Virgin Media Chopping The End off Programmes

[Butts]

Just lately almost half the programmes I am recording on the Hard Drive of my VM Box are ending prematurely - or at least the "taping" is

Nothing more annoying than missing the last two minutes of a show !!

In the old days there used to be something called PDC or the like which used to solve late starting or ending adjusting the recording as required.

Being a "technodickhead" does my Virgin Box not have this facilty ?

 

[Eagle]

PDC was actually carried as part of the teletext signal, so it obviously doesn't exist any more. Its successor is Accurate Recording, and I know Freeview uses it but I'm not sure if cable has it (and whether it's on all channels or not).

Of course if it's BBC/ITV/C4/C5 then you can watch it through iPlayer/equivalent over cable.

 

[causton]

I don't use this much, but my parents do, and it does sometimes happen! I think the answer is a firm no - it just adds a few minutes to the start/end instead and hopes for the best as far as I can tell?

 

[Butts]

PDC was actually carried as part of the teletext signal, so it obviously doesn't exist any more. Its successor is Accurate Recording, and I know Freeview uses it but I'm not sure if cable has it (and whether it's on all channels or not).

Of course if it's BBC/ITV/C4/C5 then you can watch it through iPlayer/equivalent over cable.

Yes, but it's a pain and if you only watch the programme a couple of hours after transmission then it might not be on I-Player yet
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I don't use this much, but my parents do, and it does sometimes happen! I think the answer is a firm no - it just adds a few minutes to the start/end instead and hopes for the best as far as I can tell?

So much for advances in technology .....:cry:

 

[MarkyT]

I think there's a setting on a virgin tivo box for how much default 'padding' to include either side of a scheduled recording. Where programming has completely changed due to overrunning sports or news coverage my box has recorded completely the wrong programme, even when the desired one has then appeared later on.

 

[causton]

I think there's a setting on a virgin tivo box for how much default 'padding' to include either side of a scheduled recording. Where programming has completely changed due to overrunning sports or news coverage my box has recorded completely the wrong programme, even when the desired one has then appeared later on.

Yes, the "normal" (older?) V+ boxes you can customise the setting of how much, but it is no more advanced than that I presume

 

[WillPS]

Virgin's EPG is not dynamic; changes and updates occur in bulk between midnight and 2am - if you have an old Scientific Atlanta V+, you'll know this is happening because the box becomes almost totally unresponsive. TiVo updates differently, but it still isn't dynamic and can't be relied upon for last minute adjustments.

PDC was actually carried as part of the teletext signal, so it obviously doesn't exist any more. Its successor is Accurate Recording, and I know Freeview uses it but I'm not sure if cable has it (and whether it's on all channels or not).

Of course if it's BBC/ITV/C4/C5 then you can watch it through iPlayer/equivalent over cable.

Teletext signals are still carried by DVB-S and DVB-C providers in the UK. They were only omitted from the UK Freeview spec (and indeed all DVB-T services in the UK, except Carlton Cinema which carried it to act as a flag to prompt the box to show a 'go to onrequest' symbol). The issue is that the majority of broadcasters don't bother with Teletext in the UK (meaning PDC is as good as useless) but if you look at any of the BBC services or Eurosport and hit text, you'll get a courtesy page, and you'll find things like subtitles on 888 continue for the benefit of Benelux rebroadcasters and their customers (Teletext is still used routinely on the continent).

Because so few channels carry it, PDC would have been no good for V+.

 

[D6975]

PDC was actually carried as part of the teletext signal, so it obviously doesn't exist any more. Its successor is Accurate Recording, and I know Freeview uses it but I'm not sure if cable has it (and whether it's on all channels or not).

Of course if it's BBC/ITV/C4/C5 then you can watch it through iPlayer/equivalent over cable.

If freeview uses it, it doesn't work. I recorded a programme recently that followed over running Tennis and it was severely chopped.

 

[starrymarkb]

Freeview does, usually it gets it right to usually the issue is at the Broadcasters end (sending the program change signal early/late)

My mum records the One show (no idea what she sees in it) and often misses the first few mins. It seems the programme starts at 18:57 but the start signal (The EPG change) doesn't go out till 19:00 (official scheduled start time)

 

[AeroSpace]

Alternatively, the broadcasters could publish their 'Working Timetable', accurate to the second.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

If freeview uses it, it doesn't work. I recorded a programme recently that followed over running Tennis and it was severely chopped.

That might be down to the broadcaster not updating the EPG quickly enough?

 

[Butts]

Surely some form of successor to PDC is feasible and could be incorporated into Virgins Boxes.......

I'm not talking about 30 min overuns but just 5 or 10 mins. (It's normally only two or three minutes in question)

 

[dosxuk]

Alternatively, the broadcasters could publish their 'Working Timetable', accurate to the second.

Accurate to the frame (1/25 second) actually. However, there is the slight issue that this "working timetable" is constantly being altered, and is often overridden for live events (if it's not, then you get examples like ITV crashing into a scheduled advert break during England matches).

 

[EM2]

My V+ box (a Samsung) sometimes records exactly one hour, even when programmed to add two minutes at the beginning and ten minutes at the end, so if there is an early start/late finish of a few minutes, I still don't get it all.

 

[WillPS]

The problem with saying 'Freeview doesn't work' is that there are actually loads of different EPG systems in use, ranging from the archaic Now and Next only, to various 7 day, 10 day and 14 day EPGs. It's completely box specific (although Freeview HD has standardised on one).

My V+ box (a Samsung) sometimes records exactly one hour, even when programmed to add two minutes at the beginning and ten minutes at the end, so if there is an early start/late finish of a few minutes, I still don't get it all.

It *should* only do that when the tuner has something it needs to 'move on' to.

e.g.
You have a recording:
1800-2100
and also
1800-1900
1900-2000
2000-2100

because the tuner has to 'hop channels', it can't add *any* padding to the 1900-2000 programme.