HOWTO: Generate Full Debug Capture

When you're having issues with sdepg you'll usually be asked to generate a full HTTP capture of an EPG update for debug purposes. This document explains exactly what it is you're being asked for and how you go about generating it.

Update Logging Settings in sdepg

So to capture the full session, you must update the logging settings of the sdepg plugin. Go to the sdepg plugin settings and make the following changes:

Log Level: Set this value to DEBUG

Capture sdjson Data: Set this value to ALL. Note: When set to ALL or HTTP, this setting will continuously capture tonnes of output everytime an EPG update is performed. There is a risk of your OS disk space being exhausted over time if this setting is not changed back. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you change this setting back to OFF or JSON after you've captured and zipped up the logs for the current session.

Log Level for sdjson Grabber: Unless told otherwise, keep this setting at INFO.

Delete Existing Logs

You might have to stop SageTV to do this, but it is much appreciated. Try to delete everything under C:\Program Files\SageTV\SageTV\plugins\sdepg\logs\ while Sage is running. If it fails, stop Sage, do it, then restart. With these debug settings sdepg is going to produce tonnes of log output and old log data just means extra noise in the log files that slows down analysis.

Force an EPG Update

The next step is to force an EPG update. It is important to force this from the sdepg plugin settings screen by clicking the Refresh EPG button on that page. This will ensure that a full EPG pull is attempted by the plugin. Note: If you did an EPG pull within the last 15 minutes then you must wait as the plugin will refuse to run the grabber more than once in a 15 minute span. In this case, just grab a drink, wait, and then force the EPG update.

Zip Up the Logs

After the EPG update has completed, go to C:\Program Files\SageTV\SageTV\plugins\sdepg\ (or the equivalent location for your system) and zip up everything under the logs and capture directories. Either attach the zip file to the SourceForge ticket open for your issue (preferred) or email me the zip file (PM me if you don't have my personal email address). If emailing me the zip be sure to include some context about the issue so that I know what I'm looking for in the logs.