Padding on T3

[atom]

I'm finding that pre-padding (as set on the T3) is working on IceTV recordings, but not post-padding. Is there more than one place to set padding for IceTV recordings? Any suggestions appreciated (firmware is up to date).

[Dave at IceTV]

The only place to set post padding (margin after recording) that I'm aware of is "Menu > Setup > TV > Recording Settings". Though could be other settings or plugins that may override or interfere with padding.

If nobody else has a better solution I'd suggest resetting to factory defaults (including removing any non-default plugins) and set padding to 2min before and 20min after and leave all settings to their defaults until you are sure that padding is working.

[prl]

Unfortunately, MENU>Setup>System>Factory reset doesn't remove user-installed plugins. You have to either remove them manually or re-install the firmware from USB (and apply any outstanding online updates).

I'm not aware of any plugins that mess with the padding settings, apart from the IceTV plugin :P (but I'm making no promises). The IceTV plugin will, if you've left your padding as default, will change the padding to be 2 minutes pre-padding and 20 min post-padding. But it shouldn't change your padding otherwise.

IMO, since the IceTV schedule is only given to the nearest 5 minutes, that "IceTV default" pre-padding is insufficient, and should be 5 min.

I'm not aware of any other places to change the padding settings apart from the one Dave gave, and, of course, the IceTV plugin itself, but the latter isn't under user control.

[prl]

I meant to add: the tennis broadcasting frenzy over the last couple of weeks may have pushed some programs out to later than any reasonable padding would have coped with if IceTV didn't catch the changes, and/or your recorder wasn't on at a time when it could have caught any changes that were made. A couple of recordings we made were entirely composed of tennis when they should have been something else.

Doing what IceTV does in the presence of unexpected program overruns and "breaking news" situations is, shall we say, challenging. And it's not only sports programs that cause these issues. I recall one Big Brother final that over-ran by 50 minutes.

[prl]

Atom, were the timers that didn't appear to have correct padding actually the correct padded length? Depending on what your automatic completed timer cleanup settings are, the timers responsible may still be in the timer list.

[atom]

Thanks for your replies!

I have the padding set as described. 5 min pre, 20 min post.

prl, just checked, and the recorded times are exactly the length of the show (so 30 mins for a 30 min show). So no padding, pre or post has been added. Looking at the scheduled recordings (all via IceTV), the start/stop times is set for exactly the 30 mins. Should the padding be included in these start/stop times if it were working?

I haven't installed any plugins. The unit came with IceTV and a few others already installed.

[prl]

...
prl, just checked, and the recorded times are exactly the length of the show (so 30 mins for a 30 min show). So no padding, pre or post has been added. Looking at the scheduled recordings (all via IceTV), the start/stop times is set for exactly the 30 mins. Should the padding be included in these start/stop times if it were working?

All recordings other than those made with Instant Recording or by manually entering a timer should have padding added explicitly to the timer. So if you make a recording for a show that is scheduled to run 20:30-21:30, the generated timer (with your padding settings) should be for 20:25-21:50, whether the timer is set from the EPG, from an Autotimer or from IceTV.

Padding is added at the time that a timer is created, so unlike the Beyonwiz DP series, you can't retrospectively change the padding for all timers by changing the global padding settings. That's one of the many things I don't like about the T3's management of padding.

Do you get padding added if you set a timer from the EPG?

[atom]

Thanks for your help prl!

Yes, if I set a timer from the EPG it includes padding.

I tried doing a factory reset, manually setting everything up again including setting padding. When I downloaded the timers they still don't have padding.

[atom]

I've just reapplied the firmware updates, and the padding now works! Frustrating, as I started with the updates...

prl and Dave, many thanks for your time and assistance!  :)

[Topblah]

I've got the exact same problem. Three recordings via icetv had no padding, but it works from the beyonwiz EPG.

So what fixed it? I think I've got the latest firmware

Edit: never mind. Turns out the ice tv T3s don't come with the latest firmware installed and installing it fixed it.