Recording Canceled No tuners - but one time only

[cycletourist]

My system has been working flawlessly for months - since I started using it in January of this year. Any anomalies that have come up could be explained - or WMC recovered on it's own (e.g., cancels but then finds another tuner).

Today, however, I had a two hour program scheduled to record at 4 PM. I left the house at about 3:45 PM, having been on another computer on my network until then. When I returned at 7 PM WMC displayed a recording canceled error box. I canceled that box and got two more, once for each of my three Silicon Dust HD HOmeRun Prime tuners. There were no tuners in use at the time no scheduled shows and nothing on live TV). Also, a show scheduled to record at 4:30 PM did record - and WMC seems to be behaving itself tonight (more scheduled programs recording).

I would like to be able to understand what happened in case I can prevent it in the future. This is my first lost recording in 9 months of use, so overall I am very happy with the performance of my system. I've had recording canceled messages before, but WMC always found another tuner for the recording, so nothing was lost. This time, though, it tried all three tuners to no avail. It's as though my HD HomeRun Prime went off line for a few minutes.

I don't see a log file for the HDHomeRun Prime. And the only Windows events I found were the three cancellations.

Is there a likely cause?

Is there somewhere else I can look to see what the problem may have been?

I know there were no power outages. I suppose there could have been a brief WAN (Internet) outage from my ISP, but that is really not common. My Comcast connection is actually rock solid - always there.

Any ideas?

With the success I've had since I began using WMC and the HDHomeRun Prime, I could easily blow this off as a rare anomaly, but I'd rather find an explanation.
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[adam1991]

It's very likely that when WMC reached out to find a tuner, nothing was there. Two explanations come to mind: the tuner itself experienced a momentary brain fart, or your network did.

My money is on the network. I have a switch that very occasionally decides it wants rebooted, and I know that because my extender "can't find WMC" despite the fact that someone is watching it in the other room at that moment.

I've had that happen where it healed itself on a reboot of the XBox, which I put down as the XBox having a senior moment. But I've also had it when it wouldn't go away until and unless I rebooted the network switch.

[Scallica]

Is there somewhere else I can look to see what the problem may have been?

The there is a link to the tuner's log on the tuner's webpage.

[jerryt]

Please provide some additional information about the WMC machine doing the recordings?

Does it sleep?

Is it on 24/7?

Do you ever shut down the computer (reboot)?

Does the prime have a reserved IP address set in your router?

Did you bring a new computer onto the network prior to experiencing the issue?

Do the computers on your network have static IP addresses or are the IP addresses assigned by a DNS server?

[KevinC25]

As Scallica says, access the log file either from the webpage for the tuner's IP Address or from the HDHomeRun Config program installed on the pc. Occasionally, like yesterday, I get similar issues from my combination of the Prime and a Time Warner Cablecard and Tuning Resolver. For example yesterday's log shows this:

20131027-18:28:06 CableCARD: resource error (ccio_usb_tr:105)
20131027-18:36:07 CableCARD: resource error (ccio_usb_tr:105)
20131027-18:36:08 CableCARD: resource error (ccio_usb_tr:105)
20131027-18:36:09 CableCARD: resource error (ccio_usb_tr:105)
20131027-18:41:07 CableCARD: resource error (ccio_usb_tr:105)
20131027-18:41:08 CableCARD: resource error (ccio_usb_tr:105)
20131027-18:41:12 UPnP: resource error (ssdp_service:116)
20131027-18:41:14 UPnP: resource error (ssdp_service:116)
20131027-18:41:37 CableCARD: resource error (cchost_tr_status:68)
20131027-18:44:37 CableCARD: resource error (ccio_usb_tr:105)
20131027-18:44:38 CableCARD: resource error (ccio_usb_tr:105)
20131027-18:45:21 UPnP: resource error (ssdp_service:116)
20131027-18:45:21 UPnP: resource error (ssdp_service:116)
20131027-18:45:21 UPnP: resource error (ssdp_service:116)
20131027-18:45:22 UPnP: resource error (ssdp_service:116)
20131027-18:46:07 CableCARD: resource error (ccio_usb_tr:105)
20131027-18:46:08 CableCARD: resource error (ccio_usb_tr:105)
20131027-18:50:07 CableCARD: resource error (ccio_usb_tr:105)
20131027-18:50:41 CableCARD: resource error (cchost_session:160)
20131027-18:50:49 UPnP: transaction did not complete 0 (soap_service_connection:51)
20131027-18:50:49 UPnP: transaction did not complete 0 (soap_service_connection:51)
20131027-18:52:07 CableCARD: resource error (ccio_usb_tr:105)
20131027-18:52:08 CableCARD: resource error (ccio_usb_tr:105)
20131027-18:52:09 CableCARD: resource error (ccio_usb_tr:105)
20131027-18:52:26 UPnP: resource error (ssdp_service:116)
20131027-18:52:26 UPnP: resource error (ssdp_service:116)
20131027-18:53:38 CableCARD: resource error (ccio_usb_tr:105)
20131027-18:53:39 CableCARD: resource error (ccio_usb_tr:105)
20131027-18:53:40 CableCARD: resource error (ccio_usb_tr:105)
20131027-18:53:41 CableCARD: resource error (ccio_usb_tr:105)
20131027-19:00:41 CableCARD: copy_protection/cp_valid_cnf timeout error (cchost_copy_protection:597)
20131027-19:00:41 CableCARD: technical error 53 (cchost_copy_protection:597)
20131027-19:00:41 CableCARD: message: A technical problem is preventing you from receiving all the cable services at this time. Please call your cable operator and report error code 161-53 to have this problem resolved.
20131027-19:00:41 CableCARD: M-CARD reset
20131027-19:00:42 CableCARD: invalid session 0xDEAD (cchost_session:267)
20131027-19:00:47 CableCARD: Cisco card (0103:0001)
20131027-19:00:52 CableCARD: authentication status: authentication in progress
20131027-19:00:52 CableCARD: authentication status: authentication success, activation success

...and then it's all ok again. I have two primes, each with a cablecard and tuning reolver, and the logs show almost exactly the same for both as Media Center tried going through all six tuners without success. I think it's fair to conclude that it's a Time Warner issue: it often seems to follow a few hours after their weekly test of the emergency alert but good luck with getting any help from Time Warner on the subject. At the moment it's not happening often enough to cause me more than the occasional inconvenient loss of a program, but if it occurs more often you can always open a trouble ticket at Silicondust and have them examine the log file to see if they can help or at least tell you what to say to your cable provider. Note if you are having the same problem there is this post at Silicondust's forum which suggests it is a Time Warner specific one: http://www.silicondust.com/forum2/viewt ... 995#p92995

[crawfish]

And the only Windows events I found were the three cancellations.

What were the exact event log messages? If they looked like this, then it's due to someone in the broadcast chain setting a flag by mistake:

"Survivor: Blood Is Thicker Than Anything was not recorded. Recording of this content is prohibited by the content provider."

When this happens, I'll get three such messages within a couple of seconds. Sometimes the flag is transient enough that WMC succeeds on the second or third attempt, and if I'm there babysitting, I can usually start a manual recording 10 seconds later after all three attempts have failed. This has been happening pretty consistently on Survivor this season, and it's also happened a couple of times on Law & Order and American Horror Story. These programs are on different channels, but they all come on Wednesday night. Hmmm. I called Cox and even got escalated, but I never spoke to anyone who recognized the issue. This was widespread nationally for a while a few years ago, and since then, there have been occasional isolated reports, like the thread I started recently:

http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... f=5&t=5999

[slowbiscuit]

OP, make sure your Prime has the latest March firmware loaded too, there were some 'no tuner found' issues from releases last year that I saw. I've had no issues with the released 2013 FW versions though (after they added DLNA support).

I'm also on Comcast btw, and they don't use TAs and only CCI-protect the premium movie channels, but the card log should say what happened as others have mentioned.

[cycletourist]

Is there somewhere else I can look to see what the problem may have been?

The there is a link to the tuner's log on the tuner's webpage.

Thanks. I always forget that's there. Maybe I should make a shortcut and put it in the Start Menu with the HDHomeRun shortcuts.

Unfortunately, there is nothing logged anywhere near the time of that failure.
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[cycletourist]

Please provide some additional information about the WMC machine doing the recordings?

Does it sleep?
Is it on 24/7?
Do you ever shut down the computer (reboot)?
Does the prime have a reserved IP address set in your router?
Did you bring a new computer onto the network prior to experiencing the issue?
Do the computers on your network have static IP addresses or are the IP addresses assigned by a DNS server?

Yes, it does sleep. That's how I "turn it off," but it is not set to auto sleep after a timeout.

It is also on 24/7.

I do reboot, but I don't think to do it very often. I usually do it after noticing WMC is slow to respond (like when switching to listings and it seems to do nothing for 10 seconds).

I have not reserved a static IP. Simple enough to do. Perhaps I should (Linksys E4200).

No new hardware has been added. I have no extenders and only get access through the one computer.

All three of my computers - another desktop and a laptop - have static IP addresses, but not the HDHomeRun Prime.
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[cycletourist]

OP, make sure your Prime has the latest March firmware loaded too, there were some 'no tuner found' issues from releases last year that I saw. I've had no issues with the released 2013 FW versions though (after they added DLNA support).

I'm also on Comcast btw, and they don't use TAs and only CCI-protect the premium movie channels, but the card log should say what happened as others have mentioned.

My HD HomeRun Prime is running the 20130328 firmware. Annnd .... there are no log entries from the entire afternoon when this happened. These are all entries for the day this happened.

20131027-02:06:43 CableCARD: Tuner2: vchannel 688 (225MHz-6) access = subscribed
20131027-03:23:03 CableCARD: Tuner0: vchannel 711 (363MHz-77) access = subscribed
20131027-04:33:03 CableCARD: Tuner1: vchannel 653 (477MHz-2) access = subscribed
20131027-04:33:03 CableCARD: Tuner2: vchannel 656 (489MHz-1) access = subscribed
20131027-05:58:03 CableCARD: Tuner0: vchannel 773 (369MHz-81) access = subscribed
20131027-07:58:02 CableCARD: Tuner0: vchannel 773 (369MHz-81) access = subscribed
20131027-09:00:04 CableCARD: Tuner0: vchannel 773 (369MHz-81) access = subscribed
20131027-22:28:05 CableCARD: Tuner0: vchannel 653 (477MHz-2) access = subscribed

To answer another post. my Windows Event Log just says that no tuner could be found - not a copy protection issue.

For the time being, I am going to write this off a fluke. Maybe the Windows Network (or router) got in an "awkward" state. With nothing in the HD logs, there is nothing else than can indicate what happened. Maybe a gremlin visited my living room while I was away.
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[jerryt]

Please provide some additional information about the WMC machine doing the recordings?

Does it sleep?
Is it on 24/7?
Do you ever shut down the computer (reboot)?
Does the prime have a reserved IP address set in your router?
Did you bring a new computer onto the network prior to experiencing the issue?
Do the computers on your network have static IP addresses or are the IP addresses assigned by a DNS server?

Yes, it does sleep. That's how I "turn it off," but it is not set to auto sleep after a timeout.

It is also on 24/7.

I do reboot, but I don't think to do it very often. I usually do it after noticing WMC is slow to respond (like when switching to listings and it seems to do nothing for 10 seconds).

I have not reserved a static IP. Simple enough to do. Perhaps I should (Linksys E4200).

No new hardware has been added. I have no extenders and only get access through the one computer.

All three of my computers - another desktop and a laptop - have static IP addresses, but not the HDHomeRun Prime.
--

There appears to be a 30 second delay, after the computer wakes, until the tuners are found again. If the WMC frontend tries to tune a channel before the WMC service has found the tuners, it can lock out the search for tuners. Which then request a reboot to fix.

[barnabas1969]

All three of my computers - another desktop and a laptop - have static IP addresses, but not the HDHomeRun Prime.

I strongly recommend a static DHCP reservation for the HD HomeRun tuners. I had some odd problems until I did that. I have static reservations for my HTPC, my extenders, and my tuners. It seems to work better that way.

[cycletourist]

There appears to be a 30 second delay, after the computer wakes, until the tuners are found again. If the WMC frontend tries to tune a channel before the WMC service has found the tuners, it can lock out the search for tuners. Which then request a reboot to fix.

If so (30 second delay), it must compensate for it. At my house, scheduled recordings almost always start from a sleeping PC. I leave the PC asleep most all the time and this is the first time WMC has been unable to find any tuners.
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[richard1980]

There appears to be a 30 second delay, after the computer wakes, until the tuners are found again. If the WMC frontend tries to tune a channel before the WMC service has found the tuners, it can lock out the search for tuners. Which then request a reboot to fix.

Mine has an 8-second delay.