EPG123V18 Client exits with Automatch on

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dmcq

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EPG123V18 Client exits with Automatch on

#1

Post by dmcq » Sat Dec 30, 2017 9:16 pm

Moved from V17 to V18, because of large number of 'To Be Announced' in guide - I believe these are placeholders coming from SD and as such are 'entries' parsed via EPG123 from SD to WMC?!
With V18 I have now reached a situation whereby EPG123 always fails with 'automatch' turned on.
If update is triggered by Task Scheduler, then it always reports an error 0xC0000005.
If update is forced by using Save & Execute from EPG123, the 8 tasks compete, so does the subsequent 'import' process, but immediately afterwards a message says
'epg123Client_w7 has stopped working' and exits.
The log doesn't always show an error - just stops - an excerpt from the log reads
[30/12/2017 18:38:11] [ INFO] Completed EPG123 update execution. SUCCESS.
[30/12/2017 18:38:11] [ INFO] epg123 update execution time was 00:00:59.1493832.
[30/12/2017 18:38:11] ===============================================================================
[30/12/2017 18:38:11] Beginning epg123 client execution.
[30/12/2017 18:38:11] ===============================================================================
[30/12/2017 18:38:11] [ INFO] Beginning epg123 client execution. 2017-12-30 18:38:11Z
[30/12/2017 18:38:11] [ INFO] Import: True , Match: True , NoLogo: False , Force: False , ShowProgress: False
[30/12/2017 18:38:11] [ INFO] epg123 client version: 1.1.18 for Win7
[30/12/2017 18:38:12] Entering importMxfFile() for file "C:\EPG123\epg123.mxf"
[30/12/2017 18:38:51] [ INFO] Successfully imported .mxf file into Media Center database. Exit code: 0
[30/12/2017 18:38:51] Exiting importMxfFile(). SUCCESS.
[30/12/2017 18:38:51] [ INFO] Matching C4HD to channel 104
[30/12/2017 19:44:21] ===============================================================================
[30/12/2017 19:44:21] Activating the epg123 client GUI. version 1.1.18 for Win7
[30/12/2017 19:44:21] ===============================================================================
[30/12/2017 19:44:21] [ INFO] Successfully queried the Task Scheduler for status. Could not start. Last Run 30/12/2017 18:37:12; Exit: 0xC0000005


I have since used the 'Rebuild WMC database' - to no avail.
Then I used the Client Set-Up Utility - effectively creating a cleaned restart - also re-created the Task Scheduler Task, this time with 'Automatch' off.
The job now ran fine both with Task Scheduler and Save & Execute.
However once I changed the Scheduled Task to include 'Automatch', all the previous issues returned.
It seems as if the V18 EPG client can't handle some exceptions that occur when trying to match SD Ids to WMC scanned channels.

Hopefully that's enough to describe the issue.
Thanks

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#2

Post by garyan2 » Sat Dec 30, 2017 10:16 pm

Certainly enough to get me interested. Can you use the client to manually match the channel with a listing? Any errors?

I may need to send you a new epg123Client with more verbose information to the log to find exactly where it is failing. I'm assuming this is a DVB-T setup?
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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#3

Post by dmcq » Sat Dec 30, 2017 10:35 pm

Hi Garry, hoped it might :-)
I had previously used the client to do a match on 'Number' all seemed well.
I have just done a manual match and again no error has popped up as far as I can see.
Yes it is Freeview (DVB-T/2).
I do also have DVB-S/2 tuners but am only using the DVB-T 'line-up from SD as the duplicate channel numbers, especially around 101-120 are a complete pain - as you know.

Happy to try a debugging client to help diagnose.

Like many others - very grateful for your immense dedication on our behalf - especially with the (SD) moving target.
Happy New Year

Used MCE since 2004, member of Green Button since then, but they lost members records, so had to re-enlist.
Don

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#4

Post by garyan2 » Sat Dec 30, 2017 11:08 pm

I'm comparing differences in what I do in the client GUI to what I am doing in the automatch. The only noticeable difference is when subscribing the lineup to a device the GUI ignores "deleted" devices... the automatch doesn't have such protection. This may be the issue.

I'll be able to build a new .exe later tonight so it will be available to you first thing in the morning. I'll let you know how to get it, or you can PM me your email address and I can send it directly.
- Gary
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#5

Post by Banana Jack » Sun Dec 31, 2017 7:47 pm

I'm new to EPG123 but I thought I'd mention that V18 is crashing for me too in the same way that Don describes. I've re-installed V17 for now. A lot of my channels are wrong but I guess that's a separate issue. Maybe because I renumbered them a long time ago - who knows?! Anyway I'll continue trying to work that one out.

Thanks
Glenn

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#6

Post by garyan2 » Sun Dec 31, 2017 8:46 pm

Banana Jack wrote:I'm new to EPG123 but I thought I'd mention that V18 is crashing for me too in the same way that Don describes. I've re-installed V17 for now. A lot of my channels are wrong but I guess that's a separate issue. Maybe because I renumbered them a long time ago - who knows?! Anyway I'll continue trying to work that one out.

Thanks
Glenn
Are you using automatch as well? and do you also have DVB-S and DVB-T tuners?

I wish I had a better understanding of what is going on, but past experiences has shown that the automatch will never be able to work for DVB-S tuners/lineups. Primarily this is due to the total unpredictable assignation of channel numbers (maybe due to multiple transponders?). I think WMC also has plays a role in how it handles DVB-S transponder scanning.

Maybe between your experiences and Don's experiences, I can get a better picture of what is going on. If you and/or Don, could do the following and report back the results, we might learn something more. NOTE: you'll need to put v1.1.18 back on to be able to see custom numbers.

In the client GUI.
1) click any channel on the left side, press [Ctrl + A] to select all, right-click any channel and select Unsubscribe. All channels should now have empty service names and subscribed lineups.
2) select the 'Digital Antenna (DVB-T)' source from the combo box right beside the match by [Call Sign] button to filter only on the DVB-T channels.
3) select your EPG123 Freeview lineup in the lineup service on the right side of the client window. Are the channel number/station combos correct for your area?
4) click the red button labeled 'Custom Labels' to change the text to 'Original Labels'.
5) click the Match by: [# Number] button to assign the lineup stations to the merged channels. Everything look good?
6) select the (DVB-S) source from the combo box right beside the match by [Call Sign] button to filter only on the DVB-S channels. All visible channels should have empty service names and subscribed lineups.
7) if you have included a satellite lineup with Schedules Direct, then select the EPG123 satellite lineup in the lineup service on the right side of the client window. Are the channel number/station combos correct for your transponder scans?

I suspect that all the satellite channels will have to have manual matching done due to the channel numbering in WMC. This also means that automatch is not a valid option for your setup.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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Banana Jack

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#7

Post by Banana Jack » Mon Jan 01, 2018 11:04 am

Hi Gary

Thanks for the fast reply! Yes, I have a dual DVB-T tuner card and also a dual DVB-S tuner card installed in my PC and yes I have Automatch enabled (primarily because it sounds like it might save me a lot of time!). I uninstalled EPG123 1.1.17 and installed 1.1.18 and then tried your procedure. Here are my results:

Step 3: Yes the channel number/station combos look plausible/correct but I don’t know all the channel numbers off by heart so I can’t be 100% certain.
Step 5: Yes.
Step 6: Yes.
Step 7: Because you said “automatch will never be able to work for DVB-S tuners/lineups” I didn’t bother with a DVB-S lineup but since you asked the question, I went back and added it and, (after another crash) yes, the channel number/station combos look correct for my transponder scans.

I’m still a bit confused about why some channels are missing and some are assigned wrongly. I’m not sure whether this is a symptom of the crash or because Automatch doesn’t work for DVB-S or because I’m not understanding something. Maybe I’m being too ambitious in trying to get it to work with both DVB-S and DVB-T.

Also, for all the rubbish channels which I’ll never watch, should I be disabling them in Media Center like I always used to, or in EPG123?

The crash happens after the “EPG123 Guide Import Progress” gets to 99% and then it pauses for about 10 seconds and then comes up as “epg123Client_w7 has stopped working”. Here are the details in case they mean anything to you:

Description:
Stopped working

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: CLR20r3
Problem Signature 01: epg123client.exe
Problem Signature 02: 1.1.18.7
Problem Signature 03: 5a456432
Problem Signature 04: epg123Client
Problem Signature 05: 1.1.18.7
Problem Signature 06: 5a456432
Problem Signature 07: e6
Problem Signature 08: 25b
Problem Signature 09: System.NullReferenceException
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.768.3
Locale ID: 2057

Anyway thanks for all your hard work and support Gary and Happy New Year!

Kind regards
Glenn

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#8

Post by dmcq » Mon Jan 01, 2018 4:33 pm

Hi both
Happy New Year
I think I have made some progress, but intend to clear down and run again.
Answers compared to Glenn's are
Step 3, 4, 5 - all ditto
It's the last step and using the new GUI carefully that changes things for me.
For example Ch 108 on T is Al Jazerra HD, Ch 108 on S is BBC Two.
Now this is actually what the channel scans in WMC produce and what the listings from SD say - so it seems they are both right?!

What I have done differently, you could say more diligently, is delete all mappings using ctl A routine as above.
Carefully map using 'Number', T channels to T SD guide and then S channels to S SD guide.
Then when I look at all channels in the GUi on the left I have two entries for Ch 108 with different, but correct guide data.
What's more when I do a Save and Execute it seems to be preserved and correctly mapped in WMC
'This is an historic occasion'!
My EPG Gui doesn't crash because I am using a debugged version of the GUI which doesn't crash - perhaps?

Anyway before getting more champagne out, I am going to rebuild and this time I will only scan satellites using specific transponders.
This because the grouped transponders offered in WMC are now totally wrong - if anyone knows how to edit that, then a prize is in store.
Here's what I mean, WMC offers Astra 2A-B-D (28.2E) Eurobird 1 (28.5E) for a London post-code, the correct satellites (at least for London HD) are Astra 2E-F-G (28.2E) - so WMC is completely broken in this regard because services and satellites change.
Will post again soon.
Don

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#9

Post by garyan2 » Mon Jan 01, 2018 4:58 pm

This is good. It looks like the problem is specific to how WMC builds the mergedChannels/devices for satellite transponder scans. EPG123 is assuming some information is available when doing a "match" and is crashing because it is not there (null). I can easily change the code to prevent the crash so we can get rid of that headache.
Banana Jack wrote:I’m still a bit confused about why some channels are missing and some are assigned wrongly. I’m not sure whether this is a symptom of the crash or because Automatch doesn’t work for DVB-S or because I’m not understanding something. Maybe I’m being too ambitious in trying to get it to work with both DVB-S and DVB-T.

Also, for all the rubbish channels which I’ll never watch, should I be disabling them in Media Center like I always used to, or in EPG123?
I think once it is understood how automatch works, it can be used properly.

Automatch in the scheduled task, when it runs, uses the original channel number of the tuner scans and the channel number of the lineups from EPG123. That is why it is important to verify that the lineup from Schedules Direct is correct before using it. It is also important to note that if the lineup from Schedules Direct has multiple stations on the same channel number, that you only download the correct station for that channel. Things get more difficult if you have multiple lineups with some of the same channel numbers (DVB-S and DVB-T). When EPG123 does it's automatch from the task, it doesn't care which lineup or tuner source it is matching, it only cares about the original channel number; it is first come, first served which could match the wrong one. Note that I am saying the original channel number on purpose... any custom numbering you may have entered is ignored. Also note that automatch will only attach a listing if the channel has none assigned, so if the channel already has a listing attached, right or wrong, it will stay in place.

The Match feature in the client window gives you a lot more control. You can filter by scanned sources with/without custom names and numbers as well as EPG123 lineup. You can also manually match each channel individually so get everything right.

For your and Don's particular setup, I would recommend to not use the automatch feature at all. This is a definite benefit to users that only have a single source type, but has some limitations and risks when used with multiple source types and/or lineups. Use the client window to perform all the matching needed to fill your guide.

For the rubbish channels, the best thing to do would be to not download them in the first place. Just uncheck those channels in EPG123, there would be no need to disable the channels in either the client or in WMC.

I'll probably release a new version in the next couple days to take care of the crashing and include the updates to the tweak wmc features. Based on your understanding of the above, is there something you think would have helped you in your setup that is missing?
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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#10

Post by dmcq » Mon Jan 01, 2018 5:10 pm

Gary

Still rebuilding, but I guess I get confused about when the client is in charge as opposed to when the main exe is.
For instance Save & Execute is in the main Gui as is automatch which is ticked, but WMC Guide seemed to get the two 108 chs right this time as a result of finessing in the client.
Does autorun only activate when a scheduled task is run, as opposed to Save & Execute? Is there any difference at all to a Scheduled task running or Save & Execute?

I'll do this rebuild and see if I can clarify further.

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#11

Post by garyan2 » Mon Jan 01, 2018 5:25 pm

dmcq wrote:Gary

Still rebuilding, but I guess I get confused about when the client is in charge as opposed to when the main exe is.
For instance Save & Execute is in the main Gui as is automatch which is ticked, but WMC Guide seemed to get the two 108 chs right this time as a result of finessing in the client.
Does autorun only activate when a scheduled task is run, as opposed to Save & Execute? Is there any difference at all to a Scheduled task running or Save & Execute?

I'll do this rebuild and see if I can clarify further.
Your channel 108s are correct now because you have already matched them properly. Because the channels already have valid listings attached, the automatch feature leaves them alone.

A Save&Execute and the task are effectively the same and the Save&Execute will execute as if it were the task (just maybe not with the same credentials).

Roles:
Main EXE - downloads guide data and creates the MXF file for import into WMC.
Client EXE - performs the import and automatch if requested.
Task - Server Only mode is the Main EXE only.
Task - Client Only mode is the Client EXE only.
Task - Full Mode is both.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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#12

Post by dmcq » Mon Jan 01, 2018 5:33 pm

So doing all the matching in the client and leaving automatch off is likely to give best results for those wrestling with Sat and T tuners.

I expect you're exasperated, 'cos you really said that earlier ...........
But I didn't understand that automatch leaves already matched channels alone.
Just a bit slow - sorry

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#13

Post by dmcq » Mon Jan 01, 2018 5:57 pm

Hi Gary

Have paused at this point.
I have reset WMC using client tool.
I have accepted WMC tuner assessment which forced me to choose a satellite cluster - even though none are right, but didn't scan it.
DVB-T tuners scanned in WMC ,then 6 transponders manually scanned in WMC.
Then in main exe checked that T and S schedules are correct, did Save and Exit.
Went to client, all entries on L hand side are un-subscribed (as you'd expect) but there are no entries on right side for T or S to match to.
It seems as if Save, then Exit doesn't populate the client's R hand side.
Do I now have to do a Save and Execute? and won't this populate WMC with wrong stuff because I haven't done the client match - because I can't.
Is that a catch 22?
Will wait for you to advise.

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#14

Post by garyan2 » Mon Jan 01, 2018 6:32 pm

dmcq wrote:Hi Gary

Have paused at this point.
I have reset WMC using client tool.
I have accepted WMC tuner assessment which forced me to choose a satellite cluster - even though none are right, but didn't scan it.
DVB-T tuners scanned in WMC ,then 6 transponders manually scanned in WMC.
Then in main exe checked that T and S schedules are correct, did Save and Exit.
Went to client, all entries on L hand side are un-subscribed (as you'd expect) but there are no entries on right side for T or S to match to.
It seems as if Save, then Exit doesn't populate the client's R hand side.
Do I now have to do a Save and Execute? and won't this populate WMC with wrong stuff because I haven't done the client match - because I can't.
Is that a catch 22?
Will wait for you to advise.
If it is not on the right, then it hasn't been imported yet. What you should do is a Save&Execute with the 'Automatically import...' option selected and the 'Automatically match...' unselected. This will build the mxf file and import it into the database. It will then be available on the right side.

EDIT: A Save just saves the EPG123 configuration, it doesn't actually perform any actions.
Last edited by garyan2 on Mon Jan 01, 2018 6:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- Gary
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#15

Post by dmcq » Mon Jan 01, 2018 6:34 pm

ta

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#16

Post by dmcq » Mon Jan 01, 2018 8:12 pm

Ok, going well.
Will soon have to do it all on the TV downstairs - so I better get it right.
Question
That TV is running EPG123 V17 and has lots of recordings scheduled on it - loosing these would not be a good idea.
Can you give me an idiots guide as to how to save the recording schedule and restore it once the TV is upgraded to V18 please?

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#17

Post by garyan2 » Mon Jan 01, 2018 8:33 pm

dmcq wrote:Ok, going well.
Will soon have to do it all on the TV downstairs - so I better get it right.
Question
That TV is running EPG123 V17 and has lots of recordings scheduled on it - loosing these would not be a good idea.
Can you give me an idiots guide as to how to save the recording schedule and restore it once the TV is upgraded to V18 please?
If you already have v1.1.17 running on it, then simply install v1.1.18 and you're done. Once you do a Save&Execute with v1.1.18 that imports the listings into the database, everything will be normal. No need to do any TV Setup or anything.

If you do want to do a clean start setup, then before you do that click the [Backup] button in the client GUI. This will back up your scheduled recordings to restore after the clean setup. The backup is stored in the .\backup folder in a zip file titled backups_yyyyMMdd_HHmmss.zip with the date/time the backup was created. When have completed with the clean setup, you can use the EPG123 Transfer Tool to open the zip file and pull out the recording requests and import them back into your database.
- Gary
Keeping WMC alive beyond January 2020. https://garyan2.github.io

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#18

Post by dmcq » Mon Jan 01, 2018 8:43 pm

Gary thanks
I need to rebuild because all the satellite channels are rubbish!
So I'll follow your instructions.
PS Where's the Transfer Tool?
I'll continue to use your debugging client until you release an update.
Many thanks

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#19

Post by garyan2 » Mon Jan 01, 2018 8:54 pm

As part of the install, on the Select Components screen, there is a component called "Tool to transfer recordings from Rovi to EPG123". Though it was built specifically for US users it works beautifully for something like this. In fact, I may just include as part of the standard install instead of making it optional.

The tool will be located in the epg123 folder and is called epg123Transfer.exe. There will also be shortcut in the start menu EPG123 folder.
- Gary
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#20

Post by dmcq » Mon Jan 01, 2018 9:07 pm

Excellent, sounds like a great tool for all users, I ignored it as I wasn't coming from Rovi - so good idea to make it part of the normal install.

PS Tool fails with 'Unhandled Exception' if no recordings

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