[jaredean]

i've seen posts before about people having trouble with shows recording early/late because of the clock being off...i'm sick of padding and missing shows and was wondering if anyone has had success getting their clock adjusted for their area?


I saw an earlier post where ReplayLyndon asked someone with this problem what their Zip Code was...well, they didn't answer, but i will for my area...


84601


i miss 1 - 2 minutes of the beginning of almost every show on pretty much every channel...


anyone had success? ReplayLyndon, you there?


jared

 

[Ghoul]

Is the clock really off? I know in the past there have been problems. But when I miss the end of shows or the beginning it is because of the networks.


I do recall there being a way to manually set the clock, but it will be updated again during the next network connection.


Now, the hacker way to adjust the clock is thus:


Get a unix box (FreeBSD).

install xntpd (or the like) and configure it to NOT point to a real atomic clock.

Set the server's time to whatever you like.

Install bind9

Configure a "view" for the replaytv.net domain

Add all the replaytv.net hosts that you don't want to tinker with.

Have ntp-production.replaytv.net resolve to the ip address of the box running xntpd.

Configure your replay to use the name servers off your FreeBSD box.


Honestly, I've never done this...but it should work.


Padding seems easier in retrospect.

 

[jaredean]

it has to be the clock because it isn't a show here or there but practically every show i record...the first 1 - 2 minutes are cut off...i've take to recording "blocks" but this defeats single show recording


i don't want to pad because i can't pad "negative" minutes to allow the show before to stop earlier...


i don't want to setup a time server...


i just want to know if anyone has had success in getting their zip code updated...


anyone?


jared

 

[FlipFlop]

Use 243-Zones to toggle the clock display on, and compare it to http://www.time.gov and you will be able to see how close your ReplayTV's clock is.


Also check the time.gov time at the time the shows actually begin and/or end on live TV to see if the TV station is off. I expect you will find that your ReplayTV's clock is within a few seconds of the official time, and your TV station is the one with a time problem.

 

[sfhub]

Quote:

Originally posted by jaredean i just want to know if anyone has had success in getting their zip code updated...

As far as I know, there is only one time for all the replaytv users,

so if they "fixed" yours, then they would break everyone else. As

others have mentioned it is probably your TV stations because the

replay clock is pretty accurate. Either that or perhaps for some odd

reason your replay is not getting clock updates and this is just

internal clock drift. FlipFlop's suggestion should let you narrow

down the culprit.

 

[jaredean]

thanks, i'll check that tonight...


the reason i believe a certain subscribers area can be tweaked is because in a reply to a previous post by scottamus on the same problem, ReplayLyndon asked him what his zip code was ( HERE ), leading me to believe that they could be adjusted in a zip by zip basis...


sadly, scottamus didn't reply to him and we never got Lyndon's reasoning for asking - so i'm not positive it is possible...



jared

 

[sfhub]

My "single clock" statement is based on how NTP works

and that is what replay is using to update the clocks.


It's software and I supposed any number of customizations

could have been created to meet a particular need, but

I tend to doubt anything other than standard NTP is

being used.


If you like to read more about NTP and UTC (successor

for GMT time) NTPs purpose is to synchronize all clocks

to UTC (which by definition is a single time for all systems)

http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~ntp/ntpfa...ef.htm#AEN1196

http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~ntp/ntpfa...time.htm#Q-UTC

 

[jaredean]

thanks for those sites...very cool info...


so, i guess i am thinking when you say "stations" you actually mean the providor (at&t cable), because it isn't just one network - it is all of them...


i'll check the time.gov site against my unit and see what is up with it...


jared

 

[Minnesotan]

Although I have not experienced the problem recently, quite a few of us experienced such problems in September - so yes, it is possible that your local dial-up connection for your RTV may have a time synch error. Recommend you confirm your system time against national standard time, and if it is off, report it to SonicBlue tech support.


Here's the thread from September.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=171368

 

[scottamus]

Quote:

Originally posted by jaredean sadly, scottamus didn't reply to him and we never got Lyndon's reasoning for asking - so i'm not positive it is possible... jared

Thanks for the reminder! I posted a reply. My zip is 77062.


I feel pretty bad for losing a post like that when people are trying to help me.


I just realized that a black dot on the envelope means you've posted in that thread. I'll keep a closer eye on that in the future.

 

[sfhub]

So I guess what could be happening is Replay is running

multiple NTP servers and some are not functioning properly

on Replay-side, getting out of sync, while others are ok.


I compared my time with atomic time. I was 2 seconds

off before "net connect" and exactly the same after.


I was about to run an NTP client to each of the NTP servers

and compare the time when I realized all the DNS entries


ntp-rns{,-1,-2}.replaytv.net


and


ntp-production{,-1,-2}.replaytv.net


all point to the same IP address. I guess it is possible some

load-balancing is going on so the same IP address is actually

different machines, but barring that, unless the problem units

are not able to connect to the NTP servers for some reason,

we should all have the same time after a "net connect"


I guess another alternative is if replay has multiple methods

of setting the clock and NTP is just on contributor.


Comparing your "replay" time after "net connect" as flipflop

described will clear a lot up and point to further places to

investigate.

 

[Mark Nudelman]

There are indeed multiple servers behind the one IP address, but they are supposed to be all synchronized so they return the same time via NTP. A quick check shows they do indeed seem to be in sync right now, at least to within a second or so. If you're missing a minute or more of shows, it's not because the server clock is off by that much. The next step should be, as others have suggested, to compare your unit's time to a good time source. If, as is likely, the unit time is correct or nearly so, then unfortuntely the problem is probably that the broadcaster is not starting the show at the advertised time.

--Mark

 

[jaredean]

well, i checked it agains time.gov and the worldtimeserver.com atom time and it is only a couple of seconds off (and i didn't force a connect before it)...


so, i guess the problem is on AT&T's side...which really buggs...


i wish the software had a way to bump the clock either way for situations like this...i will eventually setup a time server on my side, but don't have the hardware at the moment...


thanks again for everyones help...you have all been jewels



jared