[mythtv-users] mythcommflag not working

[faginbagin]

On 9/8/2014 6:06 PM, Mike Perkins wrote:
> On 08/09/14 18:39, Rob Owens wrote:
>> On Mon, Sep 08, 2014 at 12:51:27PM -0400, Michael T. Dean wrote:
>>> On 09/08/2014 12:26 PM, Rob Owens wrote:
>>>> I've been having a problem with mythcommflag not working.
>>>> Upgrading to 0.27.3 did not fix it.  I'm seeing tons of these
>>>> messages in mythcommflag.log:
>>>> 
>>>> mythcommflag[888]: E Decoder avformatdecoder.cpp:4891
>>>> (GetFrame) decoding error eno: Unknown error 541478725
>>>> (541478725)
>>>> 
>>>> Can anybody suggest further debugging steps?
>>> 
>>> Looks like corrupt recordings and/or recordings in a format that 
>>> ffmpeg libs don't handle well--though corrupt recordings is more 
>>> likely.  Could be due to antenna misalignment/breakage (due to 
>>> wind/wear/gravity/...) or even just changes by your broadcaster 
>>> which require a rescan.
>>> 
>> The recordings are from Dish Network.  Most (all?) are high
>> definition, but I'm using a PVR-150 to capture using s-video.  The
>> recordings play back fine.  Every once in a while I have a
>> recording that has one commercial break detected, but misses the
>> rest of them.
>> 
>> Does that help the diagnosis at all?  Do I need to look into the 
>> settings I'm using for capture?
>> 
> If you are using a PVR150 or variant then you are encoding the signal
> yourself. The quality of the signal cannot therefore be down to
> external transmission problems, but rather within the PVR150 itself,
> or later in the signal chain - including the recording and playback
> processes.

I have one more data point to add. All my recordings are from ATSC digital tuners, but a lot are from basic cable channels in lower resolution 480i SD. mythcommflag doesn't do a very good job on these recordings. It's more accurate on the 1080i and 720p HD recordings, which are from local broadcast channels.

My memory is that mythcommflag used to be better at flagging SD content from both analog and digital tuners. My impression is that, as it has evolved to better support HD content, it's ability to support SD content has degraded.

Helen