[mythtv-users] Program schedule from EPG confusion

Nick Morrott knowledgejunkie at gmail.com
Wed Sep 12 07:45:54 UTC 2007


On 12/09/2007, Michael frandsen <mf1910 at vip.cybercity.dk> wrote:
> I wish to fully understand how the recording schedule works from the
> EPG, It did not work as I expected from reading the description.

A (if not the) key concept is that when you setup a regular recording
rule in the EPG, it applies to a programme (a title) *and possibly a
particular start time*. This is what elevates MythTV from 'dumb'
recording appliances such as VCRs which will record whatever is shown
(even if the programme is no longer being shown) when the recording
was set.

Another fundamental concept is that even though you may successfully
create a new recording rule, MythTV may determine through its
duplicate detection routines that it has already recorded the
programme via an old recording rule. This will be shown in the
Upcoming Recordings listings as the inactive programme entry will be
marked as 'Previously Recorded'. You may need to adjust the duplicate
matching to include/exclude a programme's subtitle and/or description.
This applies to each of the inlined answers below.

>
> Following options appear:
> Do not record this program (obvious)

We hope so :)

> Record only this showing (expected to record from current EPG data,
> without any "intelligence" just grab the start/stop time)

Incorrect. The programme (located using its title) will be recorded
only if it still exists in the listings at the recording start time
stored when the programme was originally set to record.

> Record one showing of this title (expected that the time can change as
> long the tittle is the same)

Correct.

> Record in this timeslot every week (expected that tittle is ignored and
> start/stop time remains)

Incorrect. The programme (located using its title) will be recorded
weekly only if it still exists in the listings at the recording start
time stored when the programme was originally set to record. If a
programme is not found in the listings, it will be flagged as 'Not
Found' in Upcoming Recordings.

> Record one showing of this title every week (expect one show of the
> title to be recorded weekly, if more of same title any could be picked)

Correct. If the programme is repeated during the week, the scheduler
will determine which is the 'best' time to record the programme. You
can override this and choose another showing if you prefer.

> Record in this timeslot every day (expected the title to be ignored and
> start/stop time remain and recording every day)

Incorrect. The programme (located using its title) will be recorded
daily only if it still exists in the listings at the recording start
time stored when the programme was originally set to record. If a
programme is not found in the listings, it will be flagged as 'Not
Found' in Upcoming Recordings.

> Record one showing of this title every day (expect one show of the title
> to be recorded daily, if more of same title any could be picked)

Correct. If the programme is repeated during the day, the scheduler
will determine which is the 'best' time to record the programme. You
can override this and choose another showing if you prefer.

> Record at any time on this channel (expected that independ of time any
> show with the tittle will be recorded)

Correct.

> Record at any time on any channel (same as above just with channel as
> wildcard also)

Correct.

>
> The channel I having problem with use following naming system:
>
> <Program name>[ - <subtitle>][ (<episode #>/<of episodes>)]
>
> Reoccuring weekly shows, like news only shows <Program name>
> Any shows that have a limited number of episodes normally only use
> <Program name> (<episode #>/<of episodes>)
> But some can have subtitles for example if one episode is split into two.
>
> To make it worse the naming can change during the week since they only
> have program description on EPG for aproximately 24 hour ahead and the
> time can change unsure how late before planned schedule.
>
> On my old VCR I had to code in the times manually. To compensate for
> program change I could manually add a time to the end.
> One of my friends had a VCR that could grab time informations from TTV
> but actual record information was still static.
>
> With mythtv EPG I expected I could get same simple system to just get
> start/stop time automaticly from EPG but for some reason every option
> use the title despite the description.
>
> Can any help me to understand this mechanism?

A programme's title is _always_ used when you create a 'standard'
recording rule (one of the types listed above) in the EPG - this is
how MythTV locates possible matching showings of a programme in the
listings. A recording rule may or may not also use the programme's
subtitle and description for duplicate matching, depending on which
scheduling options you choose.

You can now appreciate why consistent TV listings are an absolute
requirement to get the best from your MythTV system.

> What I wish for is to easy code in start/stop time using EPG but ignore
> any program changes. Ideally it could be nice to be able to adjust time
> depend on program changes but I also see a lot of problems when the
> total name can change.
> Another wish is to be able to code in weekly show that apear same time
> every week but again ignore title.

If you want to completely ignore the TV listings and just set up a
timeslot recording on a particular channel at a particular time, you
need to use a Manual Recording (Main Menu -> Manage Recordings ->
Schedule Recordings). This option does not use listings information -
but other scheduled recordings could still potentially conflict and
stop the manual recording from actually being recorded (and vice
versa).

If you want the ultimate in scheduling flexibility, you should look
into using Custom Recording rules in which you can use SQL expressions
to precisely specifiy what you want recorded, using any of the
listings information fields available to MythTV.

-- 
Nick Morrott

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