Download Interval Feature Not Working?

JeRicHoOL

I have activated this feature twice already but everytime I came home hours later, the majority of my previously activated/started downloads are stuck at "Waiting to Download".
Is this feature simply not working or is there a trick to it to get it working?

SF Version: 6.2.5.7
OS: Win 10

Sebastian001

This function is their answer to the Amazon problem, and at the same time they're selling 200 tokens for Amazon... I've rarely seen anything so stupid...

JeRicHoOL

My initial thought was that it would bug out when the cooldown runs out while another providers download was ongoing but I was wrong.

I tried it again yesterday while monitoring it briefly and it seemed to work then. I set it up to 2 videos every 20min for all services. But this time I only activated 1 main download entry (= 1 full season) for each streaming service.

Before I left home earlier today, I activated multiple seasons & multiple single entries per service. Maybe the first time(s) using the feature it was just randomly buggy, who knows…
I will report back when I’m home later today.

kye

Yeah, this feature doesn’t work properly for me either.

It seems that the timed pause only works once and then the next time a pause is supposed to occur everything gets stuck waiting to download. I tried setting it to pause for 60 minutes after every 1 download and the first pause worked perfectly but after the second video downloaded everything paused again but without a timer so the third video never starts. I tried this same test a month or two ago with the exact same results. All of the videos were from a single provider when I tested this.

This definitely seems like a bug to me. Would be a very useful feature, if it worked.

Stan001

I am looking at it now. The shortest time is 10 minutes, which makes it longer to test.
Other than when the Amazon crap hit the fan, I am not so sure of a use, as who wants breaks between downloads.
Although, it can be set to break every X amount of downloads.
And you could set it up before going to sleep and not know how slow it will be.
And now it may have been found, even an hour delay may not make one bit of difference for Amazon.

My testing settings are pause every 1 download for 10 minutes.
ALL services selected, as I am doing Netflix and Peacock.
I know I could have just selected Netflix and Peacock.

But since it does take time, I may have to come back tomorrow with what results I get.
I selected a random show from Netflix 13 episodes and a random show from Peacock 24 episodes.
Which was a mistake as it takes 2 to 5 minutes to analyze each Netflix episode in the download queue.
Also, for me, Peacock has been flaky on just trying to analyze things.
So I will just have to wait and see.

Ok, ADDED: what I see so far, Both Netflix and Peacock download one episode then both services pause 10 minutes and do the next episode.

kye

Stan001 Ok, ADDED: what I see so far, Both Netflix and Peacock download one episode then both services pause 10 minutes and do the next episode.

Yeah, that matches what I was seeing with Fandango at Home. The problem comes when it pauses after the 2nd download; the first two downloads and first pause work fine. The next pause doesn’t end.

Stan001

Stan001 I selected a random show from Netflix 13 episodes and a random show from Peacock 24 episodes.
Which was a mistake as it takes 2 to 5 minutes to analyze each Netflix episode in the download queue.
Also, for me, Peacock has been flaky on just trying to analyze things.

I ended up only getting 6 episodes of each. Then it just was sitting at, waiting to download.

kye

I just did another test with a 10 minute interval and downloading from Starz this time. Interestingly, I got slightly different results. It downloaded the first video, paused for 10 minutes but when the countdown disappeared the second video did not start to download.

kye

Swapped over to the Mac version (7.0.0.1) just to see if that would make a difference, but no luck. It downloaded two videos (Fandango), but when the second pause countdown ended the third video did not start to download.

AGuyWithAComputer

It seems to do better when SF is the task in focus. but will stop if I switch to another task. I think the most I’ve seen it do is 6 episodes of a series from Amazon. And that is the only thing in my queue.

Wilson.Wang

The dev is checing for the problem.

Wilson

JeRicHoOL

So I have noted down some results the past few days about what interval settings are working and which aren’t. I’ve only tested the below results once so far, so it’s possible that some of them could be coincidence, due to still unknown factors. My Streamfab is always in fullscreen and I also noted down if the mouse was moved or not during tlhe process, just in case these things could be a factor for the feature working or not. I could only test with Netflix and RTL+ combo so far because I haven’t filled my other download queues yet (Disney, Amazon, Waipu, Joyn, PlutoTV).

Specs:

Windows 10
SF 7.0.0.7. (the feature was just as inconsistent and buggy in previous versions)

Working:

5 videos / 10 minutes / Netflix (multiple seasons activated) + RTL (1 season) - download until limit is reached or queues is empty, mouse not moved
6 videos / 20 minutes / Netflix (multiple seasons activated) + RTL (1 season) - download until limit is reached or queue is empty, mouse not moved

Not Working:

3 videos / 10 minutes / Netflix (multipe seasons activated) + RTL (1 season) - only downloaded 3 videos each provider, mouse not moved
4 videos / 10 minutes / Netflix (multipe seasons activated) + RTL (1 season) - only downloaded 8 videos each provider, mouse moved
2 videos / 10 minutes / RTL (1 season) - only downloaded 2 videos, mouse not moved
2 videos / 20 minutes / RTL (1 season) - only downloaded 2 videos, mouse not moved
5 videos / 30 minutes / RTL (1 season) - only downloaded 5 videos, mouse not moved

I will continue testing in the next days and weeks with different providers and different interval settings and post the results again in some weeks. If anyone has Netflix and RTL+ feel free to test the above settings and see if the results are the same for you or post your tests with other providers. If there are any other factors you think could matter, let me know, so I can try to take that into account for my tests. Maybe we will be able to pinpoint the issue at some point.

Stan001

When I found:
I ended up only getting 6 episodes of each. Then it just was sitting at, waiting to download.
I just gave up on this feature. I don’t need it.

First, it will not help with Amazon bans or notices, as again, many got notices and only downloaded a few videos.
NO other service is handing out notices or bans. Although I guess there is always the chance they will.
But its doubtful interval downloading will prevent them. And Netflix, I downloaded a ton.
But with my main use Peacock and Netflix NO paused interval is needed as it takes at least 3 -5 minutes to analyze each video before downloading.
I hope someday if others feel it’s needed, it will get fixed, but it’s up to the developer.
Moving or not moving the mouse and using or not using the computer should NOT interfere with timed downloading if programmed right.