Thanks for uploading the full logs Dale. Looking closely at the settings dumped from your configuration in mcebuddy.log, we can see the exact settings in play:
1. The delete/archive settings:
In your Monitor Task (F Drive) and General Options:
Monitor Delete Original -> FalseMonitor Archive Original -> FalseSync Converted -> False
This confirms that MCEBuddy’s engine is not deliberately deleting or archiving the original source files after conversion via those general options.
2. What is causing the file to disappear: Destination & In-Place Overwriting
Look at your Conversion Task setup:
- Task:
Comskip to.wtv - Source:
F:\Recorded TV\... - Destination Path:
F:\Recorded TV - Profile:
WTV Unprocessed - Rename by Series:
False - Auto Increment Filename:
False - Save Subtitles:
True(notice all the.srtfiles being generated inF:\Recorded TVfrom your log!)
Because your destination path is set directly back into your Windows Media Center recordings directory (F:\Recorded TV) with the exact same filename and extension (.wtv), MCEBuddy takes the cut/trimmed .wtv file and overwrites the original recording in-place.
Here is why that makes the Kimmel recordings “vanish”:
- Windows Media Center (WMC) Database Invalidation:
Windows Media Center tracks recordings using internal metadata and timestamps stored in its hidden DVR database (Recorded TVregistry / ehome database). When MCEBuddy rewrites/re-muxes the.wtvfile in-place, the underlying internal file stream tags and container structure change. WMC detects this mismatch or corruption against its active database entry and immediately removes the item from your Recorded TV menu. - Why Jimmy Kimmel Live specifically?
Late-night talk shows are frequently scheduled with soft padding (your log showsW M / W M R V A c t u a l S o f t P r e P a d d i n g : 418and post-padding of180). If WMC or the Windows Media Center Background Receiver Service still holds an open read/recording lock on the padding or the file when MCEBuddy attempts to finalize and overwrite the destination, the file replacement can fail or result in a zero-byte/truncated file.
How to solve this:
- Set your Destination Path to a different folder:
- Open MCEBuddy → Click Settings → Select your Conversion Task (
Comskip to.wtv) → Click Edit. - Change Destination Path from
F:\Recorded TVto another folder, e.g.,F:\MCEBuddy Converted(or create a subfolder likeF:\Recorded TV\Processed). - Do not have the destination be identical to the monitored source recording folder when cutting
.wtvfiles directly.
- Open MCEBuddy → Click Settings → Select your Conversion Task (
- Check your folder with Windows File Explorer:
- Look directly in
F:\Recorded TVusing Windows File Explorer (not through Windows Media Center’s TV UI) to see if the files are physically present or if they were replaced with a smaller size.
- Look directly in