DVBViewer miniEPG in v7.2.2.0

[lysergic]

I updated to 7.2.2.0 from the previous version and now the miniEPG in the OSD will display EPG details for programs back to the start of the day if I use the left arrow key.

 

I'm guessing this is related to the new timeshift EPG code that has been introduced for timeshifted viewing, however if I'm watching live should this happen?

 

Also if i use the left/right arrow to get back to the current program, the control bar does not pick up the correct duration position anymore, staying at zero.

 

Am I missing a setting to revert to the old behaviour or is it a bug to sort out, just asking, not a deal breaker.

 

I'll buy a new license on payday anyway to help support the devs.

 

Thanks, Paul

[Griga]

13 hours ago, lysergic said:

I updated to 7.2.2.0 from the previous version and now the miniEPG in the OSD will display EPG details for programs back to the start of the day if I use the left arrow key. I'm guessing this is related to the new timeshift EPG code that has been introduced for timeshifted viewing, however if I'm watching live should this happen?

 

Yes. If there is a timeshift buffer provided by the broadcaster for MPEG Dash / HLS streams (IPTV), users may want to know what has been broadcasted some time ago, because in DVBViewer 7.2.2 they can jump to it. The same applies if DVBViewer has created a timeshift buffer by recording a channel for some time.

 

So I've generally enabled the possibility to go back in time, because I couldn't see a disadvantage in it.

 

13 hours ago, lysergic said:

Also if i use the left/right arrow to get back to the current program, the control bar does not pick up the correct duration position anymore, staying at zero.

 

This is clearly a bug. I've just fixed it. Do you want to try a test version with this fix?

 

[lysergic]

Many thanks for the quick reply.

 

7 hours ago, Griga said:

This is clearly a bug. I've just fixed it. Do you want to try a test version with this fix?

 

I'd be happy to try it for you.

[Griga]

52 minutes ago, lysergic said:

I'd be happy to try it for you.

 

Please check your PMs.

 

[lysergic]

Fix works great, many thanks for the fast help.

[Bozek]

I have the same problem in 7.2.2.1. When do you release the fix?

[Griga]

Please check your PMs.

[Bozek]

Thank you for the test version.

 

I have found that if I move to a later entry in the EPG and then go back to the first one, when moving between channels (without switching) the first EPG entry for the current channel remains and nothing else is visible. The same thing happens if I go to a previous EPG entry and from there go to another channel's EPG, although I can only go to the one that has passed since I ran DVBViewer.

 

I have also made a video about this:

https://youtu.be/d7KsbMmOx3g

Edited August 24, 2022 by Bozek

[Griga]

Thanks for feedback - will be checked...

[Griga]

On 8/24/2022 at 10:37 AM, Bozek said:

when moving between channels (without switching) the first EPG entry for the current channel remains and nothing else is visible.

 

Here are my findings when browsing through channels in the OSD Mini EPG (requiring Settings -> Options -> TV/Radio -> Browse in Mini EPG to be switched on):

• DVBViewers keeps the EPG time that has been selected with the left/right arrow keys. When using the up/down keys for moving between channels it tries to display the programme running at the same time in other channels. Maybe it should rather reset the time to "Now" when moving / switching to another channel (a matter of taste?).
• If there is no EPG data for the selected channel and time, the last successfully retrieved EPG entry remains, which is a bit confusing. The Mini EPG should rather display "No EPG data available" in this case.

Particularly the second point explains your findings. The behaviour should be changed. What do you (or other users) think about the first point?

 

[Bozek]

On 8/25/2022 at 6:30 PM, Griga said:

 

Here are my findings when browsing through channels in the OSD Mini EPG (requiring Settings -> Options -> TV/Radio -> Browse in Mini EPG to be switched on):

• DVBViewers keeps the EPG time that has been selected with the left/right arrow keys. When using the up/down keys for moving between channels it tries to
• If there is no EPG data for the selected channel and time, the last successfully retrieved EPG entry remains, which is a bit confusing. The Mini EPG should rather display "No EPG data available" in this case.

Particularly the second point explains your findings. The behaviour should be changed. What do you (or other users) think about the first point?

 

 

The missing EPG is not the cause of the error. It does this even if all channels have EPG data.

 

I did another test, moved several shows forward, then went back to the beginning and moved to the other channel. The error occurred again, while if I switch to the channel, it seems that there is EPG associated with it (EPG was grabbed about 8 hours ago).

 

https://youtu.be/4-HhuB-CusM

 

When I watch it on the DVBViewer Media Server web interface, there is previous programmes in the EPG, but it is not visible in DVBViewer. This may be the cause of the error and if the time was reset to "Now", that would solve it.

[Griga]

10 hours ago, Bozek said:

The error occurred again, while if I switch to the channel, it seems that there is EPG associated with it

 

As soon as you switch over to a channel, DVBViewer starts receiving EPG data for it (and for other channels on the same frequency). That's normal. Configuring DVBViewer for importing EPG data from the Media Server does not mean that its own EPG reception capabilities are switched off. It always keeps the EPG data for the currently received frequency up-to-date.

 

When DVBViewer imports the Media Server EPG, all data for programmes in the past (ending before "Now") is discarded. So it may happen that EPG entries that appear in the web interface don't show up in DVBViewer. However, if you switch to a channel, old data may re-appear, if the broadcaster still provides it.

 

Maybe that explains your findings. Anyway, keeping EPG data of the previous channel in the OSD Mini EPG instead of displaying "No EPG data available" is clearly a bug. You should continue your tests with a test version where it is fixed. Please check your PMs again...

 

[Bozek]

16 minutes ago, Griga said:

As soon as you switch over to a channel, DVBViewer starts receiving EPG data for it (and for other channels on the same frequency). That's normal. Configuring DVBViewer for importing EPG data from the Media Server does not mean that its own EPG reception capabilities are switched off. It always keeps the EPG data for the currently received frequency up-to-date.

 

I disabled EPG reception in the DVBViewer Hardware menu, because I use XEPG and WebGrab++ to retrieve EPG data, since the EPG of the TV provider did not contain all the necessary information.

 

I can only go back in the EPG if enough time has passed after running DVBViewer, so I did such a test.

 

The problem is that if I've already looked at the EPG and go back to the beginning, if the first show of the next channel started later, then when I switch to it in the miniEPG, it now says "No EPG data", but that's still not correct, as there is later data that doesn't appear anywhere at this point. If it started earlier, then there is no such problem. In my opinion the problem here is caused by the time the program is looking for in the miniEPG.

[Griga]

1 hour ago, Bozek said:

The problem is that if I've already looked at the EPG and go back to the beginning, if the first show of the next channel started later, then when I switch to it in the miniEPG, it now says "No EPG data", but that's still not correct, as there is later data that doesn't appear anywhere at this point. If it started earlier, then there is no such problem. In my opinion the problem here is caused by the time the program is looking for in the miniEPG.

 

Ok, I can see the point.

 

There is a variable called CurrentTime in the Mini EPG. Initially it is set to "Now". When you start navigating towards the future, CurrentTime becomes the start time of the next entry respectively. When navigating towards the past, CurrentTime becomes the start time of the previous entry. When you get back to the currently running programme in this way, CurrentTime is not "Now", as it was initially, but the start time of this programme, which is a time in the past.

 

It comes down to a tricky question: If programme A is running on channel A, which programme B on channel B is running at the same time? That's what the Mini EPG is supposed to display when the user moves between channels (provided CurrentTime is not reset to "Now" on each channel change). However, there may be more than one programme on channel B overlapping with A. Which time shall be used as reference point? The start time? The end time? A point of time in the middle?

 

Returning to "Now" when returning to the programme you have started from is no option, because "Now" is a moving point in time. The programme may not be running anymore. So maybe the best would be to set CurrentTime not to the start time of an entry, but to "Now" if an entry is recognized as running now, otherwise to a time between start and end time. Could it yield unexpected results? I have to think the implications over before I start coding it....

 

[Bozek]

4 hours ago, Griga said:

Returning to "Now" when returning to the programme you have started from is no option, because "Now" is a moving point in time. The programme may not be running anymore. So maybe the best would be to set CurrentTime not to the start time of an entry, but to "Now" if an entry is recognized as running now, otherwise to a time between start and end time. Could it yield unexpected results? I have to think the implications over before I start coding it....

 

I believe that if you move up and down, you can set CurrentTime to "Now". I think the important thing would be which program is currently running on the other channels. If not, you can still move left and right afterwards.

[Griga]

1 hour ago, Bozek said:

I believe that if you move up and down, you can set CurrentTime to "Now". I think the important thing would be which program is currently running on the other channels.

 

It makes sense and would solve another problem. For the current channel the Mini EPG is supposed to indicate what is currently playing (since DVBViewer 7.2.2). In case of timeshifted playback this is not what is running now, but could be something that has been running one hour ago. However, this "timeshifted now" does not apply to other channels.

 

This particularly applies if an IPTV broadcaster provides a timeshift buffer, so that no DVBViewer recording is needed for jumping back in time. More about it here (see "Added: TS Stream (HLS/MPEG Dash Live Streams): Jumping in internet live streams with the usual means...").

 

On the other side, keeping the CurrentTime value on channel changes in the Mini EPG has been handled in this way for many years. I'm quite sure that some users will complain if it doesn't work in the old way anymore

 

[Griga]

I've re-uploaded the test version (see PM). It now follows your suggestion above. Please try...

 

[Bozek]

1 hour ago, Griga said:

I've re-uploaded the test version (see PM). It now follows your suggestion above. Please try...

 

 

I no longer see the attachment in my PM.

[Griga]

Sorry, I've forgotten to submit the reply. Just done...

 

[Bozek]

59 minutes ago, Griga said:

Sorry, I've forgotten to submit the reply. Just done...

 

 

This version seems to be fine. The "timeshift now" also works perfectly, and the problem I experienced did not occur again.

[Griga]

Thanks again for feedback. This discussion was quite helpful for getting the OSD Mini EPG mechanisms sorted...