diff --git a/docs/source/configurator.rst b/docs/source/configurator.rst
index 93f63c54d..53648283f 100644
--- a/docs/source/configurator.rst
+++ b/docs/source/configurator.rst
@@ -106,8 +106,11 @@ Node type dependent options for [nodeN] : ::
    type="ebuttd-encoder"
    ├─media_time_zero : ["current" (default) | clock time at media time zero TODO: check format]
    ├─default_namespace : ["false" (default) | "true"]
-   └─clock
-     └─type : ["local" (default) | "auto" | "utc"]
+   ├─clock
+   │ └─type : ["local" (default) | "auto" | "utc"]
+   └─override_begin_count : override the counter for the zeroth output document (for filesystem only, beats begin_count)
+     ├─first_doc_datetime : datetime when first document would have been e.g. 1970-01-01T00:00:00.0
+     └─doc_duration : duration in seconds of each document e.g. 3.84
 
    type="buffer-delay"
    └─delay : delay in seconds, default 0
@@ -135,6 +138,7 @@ Output carriage type dependent options for "carriage": ::
    ├─rotating_buf : Rotating buffer size. This will keep the last N number of files created in the folder or all if 0, default 0
    ├─suppress_manifest : Whether to suppress writing of a manifest file (e.g. for EBU-TT-D output). Default False
    ├─message_filename_pattern : File name pattern for message documents or EBU-TT-D documents. It can contain {sequence_identifier} and {counter} format parameters, default "{sequence_identifier}_msg_{counter}.xml" 
+   ├─begin_count : value of zeroth {counter} format value: first output file will use this plus 1 - note that ebuttd-encoder can override this.
    └─filename_pattern : File name pattern for EBU-TT-Live documents. It needs to contain {counter} format parameter, which will be populated with the sequence number. Default "{sequence_identifier}_{counter}.xml"
 
    type="websocket"
diff --git a/ebu_tt_live/bindings/__init__.py b/ebu_tt_live/bindings/__init__.py
index 4b1eb4347..1381af0ee 100644
--- a/ebu_tt_live/bindings/__init__.py
+++ b/ebu_tt_live/bindings/__init__.py
@@ -939,7 +939,7 @@ def _merge_deconflict_ids(cls, element, dest, ids):
         output = []
 
         for item in children:
-            log.debug('processing child: {} of {}'.format(item.value, element))
+            #log.debug('processing child: {} of {}'.format(item.value, element))
             if isinstance(item, NonElementContent):
                 copied_stuff = copy.copy(item.value)
                 output.append(copied_stuff)
diff --git a/ebu_tt_live/carriage/filesystem.py b/ebu_tt_live/carriage/filesystem.py
index ef4db4475..27303a7c7 100644
--- a/ebu_tt_live/carriage/filesystem.py
+++ b/ebu_tt_live/carriage/filesystem.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 import six
 import os
 import time
+import codecs
 
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -72,20 +73,21 @@ def __init__(self,
                  file_name_pattern = CFG_FILENAME_PATTERN, 
                  message_file_name_pattern = CFG_MESSAGE_PATTERN, 
                  circular_buf_size = 0, 
-                 suppress_manifest = False):
+                 suppress_manifest = False,
+                 first_msg_counter = 0):
         self._dirpath = dirpath
         if not os.path.exists(self._dirpath):
             os.makedirs(self._dirpath)
         self._file_name_pattern = file_name_pattern
         self._message_file_name_pattern = message_file_name_pattern
         self._counter = 0
+        self._msg_counter = first_msg_counter
         self._circular_buf_size = circular_buf_size
         if circular_buf_size > 0 :
             self._circular_buf = RotatingFileBuffer(maxlen=circular_buf_size)
         self._suppress_manifest = suppress_manifest
         # Get a set of default clocks
         self._default_clocks = {}
-        self._msg_counter = 0
 
     def _get_default_clock(self, sequence_identifier, time_base, clock_mode=None):
         clock_obj = self._default_clocks.get(sequence_identifier, None)
@@ -96,6 +98,9 @@ def _get_default_clock(self, sequence_identifier, time_base, clock_mode=None):
                 self._default_clocks[sequence_identifier] = clock_obj
         return clock_obj
 
+    def set_message_counter(self, message_counter):
+        self._msg_counter = message_counter
+        
     def check_availability_time(
             self, sequence_identifier, time_base=None, clock_mode=None, availability_time=None):
         """
@@ -153,7 +158,7 @@ def emit_data(self, data, sequence_identifier=None, sequence_number=None,
         # can be selected once at the beginning and dereferenced rather than repeating
         # if statements.
         filepath = os.path.join(self._dirpath, filename)
-        with open(filepath, 'w') as destfile:
+        with codecs.open(filepath, mode='w', errors='ignore') as destfile:
             destfile.write(data)
             destfile.flush()
                         
@@ -198,7 +203,7 @@ def emit_data(self, data, sequence_identifier=None, sequence_number=None,
             new_manifest_line = CFG_MANIFEST_LINE_PATTERN.format(
                 availability_time=timedelta_to_str_manifest(availability_time), 
                 filename=filename)
-            with open(self._manifest_path, 'a') as f:
+            with codecs.open(self._manifest_path, mode='a', errors='ignore') as f:
                 f.write(new_manifest_line)
 
 
@@ -236,11 +241,11 @@ def __init__(self, manifest_path, custom_consumer, do_tail):
         self._manifest_path = manifest_path
         self._custom_consumer = custom_consumer
         self._do_tail = do_tail
-        with open(manifest_path, 'r') as manifest:
+        with codecs.open(manifest_path, 'r') as manifest:
             self._manifest_lines_iter = iter(manifest.readlines())
 
     def resume_reading(self):
-        with open(self._manifest_path, 'r') as manifest_file:
+        with codecs.open(self._manifest_path, 'r') as manifest_file:
             while True:
                 manifest_line = manifest_file.readline()
                 if not manifest_line:
@@ -256,7 +261,7 @@ def resume_reading(self):
                     availability_time_str, xml_file_name = manifest_line.rstrip().split(',')
                     xml_file_path = os.path.join(self._dirpath, xml_file_name)
                     xml_content = None
-                    with open(xml_file_path, 'r') as xml_file:
+                    with codecs.open(xml_file_path, 'r') as xml_file:
                         xml_content = xml_file.read()
                     data = [availability_time_str, xml_content]
                     self._custom_consumer.on_new_data(data)
diff --git a/ebu_tt_live/config/backend.py b/ebu_tt_live/config/backend.py
index c8c03b185..465c459e8 100644
--- a/ebu_tt_live/config/backend.py
+++ b/ebu_tt_live/config/backend.py
@@ -137,8 +137,6 @@ def _ws_create_server_factory(self, listen, producer=None, consumer=None):
 
     def _ws_create_client_factories(self, connect, producer=None, consumer=None, proxy=None):
         factory_args = {}
-        if proxy:
-            factory_args.update({'host': proxy.host, 'port': proxy.port})
         for dst in connect:
             client_factory = self._websocket.BroadcastClientFactory(
                 url=dst.geturl(),
@@ -147,6 +145,8 @@ def _ws_create_client_factories(self, connect, producer=None, consumer=None, pro
                 **factory_args
             )
             client_factory.protocol = self._websocket.BroadcastClientProtocol
+            client_factory.proxy = proxy
+
             client_factory.connect()
 
     def ws_backend_producer(self, custom_producer, listen=None, connect=None, proxy=None):
diff --git a/ebu_tt_live/config/carriage.py b/ebu_tt_live/config/carriage.py
index b1f0f1624..a8aa401d6 100644
--- a/ebu_tt_live/config/carriage.py
+++ b/ebu_tt_live/config/carriage.py
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 from ebu_tt_live.carriage.direct import DirectCarriageImpl
 from ebu_tt_live.carriage.websocket import WebsocketProducerCarriage, WebsocketConsumerCarriage
 from ebu_tt_live.carriage import filesystem
-from ebu_tt_live.utils import HTTPProxyConfig
 from ebu_tt_live.strings import ERR_CONF_PROXY_CONF_VALUE, ERR_NO_SUCH_COMPONENT
 from ebu_tt_live.errors import ConfigurationError
 from ebu_tt_live.strings import CFG_FILENAME_PATTERN, CFG_MESSAGE_PATTERN
@@ -76,6 +75,10 @@ class FilesystemOutput(ConfigurableComponent):
         default=False,
         doc='Suppress output of a manifest file (default false)'
     )
+    required_config.add_option(
+        'begin_count',
+        default=0,
+        doc='Value to begin counting at for patterns including {counter}; the first output value will be this plus 1.')
     
     def __init__(self, config, local_config):
         super(FilesystemOutput, self).__init__(config, local_config)
@@ -84,7 +87,8 @@ def __init__(self, config, local_config):
             file_name_pattern=self.config.filename_pattern,
             message_file_name_pattern=self.config.message_filename_pattern,
             circular_buf_size=self.config.rotating_buf,
-            suppress_manifest=self.config.suppress_manifest)
+            suppress_manifest=self.config.suppress_manifest,
+            first_msg_counter=self.config.begin_count)
 
 
 
@@ -134,10 +138,7 @@ def parse_proxy_address(value):
     match = proxy_regex.match(value)
     if match:
         # Ignoring the protocol part for now as it is only a http proxy
-        result = HTTPProxyConfig(
-            host=match.group('host'),
-            port=int(match.group('port'))
-        )
+        result = {u'host': match.group('host'), u'port': int(match.group('port'))}
     elif value:
         # In this case something was provided that isn't a falsy value but the parsing failed.
         raise ConfigurationError(
diff --git a/ebu_tt_live/config/clocks.py b/ebu_tt_live/config/clocks.py
index 9fed98e78..dcaead7c6 100644
--- a/ebu_tt_live/config/clocks.py
+++ b/ebu_tt_live/config/clocks.py
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 from .common import ConfigurableComponent, Namespace
 from ebu_tt_live import clocks
+from datetime import datetime, timedelta
+import re
 from ebu_tt_live.errors import ConfigurationError
 from ebu_tt_live.strings import ERR_NO_SUCH_COMPONENT
 
@@ -42,3 +44,26 @@ def get_clock(clock_type):
                 type_name=clock_type
             )
         )
+
+def _int_or_none(value):
+    try:
+        return int(value)
+    except TypeError:
+        return 0
+
+_datetime_groups_regex = re.compile('([0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9])-([0-9][0-9])-([0-9][0-9])T([0-9][0-9]):([0-5][0-9]):([0-5][0-9]|60)(?:\.([0-9]+))?')
+
+def get_date(date):
+    years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds, microseconds = map(
+        lambda x: _int_or_none(x),
+        _datetime_groups_regex.match(date).groups()
+    )
+
+    return datetime(
+        year = years, 
+        month = months,
+        day = days,
+        hour = hours,
+        minute = minutes,
+        second = seconds,
+        microsecond = microseconds)
diff --git a/ebu_tt_live/config/node.py b/ebu_tt_live/config/node.py
index b484cc63b..c2c7d47c5 100644
--- a/ebu_tt_live/config/node.py
+++ b/ebu_tt_live/config/node.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 from .common import ConfigurableComponent, Namespace, converters, RequiredConfig
-from .clocks import get_clock
+from .clocks import get_clock, get_date
 from .carriage import get_producer_carriage, get_consumer_carriage
 from ebu_tt_live import documents
 from ebu_tt_live import bindings
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@
 from ebu_tt_live.errors import ConfigurationError
 from ebu_tt_live.strings import ERR_CONF_NO_SUCH_NODE
 from .adapters import ProducerNodeCarriageAdapter, ConsumerNodeCarriageAdapter
+from datetime import datetime, timedelta
+from math import floor
 
 
 class NodeBase(ConfigurableComponent):
@@ -250,10 +252,26 @@ class EBUTTDEncoder(ProducerMixin, ConsumerMixin, NodeBase):
 
     required_config = Namespace()
     required_config.add_option('id', default='ebuttd-encoder')
-    required_config.add_option('media_time_zero', default='current')
-    required_config.add_option('default_namespace', default=False)
+    required_config.add_option(
+        'media_time_zero', 
+        default='current',
+        doc='The clock equivalent time to use for media time zero, defaults to the current time.')
+    required_config.add_option(
+        'default_namespace', 
+        default=False,
+        doc='Whether to use a default namespace, default false.')
     required_config.clock = Namespace()
     required_config.clock.add_option('type', default='local', from_string_converter=get_clock)
+    required_config.override_begin_count = Namespace()
+    required_config.override_begin_count.add_option(
+        'first_doc_datetime',
+        doc='The time when the document numbered 1 was available, format YYYY-mm-DDTHH:MM:SS',
+        default = datetime.utcnow(),
+        from_string_converter=get_date)
+    required_config.override_begin_count.add_option(
+        'doc_duration',
+        default=5.0,
+        doc='The duration of each document in seconds, default 5')
 
     _clock = None
 
@@ -263,10 +281,20 @@ def _create_component(self, config):
             mtz = self._clock.component.get_time()
         else:
             mtz = bindings.ebuttdt.LimitedClockTimingType(str(self.config.media_time_zero)).timedelta
+            
+        begin_count = None
+        
+        if self.config.override_begin_count:
+            # override the carriage mech's document count
+            fdt = self.config.override_begin_count.first_doc_datetime
+            tn = datetime.utcnow()
+            begin_count = int(floor((tn - fdt).total_seconds() / self.config.override_begin_count.doc_duration))
+            
         self.component = processing_node.EBUTTDEncoder(
             node_id=self.config.id,
             media_time_zero=mtz,
-            default_ns=self.config.default_namespace
+            default_ns=self.config.default_namespace,
+            begin_count=begin_count
         )
 
     def __init__(self, config, local_config):
diff --git a/ebu_tt_live/node/deduplicator.py b/ebu_tt_live/node/deduplicator.py
index e58364aeb..ced39e88d 100644
--- a/ebu_tt_live/node/deduplicator.py
+++ b/ebu_tt_live/node/deduplicator.py
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ def remove_duplication(self, document):
 
         if document.binding.head.styling is not None:
             styles = document.binding.head.styling.style
-            print styles
+
             document.binding.head.styling.style = None
 
             self.CollateUniqueVals(styles, old_id_dict, new_id_dict, hash_dict)
diff --git a/ebu_tt_live/node/encoder.py b/ebu_tt_live/node/encoder.py
index 50917715b..ccd6587e4 100644
--- a/ebu_tt_live/node/encoder.py
+++ b/ebu_tt_live/node/encoder.py
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 from ebu_tt_live.clocks.media import MediaClock
 from ebu_tt_live.documents.converters import EBUTT3EBUTTDConverter
 from ebu_tt_live.documents import EBUTTDDocument, EBUTT3Document
+#from ebu_tt_live.carriage.filesystem import FilesystemProducerImpl
+#from ebu_tt_live.carriage import FilesystemProducerImpl
 
 
 class EBUTTDEncoder(AbstractCombinedNode):
@@ -13,9 +15,14 @@ class EBUTTDEncoder(AbstractCombinedNode):
     _default_ebuttd_doc = None
     _expects = EBUTT3Document
     _provides = EBUTTDDocument
+    # _begin_count is used to override the first output document count number. when
+    # provided as a constructor value it is stored, and set on the output carriage
+    # impl once before the first time emit_document is called. Then it is reset
+    # to None, which is used as the test to see if it needs to be used.
+    _begin_count = None
 
     def __init__(self, node_id, media_time_zero, default_ns=False, producer_carriage=None,
-                 consumer_carriage=None, **kwargs):
+                 consumer_carriage=None, begin_count=None, **kwargs):
         super(EBUTTDEncoder, self).__init__(
             producer_carriage=producer_carriage,
             consumer_carriage=consumer_carriage,
@@ -25,6 +32,7 @@ def __init__(self, node_id, media_time_zero, default_ns=False, producer_carriage
         self._default_ns = default_ns
         media_clock = MediaClock()
         media_clock.adjust_time(timedelta(), media_time_zero)
+        self._begin_count = begin_count
         self._ebuttd_converter = EBUTT3EBUTTDConverter(
             media_clock=media_clock
         )
@@ -41,6 +49,13 @@ def process_document(self, document, **kwargs):
             converted_doc = EBUTTDDocument.create_from_raw_binding(
                 self._ebuttd_converter.convert_document(document.binding)
             )
+            
+            # If this is the first time, and there's a begin count override, apply it
+            if self._begin_count is not None:
+                # Will fail unless the concrete producer carriage impl is a FilesystemProducerImpl
+                self.producer_carriage.producer_carriage.set_message_counter(self._begin_count)
+                self._begin_count = None
+
             # Specify the time_base since the FilesystemProducerImpl can't derive it otherwise.
             # Hard coded to 'media' because that's all that's permitted in EBU-TT-D. Alternative
             # would be to extract it from the EBUTTDDocument but since it's the only permitted
diff --git a/ebu_tt_live/utils.py b/ebu_tt_live/utils.py
index 000598249..9ae3afca2 100644
--- a/ebu_tt_live/utils.py
+++ b/ebu_tt_live/utils.py
@@ -358,8 +358,6 @@ def __call__(cls, *args, **kwargs):
         instance = super(AutoRegisteringABCMeta, cls).__call__(*args, **kwargs)
         return instance
 
-HTTPProxyConfig = collections.namedtuple('HTTPProxyConfig', ['host', 'port'])
-
 
 # The following section is taken from https://github.com/django/django/blob/master/django/test/utils.py
 # This is a relatively simple XML comparator implementation based on Python's minidom library.
@@ -467,4 +465,4 @@ def first_node(document):
     want_root = first_node(parseString(want))
     got_root = first_node(parseString(got))
 
-    return check_element(want_root, got_root)
\ No newline at end of file
+    return check_element(want_root, got_root)
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 39e7c76f6..463a1b9f7 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ sphinx-rtd-theme
 pytest-bdd
 pytest-cov
 pytest-mock
-pytest-capturelog
 pytest-twisted
 coverage
 pytest-runner