UNIX for Advanced & Expert Users

Hi - I need help. My user crontab is spawning multiple at processes (and multiple mencoder program starts, that exit, then restart, repeatedly), locking up my system.

For example I have this entry in my crontab:

$ sudo crontab -u victoria -e

* * * * * ~/recordings/pvr1
* * * * * ~/recordings/pvr2
[etc.]

where pvr1, pvr2, etc. are executable bash script files, e.g. pvr1 is:

Code:

#!/bin/sh
at -f ~/recordings/record_tv_1 12:58 pm Aug 17 2008
exit

As you can see, this calls my mencoder ecording file, record_tv_1:

tuner=/dev/video1 # or, /dev/video1 for the 2nd PVR-150 tuner in my Hauppauge PVR-4500 card
channel=70
duration=01:04:00 # hh:mm:ss
record_directory=/media/sdb1/recordings/UNPROCESED/
# record_directory=/home/victoria/temp/UNPROCESED/
file_name=Dog_Genius

ivtv-tune -c $channel -d $tuner

sleep 1

mencoder pvr:// -tv \
driver=v4l2:width=640:height=480:input=0:device=$t uner:norm=NTSC:chanlist=us-cable:outfmt=yuy2:adevice=/dev/dsp:audiorate=44100 \
-vf lavcdeint \
-ovc lavc \
-lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vbitrate=4500:keyint=3 \
-oac mp3lame \
-lameopts br=128:cbr:mode=3 \
-ffourcc divx \
-endpos $duration \
-quiet \
-o $record_directory$file_name"_"`date +%A_%B_%d_%Y_%I:%M_%p`.avi

The problem is that virtually every time the pvr script is called by crontab, it spawns (continuously) multiple/new at command processes (Process Viewer), and also several mencoder processes that continually start, stop, relaunch, that are multiply-present in Process Viewer at any one time. The recordings are all partial files (snips). This had been working properly, until about a month ago (Ubuntu updates, screwing things up?).

I'd appreciate it is someone could explain to me what the problem is. FYI: I am using Ubuntu 8.04 LTS -Hardy Heron.

Thanks, appreciated, Greg :-)