New recordings won't play until older ones are played
#16
Just for my clarification, if I'm attempting to watch a completed recording, does ServerWMC play any role, or does XBMC simply request that the shared folder deliver the file to XBMC directly?
Reply
#17
All swmc does in that case is when xbmc asks for a refresh of the recordings list, swmc hands back the list of recordings and their shared file paths.
Windows Media Center PVR addon (pvr.wmc) and server backend (ServerWMC)
http://bit.ly/serverwmc
Reply
#18
Okay, and then XBMC requests the file directly from the Windows Media Center shared folder, right?

Well, I'm not positive yet, but it may be a file sharing permissions problem from Windows.

When I set the WMC machine up, I migrated over from another server. I created the "Recorded TV" folder on my data drive BEFORE WMC created it and then copied all my existing recordings over to it. I then shared the folder and pointed WMC at that drive for new recordings. This may cause a permissions problem on new recordings for reason that aren't clear to me at all.

To remedy the problem, I booted into safe mode, created a temp folder, copied all my recordings to the Temp folder, unshared and then deleted the Recorded TV folder, and then rebooted, allowing WMC to create a brand new Recorded TV Folder, and then moved the contents of Temp back into the Recorded TV folder and enabled sharing again.. I'm going to test and see if the problem continues...
Reply
#19
Yeah, once we give the recording list to xbmc, it gets the file itself to play it, swmc and the addon aren't doing anything when that happens.
Windows Media Center PVR addon (pvr.wmc) and server backend (ServerWMC)
http://bit.ly/serverwmc
Reply
#20
Well, that didn't fix it either... Sad

It seems to be a sharing problem with Windows 7.

I've now tried changing the share name from:

\\10.2.2.80\Recorded TV

to

\\10.2.2.80\tv

And am going to see if that makes a difference. My next step may be a reinstall of Windows 7...
Reply
#21
It doesn't seem like it could be a permission problem if playing older recordings fixes it (I actually think I am quoting you here).
Windows Media Center PVR addon (pvr.wmc) and server backend (ServerWMC)
http://bit.ly/serverwmc
Reply
#22
Krusty,

Are you using a remote client running OpenELEC, or are you running XBMC on the same machine as WMC??
Reply
#23
I have a central machine that runs xbmc & serverwmc, but also remote xbmc clients (windows). I am not running openelec. I do have a linux laptop that I can use of testing (although I currently have it loaned out).
Windows Media Center PVR addon (pvr.wmc) and server backend (ServerWMC)
http://bit.ly/serverwmc
Reply
#24
I have found Windows to be very finicky when it comes to network sharing with Linux boxes. When I use my Win7 machine to get files from a Linux based NAS, it is not uncommon to find that I have to try 3-4 times to access a share initially before it will "take." The first 3 times, Windows will report a username/password error. The fourth time, it works, with no explanation as to why it didn't previously.

So, it wouldn't surprise me at all if there was a problem like this in reverse, i.e., when a Linux box is attempting to access files off of a Win7 Machine.

My preliminary tests of shortening the share name from

"Recorded TV"

to

"tv"

are promising...
Reply
#25
Well, it does seem to be a permissions issue, and I've noticed that ServerWMC and XBMC use a different set of parameters to open SMB shares.

ServerWMC is sending the smb: url as follows:

smb://username:[email protected]/path

and XBMC only sends them as follows:

smb://192.168.1.50/path

It appears that XBMC sends the username and password when it opens the folder, but not when it actually requests the file. ServerWMC sends the username and password when it requests the file, which Windows apparently doesn't like for some reason. I'm still figuring this out, but I've found several work-arounds.
Reply
#26
I found a bit more. It appears that when you set-up "simple" folder sharing within Windows 7 to share a folder with a specific user, it does the following:

1. It opens the share up to everyone via Samba.
2. It uses NTFS to limit access to the user you selected.

It seems like, with new files that are added, the username and password is working to get through Samba, but not through NTFS unless you reboot.

I'm now going to try doing the opposite, i.e. limiting accesa via Samba just to my username/password combo but to open NTFS to everyone or all authorized users.
Reply
#27
You mean windows-to-windows sharing doesn't work on new files until reboot? That's not true on my setup.
Windows Media Center PVR addon (pvr.wmc) and server backend (ServerWMC)
http://bit.ly/serverwmc
Reply
#28
No, I mean that Linux to Windows may be the problem. OpenELEC runs on Linux.

It looks like my latest theory didn't pan out either.

Next step is to try a brand new Windows installation and see if that solves the problem... Sad

(2014-04-19, 21:53)krustyreturns Wrote: You mean windows-to-windows sharing doesn't work on new files until reboot? That's not true on my setup.
Reply
#29
Just finished trying a fresh install and had the same result.

I'm beginning to again suspect some kind of issue with ServerWMC. I tried setting up the Recorded TV folder as a video source and found that even when a video WILL NOT play from the Live TV screen, it WILL PLAY from the Videos/Files/Recorded TV screen.

I'm thinking that there's something about how ServerWMC handles switching an active recording from remux via ServerWMC back to just play it from the share that is causing a bug.

To test my theory, I'm going to disable the remuxing of active recordings and see if that makes a difference.

Krusty, can you be more specific as to the changes you made in ServerWMC with respect to the handling of active recordings?
Reply
#30
Just a recap here:

I'm running XBMC via OpenELEC on a computer hooked up to my TV. OpenELEC uses Linux. I leave these systems running 24/7.

I'm running Windows Media Center on a Windows machine.

When I first boot up my XBMC machine, I have no trouble watching any then existing recordings on the WMC machine via the LiveTV screen. However, if a new recording is made later, and I attempt to watch it after it is finished, it will not start, and XBMC's log reports an error trying to open the file.

In an effort to diagnose the problem, I added the Recorded TV folder using XBMC's videos/files/add videos feature. Even when a newly recorded show cannot be played using the Live TV screen, it CAN be played (just fine) using the Videos/Files/Recorded TV method. The disadvantage to watching using this method is that the shows are organized by file name, rather than by date recorded or show name. After I start a show using this method, I am still unable to watch the show using Live TV.

However, if I go to Live TV and watch a show that existed before I booted the machine, then I can go back and watch any now existing but newly recorded shows without any issues whatsoever. Shows that are recorded later continue to suffer from the same issue, however.

I'm suspecting an issue with how ServerWMC handles active recordings. ServerWMC remuxes active recordings and presumably reports to XBMC how to request them from ServerWMC while they are active. Once the active recording is completed, ServerWMC presumably reports to XBMC that the recording is done and that the show can now be accessed directly from the shared Recorded TV folder. I suspect that something about this interaction is causing XBMC to not be able to access to the file in the shared folder. It may be even be a bug in XBMC that is triggered by the way that ServerWMC is reporting the change.
Reply

Logout Mark Read Team Forum Stats Members Help
New recordings won't play until older ones are played0