[mythtv] Guide service API "Group By" usage

[Gary Buhrmaster]

On Fri, Sep 25, 2020 at 6:57 PM Peter Bennett <pb.mythtv at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> The second HD version is in the 1000+ range and grouped in ranges in some way they think is helpful for channel surfing.
>

This (re) grouping also addressed some litigation
(a new entrant made a complaint they were being
disenfranchised because they were not near the
other channels of their genre for those that still
primarily using their up/down buttons to navigate
their hundreds of channels (I suppose pushing
buttons may have been more exercise than those
people would otherwise get, so there is that)).

And while I personally prefer the MCLU (and
only the MCLU(*)) layout primarily because it
makes scanning the channel lineups easier to
prepare my regular(**) guide service provider
correction requests, if I want a particular channel
for live TV I tune it explicitly, even if I suppose I
could hit  "up/up/up/up/down" (the last two were
the all too often "whoops, went too far"
correction mode during the surf) to get there.






(*) Until Comcast decided to change the rules
about the MCLU always being the best available
channel (HD or SD, as available) as they move
to IPTV and leave linear QAM (and the goals of
the MCLU) behind.  Now I have to do a more
detailed review of the entire mapping (as an
explanation, as the MCLU covered all the
channels, a request to change an MCLU channel
resulted in Comcast also updating the ancillary
SD and HD channels in their guide data, which
meant I only needed to check one place; now
I have to check three places (which is even
more than the two pre-MCLU places to check)).

(**) I am a bit behind in that review, as Comcast
has not added any of the 3xxx IPTV channels
to their guide data feed either (and while MythTV
cannot access those channels, it should be
in the guide data for presentation for other
consumers).