[mythtv] file checks in HandleQueryRecordings

[Michael T. Dean]

On 11/22/2006 01:48 PM, Tony Lill wrote:
> What is the purpose of checking for the existence of the recording file
> in the main loop of HandleQueryRecordings? In my setup, this has the
> unfortunate effect of mounting nfs partitions and spinning up disks that
> don't need to be spun up. This contributes to the huge delay in getting
> the watch recording screen to display, as well as making my attempts to
> spin down idle disks pointless.

To find out the pathname of the file--i.e. if it's available locally or 
if it must be streamed from the backend (using a myth:// 
pathname--dependent on the value of MasterBackendOverride and local 
availability of the file or dependent on the recording host), to find 
out if it's available (i.e if it's not available locally and the backend 
that recorded it is down, it's not available), and perhaps more.

Why do you spin down hard drives in a non-laptop system, anyway?  The 
following is an excerpt from the FAQ for the laptop-mode-tools ( 
http://www.samwel.tk/laptop_mode/tools/faq.html )

Spinning Down May Kill Hard Drives

Desktop hard drives are usually rated for only 40,000-50,000 spinups, 
and one spinup every 10 minutes will kill your 40,000-spinup HD in 277 
days. So this is NOT recommended for server use, unless you increase the 
spinup interval dramatically, to say once every hour or two. Laptop hard 
drives are usually rated for around 300,000 spinups, so those will last 
about 2083 days or 6 years if you have them powered on 24-7.

Mike