v18 EPG not updating
#1
Hello,

There is an issue that I have had for a long time, maybe 2 years, maybe forever (5+ years). EPG seemingly does not update when there is a change in EPG data on backend.

Here is my issue, it is the same as mentioned here 3 years ago, seemingly never resolved/answered: https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=298162

I am now using Kodi 18.2 / LibreELEC but same exact thing was occurring with Kodi 16.1. On reboot or power on or hitting "Clear Data" in the above settings, EPG will update. I have it set for 7 days (that is the amount of days my Tvheadend backend downloads every day at around 04:00 in the morning). Update interval is set for 120 minutes but it does not matter what setting is there. Also I have tried "cache / don't cache" and "prevent updates / don't prevent updates", behavior is the same.

What I mean by EPG does not update is this. Often we will use the EPG window to schedule a recording and errors message will pop up, "Could not save the timer. Check the log for more information about this message." Every time this message pops up, I know the real problem is that the program I want to record has shifted in the last EPG update on my backend. I check the backend and program might have changed by 5 minutes or whatever. As soon as I go to "Clear Data" for Guide in Settings, the EPG is re-loaded and the correct time is shown in EPG and I can successfully schedule the recording.

This happens at least once a day. So it seems EPG is not re-loaded by Kodi. So I found one program where this happened today and I checked EPG database (EPG12.db). For this program there were TWO entries in the EPG12.db. One had the old starting time (incorrect) and the other had the new starting time (correct). Ending time was the same. They had different idBroadcast and iBroadcastUid.

What does this mean? It is obvious that the latest EPG was copied from backend because I can see the program with updated start time. But both programs are there and the one that is older is being shown. If I "Clear Data" or if I reboot then the updated program shows up. Finally, it just so happens that today is the daylight savings time and clock has changed. Same issue exists for daylight savings time. Meaning, EPG was showing all programs shifted by 1 hour (old time) and only after I hit "Clear Data" did the time shift, even though Kodi itself properly updated its time.

Is this a bug or intended behavior? How can I fix this? Currently I am thinking of setting up a cronjob to "Clear Data" every morning after backend downloads latest EPG. However this should not be the fix, I believe the EPG should simply be updated with latest information when update is initiated.
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#2
This should probably be under TVHeadend
Maintainer of Enigma2 PVR addon: repo, docschangelog
How to create a full debug: here
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#3
(2020-03-30, 15:22)phunkyfish Wrote: This should probably be under TVHeadend
This does not seem specific to Tvheadend. I thought this behavior of EPG database and EPG not refreshing after change in program scheduled time is common to all backends, meaning it is Kodi specific.
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#4
Do you use the TVH PVR addon? If so that would be the best place for this thread.

Also, you really should upgrade to LibreElec based on kodi 18.6. Your issue may already have been fixed. I'm not familiar with TVH but you might want to look at a backend upgrade also if it hasn't been updated in a while.
Maintainer of Enigma2 PVR addon: repo, docschangelog
How to create a full debug: here
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#5
(2020-03-30, 17:47)phunkyfish Wrote: Do you use the TVH PVR addon? If so that would be the best place for this thread.

Also, you really should upgrade to LibreElec based on kodi 18.6. Your issue may already have been fixed. I'm not familiar with TVH but you might want to look at a backend upgrade also if it hasn't been updated in 
This issue is independent of PVR addon, PVR backend, and Kodi version. It has existed for over 5 years. Does PVR addon load data from EPG database (epg12.db) or is it done by Kodi, independent of PVR addon? Then issue is with Kodi.

Can anyone explain how is data stored in epg12.db and how is it loaded into Kodi EPG?
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#6
(2020-03-30, 20:43)pajtaz Wrote:
(2020-03-30, 17:47)phunkyfish Wrote: Do you use the TVH PVR addon? If so that would be the best place for this thread.

Also, you really should upgrade to LibreElec based on kodi 18.6. Your issue may already have been fixed. I'm not familiar with TVH but you might want to look at a backend upgrade also if it hasn't been updated in 
This issue is independent of PVR addon, PVR backend, and Kodi version. It has existed for over 5 years. Does PVR addon load data from EPG database (epg12.db) or is it done by Kodi, independent of PVR addon? Then issue is with Kodi.

Can anyone explain how is data stored in epg12.db and how is it loaded into Kodi EPG?


For Kodi 18 and earlier I strongly suggest to disable the EPG database because it suffers from many bugs and you actually get not performance gain and you will not experience any functional loss. And yes, it is a Kodi issue, not an add-on issue.
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#7
If you use tvheadend it is a good idea to activate "async EPG transfer" in the tvheadend add-on settings. This will make the add-on push EPG data to Kodi as soon as they are announced by tvheadend and will not be pulled by Kodi from the add-on with a fixed time interval, then.
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#8
(2020-03-31, 08:10)ksooo Wrote: If you use tvheadend it is a good idea to activate "async EPG transfer" in the tvheadend add-on settings. This will make the add-on push EPG data to Kodi as soon as they are announced by tvheadend and will not be pulled by Kodi from the add-on with a fixed time interval, then.
So check "Don't cache in local database" in PVR & Live TV Settings and check "Asynchronous EPG Transfer" in TVH PVR client addon? Ok, I did it, let's see if it repeats.

Thanks.
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#9
Same issue here, with tvheadend backend.
Async epg transfer is active and local database disabled.
I get epg Updates with changed timings, but old stuff will not bei cleared. Result: e.g. one series is starting at 9:00 and also at 9:05. After manual "Clear Data" everythinh looks fine.
With daily corona extra breaking news, there are many changes at the moment.
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#10
This should all be fixed with Matrix.

Unfortunately, the fixes are to complex to be backported to Leia.
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#11
(2020-04-24, 23:46)davincino Wrote: Same issue here, with tvheadend backend.
Async epg transfer is active and local database disabled.
I get epg Updates with changed timings, but old stuff will not bei cleared. Result: e.g. one series is starting at 9:00 and also at 9:05. After manual "Clear Data" everythinh looks fine.
With daily corona extra breaking news, there are many changes at the moment.
What do you mean by "old stuff will not be cleared"? Where, in which file?

Because once you check "Don't cache in local database" in PVR & Live TV Settings, there is no more database in Kodi. Old database will exist but it will not be used any more. I just checked my database files in Kodi and the Epg12.db has not been updated since 31/03 (which is when I stopped using it). So where you are seeing this, "one series is starting at 09:00 and also at 09:05"? You cannot possibly see it in the EPG database in Kodi since you are not using it. Maybe you see it in EPG on Kodi but then it is not the problem with syncing. It is the problem with your EPG grabber.

For me the problem was that EPG grabber was correctly updating the starting and ending times but Kodi EPG database was keeping old times and new times. I grab EPG once per day, at 01:00. It usually ends by 04:00. I have Tvheadend set to pull EPG from XML file at 07:00. Then once Kodi is on, it just pulls the guide from Tvheadend, as soon as Tvheadend is finished pulling the guide at 07:00. It usually takes few seconds. I do not have this problem any more.
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#12
I got again this issue. Original Broadcast time was shifted for 15 minutes.
You can see "Atlanta Medical" starting at original (old) time 21:10 and starting again at new (actual) time 21:25 o'clock.
The small block with range of 15 minutes should be deleted from Kodi. EPG from tvheadend is right, I checked it. Database is not stored locally. Maybe it's an issue from Tvh addon? Some cached data?

Image
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#13
(2020-03-29, 14:45)pajtaz Wrote: There is an issue that I have had for a long time, maybe 2 years, maybe forever (5+ years). EPG seemingly does not update when there is a change in EPG data on backend.
I've exactly the same issue using Kodi 18.9 and latest TVH. EPG time in Kodi is sometimes different from real EPG in TVHeadend. No matter which settings are made in Kodi, EPG does not update correctly, so sometimes the described behaviour occurs, that timers could not be saved.
The only "workaround" is to restart Kodi, that Kodi is forced to refresh EPG from TVH completely.
Too, I'm looking for a way to clear EPG by cron job (I'm using LibreElec).
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#14
You should give Kodi 19 RC1 a try. Many EPG related fixes went in for the new version.
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#15
I've read about it already, but seems not to be available for Odroid C2
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