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Live TV Buffer Bug

Created by dave. Last edited by dave, 14 years and one day ago. Viewed 4,107 times. #1
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Date: Valid March 2010, noticed (but not recorded) for several years up until now.

Device: Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300 PVR

Description: When viewer is watching "live" TV through the PVR buffer, the buffered "live" TV is immediately dumped if two recordings are active.

How to duplicate: Schedule two recordings for an overlapping time period. Start watching "live" TV prior to the overlapping time period, such that when the overlapping time period arrives the "live" TV is running some amount of time behind the "live" buffer (for example: you pause the "live" TV for 10 minutes; you are watching TV 10 minutes behind in the buffer). When the overlapping time period arrives, the video feed immediately jumps to one of the recording programs and the buffer is irretrievably lost.

Desired behavior: if there is pre-recorded buffer available, that buffer should be run to the end (ie until the buffer is pre-empted by the two recordings) at which the viewer should be presented with a menu of options, similar to the end-of-recording options screen.

In English, Please: OK, so my wife likes to schedule two programs to be recorded around the time that hockey games tend to end. Hockey is one of those things where the ending can be really, really important. This latest incident, the game was in sudden death victory overtime, and I had paused the PVR for 10 minutes to take a phone call. At 10PM I was approximately 10 minutes behind "live" TV. However, at 10PM the two programs my wife had scheduled kicked in, and the PVR immediately kicked me to one of those programs. The 10 minutes of hockey? Lost.

Now I know that this PVR only has two brains and can only watch two things at once. But the (in this case 10 minute) buffer is already recorded. I don't see why the PVR has to dump the buffer immediately. It's recorded it, let it play out and then stop or kick to one of the recording programs. Maybe warn the user that the live TV buffer is about to be interrupted if two recordings are about to happen.

Prognosis: I think it's highly unlikely this unit is even available for sale anymore. If this was a rental unit we could just send it back to Rogers and get a new one. But we bought it, so we're stuck with it. On the other hand, since we bought it, we've paid about 1/6th what it would have cost to rent for all these years, so can we really complain?

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