Device Label reverts to first device in error

mikeathome · February 23, 2012, 12:29:37 PM

The November firmware introduced a new function to reset EPG data (red button on Icelink setup page). If you have multiple devices (and therefore device names) and try to reset the EPG data the device name will, illogically, revert to your first device. If you don't notice this and use the reset EPF function on second and subsequent devices you will then get reservations for your first device on them, and you won't get the correct reservations for that device.

Brother in law reported this on the Topfield forum but there is no evidence there that the issue was seen as important enough to refer back to Topfield. As there is a line of communication between ICE and Korea perhaps the error could be referred back that way.

IanL-S · February 23, 2012, 03:46:21 PM

That is the way it has always worked with multiple devices for IceTV interactive. The only identifier that IceTV has for a device is the device name that the user gives to the device. When the Toppy makes contact with the IceTV server, it sends back a list of devices from which the user then selects the appropriate device. I suppose it would be possible for the Toppy firmware to allow you to enter the device name at the same time you set the user name and password, but in such a case there is the possibility that the user may incorrectly type the device name.

I find it easier to select from a listing of available devices rather than having to enter the device name. I can understand that others may have a different preference. I have 4 Toppys, two of which are used for beta firmware testing; sometimes I install several firmware installations in a week, and find drop down list much easier than manual entry.

Ian

mikeathome · February 23, 2012, 05:20:43 PM

How can it be the way it has always worked when the "Reset EPG" function was only introduced in the latest firmware? What justification is there for a completely unrelated function to alter a setting that the user has previously selected?

I appreciate that I am by no means an expert on these matters and may well have misunderstood your post - but as far as I can tell it seems to be referring to something completely different to the matter that I initially raised.

Dave at IceTV · February 23, 2012, 07:24:32 PM

Maybe Topfield thought that resetting the IceTV data should reset ALL IceTV settings stored on the Topfield.

While it can be a trap having the selected device reset to the first device whenever Resetting the EPG, it will only catch you out once. After that it is just an extra step in the process (if/when needed).

1. Reset EPG.
2. Select Device.
3. Resend all recordings for that device.

mikeathome · February 23, 2012, 09:06:41 PM

The function is not labelled "Reset ICETV data" - if it was then the reset of the device type would not have been so unexpected.

I assume that I have misunderstood the purpose of this function. I had assumed (based only on the words on the screen) that the function would refresh the PVR EPG data from the ICE site. It does not seem to do this. Another option that then occurred to me was that the function could reset the PVR EPG data to blank and the normal PVR operation would then collect the EPG data from ICE. It doesn't do that. Then I thought that the function might go and get EPG data if the existing PVR EPG data was blank. It doesn't do that.

If the function was intended to reset ICETV data as suggested above I would expect the user name and password to be blanked out, the EPG to be blanked out, the device type to be unset and the ICE reservations to be deleted. None of these happen in practice - at least on my device.

So far in my testing the only things that I can identify happening when this key is pressed is that the PVR attempts to login to ICE and when it does you get a response that login has been successful. The device type is then reset to the first recorded ICE device name. I'm sure that the function must do something more useful and I'll keep looking.

IanL-S · February 24, 2012, 02:03:59 PM

The Reset has not always worked that way. It did not work that way when first introduced in beta firmware. It definitely should only reset EPG data, or if it purges IceTV settings it should say that is what happens. I will check this out, and if it does behaves like that I will report the issue to Toppro.

Yes, definitely does this. Will report it to Toppro. I do not recall seeing this mentioned on the Toppro forums.

Ian

mikeathome · March 01, 2012, 11:39:44 PM

In the new firmware released today the reset EPG data key now blanks the EPG. It eventually gets repopulated.

IanL-S · March 02, 2012, 11:23:31 AM

Mike, I that is what it is supposed to do ;D. Does it still result in the device being reset ... I think it does.

mikeathome · March 02, 2012, 12:34:49 PM

Yes, they didn't fix that bit. I also think (I noticed this but did not try again to confirm) that the reset EPG process can result in an almost instanteous download of reservations - and if you use that function on a second device you will get the reservations for the first device because there was not enough time to reset the device name back to its correct value. Yesterday after installing the latest firmware I was waiting for the EPG to populate and used the reset function in the hope that it might make it happen. I immediately reset the device and then looked at the EPG - still blank, and then looked at the reservations only to find that I had reservations for device 1 that were not there previously. I can't explain this any other way.

Dave at IceTV · March 02, 2012, 12:55:24 PM

Resetting the EPG sometimes causes it to fetch the reservations right away, but sometimes it can take up to 15 minutes (or longer). Often a reboot is required after the EPG reset.

If you are resetting 2 or more IceTV supported devices you should reset the 1st device in the list first... then wait until it has fetched it's scheduled recordings before resetting the other devices. This will ensure that the other devices don't fetch the reservations that belong to the first device.

Or you can just wait until the first device has just done a fetch and has no queued shows listed for the next 5 days in My Week, and then reset your Topfield.

IanL-S · March 02, 2012, 02:17:23 PM

Quote from: mikeathome on March 02, 2012, 12:34:49 PM
Yes, they didn't fix that bit. .....

Two possible explanations; first, they did not know it was 'broken'; second, that it is how it is intended to work. To the best of my knowledge the issue was not reported to Toppro until after the current firmware build was compiled, so it is not surprising that there is no 'fix'.

Ian