Emby / NextPVR Recording Failures

[dpr59 2]

Two recordings were set to record at the same time and both failed

1.       The Repair Shop, BBC 1 20:00-21:00

2.      Great British Menu, BBC 2 20:00-21:00

I would appreciate help to resolve this issue as I am stuck!

Setup:  Emby Server running on a Windows 11 PC.  Recordings scheduled from Emby’s Guide, using Emby’s schedule information.  NextPVR plugin used to manage quad channel Hauppauge tuner card.

When these recordings failed, Emby was being used to “serve” existing media to an Emby client running on an Android TV, no other tuners were in use.

I have looked at the Emby and NextPVR logs and although they both report errors (see below), I don’t understand what these are telling me and what I can do to fix this issue.

In the meantime, I have:

1.      Confirmed the tuner drivers, Emby, NextPVR and Windows are all up to date.

2.      Retuned the tuners within NextPVR.

3.      Reset NextPVR as Emby’s source and checked all the scheduled recordings, and LiveTV works for all channels.

Although the DVR works as expected most of the time, I have also had issues with a recording that stopped after ~20 seconds, and several duplicate recordings of the same programme at the same time from the same channel.  I may have resolved the second issue, as for reasons I can’t explain, the same series were appearing twice in the series record panel and I have removed these duplicate entries.   I have posted separately about these two issues.

As a novice user, this is my interpretation of the Emby and NextPVR logs.

Emby Logs “embyserver-63876221817.txt” attached.

These show timers fired to initiate the recordings at 19:58 as expected (scheduled time less 2 minutes prerecording padding).  In the follow on log entries there are several error reports and repeated attempts to initiate these recordings which were ultimately unsuccessful.

NextPVR logs “nrecord.log.1” attached

There are multiple log entries from 19:58 confirming that Emby and NextPVR are communicating.  There are also some indications of errors which I don’t understand.

Please help me with this as I need a DVR I can rely on.

Regards
Paul

embyserver-63876221817.txt nrecord.log.1

[emveepee 132]

Your incomplete NextPVR logs don't show why your tuner is failing in NextPVR.

 

[dpr59 2]

Hi emveepee,

thanks for looking at this, I appreciate your input.

When you say refer to my incomplete NextPVR logs, is there something else I need to post?

Thanks

Paul

[emveepee 132]

Right now it is a NextPVR issue.  Those channels are not working so you'd need to post the zipped logs on the NextPVR forum trying to play Live (after doing normal checks for antenna, disk space etc.)

Martin

[dpr59 2]

Hi Martin,

since I had this issue, I have run the NextPVR update programme to make sure the software was up to date.  I have also retuned the tuners and set them to "always primed".  Before I did this I had saved all the files in the logs folder which are in the attached file, so it I didn't create this using the web interface.  Hopefully this is what you need.

I don't know if its relevant but it can take 10-20 seconds to switch between channels using Emby's live tv feature.  I previously used Kodi with your NextPVR plugin and I think it was much faster than this.

Thanks for your interest.

Regards

Paul

NextPVR logs.zip

[Carlo 4560]

52 minutes ago, dpr59 said:

I don't know if its relevant but it can take 10-20 seconds to switch between channels using Emby's live tv feature.  I previously used Kodi with your NextPVR plugin and I think it was much faster than this.

That isn't a NextPVR issue so ignore that for now.
The slow channel tuning time, will be drastically improved in the next release (after current version) of Emby.

[emveepee 132]

Emby tuning is slower than Kodi or in NextPVR, known Emby issue.

Too me it looks Emby is overloading NextPVR  with multiple sessions and not closing socket connections leading to lots of unexpected behaviour.  Emby also loaded the same live tv channel twice which seems to mean it lost track of a channel.

2025-02-26 19:58:01.386    [DEBUG][40]    /live?channeloid=7149&client=0811e957e5&sid=f60d0887f1934c41bf141bc8584960c9
2025-02-26 19:58:31.420    [DEBUG][45]    /live?channeloid=7148&client=075d4aed35&sid=f60d0887f1934c41bf141bc8584960c9
2025-02-26 19:59:31.954    [DEBUG][33]    /live?channeloid=7149&client=0daff6662d&sid=f60d0887f1934c41bf141bc8584960c9
2025-02-26 20:00:01.955    [DEBUG][26]    /live?channeloid=7148&client=ba25643d48&sid=f60d0887f1934c41bf141bc8584960c9
2025-02-26 20:01:02.449    [DEBUG][31]    /live?channeloid=7149&client=02ba09ac77&sid=f60d0887f1934c41bf141bc8584960c9
2025-02-26 20:01:32.444    [DEBUG][28]    /live?channeloid=7148&client=c22abdd12e&sid=f60d0887f1934c41bf141bc8584960c9
2025-02-26 20:02:32.908    [DEBUG][24]    /live?channeloid=7149&client=320d42de9f&sid=f60d0887f1934c41bf141bc8584960c9

2025-02-26 20:03:02.933    [DEBUG][21]    /live?channeloid=7148&client=57c69ec61b&sid=8ae1da9983284edd807a9fe04254e404
2025-02-26 20:04:03.357    [DEBUG][27]    /live?channeloid=7149&client=bf061646a0&sid=8ae1da9983284edd807a9fe04254e404
2025-02-26 20:04:33.390    [DEBUG][18]    /live?channeloid=7148&client=4db3bfc91b&sid=8ae1da9983284edd807a9fe04254e404
2025-02-26 20:05:33.827    [DEBUG][7]    /live?channeloid=7149&client=0f910f8bcb&sid=8ae1da9983284edd807a9fe04254e404
2025-02-26 20:06:03.858    [DEBUG][20]    /live?channeloid=7148&client=83c1116012&sid=8ae1da9983284edd807a9fe04254e404
2025-02-26 20:07:04.283    [DEBUG][58]    /live?channeloid=7149&client=747baa035d&sid=8ae1da9983284edd807a9fe04254e404
2025-02-26 20:07:34.316    [DEBUG][61]    /live?channeloid=7148&client=2d067a12d7&sid=8ae1da9983284edd807a9fe04254e404

2025-02-26 20:08:34.771    [DEBUG][62]    /live?channeloid=7149&client=ba2b9151c7&sid=45d7a88dedc949b6b54d80220dbaf5fb
2025-02-26 20:09:04.790    [DEBUG][59]    /live?channeloid=7148&client=481e9539d1&sid=45d7a88dedc949b6b54d80220dbaf5fb
2025-02-26 20:10:05.239    [DEBUG][15]    /live?channeloid=7149&client=a2081da456&sid=45d7a88dedc949b6b54d80220dbaf5fb
2025-02-26 20:10:35.268    [DEBUG][65]    /live?channeloid=7148&client=679e12034d&sid=45d7a88dedc949b6b54d80220dbaf5fb
2025-02-26 20:11:35.705    [DEBUG][64]    /live?channeloid=7149&client=d3c2eb0f01&sid=45d7a88dedc949b6b54d80220dbaf5fb
2025-02-26 20:12:05.728    [DEBUG][67]    /live?channeloid=7148&client=f52c0915ff&sid=45d7a88dedc949b6b54d80220dbaf5fb
2025-02-26 20:13:06.184    [DEBUG][66]    /live?channeloid=7149&client=bba3a5aa5d&sid=45d7a88dedc949b6b54d80220dbaf5fb

 

 

Edited February 27, 2025 by emveepee

[dpr59 2]

Thanks for the posts from Martin and Carlo, at least I won't waste my time attempting to chase down the slow channel changing issue.

Carlo, it would be helpful if someone from Emby could confirm Martin's opinion that this is an issue with Emby and not NextPVR. 

Presumably, that would also mean that I can't fix this and would need to wait for an Emby fix.  Clarity on this point would also be helpful.

Regards

Paul

[emveepee 132]

I think there was a NextPVR issue when the Hauppauge  BDA driver couldn't be stopped which is why I asked you to post on the NextPVR forum.  Emby's unique use of Live TV interface compounds the problem so you probably are stuck with this until there is a stable Emby only solution in the next release.  I expect a server reboot would have fixed the driver issue.

 

[dpr59 2]

Martin.

Having re-read your messages I think you are saying there were probably two issues here, one caused by Emby overloading NextPVR, and a second related to how NextPVR interfaced with the Hauppauge BDA driver.  I can see how an future version of Emby which directly interfaces with the Hauppauge tuners should avoid such problems.  Thanks for the clarification.

However, you have asked me to post on the "NextPVR forum".   Can you clarify where this is, what message you want me to post and with what logs?  Given this is the Emby Server > LIve tv > NextPVR forum I had assumed this was the right place to raise issues such as this, so whilst I am happy to help, I would appreciate a little more guidance on what it is you would like me to do.

Regards

Paul

[emveepee 132]

The Emby issue is mainly it is blind to what is going on and if there is an issue it can make things worse.  On top of that it doesn't drop sockets when it should on timeout.

I suggest going to the NextPVR forum after rebooting if it happens again.   However NextPVR simply asks the BDA driver to stop and if it doesn't there is little it can do, the tuner is already in a bad state and a reboot is likely required.

Realistically I don't think anything in Emby or NextPVR will change as a result of your effort and might as well wait for BDA support in the next Emby release when you can stop using NextPVR.

Martin

[dpr59 2]

Thanks for your candid advice Martin.

I am away from home for a few days so will see how it performs in my absence.  I might then explore the Emby WinTV option until Emby offers native support for the Hauppauge tuners. 

 

I have had other issues with Emby, principally making two identical recordings of the same programme at the same time, but also truncated recordings and a failure to wake the PC. I can't believe these are related to NextPVR.. Given the TV function is a subscription service this is disappointing. Kodi has disadvantages but in my experience, and together with its NextPVR plugin, it was a much more reliable PVR. 

Thanks again, 

Paul

[Carlo 4560]

I'd pretty much tell you the same thing @dpr59

You're kind of stuck at the moment.  If running Windows you can try installing WinTV and setting the tuners up directly in Emby which might help with the speed of channel changes a bit.
What you really need is TVNext which will directly support BDA so WinTV won't be required. TVNext will tune your channels on your card much faster as well.
 

 

[emveepee 132]

BDA issue and DirectShow graphs not stopping  are always a possibility whether they are via NextPVR, the Hauppauge API, or TVNext I expect you will have problems from time to time.

I personally agree that Kodi + NextPVR is a better PVR (currently) but by subscribing you are buying into the Emby infrastructure  not just PVR and giving those up.  You need to like Emby and I am sure you do or you wouldn't have subscribed in the first place Even with TVNext you need that love and commitment.

Martin

Edited February 28, 2025 by emveepee

[dpr59 2]

Carlo, you mentioned TVNext, but from what I can work out this is a planned feature for Emby which should provide native support of my Hauppauge tuners, it isn't a current solution.  If this is correct when will this be available?

In the meantime I have been away from home for a week and returned to find none of the ~20 scheduled recordings have happened, the logs don't help as they are only for the last few days.  Despite there being many programmes showing as "series record" there wasn't a single scheduled recording set in the logs that were available.  This wasn't the case when I left home, the schedule was fully populated, and Windows Task Scheduler also had the required tasks set.  When I set up the programmes to record again, I then got duplicate entries in the series record folder. I can't believe this is an Emby/NextPVR issue, and suspect this is something to do with how Emby it identifies programmes for recording. 

Anyway, following the issues with Emby/NextPVR , I have since completely cleared out all series set to record, removed NextPVR, installed WinTV V10 and set Emby to work with this. 

Martin is right, I do like Emby, I think the interface is cleaner than Kodi, and I prefer the server/client setup.  However, those points are secondary to having a reliable DVR.  In my experience Kodi/NextPVR had fewer recording failures in the several years I used it than Emby has had in the last few weeks!  So fingers crossed my Emby / WinTV setup will work reliably at least until TVNext is available, or I will have no choice but to switch back to Kodi / NextPVR.

Regards

Paul 

[Carlo 4560]

Correct. It will be part of the beta following the 4.9 release (currently in beta).  So it's the next version after the current.

If you have issues with Emby/WinTV and feel better going Kodi/NextPVR, then do that for now. It won't be long before you'll be able to start playing with TVNext. Then when you feel comfortable that TVNext is working well with your system, switch to it.  No reason you can't use both at the same time assuming you have enough tuners available.