It sounds like you’re experiencing an issue where MCEBuddy is processing files almost immediately, even though you’ve set a minimum age of 3 hours. This is definitely not the intended behavior.
Since you’re using an older version (2.5.7), it’s possible this is a known bug that has been fixed in later versions. While I understand your hesitation to upgrade, it’s often the quickest solution for issues like this, especially if you’re not seeing many other reports of this specific problem with newer versions.
Here are a few things to consider and potentially troubleshoot:
- Poll Interval: You mentioned “maybe by chance at the poll interval.” The poll interval determines how frequently MCEBuddy checks for new recordings. If the poll interval is very short (e.g., 1 minute), it might be picking up the file quickly. However, the minimum age setting should still override this and prevent processing until the file meets the age criteria.
- File System Timestamps: Even though you mentioned clocks are synced, sometimes network shares or virtual machine environments can have subtle timestamp issues. Double-check that the “Date Modified” timestamp of the recording file is accurate and consistently reflects when the recording actually finished. MCEBuddy relies on these timestamps.
- MCEBuddy Logs: The MCEBuddy logs are your best friend here. They will contain detailed information about when MCEBuddy detected the file, when it decided to start processing it, and any messages related to the minimum age setting. Look for entries around the time your recordings were being processed prematurely. The logs might reveal if MCEBuddy is misinterpreting the file’s age or if there’s an error in its calculation. You can usually find the logs in the MCEBuddy installation directory.
- Configuration Review: Double-check your MCEBuddy conversion task settings to ensure the minimum age is indeed set to 3 hours and that there aren’t any other conflicting settings that might be overriding it.
- Known Issues for 2.5.7: It might be worth searching the forum (or even general web searches) for “MCEBuddy 2.5.7 minimum age issue” to see if others have reported similar problems with that specific version.
If you can provide some snippets from your MCEBuddy logs around the time a premature conversion happened, it would be very helpful in diagnosing the problem.
Let’s see if we can find any discussions about this particular issue.
Hello Allen, sorry to hear you’re having trouble with your recordings.
It sounds like MCEBuddy is processing your files before they’re fully recorded, despite your minimum age setting. This can happen if the recording software isn’t “locking” the file, making MCEBuddy think it’s ready for processing.
I found a few similar discussions that might help:
Even though you have it set to 3 hours, it might be worth trying to increase it further, or perhaps there’s a slight discrepancy in how the “last modified” time is being reported across your network shares and VM.
Could you share your MCEBuddy.log file? That would provide more specific clues as to what’s happening when MCEBuddy picks up the file.
Also, even though you’re using an older version (2.5.7), it’s generally recommended to keep MCEBuddy updated for bug fixes and compatibility improvements. Just something to consider if the issue persists.