pyTivo showing same folder contents for every folder

[rseligman]

I recently tried out PyTivo, and it worked great. But now, suddenly, when I choose the pyTivo entry from Now Playing, and then I select one of the folders under it (representing the Windows folders on my PC containing the video files), it shows the contents of a different folder. And no matter which folder I select, it always shows the contents of the same folder. (And then I tried deleting that folder from my PC, and then pyTivo said every folder that was left was empty.)

So I figured I'd try it on my other TiVo. First I selected a different folder than the one that the other TiVo was always showing, and it worked! But then I tried a second folder, and now it's always showing the contents of the first folder I selected.

It seems like it's caching the folder contents, and no matter which folder I select it's always showing what's in the cache.

Does anyone have any ideas for fixing this? I even updated to pyTivo-206, but it didn't help.

[wmcbrine]

Yeah, folders are broken. My workaround is to use multiple shares in pyTivo.conf; i.e.:


[vids1]
type = video
path = /movies/vids1

[vids2]
type = video
path = /movies/vids2


instead of trying to use one share for "/movies".

Oddly enough, folders work fine with music shares.

[windracer]

The workaround is to go all the way to a Program Details screen for a recording in a folder. Then back up and go to a new folder and the contents should be correct.

[rseligman]

The workaround is to go all the way to a Program Details screen for a recording in a folder. Then back up and go to a new folder and the contents should be correct.Thanks, but that hasn't worked.

[petew]

The problem is with the Tivo software not pyTivo. I see the same problem using Galleon and it started after the 8.3 upgrade.

IIRC the workaround that works for me is to go into folder one, everything is OK, then navigate to folder 2, see contents of folder 1, view program details for one of the incorrect entries in folder 2, go back and you get the correct details for folder 2.

[rseligman]

I just can't get this workaround to work. I go to folder 2, and I see the contents of folder 1. Then I press Select on one of the incorrect entries in folder 2 to show its program details. Then I left-arrow, and still see the contents of folder 1. I left-arrow again, go back into folder 2, and I still see folder 1.

I tried various other paths through this scenario, such as pressing the TiVo button instead of left-arrowing, and pressing Info while viewing the details. Am I misunderstanding what to do, or does this not work anymore?

[rseligman]

Ah, I figured it out! After viewing the incorrect list in folder 2, I need to go back to Now Playing and choose a non-pyTivo folder to go into. Once I do that, then I can go back into pyTivo and go into another folder, and it shows up correctly.

Thanks for the tips!

[glaviolette]

That workaround works for me in Galleon as well, thanks!

So, this is one of the few posts on this issue (that I can find), I'm surprised there aren't more postings on this! Are there specific circumstances or is EVERYONE using Galleon/pytivo/etc... having this problem and just living with it??

[lrhorer]

So, this is one of the few posts on this issue (that I can find), I'm surprised there aren't more postings on this! Are there specific circumstances or is EVERYONE using Galleon/pytivo/etc... having this problem and just living with it??
I don't know, but I'm seeing the exact same thing.

[windracer]

I'm just living with it ... I don't do a ton of TTCB transfers.

[MasterCephus]

I think everyone is experiencing it...but to be clear, this doesn't effect the Tivo Desktop right? Just other things like pyTivo, Galleon, and Tivo.NET? If so, then I really don't see a reason for Tivo to worry about the problem...

[windracer]

but to be clear, this doesn't effect the Tivo Desktop right?
Technically it doesn't affect TiVo Desktop, but that's because TiVo Desktop doesn't show the subfolders ... just one long list.

[ChristheC]

I'm just living with it ... I don't do a ton of TTCB transfers.

I have to, my kids record ton's of movies on my old S2 240 80hr, and I have to get them to my computer hard drive fast.

Anyway, while testing & troubleshooting, I had both Galleon & TiVo Desktop 2.5 running side by side. I noticed one other thing.

From the TiVo's Now Playing List, browsing to the My TiVo Recordings folder using Galleon:
no show information was available.
No details,
no channel number,
no duration (all show length as 0:00)

From the TiVo's Now Playing List, browsing to the My TiVo Recordings folder named P4P800 (Chris) running TiVo Desktop:
Show info appeared as normal (without folder support of course)

I hope this is just a bug in the 9.1 software. I hope they didn't change things purposely to break the other software.

Regards,

Chris

[ChristheC]

Technically it doesn't affect TiVo Desktop, but that's because TiVo Desktop doesn't show the subfolders ... just one long list.

One question Windracer,

Since I may have to abandon the GoBack feature of Galleon, I'm searching the forums for ways to use shortcuts inside the My TiVo Recordings folder.

"One long list". Do I have to create a shortcut to every .mpg or .TiVo file? Or is it possible to create one shortcut pointing to another folder?

Thanks,

Chris

[windracer]

"One long list". Do I have to create a shortcut to every .mpg or .TiVo file? Or is it possible to create one shortcut pointing to another folder?
TiVo Desktop supports links/shortcuts to folders. For example, I have a shortcut in "My TiVo Recordings" that points to my Podcasts folder under my iTunes library.

So, if you have folders C:\Videos and C:\Movies, you can create two shortcuts under "My TiVo Recordings," one to each folder and the contents of those folders will appear in the "one long list" via TiVo Desktop.

[ChristheC]

TiVo Desktop supports links/shortcuts to folders. For example, I have a shortcut in "My TiVo Recordings" that points to my Podcasts folder under my iTunes library.

So, if you have folders C:\Videos and C:\Movies, you can create two shortcuts under "My TiVo Recordings," one to each folder and the contents of those folders will appear in the "one long list" via TiVo Desktop.

Thanks for the response windracer,

That's the way I understood it. Didn't work. I can't physically look at my TiVo screen from my office but what I did last night was this:

E:\My Documents\My TiVo Recordings (default recording folder)
Right dragged a folder (called D:\Video\Movies) to this folder & create shortcuts here.

The Now Playing List on the TiVo ignored the shortcut.

Today, through RDP, I can see my home computer from here. I see the shortcut in the My TiVo Recordings folder. Looks o.k. to me.

I wonder if the drive letters have something to do with it. They are both local drives on my computer.

Hmmm, (just thought of this) perhaps folder hierarchy . . .

I'll investigate & test (with roots & physical drives) further when I get home and can see the Now Playing List.

Thanks again,

Chris

edit:
. . . the "one long list" via TiVo Desktop.

Will the "long list" also be seen from the TiVo's Now Playing list?

[wmcbrine]

Technically it doesn't affect TiVo Desktop, but that's because TiVo Desktop doesn't show the subfolders ... just one long list.It should be easy enough to do the same in pyTivo...

[windracer]

The Now Playing List on the TiVo ignored the shortcut.
What types of files are in the Movies folder? Are you using TiVo Desktop Plus, or the free version? If you're using the free version, only .tivo and properly formatted MPEG-2 files will be listed. I guess I don't for sure if the shortcut method works across drive letters, though (I've never tried).

Will the "long list" also be seen from the TiVo's Now Playing list?
Yes, that's what I've been referring to ... when viewing your PC's NPL on the TiVo, no subfolders will be shown, just ALL available videos in one long list.

[jonroy]

Is there nothing one can do except these kloogey workarounds? I now have close to 50 items in my GoBack directory and it is getting really annoying to have them all in one list.

I'm about to implement a bunch of share names in Galleon to get some organization, but I'd really prefer to just be able to sort under folders in the f/s.

Any updates out there?

[lrhorer]

Is there nothing one can do except these kloogey workarounds? I now have close to 50 items in my GoBack directory and it is getting really annoying to have them all in one list.

I'm about to implement a bunch of share names in Galleon to get some organization, but I'd really prefer to just be able to sort under folders in the f/s.

Any updates out there?
Galleon only has one work-around (other than just living with it). PyTiVo has a couple of work-arounds. For either one, the user may create explicit parent folders in multiple shares. The most recent version of pyTiVo has implemented a pair of internal work-arounds. One (the default) works properly as long as one only creates a single set of child directories underneath any given parent folder (i.e. no grandchildren or great grandchildren). There is also a hack which allows the user to create multiple generational child directories under the parent. At last report, this hack is somewhat slow and may not be stable. I find the multiple parents + 1 generation of children per parent to be quite sufficient. I'm not sure I'd even want a tree five or six generations deep.

Oh, by the way, I've got over 370 videos (mostly HD) on the server. I'm about to add six more tonight.

[jtkohl]

I've heard this bug is fixed in recent S3/HD software updates. Can anybody confirm which update has it fixed?
Is it fixed yet in Series2 software?

[wmcbrine]

It's fixed in 9.4... which means, only on the S3/HD, sorry.