[mythtv] More scheduling scheduler

[David Engel]

On Sat, Apr 15, 2006 at 07:23:50PM +1000, Max Barry wrote:
> David Engel wrote:
> > You guys try it both ways, with and without softpad always considered, and
> > let me know which way you like better. When you decide, please
> > provide a clear rationale. Those of us who sitck around and have to
> > support it (Bruce, Michael, myself, etc.) can then regurgitate it when
> > the questions come up again in the futrue. 
> 
> I haven't tested the code yet (am preparing the box now!), but I know
> I'm on Paul's side here. Softpad should absolutely not be canceled by a
> hardpad. Here are my hopefully-regurgitatable reasons why:

I'll make this change in the next update.

On Mon, Apr 17, 2006 at 01:50:31PM +1000, Max Barry wrote:
> I think all that's needed to fix this is to add:
>    ScheduledRecording::signalChange(0);
> ... in mythfrontend/main.cpp after settings.exec().

I'll make this change in the next update.

> BUG #2: The soft padding was sometimes mysteriously dropped when it
> could have been preserved. I couldn't figure out why.

Run with -v schedule to see more information from the scheduling
process.  Also note that in the SchedMoveHigher pass, the scheduler
doesn't prefer softpadding, in fact, it's biased against it.  I've
said a final "maximize soft pads" pass at the end will probably be
needed to resolve this.  Once the other issues are ironed out, someone
can write that extra pass.

> SUGGESTION #1: In "Upcoming Recordings," recordings for which MythTV is
> planning to drop the soft pad could be shown in a different color.
> 
> Also, when a recording is highlighted, the lower information box could
> show more detailed information. E.g. instead of just "Mon Apr 17, 8:29pm
> - 9:32pm", it could display:
> (a) Mon Apr 17, 8.29pm - 9:32pm (+1/+2)
> ... or...
> (b) Mon Apr 17, 8:30pm - 9:30pm (8:29pm - 9:32pm)
> ... or something similar.

Please post a patch.

> SUGGESTION #2: When a program is conflicted, and the user views which
> shows are conflicting it, MythTV could not list shows that only overlap
> because of the soft padding. At present, it misleadingly suggests that
> the conflict could be resolved by removing soft pads, which is not true.

I have a change I'm going to make which I think will resolve this.

> SUGGESTION #3: In "Setup," soft pads should be specified in minutes, not
> seconds. Soft pads are "just in case" buffers, for which it's not
> important to specify a time that is precise to the second.

I agree and I'll make this change in the next update.  Another reason
is that start and end times are reported in minutes.  A "hidden"
conflict of a few seconds that doesn't show up in displayed times
could be very confusing.

> Perhaps pre-roll can be actually called "pre-roll" in the UI. Or I know
> devs were considering limiting pre-roll/post-roll to less than a minute:
> if this was done, and soft pad was specified in minutes as per
> Suggestion #3, this would provide an even clearer distinction between
> the two.

Please post a patch.

> SUGGESTION #5: Users could cancel or modify the soft padding of
> individual recordings/showings. Because fine-grained control is nice. :)

Not a this time.  For now, it's going to be global only.

On Tue, Apr 18, 2006 at 12:42:46AM +1000, Paul Andreassen wrote:
> Included in this patch.
[Patch agains 0.19, I guess]

Guys, please test against and provide patches against the softpad
branch and the softpad branch only.  If you want to get this into
trunk, you're going to have to work with me, not against me.

David
-- 
David Engel
gigem at comcast.net