PyTiVo Desktop / "0x47 every 188" / TS Sync Errors: Do You Use It?

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Besides IMMEDIATELY becoming the "Easiest-to-Install " application to move files between TiVos and PCs, and back, a recent update to @Dan203's PyTiVo Desktop added "0x47 every 188" TS Sync Error Checking:

• Do you use it?
• Do you know how invaluable it is to you?
• Did you happen to notice me CHANTING it at every opportunity the past few weeks?

As more and more stations switch to H.264, you will find, if you haven't already, that you can no longer use PS / 'Slow' Format Transfer for those shows; you *MUST* use TS / 'Fast' Format Transfer. And, TS / 'Fast' Format Transfer has the 'hidden ' feature of NOT announcing transfer errors that occurred TiVo-to-PC *UNTIL* you attempt to bring back that show from your offline storage, PC-to-TiVo, and the transfer fails.

While @Dan203's PyTiVo Desktop also implements "0x47 every 188" checking during its PC-to-TiVo transfers, other programs, like Streambaby for example, don't (at this time); so, Streambaby (I believe) would fail at the TS Sync Error. Up until *I* encountered the H.264 'problem', I've stuck with PS / 'Slow' Format Transfers, since ~66% of the TS / 'Fast' Format Transfers that I performed / archived back in February / March 2016 (when I initially installed kmttg and @wmcbrine's PyTiVo) *FAILED* to transfer back via @wmcbrine's PyTiVo back in the summer of 2016.

The purpose of this thread, and its accompanying poll, is to gauge the TCF Community interest in "0x47 every 188" TS Sync Error Checking. If you do use it, you have to set the "Maximum # of Retries" that you're willing to put your equipment (TiVo and PC) through:

• Set it too low and you may never get a 'glitch-free' copy
• Set it too high and you may have your equipment running for hours and hours

I'm asking Dan to add the "# of Retries" his PyTiVo Desktop application performed to both the ongoing log (where the number will keep incrementing by 1 each time it fails), and the final filename (where you can easily see the 'effort ' involved to get a 'glitch-free' copy).

Instead of:

The Shakiest Gun in the West (Recorded May 21, 2017, SUNHD-E) (TS) (^46)​

You'd see:

The Shakiest Gun in the West (Recorded May 21, 2017, SUNHD-E) (TS) (^46_2)​

And, if/when it succeeded, you'd see:

The Shakiest Gun in the West (Recorded May 21, 2017, SUNHD-E) (TS) (0_19)​

It would be 2 or 3 more characters added to the filename, both in the log and in the final filename; an underscore plus a number, either "_9" or "_99". Dan feels that it would 'dirty up' the filename; what do YOU think?

Thanks for voting!

 

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You may want to try a different tack / approach:

When the "0x47 every 188" version of PyTiVo Desktop was initially released, I JUMPED on it, since I had this one H.264 movie that I wanted to save for summer viewing with my wife. I didn't even realize it was H.264 until the kmttg PS / 'Slow' Format Transfer resulted in a tiny, audio-only file. Thus, my selfish reason for pushing Dan to include the feature.

But, when I tried it with "Retries = 5", the best I could get was 3 errors, IIRC. I kept bumping the retries up by 5 until I got to 20 - still got errors. Then I read a post from a 'TCF Old-Timer' who stated that he FIRST places both his PC and his TiVo into as IDLE a condition as possible before beginning a batch of kmttg transfers. Well, the show was still on the LR Roamio Basic, which does all the recording and most of the viewing, so I copied it to the BR Roamio OTA, which is "LR Overflow" and only records the evening news on the one PBS station I can get on a pair of rabbit ears.

19 tries and finally 0 errors! ​

STILL a PITA compared to PS / 'Slow' Format Transfers (which just seem to work regardless of how busy the PC or TiVo unit are) but it appears that the 'TCF Old-Timer' had a valid point - give it a try for one show and see what happens.

BTW, *IF* you do get a 'glitch-free' copy by first placing both your PC and TiVo unit into an IDLE condition (I put my Roamio OTA into Standby), you won't know how my retries it took unless you count the rows in the log file.

 

Are you a programmer? (i.e. do you understand the logic involved in adding, and displaying, this counter?)

 

After my bad experience with TS / 'Fast' Format transfers in the summer of 2016, I've stuck with PS / 'Slow' Format transfers, knowing that I'll have a show to watch when I'm ready (maybe the closed captions will be trashed but if that's the price I have to pay...).

It wasn't until "Shakiest..." appeared one day from a WishList and the PS transfer failed that I had the need for TS.

I didn't think that I would have to raise retries to 20 (never mind the 50-100 @Drano32 chose ). Better to buy a copy of VideoRedo if the majority of your shows are now in H.264 rather than beat on your equipment so much. But, for once in a while usage...