[Zgemma H7] "Accurate Record" - i.e. use transponder info to handle programme transmission delay

Is there any way (built-in or plugin) to do an "Accurate Record" using the transponder transmitted info on UK Freesat/Freeview?
I would prefer not to have to rely on padding before and after a recording (which significantly adds to the length of a short recording) and miss the end of any programme with a significantly late start.
I have a very old Humax Foxsat-HDR which has been doing this for years very successfully with Freesat (start of recording is normally spot on) but I want to retire it.
I assume that it uses the DVB EIT Now & Next fields or Running Status.

I note that there is a VPS plugin which presumably would have done precisely this for analogue transmissions in Germany a decade or so back.
It must be technically possible but "Googling" has failed to turn up any answers.
Thanks.

VPS plugin is what you need. I have been using it for several years. It works very well on BBC/ITV/C4 on Freesat. It works exactly as you describe in your post, checking for the EIT Running Status. At a pre-set time before the recording is scheduled, it tunes to the channel and monitors the running status. As soon as the status changes to "Running" it starts the recording. When the status changes to "Finished" (at the start of the next programme) it stops the recording. For channels with sophisticated playout systems, the "Running" status coincides with the exact start of the programme. So the major broadcasters use this and it works well. For Channel 5 and some of the low-res "cheapie" channels that endlessly replay old programmes, it doesn't work so well. The EIT status changes on these channels trigger at the scheduled EPG time exactly, irrespective of whether the programme has actually started. So, no advantage to VPS over using the EPG plus padding to record these channels. My domestic terrestrial programmes come from the Irish equivalent of Freeview called Saorview. The EIT triggers are locked to the EPG, so only the evening news programme is super reliable using VPS. Otherwise, you can use VPS in "safe mode" for these channels which will start the recording at the scheduled time if the EIT trigger is not detected beforehand. Here are my settings for VPS which I have found to work well:

Note the "Check for PDC" setting is OFF. I have found that this check throws up errors on Freesat. It's presumably a legacy of the old analogue PDC system as used in Germany.

So how do you start some channels in safe mode and others in normal mode?

Huevos said:

So how do you start some channels in safe mode and others in normal mode?

Click to expand...

You don't.
This only affects timers, so you set the default to the one you will use most, then change it for channels where that is incorrect.

birdman said:

You don't.
This only affects timers, so you set the default to the one you will use most, then change it for channels where that is incorrect.

Click to expand...

I am asking how you do it on case by case, because safe mode is not available when setting up the timers.

Huevos said:

I am asking how you do it on case by case, because safe mode is not available when setting up the timers.

Click to expand...

I'm sure it is. I set it on all of mine.

This is what I see setting up a timer from scratch:



Note the last entry

@Huevos - @birdman pretty much covered this in his reply. If I am using EPG and GREEN to perform a one-off recording, I will either set the VPS option to "off" or "safe mode" if I know the channel doesn't support accurate start times. When setting an AutoTimer, there are two options available -

Apropos of nothing, VPS is not working at all for me on Channel 4+1 (10936V). I get a "DMX timeout" if I set a timer. The main Channel 4 HD channel on the same transponder is fine. I think it's a fallout from the recent transponder moves.