SS32-Background record question

[Randy Lahey]

We our having problems with the background record on one of our stations.  On the weekends, we our recording our national news, and playing it an hour later.  For example, The news comes down on Sattelite, and we use the Background record and record through the broadcast tools switcher.  We have our "Background record" to begin recording at exactly 7am, and record for 4 mins.  That will then be played at 8am.  The problem we are having is that for some reason it appears it's beginning it's capture of the news one minute late.  So at 8am when it starts playing the news, it's one minute into the newscast, and then at the end, since there is no out cue, and it's just set for 4 mins, there is one minute of dead air. 

We do have a syndicated program running at this time(downloaded via ftp and dubbed locally a day or so before).  When it is time for the background record to start, sometimes this program is in mid-show.  A few people around here are saying that is causing the problem. 

My feeling are that it's a "background" record.  whatever else is happening should be irrelevant and I'd be very suprised if this is causing the problem.  That being said, I don't know what is, as our logs are correct and appear they should be doing this correctly.

Anyone dealt with this before.  We had it a few months ago on another station, and we hard synced the top of the hour to ensure it would record at the proper time.  It did work, but I'm sure theres a better way.

Thanks,

Randy. 

[OKCRadioGuy]

Good luck.  Hopefully someone on the board here has experience with the problem. I'm sure customer no-service is no help.  Most of the few with brains they had working for them were shown the door recently.  I certainly wouldn't buy any more of their stuff at this point.  I just feel sorry for those putting up with them right now.   Good luck!!

[Randy Lahey]

I'm actually using AS32 and not SS32 as it says in the subject line.  I tried to edit/modify the post but can't find the option, even though it's mentioned in the help topic.  Am I just blind?

Randy. 

ps.  I'm not an engineer and this problem isn't directly affecting me, so I have not called Google support.  I just like to figure out the correct things to do when problems arise, and in the future if i'm ever with a company that values my opinion, I'll have some answers.

[Bill981]

I assume you've checked the accuracy of the time of day clock on the machine doing the recording.  Has the network changed their feed time?

PC clocks are horribly inaccurate.  If you're using WinXP, you can have Windows reset the clock using Internet time.  The default Windows reset period is one week(!), but it can be changed with a registry entry.  I use 4 hours.  It's in the registry at:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient\SpecialPollInterval. 

The default is 604800 (0x93A80).  Change it to 14400 (0x3840).  The decimal number is the number of seconds between time checks.

Before you make the registry change, backup the registry, then go to Administrative Tools>Services and stop the W32 Time service.  After making the registry change, restart the W32 Time service.  That'll make it start checking (and adjusting) every 4 hours.  You should then be able to keep the computer time well within 1 second of the rest of the world.

If you're using Win2K or earlier, go to http://tf.nist.gov/service/its.htm and download Nistime.  It'll do the same thing.

[nmoore6676]

As an experienced IT professional I would go with http://tf.nist.gov/service/its.htm no matter which version of Windows you are using.

Editing the Registry even if you are well versed in  the technology should be a last resort and in any event doing a backup copy before is imperative. The registry tells Windows where everything is and what everything is so wrecking it can turn your computer into a boat anchor.

[ChiefOperator]

I *believe* you can set that machine so that it syncs hourly to one of your network closures.

However, if you're looking for a NTP client, you could also use "AboutTime."  iMediatouch uses it, but it will also work well for you.  It's a free download.  Edit the servers and add one close to your location.   

http://www.arachnoid.com/abouttime/

[NE Miss Radio]

I second Bill on checking the feed time.  Also, if you start recording with a time, can you switch it to start off of a closure?