

The timeline issue that y'all are reporting is something that a friend of mine always reported with Fox. I'm waiting to see if his issue is gone, like mine has.

Since nothing at all has changed on my Sage, I can only assume it's something in the file itself - a sub-signal or something, that's freaking it out. As I said, it even freaks out Show Analyzer, too. And, it's only Fox.

Well, it was for me, when I was having the issue.

Now that I see others are still reporting it, I'm afraid it will return for me, too.

Anyone tried a real bug submission yet? If you do, refer them to this thread, please.

[Clift]

Comskip has been taking FOREVER to scan my Fox shows. Sucks too because 24 is my favorite show and my wife like American Idol (yeah, my wife... yeah)

[hemicuda]

More channels than just Fox are screwed up for me.

http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...ine#post415000

Guess I should have done a more thorough search before I started a new thread.

[null_pointer_us]

We've had problems with Fox primetime (Comcast) since installing the HVR-2250.

In our case, there is no unexpected channel change or problem with the timeline. It just skips and stutters randomly throughout the video. Sometimes it records fine except for a dropped frame or two; last Monday, 24 was a slideshow. On Wednesday, Human Target was just as awful. Comskip crashes while trying to process these videos.

The same programs recorded simultaneously from my ATI 650 have been flawless; moreover, Comskip processes them without crashing. I just copy the files over the network into a media import directory and use SageTV's media browser to locate them.

All other HD channels on the 2250 are fine.

Possible workarounds are to watch some of these shows on Hulu or pick up an ATI 650 PCI-E card (if you can find one real cheap) although a permanent fix to the HVR-2250 would be greatly preferred.

[hemicuda]

I resorted the merits of my HD tuners as a temporary "fix." That puts most of the must-have shows on the HDHR. If we weren't expecting a new family member shortly I'd just grab another HDHR and put the 1800 on a lineup w/o the channels that fail.

Of course there's the dreaded message on the cable box about all the extended channels going black after mid-April. without those, I think I can get by with what I have even w/ a flaky 1800. Might play around with firewire for giggles after that, but don't know if I can wrestle the box from the livingroom or not.

BTW, are you playing the 2250 recordings on an extender or a client? Seems to be mostly the extenders that have issues. Placeshifter works, sometimes the local client has issues.