[mythtv-users] Mythtv Record options

[Nick Morrott]

On 11/10/2008, Richard Morton <richard.e.morton at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I am pretty new to Mythtv and new to this list, so "Hello!".

Hey, a fellow UK MythTV user!

> From what I can research and seen there are quite a few recording options
> but no series record or unique episode option.

The series record feature relies on useful data being provided in the
listings. This is not the case yet with the Radio Times, but DVB EIT
data should allow this, and I think is being developed for MythTV
(duplicate matching based on EIT programmeid is already in place).

> What I would like a a way to record all episodes of a program (with options
> of by channel and all channels), ignoring repeats of the program if the
> program is already recorded (or even within x days of a previous recording
> of the program - where x is set in the settings of Myth).

As you are probably aware, you just need to set the correct record
type to determine whether the rule is attached to a single channel, or
to all channels configured. How you configure duplicate detection, and
how good the listings data is, governs how MythTV will treat repeat
showings of the same programme.

> So as a for instance; Virgin1 in the UK repeats one of my favorite programs
> 'House' lots. they air mutliple different episodes a week, but each of those
> episodes air aired multiple times a week.
>
> 1) Records a show anytime the title is listed on this station
>  and
> 2) Record a title once per day
>
> seem closest but 1 records duplicates of the same episode and 2 missed
> episodes. I am sure I can come up with the SQL to get the results from the
> two options above. Would there be support for this change?

Again, how well the duplicate detection works depends on the format
and correctness of the listings data. For recording TV series in the
UK, using DVB EPG or Radio Times XMLTV listings, I would suggest
trying the non-default 'Subtitle then description' duplicate detection
policy and seeing how you go. Slight differences in a programme's
description coupled with the default 'Subtitle and description' policy
can result in additional recordings of the same episode. However, if
two different episodes have the same subtitle (perhaps a 2- or
3-parter) and you use 'Subtitle then description' you will likely not
record all of the showings.

However, to totally miss recording an episode (note there is a big
difference between missing a recording, and scheduling it for a later
date, so check the Upcoming Recordings page) the programme data must
have been presented in such a way that either the title search did not
find it, or an episode with the same data had been previously
recorded. A lack of subtitle and a generic description for a programme
entry are a real problem, so sometimes it is necessary to create a
custom SQL rule to cater for listings data that is not always
formatted the same way.

I maintain the Radio Times XMLTV grabber, and have introduced
functionality to look for inconsistent titles and subtitles and
reformat them before the listings data is output. This works well and
will increase the accuracy of the scheduler in MythTV, but is still
far from perfect. However, without access to the raw listings, we are
at the mercy of a data provider upstream to consistently reuse the
same programme information whenever a particular episode is broadcast.

In my experience, the RT data has been very consistent over the past 4
years, which allows for recording rules to match new and old showings
of programmes across channels with a high degree of accuracy.

Cheers,
Nick

-- 
Nick Morrott

MythTV Official wiki:
http://mythtv.org/wiki/
MythTV users list archive:
http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users

"An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest." - Benjamin Franklin